What I've learned (Blog Post 12)

Reflecting on what I have learned in this class is difficult. I would not have been able to create a website or known how to create most of the projects that I did in the class. I have enjoyed this learning experience and feel more confident being able to use technology in a classroom. I believe that because I am currently not working in a school that I do not know how I will apply what I have gained from this class as a future special education teacher.

I still think that Fairfield University should have a different technology course for students in the Masters of Special Education program. I believe that the concepts taught in MD400 class will not be directly applied to students in special education.

One of the only program that I can see as one that has a use in all educational settings is the inspiration, concept mapping. This can be invaluable to all students, especially students in the special education setting.

I have enjoyed learning the different ways that technology can be integrated into the classroom and how to apply them.

The Computer Delusion (Blog Post 11)

This was a very interesting article to read. I tend to agree with most of what Oppenheimer is writing about. Schools and society in general have almost forgotten what is important in schools and education. This basis of this article can be transferred to many other issues effecting the youth of America. I was watching a show on National Geographic recently and it stated that 2/3 of the American population was obese and of that 2/3, 1/3 was severely obese. Has the technology we use caused us to become lazy?

With physical education, art and music always being on the forefront of the cuts are we limiting our students to the creative experience that will enrich their mind? Sure technology has its place in art and music, it should not however, replace the entire programs. Think back to when you were in elementary school. What was your favorite part? For the majority of us it was either art, music or gym class. This is where we were able to learn about both our creative and physical strengths and weaknesses. Students today are losing that opportunity so that the classrooms can have computers or the newest educational technology.

I know that technology has a place in education and that it always will. I just believe that there needs to be more of a balance of old school and new school education. Pushing technology into every classroom and simply cutting other programs is not the answer. Maybe I do not know because I do not work in a school, I am surprised that more parents are not up in arms about this. Lets use music as an example. Music class and band, for my generation, was part of our public education. It was a area that we got to explore with no cost to our parents. For a child to have this chance today parents are most likely going to have to pay for private music or band lessons. In today's economy this can be very changeling for a family.

I do not want to sound like the guy who thinks that everything was better when I was a growing up, because it was not. It was a different time and a different generation. Time change and everything changes with it. As we continue to move forward in the amount of technology in education we should keep this in mind: Just because it is new does not mean that it is better.

Reflections (Blog Post 8)

At about the midway point of the class my reflections are mixed. I enrolled in two technology classes in my undergrad in hopes that if I decided to go back to school that I would not have to take another. I was a little frustrated when I learned that I was going to have to take MD400, another technology course. I have been very surprise how much and how quickly technology has changed from my last course.

Part of believes that students enrolled in the Special Education Masters program at Fairfield University should have a technology class specifically dedicated to them. It is not that what we are learning in MD400 can not be applied to special education, most of it can. I feel that there is so much adaptive technology and programs geared towards students with disabilities that we should be learning how to use and apply them. We could be teaching a student that uses a piece of technology that we do not know about and have a hard time connecting with the student because there is a technological barrier. If we had knowledge about the technology we could build a relationship with the student and foster their educational growth.

Before the class started I had the impression that we were going to be learning how to apply popular software programs into learning. Having knowledge of Lexia, a reading software, would be useful to have so that when we come upon it in a classroom we can apply and manipulate to meet the needs of our students. I know that no matter what we are likely to come upon a student or classroom that uses a technology that we have no idea how to use. I know that it is hard to cover all technology used in education. Again, if the technology class was broken up into sections (elementary school, middle school, high school, special education or even by subject area) we, as learners, could get more knowledge in our desired program area.

For the second half of the class I hope to continue to gain knowledge on how to apply technology into the classroom and make it useful for students.

Copyright (Blog Post 7)

There are many implications of copyright laws on educators. The most important issue is that of fair use. Fair use allows students and educators to use copyrighted material for educational purposes. For the most part the material that is used in the classroom is for this purpose and credit is given to the creator of the material. Students and educators need to advised of current copyright laws and have knowledge of when a copyright law is broken.

Up until this MD400 class I did not think of copyright laws. Looking back on all the presentations that I have done I can say that I most likely have broken copyright laws. If I needed a picture I would just go on the Internet and copy the picture and insert into my work. I never though twice about copyright laws. My thought was that if its on the Internet it must be alright to use. After reading material on copyright laws I should have taken more caution when inserting pictures and other material into my presentations.

I can not take all the blame for this. My teachers never mentioned copyright laws. For the most part the only information that was provided to me was the typical section of the syllabus on plagiarism and academic honesty. Plagiarism, to me, only refers to the use of written text. It has nothing to do with copyright. But should it be considered in the same way if a students breaks a copyright law? If a student's work is deemed plagiarism the student is expelled from the university. If a student breaks copyright law in a presentation, most likely, the teacher will not know and there will not be an academic punishment. If the copyright office discovered that the student broke the copyright law he or she would face a fine and or jail time(I assume jail time).

I guess my point is that teachers need to make students fully aware of copyright laws and have knowledge on copyright. I am willing to bet that if you asked 10 educators about fair use, 8 would not have knowledge on it. As education moves into a more technological realm, copyright law will become a greater issue that students and educators have to face. The more knowledge and information that is passed down the less likely that either the student or teacher will infringe on copyright laws.

Here is a website that I found useful when it comes to fair use and education.

http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm#4

UDL can it be Done (Blog Post 5b)

Can UDL be applied in every classroom?

This is the question that I am left with after reading the class material. The first thing that I thought about was when I was in school and the teachers that I had. Did they teach to every type of leaner or just a few specific type. I am sure that if you asked them they would have said that they teach to all the learning types in the classroom. For the struggling student extra help was offered and may not have been the best way for the student to gather the course material. Then if the extra help did not help did the teacher give up on the students. i am sure in some cases teachers did give up on students but I would like to believe that most did not.

To truly apply UDL in the classroom teachers and students need access to tools and technology. With the current state of the economy and city budget cuts this seems like it might be the biggest barrier to achieving UDL. I would hope that every classroom has at least one computer. This is not very useful when the class is filled with twenty students all with different types of learning styles. It is not just the cost of computers that prevents UDL, it also the cost of technology in general. A school can purchase the best programs for their students but it does not provide any educational value if no one knows how to apply it to the classroom or have a media to display it.

Teachers must give up there rule as class king or queen. Students should be the ones who drive the their education experience. The UDL teacher should be more of a guide than a teacher. He or she should let the students drive their learning experience within the material of the teachers choice. When students do this they can gain greater knowledge and pride in what they are learning. This steps seems the hardest for teachers to do because it is not how the teacher role is viewed. If the teacher develops classroom rules with the students and shows respect to them, the students will feel empowered and have a greater learning experience.

I my opinion UDL can be accomplished, but it has to be in the perfect classroom in a school district without budget limitation. Neither of these exist and probably never will. This does not mean that UDL is hopeless. I believe that it is applied in every classroom without students or teachers knowledge. Teachers always do what they can for every student and always will. Teachers adjust to different students and class styles every year and reach the majority of students. To my this shows a limited use of UDL and when put into larger practice education will become better for everyone involved.

Lord of the Flies (Blog Post 4)

Here is my picture. It is Piggie on the rock from The Lord of the Flies. I did not like the one that I did in class and also felt like I needed more practice with PhotoShop. It took me a while but I got the picture I wanted.

Standard (Blog Post 6)

There is not a standard listed for a high school special education teacher, which I working to become. I guess that is because a special education teacher does not currently need to have an area of expertise, such as math or science. A special education teacher needs much more than just one area of knowledge. He or she needs to have working knowledge of all subject areas, types of disabilities, behavior modification and many other areas. By not having standards listed it makes me think of two different thoughts. The state has not yet established standards for a special education teachers and are currently developing them and the other thought is that they do not view the special educator as a "real" teacher and will not develop standards.

With this last thought I guess I am thinking that as a special education teacher I will have to know all the standards for all the subject areas. This is because I do not know in what subject I will be working in at any given time. During one period I could be in a science class with a learning disabled student and the next period be in an English class with an intellectually disabled student.

The use of visual learning and technology will be useful to some students with disabilities and not to others. The same goes for the use of the inspiration program. Just like any teacher would do, I would have to identify what type of the learner the student is and use technology to best assist the students learning style. I also have to take into account what subject area I was working within and all the aspects of the students disability. If he or she is ADHD the use of inspiration will be very useful because the student will be able to organize their thoughts so that they will be able to recall the information. For a student with a profound intellectual disability, it might be difficult for them to use the program and be functional for their education process.