Robin+Brooks

This is Robin's page. This is the website I made for my ISTC 301 class.

media type="custom" key="12715586" I made this Voki in class to discuss the importance of technology standards.

media type="youtube" key="ur_OAaWfgHQ" height="315" width="420" Here is a video I made for Lewis Carroll's poem "A Sea Dirge" featuring the Galaxie 500 song "Oblivious"

UDL Response
 * 1) According to the test, I am a visual/nonverbal style learner. I think this is kind of true. I learn best mainly by reading. I am not super visual. Some of the advice was good, like using graph paper to draw things and “illustrate concepts” but a lot of the study tips were vague/old hat, and there was one about “using word processing on the computer” that just seemed thrown in there to be like “Those kids! They love computers!”
 * 2) I liked the cast website but definitely think they need to hire a new graphic designer...
 * 3) I was really into the overall idea of UDL and I thought that Teaching Every Student in the Digital age did a great job of informing me about the principles associated with UDL as well as good ways to use technology to help students. I will definitely be using many of cast's FREE resources in my future teaching. I am so pleased that they provide so many great tools for teachers at no cost.
 * 4) I tried Cast's Science Writer and I think it can be a useful tool, but not always appropriate. If a student is having trouble with the format or having trouble breaking it up on their own, it can help with scaffolding. However, it seems like it would produce a very standard result with little variation between students and little room for creativity. It would also be pretty infantalizing to give to older students. It says it is for “middle school and high school” but I think most high schoolers past that sort of thing.
 * 5) I like it but it seems like it's trying too hard to be everything all the time.
 * 6) I'd love to try their book builder more in depth. I checked it out but it seems like it would take a lot of work to be able to use it in the most effective way possible.

> From visiting the websites and viewing the videos, I learned that assistive technology can be adapted to help almost any student. I was surprised (in a really good way) when watching the video about Ellen. Before this amazing technology, I can't even imagine the frustration she would have lived in, because her disability would have made it nearly impossible for her to communicate. Assistive technology allowed to her to use her body in a way that helps her communicate with others. > Way far back in the product pages on the assitivetech site, there was a “T-turner”. It was to attach to knobs for people who don't have enough hand strength for gripping and turning. It made me remember how pervasively the world is designed for “able bodied” people and how many everyday things need to be modified. This seems like a great product because of its range of adaptability and overall usefulness. > Technology has already changed the lives of so many students. With technology developing so fast, I can't even imagine what it will do in the future. It has already changed life into something unrecognizable; I cannot pretend to fathom what may be forthcoming. > When I did my internship, a few of the students used motorized wheel chairs. This helped them a lot because walking or even pushing a regular wheel chair would have been very laborious for them, but it wasn't perfect because getting through doors was still a challenge and they frequently had to use roundabout routes to get from one place in the school to another because there were barriers that prevented their chairs from moving there, some of which were necessary (staircases) and some that weren't (one step in front of the school that could have just as easily been a ramp). > One thing that I noticed when I was looking through the products were how “As Seen On TV” many of them were, just general products that make life a little easier for anyone. I also was noticing how many products were not specifically designed to be learning aids, i.e. lots of weights, portable amplifiers, etc. I will do my best to keep my eyes peeled in every situation to look for things in the everyday world that could be adapted to help my students learn.
 * Questions for reaction/reflection**:
 * 1) From visiting the websites and viewing the videos in Part I of the assignment, what information did you learn about assistive technology for disabled individuals?
 * 1) Were there any sites, products, or resources that particularly impressed you and that you want to remember as you prepare to become a classroom teacher?
 * 1) What promises/potentials does technology provide for students with diverse learning needs?
 * 1) Have you ever had a personal experience with a student or other person who has used some form of assistive technology to help them function in learning or everyday life? If so, describe what you observed from that experience in terms of meeting the special needs of those individuals.
 * 1) From this assignment, what will you carry with you as you prepare to become a teacher – one that will, most likely, face the challenge of meeting the needs of special education students along with non-disabled learners?

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I went on a few of the virtual field trips. As an adult and a teacher, they were all really cool, especially the viewer tool that you could move over a historical document and have the text be displayed in a normal, readable font. Obviously they don't take the place of a traditional field trip. They are not multisensory; they are pretty much limited to sight and sound, as those are the limitations of the medium. I also didn't like how a lot of the concepts were presented, especially relating to slavery. I really disliked how there were many bills of sale for slaves with little or no context provided with the image, as well as not enough commentary on colonialism/imperialism, or the general awfulness of the whaling trade (incredibly glamorized and presented as being "not racist" though in reality, an 18th century ship is one of the most racist places ever (though less racist than other places in that historical era, and offering equal pay at least, but let's be real, being "less racist" is nothing to brag about) historical revisionism be darned.) Although I understand that these things are not always talked about, and not always talked about to children, I still think it is important to present. However, these are nice because they can keep the students occupied, freeing the teacher up to walk around and provide extra support to students who need it. They also provide a good place for a teacher begin a discussion about critical thinking and gathering information from multiple sources. Some of the less messed up ones would definitely be great to leave as a lesson plan when a teacher is absent, because they act as a great standalone lesson, and keep the students busy clicking around instead of playing pranks on a substitute.

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This is my final reflection:

I will tell the principal “I ask because I wanted to know what to expect in the way of technology when coming to your school. During my education at Towson University, we were extensively instructed in how to use technology to help students, and as a Special Education teacher, it is an even more crucial resource. Technology can be such an asset, because students have so many different needs, and technology can be endlessly modified to fit. It can help student work on the same objective at different levels, without needing to isolate or alienate any part of the group. Technology can also help students learn to think for themselves and take initiative in learning new things. The internet has tutorials on almost everything, so if a student doesn’t know how to complete a task, they have agency to be able to find out for themselves. I intend to use technology in the classroom to the fullest extent possible. We live in the modern world, and whether we like it or not, to survive in the modern world it is imperative for students to use technology. Everything from banking, to shopping, to taxes, to school registration, to purchasing of bus and airplane tickets is done online and people who live in the modern world must be able to navigate all of these websites even when they are poorly designed and confusing. It is important to teach students how to work through difficulties and solve these sorts of puzzles.


 * I have a more fully developed idea after taking this class about how it is possible to use technology in the classroom, and realize that now, more than ever, it is crucial to teach students how to use it.**