#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.