Saturday, May 28, 2016
Using Apps to Increase Learning in Children with Autism
Nearpod in the Classroom
Nearpod is an interactive presentation and assessment tool that can be effectively used in any classroom. This presentation can include polls, quizzes, images, drawing boards, videos and the list goes on. Many teachers use nearpod to asses their students, but it does not have to be used as an assessment tool. If you wanted to teach your lesson to students and make an interactive poll or video, the students can go through these presentations at their own pace and the teacher can keep track of where each student is and what he/she has accomplished so far. The good thing about this website is that students can not skip ahead of information just to get to the end. The teacher is in control of everything. This app is really awesome and offers so many options for teachers across America! You can create your own nearpod, or use one of thousands of educational nearpods that teachers have already made. You can use these presentations for any subject, and even take your class on a virtual field trip! Some of the most positive characteristics of nearpod are that it automatically engages and amazes students, shares your content and assessments faster than ever before, and your students can join your nearpod session from any pc or device anywhere! You can have a class study session with everyone in their own homes-how cool is that? I will definitely be implementing nearpod in my future classroom because the opportunities that it holds seem to be endless. I feel like this could make me a better educator because not only can I create my own engaging lessons while incorporating technology, but I can also share ideas from other teachers that have worked in their classroom and adjust them to fit my classroom!
https://app.nearpod.com/market?view=npInit
Digital Portfolios
Student-Led Conferences
One major part of effective teaching is having a constant communication with the parents in your classroom to keep them connected in their student's learning. Parent teacher conferences are a major part of staying on the same page with your parents to better develop the growth of their child's learning skills. Student-led conferences involve the student, parents, and teacher in a way that is presented by the student to show the parents how well the student has been developing over the school year. Parents are more likely to participate in a conference when they know their child will be showing them what they have accomplished, and what their future goals of accomplishment are. In my opinion this is a fantastic idea! I would have loved to be involved in my parent teacher conferences as a student, and I know my mother would have enjoyed getting to see my school work from my perspective. I will definitely use this concept in my future classroom because I believe the stronger your connection with the families in your class are, the more growth you will see develop in your classroom. I also believe the students are more accountable for their grades and actions when they realize they will be the ones reporting to their parents. This develops more student independence and responsibility, but also helps increase student confidence levels. If you choose to use a digital portfolio for your conference, this helps increase the students' 21st century learning skills and prepares them for a future where a digital portfolio is vitally important. "The format is important, but I believe the success of a student-led conference is most determined by how well students are prepared," wrote Laura Hayden, a seventh-grade communications teacher at Derby Middle School in Derby, Kansas, in Letting Students Lead Parent Conferences, an article published by the National Association of Elementary School Principals in Middle Matters.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin112.shtml#sthash.tpcvMiMP.dpuf
Student Response Systems
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is a virtual way to get students highly
connected and engaged with the information they are learning. Augmented reality
simulations are like an educational video game for the students, but they are
so interested in the material the students may not even realize they are
actually learning. This digitally innovative concept brings a picture to life
using a three dimensional application on an iPad or tablet. I believe this
would be such a positive thing to use in my future classroom to motivate
students to explore information on an entirely new level. If I had a 3D virtual
tour of the inside of the human body, I may have loved science instead of being
constantly confused and behind everyone else in school. This can impact student
learning in such a powerful way by giving them an actual tangible
representation of everything in the world around them. There is so much to
explore with these apps it is unbelievable! This concept would be perfect to use in an elementary classroom because of the fun and exciting nature, and it also helps develop 21st century learning skills that so many children struggle with. For the most part children are fairly good with technology, but having something come to life at your fingertips would engage even the most challenged children. These types of learning experiences really foster the needs of visual learners. An awesome Augmented Reality app to use is Aurasma; by using this app you can bring almost anything to life in your classroom.
Want more information about using Augmented Reality in your classroom? Check out this website for useful material and ideas!
Improving Social Interactions among Students with Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a brain disorder that
comes on at a very early stage in life. This disorder is usually diagnosed by
the age of 4, and is a lot more common in everyday life than most people think.
There is a great deal of research on what actually causes Autism, but
truthfully the cause is still unknown. One common characteristic of this
disorder is that children have a hard time socially interacting, and expressing
what they want verbally. To improve this interaction, teachers across America are
implementing a strategy called social peer training or (peer buddying) and the
results have been phenomenal. The objective of this strategy is to teach
children with Autism social ques to better help them respond appropriately to
situations and conversation. By placing an autistic child with one or two
non-autistic children, it not only helps the autistic child better develop
social skills; it helps the non-autistic children learn how to socially
interact and assist children with special needs. This will also develop children's 21st century skills by allowing them to interact together using different forms of technology. Student learning is greatly
affected by this strategy, and I really wish someone would have thought of this
idea sooner. I believe that I could
greatly benefit from using this strategy in my classroom. Not only will my
students be learning with each other, but I will also be learning from my
students. Autistic children require a lot of intervention, and this is a way to
let students help students instead of fully relying on the teacher. Students
learn so much more from their peers sometimes than we could ever wish to teach
them!
This link shows a study done in an inclusive classroom on peer buddying!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Digital Storytelling
I am SO excited to start learning about digital storytelling! I personally think this concept is an amazing way to get students active and engaged with storytelling in the classroom. I have started playing around with some of the digital storytelling apps we recently learned about in class; but from what I have seen so far this is such a creative way for students to construct their own stories using voices, pictures, stickers, and drawings. Students enjoy telling stories to anyone willing to listen, and this gives them a fun and motivating outlet to express themselves freely, while also building vocabulary, sentence structure and even critical thinking skills! Digital storytelling is also a great tool for teachers because it strongly helps support language, incorporates a variety of multimedia, and meets many of the developmentally appropriate practice standards. I cannot wait to learn more about using this tool in many lesson plans to come.
Monday, January 25, 2016
My name is Cheslei Cambron and I am so excited to be a teacher candidate this spring at Jacksonville State University! Every since I was a child, I have always dreamed of becoming a Kindergarten teacher. As I got older and looked into different careers, I decided that nothing would make me any happier than spending my days with children. The main reason I chose this career path was because of so many inspirational teachers through my school years. Through elementary, middle, and high school I always had several teachers who really cared about me and wanted me to learn as much as possible, cheering me on the entire way. Some children are not blessed to have understanding and loving people in their lives, and teaching opens up a door for them to feel welcomed and wanted. Every child deserves to know someone is proud of them...& what better coach than the head of the classroom? If you are ever having a bad day, have a conversation with a five year old and your bad mood will change instantly. Children are the perfect example of innocence and true happiness. I know when I am able to walk in my own classroom, I will wake up every morning excited about going to work. Teaching is not a job...it's a passion.
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