Kathryn+Wolf


 * This is the html page I made for my ISTC 501 course in Spring 2012.**

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 * This is my Voki on the importance of technology and curriculum standards.**


 * Below is my reflection on the CAST website assignment.**

Multiple Techniques for Multiple Learning Styles Kate Wolf

 I have always understood that every person learns and processes information differently. Yet, I never thought about how my preferred styles of learning may differ from others. The questions in the Learning Styles Survey referred to many tools that I currently use, like using graphs or charts to better memorize information. I have always drawn pictures or diagrams in my notes when possible, then during exams I picture the diagram in my head to aid in answering questions. I did not realize that this was a part of a Kinesthetic learning style. The description of this particular learning style described my learning processes very well. I enjoy hands-on activities and I learn best when being actively involved in the lesson. Helpful suggestions for my particular learning style were offered in the results of the survey that I had never thought of, such as, listening to audio tapes with important key concepts on them.

 I always enjoyed doing field work in my science classes and participating in lab classes, but I did not realize this was also one of my strengths in the learning process. I do believe that by being actively involved as a student, I better absorbed the information being taught to me. I always believed that when I become a science teacher, this was an approach I wanted to incorporate into my lessons. After reading more about UDL in //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age//, I now realize that I may want to offer a variety of options in my future classroom. For example, along with giving the students the option of witnessing an experiment and then re-creating it themselves, some other students may learn better by reading through the experiment step-by-step with detailed instructions. I now understand that some students may learn better with visualizing instructions, like myself, while others may be stronger at reading through the instructions.

 This was not the first time I visited the CAST website. I have read about the topic of UDL and CAST in the past. I think this site has many useful tools to making UDL a success in classrooms where it is a new concept. There are links to tools for implementing each step of UDL. I think one of the hardest steps for most educators is discovering the barriers to education. Often there are barriers that exist for students that many educators never knew existed. On the website there are special tools that can be used to aid educators in identifying them, and offer suggestions about how to overcome them. In many instances, barriers exist with the textbooks or reading materials used in the class. For example, with a learner like myself, many reading materials do not offer enough graphics to aid in my comprehension of the material. The CAST website offers tips on how to identify these specific barriers within the current curriculum, and then offers suggestions on how to diminish them.

 The more I learn about the CAST system for developing differentiated instruction for classrooms, the more I understand the need for it. After taking the //Learning Styles Survey//, I learned more about my personal learning style, and also about all the different possible learning styles of all students. Varying learning styles are not always accounted for because they have not always been previously identified. With growing knowledge of this, I believe there is a growing need to account for all of these varying learning abilities. The goal of all educators should be to understand how to best aid in all students understanding of the curriculum. For this to occur, educators need to eliminate barriers to education, and make education accessible to all students.

 As a future educator, I would be interested in learning more about varying techniques that science teachers have used to benefit all students in their class. By learning tools used by educators in my specific field, then I should be able to better aid in all of my students understanding of the curriculum. If I use various teaching and assessment techniques then I believe all students should be successful.


 * The following is my reflection on assistive technology. **


 * Assistive Technology**

I have heard the term “assistive technology” in the past, and I knew of a few different forms. Yet, I mostly only thought of assistive technology as being computer software, I did not know that there were so many low tech options. After viewing the website //AssistiveTech.net//, I found that they offered over 2,000 assistive technology products and many of them were low tech.

On the //AssistiveTech.ne//t website, I found many products that I was already familiar with, but I did not think of them as being forms of assistive technology. Some of these were for individuals with mobility issues, like ramps or extended grabbers for those in wheel chairs. I also found some new low tech products that were new to me, like products for those with dexterity issues. Some of these are used to assist in typing, or to help grasp small objects and writing utensils.

I have had the opportunity to witness first-hand the use of assistive technology with kindergarten aged children in a self-contained special needs classroom. During class time, the students were using specialized computer programs. This specific program was designed to help them learn the letters of the alphabet. On the screen, the students were prompted to click on any letter in the listed alphabet, then the letter would be spoken out loud, giving the student a chance to repeat it. Once a letter was selected, a new page would open that contained many images that began with that letter. When a student clicked on an image, the name of the image would be spoken, allowing for the student to repeat it. These text-to-speech prompts aided in the children's pronunciation and vocabulary.

The software I witnessed is similar to an Apple product I discovered called Proloquo2Go. This app is currently being used by a nine year old named Max, who has cerebral palsy, which causes him to have problems communicating through speech. This app has thousands of images to choose from and when one is selected, the name of the image will be spoken for Max. In Max's case, by using the program to communicate with those around him, he is repeating the terms and improving his speech skills.

I found the website, //Assistive Technology Training Online//, to be very helpful and useful in the future. On this site there are examples of many types of assistive technology and planning tools, that can be used by educators to plan an educational path for individual students. The site also offers links to many other sites and national sites, such as assistive technology products and guides. A resource that I find particularly helpful are the tutorials offered on varying types of software that I am not familiar with. Much of the software may be helpful in my future classroom and I did not know they existed prior to reading their descriptions on this site.

Assistive technology may be designed to aid a specific group of people, but it is often found that it helps many more than originally intended. Wheel chair ramps were first created to help those in wheel chairs change levels within buildings or on the street, but after they were built they actually helped those with carts or strollers also. The same can be applied to a classroom, one type of technology may help the entire class, instead of only the specific student it was intended for. If a student has a disability very unlike any other student in the class, then there is most likely a type of assistive technology already created that will help that student to keep up with the rest of the class.

I have learned a great deal by looking at websites offering information on assistive technology. I understand how students all learn in different ways and many students have disabilities that may hold them back in a classroom. By researching and understanding all of the options available, I will be able to help my students stay on track and not fall behind. If a student of mine is having issues that I do not understand, I now know that I will be able to research and find resources by those who do understand and know how to help.

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 * Here is the Glog I made about Jean Piaget:**


 * Reflection on Virtual Field Trips:**

Most often, a first hand experience is better than taking a virtual trip, but for instances where that is not always possible, virtual field trips are a very good substitute. Commonly there is not enough money in a school’s budget to supply for all of the field trips that would be helpful to each class. Sometimes the field trip may be to a place that is too far to travel, or there may be a science experiment where the materials are too expensive or too dangerous to work with. In these instances, a virtual field trip or informative website would be a fine substitute.

Sometimes a specific field trip does not and cannot exist. On the website containing the rock cycle, there are images and videos that demonstrate this process taking place within the Earth’s crust, which normally could not ever be seen. As a future science teacher, visual aids are very helpful in explaining Earth processes that cannot be viewed. Many concepts may seem unfamiliar or confusing, but images aid in the understanding process. For example, below is a picture of the heaving line knot I tied using visual aids such as images and video clips. Without them I would not have been able to make this knot by just reading instructions. Visuals can help the brain to envision things that would normally be too difficult to understand with just written words.




 * The following is the Digital Story that I created using Windows Movie Maker:**

[|The Big, Not so Bad, Wolf]

====I believe technology is a vital tool necessary to making learning accessible and fun for all. After learning about the principles of UDL, I now understand how there may be major barriers to education faced by students on a daily basis. The use of technology can help to break down those barriers. Technology is not just limited to computers, there are so many other useful tools that can be used as opposed to textbooks and chalkboards. While those are still important, if more options are offered to students, then the more successful they will be. Every student learns differently, either visually, verbally, kinesthetically, or in various other ways. For this reason, all students may excel in some areas, while they struggle in others. We should be testing how well students understand the content, not how well they can take a test. So by offering different technological tools for students to use to express what they have learned, they can choose what option works best for them.====

====I have found in the past that students are most actively involved in their education when they are excited and interested in what they are doing. One of the best ways to keep students engaged is through new technology. Most students use computers quite well and know about the newest technology available. By integrating this into the classroom setting, students will be more excited to learn a new lesson when they get to use a new tool. Often times, school budgets are limited, making it not possible to take as many field trips or conduct as many experiments as would be helpful for a course. Through the internet, these can all be done successfully and inexpensively. The internet contains a vast number of sites for virtual field trips and experiments that are educational, informative, and interesting. Technology can make education and entertainment go hand-in-hand. By keeping students involved and active in their own education, then they will be more successful and anxious to learn.====

====**At the beginning of this semester, my beliefs on the importance of technology were the same as they are now, but I have learned other reasons that it is important. I knew that students all learn differently, but I did not realize how that affected their ability to show what they learned. I now understand that students need a variety of options offered to them, so they can select which option they can excel in. Using technology can offer a plethora of options that would not otherwise be available to students. Technology is the gateway to the future of education.**====