digital blog post # H

This chapter was a bit harder for me to find things to reflect upon in an inquisitive manner. This chapter is titled " Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies" Maloy, et al (2013, 215) I guess as more of a list of different software programs, video creating software, etc it follows the title and concept of the chapter. But to me it is more just that. A list of programs or online tools to use with research backed findings about the good it does for the students. I do believe that those programs and tools help a student express themselves and what they have learned in a more creative way than a written paper would, but through reading the chapter it doesn't really have any better suggestions on the various types of media to use other than what I, most people my age, and young students already know exists. So in a sense this chapter was just a reiteration of what has been discussed in previous chapters.

I felt while reading this chapter I had a few more questions than answers. I find it very beneficial to incorporate these applications and usage in my future classroom, especially with the subject of math being the subject most students dread learning about. But while this book goes on to discuss how we must prepare our students for the 21st century learning and careers, it does not discuss how the transition of using all of these applications during the K-12 years will or does transition to college learning or teaching at such a level. My degree right now is for secondary education, but my masters and doctorate will be for college level teaching. So far in all of the colleges I have been to and in all of the college courses I have taken, most of these technologies are not currently incorporated.

So my questions are: has technology not caught up to the college level yet? Or with the huge amounts of material needed to be covered in a shorter time frame ( then a regular school year) are they dismissed for the 'old-fashioned' or 'traditional' ways of teaching and learning? Will all of this use of new technology and interactive approach in the K-12 years effect students in a bad way once they get to college and find that the classes are more paper pencil exams, lessons, and multi-page written papers?

I will try and incorporate visual displays of the math concepts I am teaching, like youtube videos, I am partial to the Kahn Academy videos myself and will more than likely incorporate those as well. I love the idea of my younger students (6th-12th) making posters to describe their understanding of math vocabulary and it's application, but I think paper posters may be better then digital so they can be put up around my room for all to see when they enter instead of on a class website.

Resources
Citrino, J. (Oct.22, 2015) Mindmapping. Cacoo.com/diagrams/WOqvYENjUbl4ivxs

Maloy, Robert, Verock- O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013).  Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA : Pearson Education, Inc.

digital blog post #G

     The first concept that caught my attention was about Differentiated Instruction. There are so many different reasons for having different lessons, lesson plans, and activities for students to showcase what they know or have learned. This variation in lessons, lesson plans and activities within the lessons to very important to be able to teach and have the information reach as many students as possible within the same class and class-time setting. I interpreted that by practicing differentiated instruction with the focus of 'accommodations instead of modifications' on a daily basis makes full-inclusion possible, an easier transition, and more successful for all involved Maloy et al ( 2013 pp  248-250).
     The second concept that I found interesting was about the Universal Design for Learning. The three terms used to define it are things that I apply daily to every classroom that I sub for without ever knowing that it had a 'name'. The definitions of ' multiple means of representation', ' multiple means of expression', and ' multiple means of engagement' pretty much have the same meanings but for each topic. They say to give students many different options to learn from, to display the knowledge they know and to find out their interests in order to increase motivation, understanding and meeting challenges. I have always used the motto that I would rather have someone ask me the same question 100 times requiring 100 different answers until they understand then to never ask at all. I think this applies to the universal design for learning in the fact that you need to allow as many different ways to reach students and their learning potential as possible since all students are different, learn differently and at different paces.

   
The third concept that I found interesting was about all of the different types of accommodations  and assistive technology and levels of accommodations and assistive technology. I knew about things like interpreters, and personal aids, but I had no idea about all of the different levels of each accommodation or assistive device. I didn't realize that simple things like calculators or handheld dictionaries were classified in these catagories. During my research for topic discussion #3 on Assistive/Adaptive technology I found quite a few different types of accommodations and assistive items for the deaf or hard of hearing students that i never knew existed. Some of these included very small personal hearing devices to very eleborate devices that all many students to use to hear at once. I also liked the statements " The goal is to create accommodations through which students with special educational needs have different ways to access the regular education curriculum.... It is important to avoid modifications, where students receive educational experiences that are less substantive than those done by the regular education students in the class." I feel those statements sum up my entire viewpoint on having accommodations and assistive technology in the classroom. As long as nothing interferes too much with anyone's education in particular then I am open to all types and levels of each in my room.

Resources:

Citrino, J. (2015) Word Cloud created via Worditout.com with credit given to Maloy et al for quotes. worditout.com/word-cloud/1181652/private/86ad23f9a38442a79208214d550e6753

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O' Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen,Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, M.A: Pearson Education, Inc.