Assistive Technologies

     One thing I learned through the first reading was that children with disabilities in the mid 1900s were pushed to the side and negelected becasuwe they were seen as never going to be able to learn and read, and we as teachers need to be conscious of this and make every effort possible to make sure that everyone receives the same great education that they are entitled to. Also in the second article I learned that there actually was technology used to help special children learn. I always thought that the special classrooms were just the teachers trying to teach the kids one on one how to do basic stuff. I also learned that students with dissabilities can actually use computers. I knew that the just mentally slow could, but not other more severe cases like dyslexia.
     One way to help children with learning dissabilities is with Word Processors. With Word Processors students are able to express themselves easier because they know they will be able to make easy changes later and this allows them to be more creative. Tape recorders are another good tool to use to help children with learning dissablities learn. They can get audio version of books from the library to help with reading or they can use the recorders to record a lecture and play back so they can fully grasp the lesson.

In my classroom I could allow a student to use a tape recorder to tape a lesson, or I could perhaps allow the student to bring their computer to class so they use word prediction systems or other computer systems that will help them understand something better.

Citations

http://www.sc.edu/scatp/ld.htm

Schultz, P. (2011, September 3). Words failed, then saved me. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/with-dyslexia-words-failed-me-and-then-saved-me.html

        
    

Internet & Social Behavior Theory Unfounded

Despite early studies suggesting that internet use leads to anti-social behavior, later findings indicate positive aspects of engaging in online socializing.

It is hard pressed to find somebody today that doesn't have some sort of online identity or page about them. People today are so engulfed by the computer and the Internet. The Internet, in my experience, has very few negative effects on relationships. If it had any, the one might be that it aids the decline of personal interaction skills, but where it negatively affects that, it positively affects other areas. There are so many Web chats between families, spouses, and even businesses now, and the Internet is the tool that enables this. Web relationships are like an Ice-Breaker because you don't have to meet that person for the first time face to face, or if a business merger or decision goes bad, you don't have to tell them face to face. Also online dating has become huge in recent years. People are letting the computer find a compatible match for them. Now whether this is a good or bad thing can be debated, but the fact remains the same that so many people are looking for the spouse or just date for a night online and they do this because it saves time and they don't have to go out and waste time with somebody that they have nothing in common with. 




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seiZVLMdpBg     


This is a link to a video that gives proof that more and more people are turning to online relationships.


Citations


Owens, L. (2009, April 23). Internet & anti-social behavior theory unfounded [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://laura-owens.suite101.com/internet--anti-social-behavior-theory-unfounded-a111897

Double Entry Journal 8

The way we are educating is based on nineteenth-century ideas and methods. Here we are, entering the twenty-first century, and you look at our schools and ask, 'Why are we doing things in this ancient way?' Our system of education is locked in a time capsule. You want to say to the people in charge, 'You're not using today's tools! Wake up!'


Education today just isn't where it needs to be. I agree with George Lucas when he says that our education is like living in the past. I remember when I was a Junior and Senior in high school that we hardly ever used any technology in the classroom unless I was actually in a technology or computer class. Schools just aren't using the technologies that are available to them, this is probably in part to the lack of money in the budget for new technologies, but maybe then some money from other parts should be diverted to technologies because if students do not know how to use the materials that they will be using in the workforce then how will they survive. Therefore education needs to shift out of ancient ways and join the modern era, and give students the proper education they need.





Works Cited


Daly, J. (2004, September 14). Life on the screen: visual literacy in education . Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/lucas-visual-literacy


https://hamiltonrentals.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/technology-in-the-classroom-from-ipad-to-laptop-rentals/

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . . but the world maybe different because I was important in the life of a child." - Kathy Davis

Teaching Media Literacy

"Although some countries (notably Canada, England, and Australia) have made progress in integrating media literacy into the school curriculum, schools in the United States generally have lagged behind (Hobbs & Frost, 2003)."


Students today just don't get the proper media literacy training that is necessary to keep up in this digital world that we live in today. I know when I was in high school that I took computer classes and yet I still only learned the very minimal in media literacy. I didn't learn how to blog, do magazines, how to use media and implement certain media techniques. Students are spending so much time on the Internet yet do not truly know how to use digital media correctly. Teachers need to really focus on making students more media literate.





This picture shows a collaborative class probably learning what they need to be learning about media literacy, but sadly enough there aren't many classes like this!!


Citations


David , J. (2009, March). Teaching media literacy. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/06/cisco_network_academies_once_p.html