Chapter 15 Blog

In this chapter I learned that handicap is the result of the mismatch between ones abilities and the demands of an environment. I also learned about the term mainstreaming and the meaning behind it. This term describes how students with special needs began to be able to participate in a classroom steeing rather than having to go to special needs classrooms. I also learned about all of the different devices that can be used in the classroom to help fascilitate students with special needs. These devices can help students in a range from physical disabilities to mental disabilities.

To help aid students who have disabilities I will set up my classroom in the best way possible to eliminate the mismatch between the students abilities and the environment. This may include having devices in my classroom that would allow for the student to participate in my class or just making the classroom accessable to them and making sure that they have freedom to move throughout the classroom. This is important because I do not want to make the kid feel like a seperate part of the classroom but rather a part of it. As a teacher it is also important to be prepared to meet the needs of a special needs student if one happens to be in your classroom. This may involve making adjustments to your classroom or adjusting your teaching in way that caters to the special needs student.

How much can you really prepare yourself as a teacher to appropiately handle having a special needs student in your classroom?

Chapter 13 Blog

In this chapter I learned a lot about the art curriculum and the positives and negatives within the curriculum. Since the No Child Left Behind Act it has been increasingly difficult for art teachers to get funding for projects within the curriculum. Technology within art has also become a major concern for art teachers. They are having to try and deal with the technology they are given to try and educate their students in areas such as production of graphics for example. teachers are unable to update the software because inadequate funding and teachers also have to regualate the amount of project students do within this area because of schools inability to pay for things like high quality papers and ink. Lastly I learned about the benefits that students can get when they are able to use the updated software. With this students are able to illustrate brochures, newsletters, and other documents with very high quality graphics which does not limit them in their artistic abilities.
As a teacher in the future I think it would be very valuable to have a classroom fee to avoid the unadequate funding in the art curriculum. If students are unable to pay the fee the art department could have fundraisers like a car wash or something to allow more money within the curriculum. Secondly if I am at a school that has access to the updated software I would incorporate as many projects as possible on the software as possible because if students are really looking to pursue a successful career in the arts, more likely than not it will be in the field of graphic design or something of that nature so they more fimiliar students are in this field the better.
Is it ok to hold fundraisers for funding if you are unable to get properly funded in certain curriculums?

Chapter 12 Blog

In this chapter I learned about social studies and the issues that teachers face when teaching the subject. One problem that teachers have is trying to cover a large content area in a short period of time. This only allows teachers to scratch the surface in the broad field of social studies. I also learned about how teachers can use simulation devices to help students better engage with the topics and also be motivated by the material. I also learned about the value of taking field trips in this topic area and about the benefits that that offers to the students.

To avoid just scratching the surface in this subject area teachers could focus their lessons on one particular event throughout the semester or school year. As students progress through elementary or middle school they could go over different subject each year which would allow them to dig deeper into the material. This would also allow for more time to give students to online materials such as time simulations that would help them engage more with the material and also be highly motivated by it. Spending more time in subject areas within social studies would also allow more time for teachers to incorporate field trips into their lessons. This would highly benefit the students because they would be at a high level of interactiong with the material that they are learning. Since social studies is not a main topic in standardized testing this would be possible because teachers are not having to cover enourmus amounts of material in a little amount of time.

How possible is it to take kids on an effective amount of field trips throughout the year since social studies is not a highly funded subject area?

Chapter 10 Blog

In this chapter I learned about how students who learn English because they are in a Enlish speaking setting opposed to students who are learning English as a second language. English language learners may have the upper hand in their English learning proccess because of the urgency they have to learn the language which means they rely on the language primarily to communicate with others throughout their day. I also learned about how students in foriegn language classes may learn much slower because not only are they not continually exposed to the language but neither are their teachers. Lastly I learned about the value of the internet and the programs that are offered to build students knowledge in foriegn languages. These tools are interactive with students which in result helps them to gain an understanding of the language more quickly and efficiently.

To over come students struggling in speaking English I would have them work on group project with kids who speak very  well so that they are exposed more to the language and are also highly interactive with the students. For students who are in foriegn language classes I would try to speak as much of the foriegn language in class as possible. This will expose the students more to the languge and the teacher would not be speaking in English the majority of the class while trying to teach a foriegn language. Lastly I would incorporate online tools into my lesson plans as much as possible. This is very interactive for the students and provides motivation for them while learning the language.

One question I have about the material is when you are using the online courses how do you help aid the students that may struggle with the language opposed to those who are excelling?

Chapter 9 Blog

In chapter 9 I learned about how teachers can integrate technology into their curriculum . Some ideas may include A.) Teachers who are skilled in the effective use of technology for teaching and learning. B.) A literacy curriculum that integrates the new literacies of technology into instructional programs and much more. In this chapter I also learned about how the number of diverse learners is on the rise in todays classrooms. These students may inlude students who learn English as a second language, live in literacy-impoverished homes, have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or do not recieve appropiate instruction in school. The final thing that I learned about was literacy development and what that may look like. Literacy development may include the following, matching books to students own interests, present reading assignments in ways that students find compelling, and finding something that engages students in reading by helping them to visualize the people and places in books.

To be an effective teacher when incorporating technology, having a background in teachin technology is very important. As a teacher I will not have students do something with technology that I myself do not know how to do. To avoid this I will gain as much knowledge in this field before I ever plan on having my students do it. With the number of diverse learners on the rise it is also important for teachers to meet all of their students needs. To achieve this I will make my lesson plans so that they cater to all students no matter if they struggle with English or have other learning disabilities. Lastly to help students to visualize people and place that are present in their material I will incorporate digital story telling into the lesson plan. This will help the students to build a mental image of what it is they are reading and will help them to have better success while reading.

One question I do have about the material is what doo you do when all of your students are at a higher level of reading with the exception of a few who after working with still are not getting the material?

Chapter 8 Blog

One thing that i learned from this chapter is how students may use web based learning activities. One thing that this allows students to do is to communicate  with experts to answer questins and support learning.
I also learned about how teachers can integrate internet learning into their curriculum. This allows students to potentially interact with other students all around the globe. Lastly i learned abot how students can create their own web pages by using step by step rubrics to create an effective web page.

Teachers could do a lesson on NASA and by using online mentoring students can ask questions and have them answered by some of NASA's employees using http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/chats. teachers coulsd also have their students create a web page. Students could create a page that showcases all of their art project that they have completed over the semester.

One question I have is, do you have to getparental permission to allow students to put things on the internet that theyhave made in class since their names will most likely be with their works

Chapter 7 Blog

In this chapter I learned about about the potential of students accessing inappropiate sites on the internet and how it may be avoided. To prevent inappropiate uses by student, schools can install firewall software or filtering software. I also learned about different feature that teachers can use to effectively communicate with their students. These features include things like e-mail, listserv, bulletin board, and blogs. The final thing that i learned about was distance learning and how it can be made effective for students success. Its qualities include things like  fast access to information, Access to experts not available locally, fast communication among groups, access to learning materials, access to courses that are not locally available, and much more.

Teachers could use listservs and bulletin board to effectivly communicate important materials with their students that may have not been mentioned in class. Teachers could also use blogs to post information for students and it also gives them the ability to post feedback to the teacher. Secondly teachers could use online classroom materials to help them teach a specific topic that they may not know much information about. Teachers could also use web based lessons to help them structure and organize their lessons which makes things much easier to follow and provides students with a well organized plan for the course.

One question that I have for this material i when you are using online coarse material, how much  of it do you incorporate into your class so that the students are not overloaded beyween a face to face class and material online?