Blog Post #3

The “Flipped” Classroom

When reading the title My Flipped Classroom my initial thoughts were that this teacher had the most horrible, uncontrollable class ever! After reading the two blog posts I was absolutely wrong. The flipped classroom is a wonderful method of teaching. This teacher found creative ways to allow her honors AP biology class more relevant, easier, and fun for her students. The class is designed to be fast paced but the students could not learn the information. This teacher made videos, interacted with her students more and “flipped” her classroom. She taught another teacher the same methods so she could relate to her class more and have a more productive learning environment. Children are like sponges ready to soak up knowledge so the change of the learning environment made it that much more fun.
Technology in Special Education
This video shows us that all children can learn. It may not be on the exact level or the same methods may not be used but it can be done. The teacher allowed laptops, Ipods, computers, and other methods of technology to be utilized in her classroom. The children had special needs and technology allowed the students to communicate with their instructor more. Technology allowed the students to complete assignments at a faster pace, it allowed them to read more efficiently, and it kept the students interested in learning.
There was one student who used the keyboard as a means of communication with her teacher. She had cerebral palsy making it difficult for her to speak. Whenever her teacher asked her a question she simply answered by spelling out her words on the computer keyboard. There was another student who had to have a lab assistant assist him with his silent reading. Well thanks to the Ipod technology he was able to accomplish silent reading on his own while listening to the IPod Touch Audio Books. This also decreased the extra attention he probably received from the other students when the lab assistant came would come in. There was another student who could not read the fine print in the books his laptop allowed him to zoom in on the text making easier for him to read. I think this is a major adjustment from when I was in grade school. There was a kid in my class who had to have his textbooks special ordered, the font was huge and so were the books. I think that it drew a lot of unnecessary attention to the student.
I would definitely incorporate technology into my classroom. I want to be the teacher that has the fun classroom and at the same time allow my students to learn. Children spend the majority of their time in school; it should be interesting with content other than books, which is why technology is the way to go!

iPad with Academics for Autism

I would use the iPad Works. This app allows children with autism to stay focused on the material they are learning. I would use this app with many subjects in assisting my students with special needs. This app can be used for math, writing skills, reading, learning shapes, and many other purposes.
I would use this app for math and learning shapes by letting the student count the number of shapes. While the student is counting the shapes I would also have him/her point out what each shape is. I would also write a word on the iPad then let my student mimic the word I wrote out. This will not only teach my student how to read they will also know how to pronounce the words they are writing out. There are numerous methods that I or any other educator can use to incorporate this method technology in the classroom and make them effective.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

The rates for these social sites seemed to change every half of a second. They increased and increased. I am thinking that the majority of the people logging onto these sites are younger and they may even be minors, meaning they could very well be my future students.
These increasing numbers mean that I will have to be literate in the area of technology, in order to make my classroom environment productive and interesting. I will need to know the newest forms of technology. By the time I get into my own classroom chalkboards may be thrown out of the window!

Michael Wesch

As a student this video was relevant and very true. The sign referring to how the majority of your teachers don’t know your name shows how impersonal and overcrowded schools can be. The majority of the textbooks we never will open but we are told to purchase is waste of time and money. A waste of time to have to wait in that long bookstore line and a waste of money because we are considered starving students, so that money could have been used elsewhere. The amount of debt we will be in after completing college will be awful!! We did not create these problems but we still have to deal with them because they are our problems.
I am not really sure what this video would mean to teachers or university presidents. To be honest most teachers and university presidents are all about making their money so they may be uninterested about what their students face. Universities are very lucrative businesses and they are designed to make money. So I don’t think my college president would care that my books are overpriced. I don’t think that the amount of debt I will be in once I complete will be a factor to anyone other than I because that’s life. We all have to take these measures to become successful in life. That is just the way it is.