Applications Review

http://fotoflexer.com/

I personally enjoyed this site.  I spent a lot of time checking out everything that you could do with a photo and even created an account.  I liked that you could add stickers and animations and also distort the picture.  I edited a few of my own pictures and saved them.  I would recomment this for teachers to use and also for students.  Not something they would use on a daily basis, but maybe for special projects....upload a family pic or someone that they idolize.  Students could create pictures that they use to put on wiki if they are doing a project.  I think this program allows students to use their creativity and I think they would enjoy that. 

http://www.thinkfree.com/main.jsp

"ThinkFree Mobile allows the viewing, editing , and sharing of documents, anywhere."  This I like a lot.  I cannot open documents up on my phone so this would help me out tremendously!  I am an itinerant so I travel from school to school all day long.  I don't have time to run to my office between schools, so this application would save me some time.  I haven't put this app on my phone yet, but so far reading about it I would recomment it.  It allows you to open documents for free, but you have to pay ($8.70) for the app that supports editing.  ThinkFree Mobile Print ($14.99) is also something that I would be interested in. It allows you to print pictures, documents and web pages from your phone.  There are some mixed reviews for the Mobile Print.  Some gave it 5 stars, some 1.....so may have to do a little more investigating before I decide to put it on my phone.  Definitely worth looking into if you're a teacher on the go.  Especially if you are one of those teachers who works even after the work day is over....that's probably all of us. 

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/adaptedphysicaleducationnlk520/home

I chose to do a teacher page.  I love looking at other teacher pages so I thought it was time to start my own.  I've got a lot more work that I want to do on it....it's taking me some time.  Happy I at least have it started.  When I am satisfied with it I think I will let other teachers and parents know that it exists.  I think adding the links portion is helpful because there is a lot of physical education information out there, but not a lot of adapted physical education news/info.  Excited to start looking for more helpful websites to add.  I added a portion about myself so that parents can get to know me because I usually only see parents once a year at IEP's.

Concept Map

I would have students pair up and give each pair a sport or activity that I would be teaching throughout the year. The students would then research each sport and use concept mapping to give some basic information about the sport...basic skills needed, rules of the game, key terms, whatever they thought was helpful to know about the sport. I would print off all of the concept maps and give each student a handout with all the them in it as a notebook. Students could add to the maps as needed when it came time for that unit.

Screencast

This Screencast is to show students how to set up an email account. This would be done in the computer lab. It is a good first day/weeks of school activity. Students would set up accounts through hotmail. The teacher would hand out everyones email addresses on one sheet after everyone set up an account. Each week the teacher would give each student 2-3 people to write to. You would ask them questions and also respond to the questions being asked to you. This would help classmates get to know each other at the start of the school year.

Google Map Activity

View EDT 5410 Map in a larger map Students would create a map of the route they traveled when going trick or treating. This would be after they already went. They would search for the town or area they went trick or treating in and draw on the map their route. They would also mark a starting and finishing point on the map. Students would have to remember places or landmarks they passed along their route and add them to their map (at least 10). They could add friends houses that they passed, or even add places that gave out the best candy. This would have to be explained the day of or before they actually went trick or treating. Students could also document how far they walked. I just think this is something lower/upper elementary kids would really get into. Who does not LOVE to go trick or treating. This map actually took me a long time to do. Younger students may need a lot of help with this. When I made a mistake it was difficult for me to figure out how to fix it. I ended up doing it several times over. Every time I tried to embed it to my blog, my route was altered and I had to keep going back and fixing it...frustrating.

Podcast Sites

http://autismpodcast.blogspot.com/

This podcast site is all about autism. I listened to a podcast about services for adults with autism. It was about different options that children have once they are out of the school system and also what their options are in the working environment. Helpful website if you have a student with autism in your classroom.  There is also another podcast about using ipads with students with autism that I thought was very interesting. 


  http://www.mich.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-37818_45256-287807--,00.html

This is Michigan Department of Education’s video podcast page. The one that I listened to was Mike Flanagan talking about how the beginning of every school year is basically a fresh start and how we are continuously trying to improve and become better teachers.

My Map

View Larger Map

Parachute video

My PIC! Happy Halloween EDT 5410

Flickr account!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlk520/

My DELICIOUS Website

http://www.delicious.com/nlk520

Wiki Page

http://nlk520.pbworks.com/w/page/58880028/FrontPage

Reflection 2

So far I do not feel that I would ever use a blog or RSS Reader personally.  I feel that my life is pretty busy at the moment and it is just another “thing” to check like personal email, work email, Facebook and so on that takes more time away from my family.  Watching the news on TV is enough for me. I just don’t see myself getting into either one.   In the education setting, as a physical education teacher….Not quite sure.  Maybe I could use the RSS reader to subscribe to health/fitness sites.  I just feel that I am a very bust person and constantly going to meetings after school, it would be hard to find the time to sit down and blog or use RSS reader.   I was surprised, but it was actually a little confusing for me to set them up.  I’ve been out of the technology loop and just got an iphone this summer and that took some getting used to. 

Setting up a blog and RSS reader is my first and only experience with the two.  It is hard for me to place them anywhere specifically on Dales Cone because I am unsure what all they can do.  From what I understand about the blog, you can write down your thoughts (visual symbols category), post pictures (Exhibits or still pictures category), videos (television and motion picture category) and even recordings(radio/recordings category).  I feel that it fits into many different categories.  To me it fits best in the Verbal Symbols category.  In the reading it mentioned that this category is “the common ground for every person who can talk and listen.”  People post their thoughts and others read and respond.  I feel that it fits anywhere from exhibits on up to the top of the cone.  I feel that the RSS reader also fits anywhere from exhibits on up.  To me it pretty much can do what a blog does.  It publishes what people put on their blogs and other sites which include items that people read, watch and listen to. 

I work with students with special needs and teach physical skills which include a lot of modeling.  I don’t think a blog or RSS would help me with any on this.  I don’t think there is any problem that needs to be fixed here.  The best way for the students that I work with to learn is by my demonstrations and giving corrective feedback.  Maybe I’m not thinking hard enough, I just don’t see where a blog or RSS would be helpful in this situation.  If you have any ideas let me know!  I am having a very difficult time coming up with an “imaginative” educational use of each tool that my students could use. …..

 

Reflection 1

I remember being around the age of 10 when my family bought a computer.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  I spend a lot of time downloading music from Napster using dial up and it took FOREVER to get a song, but was worth it.  Just looking at how technology has changed from then is amazing.  I just got an i phone this summer and couldn’t believe how much you could do with it.  I use technology more personally than I do when teaching.  I am an Adapted PE teacher, so I work with children with special needs in the physical education setting.  I don’t use any technology to teach physical skills.  I do a lot of demonstrating and modeling, so I am interested to find out the many ways technology can be used in education. 

When I read Postman’s article I felt that he was definitely not pro technology, but I did agree and see his point of view.  With technology I feel that there is satisfaction for a while, but it’s always about creating something better.  Is that good or is that bad that so much time is spent on making things better even if it is not a necessity?  Every year a new model of everything comes out and some people feel like they HAVE to have the latest and greatest things. 

As a PE teacher, mother and wife, I do find computers/technology to be distracting like he suggested.  Examples of this are my overweight nephews whose favorite things to do are…surf the internet, watch tv, play video games….catch my drift.  But this could also be a parenting issue because they are also unhealthy eaters.  Another example is my husband always messing around on his i phone.  I see this all the time, people eating at restaurants, while driving….drives me insane.  I DO however think that technology in education is a great way to make teaching and learning interesting to both students and teachers.  I have seen Smartboards used in a center based school for children with special needs and thought they were amazing. 

After reading Reigeluth and Joseph’s article, I agree that technology is very important when you have many students with different needs who learn different ways and at different rates.  I used to be a paraprofessional at a center based special needs school, and I must say technology was a must there.  I worked in a SXI classroom and each student had MANY needs and were very different from each other.  Some students pushed buttons or switches to talk for them, some used their foot to hit switches to communicate.  There was technology everywhere in the classroom.  Technology definitely transformed teaching to meet the needs of these children. 

When this article stated that teachers become more of a “guide on the side” my first thought was…this makes it sound as if teachers are not really needed in the classroom and we could be easily replaced.  A peer of mine once stated that he thought online classes should be made available to students as early as late elementary.  I thought he was crazy, but with the way technology is advancing I wouldn’t be surprised if one day it happened.  I think in some areas high school students can take online classes, is this correct??