Diigo #5

I enjoy the ease of use of diigo, my favorite part was the tagging, it helps me feel like I am a more organized person. Even if I have a billion links stowed away I still know that they are easy to find. I don't like the social aspect too much. If I could be completely frank with you, I am a lurker. I like to consume the information rather than being the sharer, unless I know you in real life (in that case I can't stop sharing). I also have to be careful when using the highlight feature, or else things may end in me posting a large broken link.

#7

Thankfully, the ADA has made it illegal for anyone to discriminate against those with disabilities. As educators we should know the IDEA as well, this act goes into depth about students with disabilities in an educational environment. Adaptive technologies may support those with disabilities.

For instance, Dragon Dictation is an app which uses voice recognition and translates it to text. This app is perfect for those who have trouble with motor skills and can even be used as an application to teach children how to read what they are saying. Color ID is another app which can help people who have trouble seeing  certain colors. Magnifiers also exist for those who have trouble seeing things from afar. The person who recommended Dragon Dictation to me is using this adaptive technology because he has trouble with his motor skills.

Some challenges I worry about facing in the classroom using adaptive technologies is the possibility that a student may feel exclusion when needing an app to bridge the gap between themselves and others.

Making my website was a lot of fun. I think I put too much thought into making my imaginary classroom perfect that I drown myself in "what if's". Weebly was easy to use, it makes me wonder about all the coding behind it which I didn't personally have to deal with. I'm still having a hard time with usage rights and finding credible and free noncommercial sources. I don't want to take anyones credit for their art! It makes me want to become a photographer so I can give my images for free to everyone without credit. Then again, how would I get paid?

One way I could have improved on this assignment is by doing things in a timely fashion. I completed my assignment on time and I have no idea why I do these types of self deprecating things. Does anyone have any tips? I can absolutely use this for my future career by making a website for my students and their parents so they may view their children's progress. I can also use this for my current job for advertising purposes as weebly allows a clean, easy to read layout.

I like using Diigo because I'm able to share useful links with those who may be looking for them and I can have links shared with me. It is also important that link sharers can communicate effectively noting a links' validity and ease of use. The tagging aspect is my favorite, the more I add tags, the more organized I'll be. I also don't have to worry about looking through bookmarks saved on my browser because its all in the cloud.

#8

I did not attend but I have visited the assistive technology lab before. It is not the most premium tool but still very useful. Digital recorders are available to students. We take in so much information even if we think we're not doing a lot, so its possible that we may miss some pertinent information. Allowing students to record a lecture gives the student ease and more time to write clearer notes. Are there usage rights on student recorded lectures? Being able to upload the recordings as an mp3 give the lectures immortality, allowing a listener to listen time and time again.

The smart pen is premium, because it can also record lectures and can make a digital copy of the notes you take with it. It is very cool! I think that it is odd it uses special paper in order to do so, there are newer models of the pen which allow the use of regular paper. This way students can turn in digital copies of their homework and easily share notes without compromising anything.

Powerpoint can support student learning on all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. If a student is using powerpoint software, to make a presentation, creation is afoot. This means students can use powerpoint for informational purposes or other things like making a stop motion animation video. To evaluate students' progress, it is possible to create tests on powerpoint, tests like these put students at ease as grades are not saved through powerpoint, rather they are corrected or given a chance to try again. To help students analyze it is important to offer organized open ended questions within a powerpoint to elicit critical thinking. Students can apply obtained knowledge on things like the powerpoint tests or by making their own powerpoint with learned material. To help students understand, I must make sure information is organized. Making an outline is an easy way to do it, and I can apply color coding to important words. I can also apply color coding and changing the font size to help students remember, repetition in the powerpoints works but it is not always fun.

A website I could use as an educator is EdTechTeacher. This is useful because its kind of like diigo in that it shares useful links and software along with ratings on usefulness and ease of use. There are links useful for both teachers and students. The website is updated often so it is great for real time information.