Let's give this project a Web 2.0 facelift

From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0...Oh the possibilities!

 

 

 

In the summer of 2013 in our ITIS online learning experience we were tasked with creating a telecollaborative learning project using Web 1.0. The project that I designed was a website titled "We are your classmates." It is a publication website where students will be able to log onto and upload a published ready piece to be displayed. Students are encouraged to write up to 3 sentences about either their influence for creating their piece, design process to create it, and/or their feelings about their piece to share with viewers.  

 

 



The purpose of this project was to get students excited about displaying their work globally, as well as, advocating and being confident in themselves no matter their disability. Students will be able to compare and contrast what other student's living with disabilities are doing and can learn how they feel about their lives. Students will also have the opportunity to express through writing or literary prose how they want to share their message with the world.

 

Instantly there are a few ways that implementing Web 2.0 tools could enhance this project and make it more accessible for students with disabilities. Especially because writing is an area of high difficulty for students with disabilities, through adding Web 2.0 tools students would be able to still display work pieces but in other mediums. I propose allowing students to collaborate by also posting a Podcast or a Digital Video onto this collaborative website so that students can showcase their thoughts in more forms.

 

It is always amazing to see how the simple implementation of technological tools both Web 1.0 and 2.0 can strengthen learning opportunities for students with disabilities. Students in my opinion will be much more engaged if they know they have a greater option for sharing on this "We are your classmates" website. There are possibilities for a large number of students than with just Web 1.0 tools.

 



Lights, Camera, Action!

Quiet on the set!!

 

 

Digital Video Editing and creating is an area in Education where a teacher has to be savy about designing. Prior to implementing this innovative tool into lessons the design has to be well thought out. The constraints of time can turn this useful tool into a not so useful one. Luckily in my teaching culture our schedule has 90 minute blocks...plenty of time for an in-depth lesson to take place. Unfortunately though my students are not very capable to learn for 90 minutes at a time, due to their need for frequent breaks and rewards. Digitial Video Editing has seen small success with my students though...just last week we created a video using Movie Maker that was a movie trailer on a novel we had just finished reading in class. I decided to do this culminating activity to wrap up the unit versus a SMARTBoard interactive exam, per usual.  



I was amazed at the results my students produced. Granted this final project took 3 class periods versus one but it was also 3 class periods that my students, who have severe intellectual disabilities, were able to be engaged for 60+ minutes at a time. They were creating, synthesizing, encoding and decoding information. It was a sight to behold. Lots of adult guidance and prompting was required but what was even more interesting was that several students truly took on a leadership role during this activity. These students were students who are typically more reserved and less engaged in class. I will certainly be using this tool again. 

Technology and Autism

Technology for Students with Autism

 

 

In the 21st century where students of the Netgeneration are constantly communicating at high speed levels, accessing large amounts of information at their fingertips, staying connected, and processing much quicker it actually opens up a door for students with disabilities. One of the aspects that is most difficult for the student population that I work with is "fitting in." Social skills, relating emotionally, and engaging in conversations are painstakingly hard for students with disabilities most times. The innovative technological tools that are available in today's society have opened up a window of opportunity for my students.

 



 

Carrying around an iPAD to use in order to check a class schedule, keep point systems with a behavior plan, type assignments, or even use a social skills app to put nerves at ease before starting a social conversation all appears "normal" in the 21st Century. This technology affords my students need to have a visual schedule, use a behavior system, and getting assistance with social conversations. All stored in one tool that is "in" style wise. Gone are the days of stares with students who carry around Velcro visual schedules, star chart behavioral systems, or a social story picture book on how to spark a social conversation. Technology has greatly enhanced the lives of my students with disabilities and I am very excited about what the future holds for them and all of these new "tools."



The Social Network Connection

Are students too connected? Is Social Network running their lives...

Social networking is when "groups of people with common interests, or like-minds, associate together on social networking sites and build relationships through community." Social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and many more.

 

Students of today’s Netgeneration society use these sites at high rate speeds and constant times throughout each day to stay connected and up to date on the new trends and data. Students use these sites on their mobile phones and tablets. As teachers we could ignore this trend and keep it separate from school, but in my personal experience teaching in a high school and coaching high school girls’ sports I know that we are losing this battle. This generation is constantly on their phone, especially with the BYOD to school policy in FCPS students make it harder for us to keep them off these sites.

 

Maybe there’s a happy medium teachers and parents can find with young teenagers involving social networking. There can be educational opportunities for these sites. The first that comes to mind is teaching students the right way to post on these networks. They need to learn safety and networking responsibility. Many students are passionate about using these sites, so the question becomes how can we tap into that passion and use it in the classroom for a benefit? Students needs to first understand a healthy balance in these networking sites. I’ve seen firsthand that students check the sites obsessively and post things that aren’t always beneficial to their character or well-being, thus failing to realize the privacy issues involved. It’s apparent that not all parents are covering the duty of teaching teens about the importance of what they post on social network sites and the privacy issues involved, so it’s up to we educators to take the responsibility and step up to the plate.