Skype

Skype is a really cool tool i never knew about until the other day in class. I am a very visual person and i know it is hard for me to understand people sometimes over the phone. I like that you can talk using webcams and microphones, it is like meeting someone in person with out having to go far. People can do projects together and show each other what they are doing through skype. I also like that it is free it used to be so expensive to do stuff like this because when web cameras and microphones were new they were so expensive. Now that it is becoming so popular it is much less expensive and so easy to set up. It is a great way to be able to have children work together in groups outside of school especially young children because they can not drive to get to eachother. Teachers just need to be careful with online predators since skype can allow anyone to access you.

Online Submission of Homework

Along with having text books online, being able to submit homework online is also very helpful. I cant tell you how many times i called my mom from school asking her to bring my books into school cause i left my homework at home. Luckily most of the time my mom was home but when she wasnt it really made me mad knowing i spent time doing my homework but i couldnt get credit for it because i left it at home. Submitting your homework online is so helpful for reasons like this. It is also very helpful to the teacher. By submitting your homework online teachers can just have the computer grade it for the most part. It makes a teachers job so much easier.

Text Books Online

One of the most helpful thing to me in highschool was how slowly but surely text books were becoming available online. It was always good to have the actual text book but i ALWAYS left mine in my locker at school and was unable to do my homework. I was a really good student so when i couldnt do my homework just because i forgot a huge textbook in school it really frustrated me. When text books became available online it was one of the greatest things ever. Not only did i have to not worry about leaving my textbooks in school but i also didnt have to carry around a heavy bag packed with big books. I also did not have to worry about leaving books at home.

Rubrics, Lesson Plans

While reading another students blog i came across this website... http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/... i also think it is very helpful. I like how you can create your own worksheets or even use others worksheets and print them out. It really seems like a very helpful website for teachers. I think this is the type of website i will be using a lot. I like how things have moved to the internet instead of having to rely on books for rubrics and worksheets. Its easier to not have to carry around different teacher books for all different subjects now it is so simple you can access all different subjects from just this one website.

ATSTAR

ATSTAR stands for Assistive Technology: Strategies, Tools, Accomodations and Resources. On this website you can find information specifically about special education technology. I liked this website because most other ones which include special ed briefly touch on it but this website is specifically for children with disabilities. You can sign up for a demonstration module which i thought would be very helpful to teachers.

Educational Technology in Special Ed Classrooms

I am so happy to see the advancements made in special education in the area of educational technology. Growing up i lived next door to a boy with cerebal palsy, he absolutely loved his computer, it was the one thing that really fascinated him in life. I always saw him around school and he never seemed as happy as he was at home near his computer. I think people are starting to realize that just because a student has special needs does not mean you can not teach them to use tools such as a computer. Students with special needs dislike just sitting in a classroom as much as regular students do, they too need different tools to spark their interest in learning. Collaborative tools in a special education classroom is extremely important.

Collaborative Tools in general

Collaborative tools are such a great addition to the classroom which i feel our generation, and generations before us, have sadly missed out on. In high school i used some collaborative tools but they were not even close to as advanced as they are now. I also feel like teachers did not take full advantage of them either. We had such tools as graphing calculators and programs on the computer like excel but teachers were not too familiar with these tools so we never used them to their full extent. But the times we did get to use such tools were the times where students really got engaged. Most of high school was extremely boring to me i hated sitting in a classroom all day. I think i would have really enjoyed school much more if i got to use all these great new technologies. Teachers can really change up the classroom these days by introducing new tools and switching up the environment of the classroom. Math is no longer limited to dittos and blocks but now you can use new programs on the computer and cool new calculator systems to really engage students and make them interested in learning.