Matthew+Seiger

Hello World!

This is the html page I made for my ISTC 301 course in Spring 2012.

media type="custom" key="12702198" This is a Voki I created, to discuss technology standards.

**Responses/Reflection to Learning Styles and CAST Website Resources**

After completing the learning style survey, I am not surprised with the results I received. My results concluded that I was a kinesthetic learner. An individual who is a kinesthetic learner performs better while completing “hands-on” experiments, rather than observing or listening to instructions. As a kinesthetic learner, I have found that I benefit from lab settings over lectures. I enjoy getting to see what happens and by completing the activity I have an easier time recalling the main points/purpose. Something that I found interesting about being a kinesthetic learner is that a __study__ technique that is often beneficial is using flashcards. I would not have thought that this method would be useful for these learners. Having the flashcards seems similar to reading a book, so I would have thought it to be better for a visual learner or someone who prefers listening to a lecture or reading about information. I was surprised that my visual learning score was low. There are some differences between being a kinesthetic learner and a visual learner, but it is not uncommon to have attributes of both. I know that I need to have written directions available to me, and I need to write out words to determine whether or not I have spelled it properly. I lack in the visual learner because even though I enjoy reading, I am not thorough with it. I often times miss when I have a misspelling in my work. I have a difficult time deciding when punctuation is used properly, and do not have a well-developed vocabulary. My impression of the CAST website is that it is well-run, well-organized, and very informative. I had an easy time navigating around the website, and found the information to be quite useful. When reading the material about UDL, I found it to be easy to read, straight-forward, and enlightening. I enjoyed the links to the different activities and found them very pertinent with the material that was being discussed in the text. The activity that focused on helping you determine how you use the three networks in your brain was great. It gave terrific insight as to how each network in the brain works and what role they play in helping you do simple tasks. You never think about what is going on in your brain/body while you do things until you are asked to. It is amazing how so many things are in play while you’re doing what seems to be a very basic task. These activities helped me gain insight about how these domains need to be engaged during lessons in order to have __students__ get the most out of schooling and to retain the most information possible. I thought that the information in //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age// was beneficial, but information that was already common sense. I would incorporate a lot of the ideas that were introduced into my classroom as a part of creating a diverse and successful learning environment. Not only was the information helpful, but the activities and links to other resources provided me with options to get out and explore other useful tactics. It will also be helpful to have this as a reference during teaching because it provides teachers with an understanding of how UDL can be included in our classrooms.

**Assistive Learning Narrative**

From these videos and websites, I have learned that having a student with learning disabilities in your classroom can be a challenge, but it is only as bad as you make it out to be. If you are willing to __work__ with your students and find ways to work with them, then it is going to make your life easier and make them more likely to be successful. From doing all this research, I have learned that there are so many resources out there that are available. If you search for the right materials, then you can be successful. There are so many tools, such as a digital content package. In this package, you receive so many benefits online and other beneficial tools. These will help your students learn to use these materials properly, and will help you get them accustomed to the materials that they use and will be using every day. I believe that a teacher can do as much as they can to get students motivated and get them learning. If students are willing to work, then they will be successful. In order to get students motivated, you need to have engaging materials for them to work with. One of the websites that was really stuck out to me was the one by Kathy Schrock. It was really informative and had really good advice/tools to use. This website has really good links to other websites that have good tools. I looked around these tools and thought that they were really helpful. Because there is so much emphasis placed upon technology in our society, it is critical that students have a basic understanding of what they need in order be successful. Students with learning disorders benefit from technology. They have a difficult time getting together what they want to do, and communicating with their feelings. If they have the opportunity to communicate using technology, it will make it much more beneficial for the students. It makes it easier for students to work when thy have the option of expressing themselves in successful ways. In community college, I had an internship that involved working with special education students. It was a terrific experience. I was able to work with four students with autism. I was able to help them work on fine motor skills and got to help them work on their social skills. I saw a lot of cool things, and got a lot of great ideas during this internship. It was really informative and helped me learn new teaching skills/methods. As a teacher, I will make sure that I use technology to help my students. Some students may benefit from having this technology resource. I will make sure that there are many opportunities for my students. Technology is having such a large impact on student’s lives, and becoming an intricate part of our society.

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 * Glog on Learning Theories: Social Constructivism**


 * Virtual Field Trip Reaction**

Virtual Field Trip's are very beneficial for teachers and students. With the price of gas going up, the convenience of taking your students somewhere for a field trip is becoming more difficult. Having the option of a virtual field trip opens up the possibility of not only showing your students information and places that they could have direct contact with, but also allows them to explore places that you may not have the luxury of visiting due to location. Virtual field trips are practical and very well organized. After exploring several different websites, I could picture myself showing them to my students. They are very informative and realistic. I went to the Museum of Natural History last weekend, and I was able to see the same exhibits and learn the same information that I learned when I actually went to the museum. When you go on a field trip, you may have students who are not able to attend or may have students who have a difficult time traveling around for an extended day. With a virtual field trip, teachers are able to reduce the risk of these incidences occurring. Virtual field trips also give teachers many different activities to complete and can allow for a grand conversation because all students are with the teacher and the teacher can lead a better discussion than he/she could in a museum, etc. Overall, virtual field trips have proved to be very efficient and is a practical way of giving your students the experience they would get of going on the field trip, but lowers cost and all the limits other disturbances that could occur.

This is my digital storybook for my ISTC 301 class. [|my video]

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= =**Final Reflection**= I feel that technology is an important commodity in our society today. There are many different instances when technology can be incorporated into the lesson to enhance the student’s learning. It has been proven that technology, in various forms, can be beneficial to the success of students’ with various learning disabilities and learning styles. Each student should be given the opportunity to use methods and materials that are most beneficial for their learning. Not only is it important for students to become accustomed to using technology, but it is critical that the technology be as up to date as possible. Technology is constantly advancing and is becoming increasingly motivational in our everyday life. Students should be given the opportunity to explore using various technological devices so that they can become accustomed to the way things work and it may be more motivational and engaging for them. If they become fluent with the technology, then it will help them be more efficient when they are required to work with it later on in life. It is no surprise that technology has become a huge necessity in our society, but it is critical that students understand the importance of using technology and not just how it can be fun. Technology has been proved to be very helpful in situations with students with learning disabilities and different learning styles. I would like to incorporate technology, especially current technology, into my classroom to help enhance my students learning and prep them for their future. **At the beginning of the semester, I agreed that technology is becoming a vital part of our society and children should be subjected to it. I have learned that it is critical to the advancement of some students learning, and wish to incorporate it where available and when necessary.**