Preparing to Go Back to School with the ESE Class of Web 2.0

They may have special needs and learn on a different level than the students in a general education classroom, but they are still children growing up in the world of Web 2.0. My future plans include designing a program where my students spend the school year learning to do their assignments on the computer in order to help their progression. Students will learn new ways of expressing themselves and will use the tools that Web 2.0 has to offer, in an effort to develop higher order thinking skills. They will receive the assistive technology that they need and will be able to try out new devices that may assist them even though the device might not be intended for their particular disability. Students will receive accommodation through computer-based technology. They will receive lesson enhancements and remediation in the form of games and activities on the computer.

All of these things will be put into practice, allow the students to gain the self confidence to be able to do it on their own. This will lead into my long term goal… Overcome regression.

The average student loses as much as 40% of what they have learned during the school year, over the summer break. For students with mental handicaps or severe learning disabilities, to lose as much as 70% is not uncommon. I want to overcome that gap. By designing a distance education program that allows the students to keep their minds actively engaged, I will be able to help them retain what they have learned.

I found a great 3 part article that provides a great introduction to Web 2.0, its tools and its students. I plan to use what I have learned from these Blogs and to assemble a program that will work for my students. Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 gives a lot of information that will help me to achieve my goal. Here, Brian Benzinger provides a categorized list of the tools available and identifies what each tool can do. Keep in mind the blog was posted in 2006 and many things have changed since then; there are more tools like these and some of the ones listed are no longer available, but it is still a good starting point.

Benzinger, B (2006, September 29). Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0. Solution Watch, Retrieved April 03, 2008, from http://www.solutionwatch.com/512/back-to-school-with-the-class-of-web-20-part-1/

Get ready for your 21st century learners

I just sat through the most informative presentation. It was a webinar presented through the Discovery Education Network. Discovery offers all sorts of resources for teachers, but the free internet-based seminars (aka webinars) are the best. You dedicate about an hour of your time and in return you receive training from an experienced educator in the subjects you choose.

I don't want to be a commercial for any company or service but if you have not signed up to be a Discovery Educator, you should!

Today's webinar was an introduction to the path that educational technology is leading us down. It was a lesson in what the Web 2.0 is and how to teach the 21^st century learners. Brad Fountain, today's presenter introduced many great resources for teaching in this multi-media world. The power point that accompanied the webinar is available through www.discoveryeducation.com. Select Educator Network, Blogs, National and this presentation is featured in the right hand column. "Twenty-first century teaching for twenty-first century learners" is an excellent compliment to what we are learning in the Educational Technology program. Check out: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2008/04/01/21st-century-teaching-for-21st-century-students/ and if you aren't a member of the Discovery Education Network, sign up for a trial membership. I am confident you will like what you see.

Wednesday, I am teaching a session to College of Education students at St. Petersburg College. I will be introducing them to the Discovery Education Network (DEN) and United Streaming. I will be teaching this course as my final step in becoming a Star Educator with DEN. I'll post tomorrow night on my experience, teaching at the college level.

Upcoming events, I will be hosting a second class on April 10^th for colleagues at the elementary school at which I teach. On April 11^th, I will be the guest speaker at the Kappa Delta Pi induction ceremony for St. Petersburg College.

Can children with learning disabilities and mental handicaps be more successful learners with web based learning?

This is a question that I often ask myself. I say "Yes" and I am going to eventually prove it.

Each day, I work with my students trying to find ways to make them more successful. It has been my experience that when the work is presented as a computer based activity the student is more willing to participate. I have also seen that when the student is agreeable with the assignment, the results are improved. Therefore, it is my mission to prove that children with impairments that hinder learning can be more successful in a setting that offers web-based learning. I found another article to help support my argument. "Exploring the relationships between Web usability and students' perceived learning in Web-based multimedia (WBMM) tutorials" is featured in Science Direct. This study is more along the lines of what I am trying to establish for my students. I do not want to replace my time in class with time at a computer. Instead, I want web based learning to compliment what we are doing together in class. I need the face to face interaction with my kids as much as they need that one on one personal attention from me. What I am proposing is a way that I can keep my kids from regressing over summer break; I can maintain my relationship with them and I can help them to be better prepared for the next grade level's expectations.

The case study, done at the university in Albany, NY is exactly the type of documentation that I need to support my proposal. Working with the three main learning theories, these researchers investigated how constructivist, behaviorist, and cognitive learners fared when face to face classes were complimented by various Web-based multi-media supplements. Focusing primarily on the cognitive approach to learning, the researchers investigated the impact that the WBMM had on overall learning. The article features examples of what the students participating in the study saw. It shows the survey that these students took, sharing their views on the study. Graphs and statistics are referenced to demonstrate that this is a successful learning approach. More than 65% of the students said that the WBMM tutorials did improve their learning (The graph showing the poll results is featured below).

This study has a similar set-up to what I want to do with my kids. Instead of meeting face to face each week, I will begin with face to face interaction, move to web-based multi-media lessons, and then return to face to face with complimentary web based interactions to continue throughout the next year. I am anxious to start gathering my own data and report on the success of my case study.

Resources for this blog included:

Informal research personally conducted at Walsingham Elementary School in Largo, FL, with the students of the 2^nd-4^th grade IVE program.

Mackey, T & Jinwon, H (2008).Exploring the Relationships between Web Usability and Students' Perceived Learning in Web-Based Multimedia (WBMM) Tutorials. Computers & Education. v50 n1 , 386-409 .

A full text version of the article referenced may be viewed at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCJ-4M3J0MN-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2008&_rdoc=27&_fmt=full&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%235956%232008%23999499998%23670613%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=5956&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=30&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=0814fc2e6650fd40b198c08d3fb1cf72

 

 

 

Make your presence known!

Before I can become a successful Distance Education (DE) Teacher, using online technology to increase learning potential for the children in exceptional education (ESE) programs, I have to get my name out there and develop an association between Elizabeth Snider, Education for children with disabilities and the idea of DE for ESE.

Because I want to make my name synonymous with the computer based education associated with exceptional education, I need to increase my web presence. I have established a few blogs. Besides this one, I also have www.de4ese.blogspot.com and www.esnider234ive.blogspot.com. I have established wikis and blog lines and even have a couple of websites. For more about my web existence, check out http://sniders-stars.wikispaces.com/, www.ryanrecord.com or http://it.pinellas.k12.fl.us/Teachers8/SniderA/. All of these addresses were created before I invested in a really great resource. After purchasing and reading the book, I recommend "The Non-Designer's Web Book (2^nd Edition)" by Robin Williams and John Tollett. I am anxious to get the time to apply what I learned from this book to improve my own visibility on the World Wide Web.

Disabled doesn’t mean not able!

Children with disabilities are children first. We must look beyond the handicaps. As a teacher of special needs kids, I view everything through altered glasses, meaning that I analyze it. I consider three questions… How will this help my students? What will they get from it? How can this teach them?

I found a great website that helps us to appreciate people with disabilities who have gained fame. As we look back in history, many accomplishments are noted. What do all the people pictured in this virtual tour have in common? They were never expected to be successful at anything, because of their handicaps.

http://www.museumofdisability.org/ is a virtual walk through museum. Through this museum you can learn about the spots accomplishments, medical aides, the cures, advocates, and educators that fought for and helped these people. Use this site to learn about the laws that protect people with disabilities.

I see this site as a great history unit, especially for my more profound students.

A Checklist Testing Software to Student Appropriateness

The Council for Exceptional Children’s Division of Technology and Media (TAM) has come up with a great tool for helping teachers know how to evaluate software to see if it fulfills the needs of our students. Keeping in mind that all students’ brains develop differently and that we must understand the psychology of each child individually, this checklist identifies what we need to consider when choosing the appropriate software to suit our students. This checklist reaches beyond the typical student and evaluates the software according to the needs of a child who is learning disabled. Go to http://www.tamcec.org/pdf/TIA%20Nov%202007%204Web.pdf to see the latest issue of this newsletter. Here, you will find an in depth explanation of how the checklist was devised, what its purpose is and why it was created. At the end of the article are reproducible that you can use to test software for yourself. Most software available today offers some sort of downloadable short term version that can be used as a trial version; I recommend (especially for teachers whose kids have learning disabilities). With the trial version, use it for yourself. Then observe a student using it, complete the checklist and determine that the software is appropriate for the needs in your classroom. Do this before purchasing the programs and you will save yourself money and aggravation.
Boone, R, Higgins, K, (2007, Nov). The Software Checklist: Evaluating Educational Software for Use by Students with Disabilities. Technology in Action, 3:1, Retrieved March 20, 2008, from http://www.tamcec.org/pdf/TIA%20Nov%202007%204Web.pdf

Using Instructional Technology in Exceptional Education

Consideration needs to be given to the effect that technology has on learning for children in exceptional education. I recently found an article that reveals where our path should be leading us; telling the results of research that investigates how these students respond to technology. Through documented practice and referenced research, these four gentlemen confirm what I am seeing in my own classroom… The students with disabilities are able to be more successful learners through computer-based learning. So much of being able to teach the students with moderate to severe disabilities is keeping them focused. For students with visual handicaps the auditory portions must be exciting and poignant. For students with short attention spans, whether it is due to ADHD, ADD or cognitive or processing delays perform better when information is presented in a manner that is brief, simple but colorful. Langone and his co-authors discuss how using simulated settings such as in the classroom or in a grocery store can help these students to process information that is crucial to their survival in the real world. This form of interactive technology offers an outlet for allowing the students learn transitioning, life skills and other important life skills. Interactive technology allows students to learn in an environment that does not jeopardize their safety if they fail. It also cuts down on the expense accrued by community and classroom based learning. The main source of research for this article is a project identified as Project Shop. This is a CD-ROM that features simulated learning, teaching these high risk students how to shop for themselves in the community. In the article, they compare situated learning to simulated learning. The article reveals that the important connection between situated learning and simulated learning, and their ability to be successful can be attributed to target stimuli. A group from Vanderbilt University has introduced Anchored Instruction which applies situated learning into simulated presentations which is hopeful to help students with disabilities to learn problem solving skills and how to process higher order thinking. I am anxious to study this article further and look into the many articles used as resources for producing this journal entry.

Langone, J, Clees, T, Rieber, L, & Matzko, M The Future of Computer-based Interactive Technology for Teaching Individuals With Moderate to Severe Disabilities: Issues Relating to Research and Practice. JSET ejournal, RetrievedMarch 19. 2008, from http://jset.unlv.edu/18.1/langone/first.html.