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Journal 9

Massive and Open

Fasimpaur, Karen. "Massive and Open." ISTE.org. N.p., 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2013.

Summary

I read "Massive and Open" by Karen Fasimpaur, which is an article that discusses massive open online courses (MOOCs) and how they are providing options for teachers to develop and advance their skills. These MOOCs are classes that are generally offered for free online, which means that the courses can be accessed by anyone, from anywhere. This aspect of MOOCs is very appealing for busy teachers who may not have time to be able to commit to traditional courses.there are even MOOCs that are specifically created for kindergarten through grade-twelve teachers. One of the interesting things I read was that some courses end up with a strong sense of community despite most or all of the members never meeting in person.

About how many students participate in each MOOC? 

The number of students that have participated in these courses have varied greatly. Some courses have less than 100 students while others have reported over one hundred thousand participants sign up. Many courses are offered for free to all of these participants, but do charge them for certification.

How many students complete the courses?

The article cited some very interesting stats for one MOOC offered through MIT. Fasimpaur stated that about 155,000 people registered for the first course they offered in 2012. By then end only 7.151 passed the course, which is about 4.5%. Anant Agarwal, a professor at MIT said that it would take 40 years  for that many students to take that course at MIT.

Journal 8

Adaptive Technology

Communication

      Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is what we use when "we make facial expressions or gestures, use symbols or pictures, or write." AAC does not include oral communication. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association states that people with disabilities in these areas rely on augmentative and alternative communication to interact with others.

High-Tech

     One high-tech tool students with special needs can use is an iPad tablet. There is an ever growing number of apps that can be used for iPads. Some suggestions are Proloquo2Go, which can function as voice, and LetterFlex, which helps with students with dyslexia. These apps are interactive and can be very helpful for students with special needs.

No-Tech

A no-tech tool students can use to help with their written communication are pencil adaptations, which are things you add to where you hold a pencil, they are usually soft materials like clay, that can be molded to fit the students grip. Another option would be to stick the writing utensil through something larger, like a tennis ball, to make it easier to hold.

Accessibility

Input devices are tools that help make it easier or possible for students with special needs to use computers and other technology. These devices are designed to assist with many types of disabilities that make using computers very difficult.

Software Option

One software option that can help students with special needs is an onscreen keyboard. For students that cannot use a traditional keyboard, this software can make it easier to type. A great feature of onscreen keyboards is that they offer predictive text, so that if you type in the first few letters of a word, predicted words will come up that you can choose, saving yourself having to type out an entire word. 

Hardware Option

A great option for students that either have trouble using a mouse, or simply cannot use a mouse is a device that tracks motion of a sensor that can be placed on anything, or any part of the body, for example, head on the students head attached to his glasses.
This tracker acts as the mouse of a computer for someone who cannot use a traditional mouse. 





Amanda
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Christine

Journal 7

My Personal Learning Network

What is a PLN     

     A Personal Learning Network for educators, or a PLN, is the term used for connecting with others in the education field for the purposes of sharing and gaining new information and ideas related to education.  Creating a PLN is easy because of social media and other online resources. A PLN can be as big and integrated or as small and simple as you need it to be.

Twitter

     Twitter is a great resource that anyone should have in their PLN. It is so easy and fast to share quick ideas or links to information that can be very helpful to many people. I have followed quite a few people that I interacted with on new teacher chats and technology chats. I follow people that post interesting and useful information that relates to education and that I think will be able to benefit me in the future. I have tweeted and retweeted when I think the content is valuable and should be shared with others.

Diigo

     I have followed a few people that looked like they have shared useful bookmarks. This is a great tool to use in a PLN because not only are we sharing the links to articles, videos, and other sources, but we can also annotate and highlight the important parts or the main ideas of why you though they are important enough to share or save. The items that I tagged with a PLN tag are sources that will help me while I am still getting my PLN started. They offer tips and strategies to get the most our of my PLN and why these ideas will help me to connect with others in education.

Educators PLN

     I joined Educators Personal Learning Network website. Educators PLN is a website where members can link all of their blogs, and social media profiles in order to extend their PLNs. Members can post articles that they write. I read an article written by Lacey Smith on April 23, 2013 about the characteristics of a collaborative classroom. They include shared knowledge between teachers and students, and shared authority of designating classroom goals. Smith also stated that in a collaborative classroom teachers are the mediators of knowledge, but that it is the student's responsibility to take charge of their learning. I think this is a great way to think of school, that it is not just the teacher feeding the students information, but that students are there to learn about their world and the tools they will need to be successful in it. The fourth and final characteristic of a collaborative classroom that Smith talked about was to integrate all interests and ability levels "which promotes healthy interactions and dialogs among students."

Journal 6

Ten Reasons to Get Rid of Homework

Spencer, J.. N.p.. Web. 18 Apr 2013. <http://www.educationrethink.com/2011/09/ten-reasons-to-get-rid-of-homework-and.html>.

Review

John Spencer's article about getting rid of homework was very interesting. I have always been an opponent of homework, or at least the excessive amounts I was always assigned. Spencer made some good points including the fact that children are busy and that homework can be inequitable. There is a big difference between the student that goes home to a busy or chaotic home, and has to work by himself, and the child who goes home to parents feeding and helping him with his homework. I also liked the part where Spencer talked about homework teaching bad work habits. I agree that "homework doesn’t help children become hard workers, because the work is not self-directed." 

5 Alternatives to Homework

1. Suggested scholarly activities, like reading, but not mandatory.
2. After school workshops organized by subject/interest area. Spencer suggested to open these events to home school students as well. 
3. Opening the lines of communication to bring up topics and activities that students are passionate about or interested in, in class.
4. Teacher can suggest activities to do at home that will enhance learning, that students can choose if they are interested in any of them.
5. Students can group up and decide on an activity or group project by themselves.