Final Thoughts on Technology in Education

Technology integration into the classroom is key as we move into an age where all out students are digital natives. Coming out of this class I feel more versed in specific technology that I can use to enhance and differentiate my instruction, which is essential to my work as a special educator.
Technology comes in all shapes and sizes and offering your students a choice between traditional and digital work gives them a larger range of options for learning and expresssion.
I think the most useful thing we learned this semester was how to use the IWB, as I have seen that in almost every classroom that I've been in, and the software behind it can be quite daunting. I feel more confident that I can create great flipcharts aligned with lesson plans and employ them in the classroom.
I think that as teachers we need to remember to stay on top of new developments in technology and not settle for sub-par equipment in our schools. Being advocates for technology in the classroom is important for student learning, and we don't want to do our students the disservice of not updating ourselves on what is the newest and most effective technology for instruction.

IBAs

Inquiry-based activities are very similar to WebQuests but both more short-term projects and also based on inquiry learning, as the name suggests. IBAs can come in a number of forms but we created them on the PBworks wiki that we had been using for other things during the semester. Our IBAs were centered around worksheets with questions, and the technology came in in that students had to discover answers withi websites which we provided, instead of using a textbook. This is a good approach for students who cannot seem to focus on a textbook, and find searching through websites more meaningful/interactive/easy.
The IBAs were not difficult to put together and the advantage of them being online is that the student cannot lose the worksheet or 'misplace' their textbook, and as long as your school has computer access they have no excuse not to do it.

Digital Diagrams

Our class used Inspiration9 software to create interactive digital diagrams for the academic subject of our choice. Diagrams are helpful for differentiated instruction and thought organization in the classroom. The diagram needs to be clear and not cluttered but still visually stimulating enough that it is useful and memorable for the student.

I had never used Inspiration9 before, and found that it was extremely straightforward and user friendly. I had no trouble at all creating a diagram on proportions and ratios, and completed the assignment quickly. I would absolutely employ this software in the classroom for creating both physical and digital worksheets with ease. I can also see this being an assignment where students create their own diagrams much the way we did in class. 

Digital Storytelling

Using visual media in the form of videos to introduce content to your classroom is not foreign to most teachers, but actually creating, editing, and producing that content usually is. Going into this project, I was unsure of what exactly I would create, but I decided to go with a subject which I had seen in action in my elementary practicum placement this semester - accountable talk.

I had experience editing videos because I used to run a webshow on YouTube in high school. However, I had always used Windows Movie Maker, and our directions for this assignment were to use iMovie. iMovie is fairly straightforward but as with all Apple software, takes some getting used to if you are a primarily a PC user. I decided to pair a voiceover about using accountable talk in the classroom with images of responsible classroom talk and instruction, and take advantage of the "Star Wars" themed title to sort of make it into a story for the kids - that they could "save" their classroom through accountable talk. 

Videos are extremely useful in order to get kids excited about a topic and to stimulate visual learners or take a break from the monotony of lecture, but I do think that it can be tempting to rely on video for more than is necessary.

IWB Chapter

Interactive White Boards are definitely some of the most recent technology to make its way into the classroom. While intimidating, the software which comes with these machines offers an exciting new way to engage students in learning, during lectures, reviews, or activities. However, there seems to be some debate as to whether or not use of IWBs in the classroom is linked to student achievement. There seems to be more evidence for links between IWB use and high achieving students, and not low achieving students. This is something that as a special education teacher, I would want to look into. I think I would also like to attend more professional development related to IWB use, because of the warnings about teachers failing to use the boards effectively.