http://www.glogster.com/jeanamiller20/apps-for-students-with-autism/g-6leda2km3f7s8r2o956aua0

heatherhans:

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• Lesson Plan Directory

Check it out - My glogster on Digital Citizenship

What is the digital divide?

         The digital divide shows the gap between people who are ‘up to date’ with technology and those who are not. It’s a term that came in the 90’s, when American households started in the trend. The means of technology can range from desktop computer, to high tech cell phones.

What can we as teachers do about it?

         As teachers I feel that the best thing to do is keep an open mind, and not try to resist the changes, by gaining knowledge of the technology. Teachers can base in class assignments around technology, or have student’s research on the Internet instead of books, also by using games to help students learn subjects. By making the assignments using technology in class, this insures everyone has an equal opportunity.

What do you think the future will bring?

         I think that the future of technology is never ending. I don’t think there is going to be a point where people say, “now that … is made we are done” There is going to be a constant upgrades, and attempts to out do the competing company. I see technology in schools growing, and at some point in time replace the books teacher have, and instead having the children find information from the web.

        To believe, or not.. Learning styles
Throughout my schooling I’ve believed that a person learned just one of three ways. Either they learned from being hands on, hearing material, or seeing the material. Without even putting a lot of thought into it, I told myself I was a hand’s on learner and left it at that. I would get frustrated in a class where all of the work was written, and remain frustrated when the lesson was mainly verbal. After hearing more about learning styles I started to think about how a person having one learning style or the other just didn’t make much sense.
Situations like math instruction, a person who would typically succeed in an auditory classroom, might not understand an equation that is being explained. Because of reasons like that I don’t think that teaching toward a certain learning style is the best choice to make.
A classroom can be around 20-30 students; everyone in the classroom will most likely not learn the same as the student next to them. There may be a large group of students who learn the same, but each student will not be exactly the same. If you were to change your teaching style to cater to just one kind of learning style you would be excluding students. I think that each subject has a way of being taught that work out more successfully than another. In the area of Art, teaching in a very visual format is the most common way. If you were to use a written format, it could be harder for students to grasp what is trying to be taught.
I can’t make my mind up on whether which side of the board I’m on. Are learning styles helpful, or not. But I do think that I am leaning more on the side of them not being helpful.

The flipped classroom is a fairly new, and rising concept inside an educational setting. When a teacher changes their style of teaching from a ‘normal’ setting to a flipped setting the time spent in the classroom is spent in a more interactive way. The students are getting hands on experience and more help when assignments are being completed instead of sent home with work and being unable to have assistance when needed.

         A positive to this way of teaching would be teachers having the ability to spend more time answering questions that students have during their ‘homework’ instead of after it is complete.

         A negative could be the students not having the ability access the internet, or not having a DVD player to watch videos. I believe that this is a very small number of people, but there would still be some people. Teaching in an elementary school I believe this could be really effective but just like everything I think there will be downfalls. With younger children they may not have the knowledge how to get on to the internet, or how to play a DVD, if parents aren’t willing or are unable to assist their children this method may fail for that student.

         Once I graduate and my ideal job pops up:  I could effectively put the flipped classroom in to place in a special education class room because (depending on the type students disability) a lecture setting may not be what is best for the child during the day time. By giving them hands on help during the school day and giving the parents information on how to help their child at home I think that the students could more successfully complete a school year. I could send the children home with a DVD of the lecture, and also post it on the web. By sending a DVD home it allows children to be able to watch the lesson in a place that is more comfortable to them if a desktop computer is the only computer they have. By being able to watch where they want they can focus more on the lecture.

Check this out!