I thought about the teachers that I could email and had a hard time thinking of one that I could get ahold of that would produce some valuable information for me to analyze, summarize and learn from. Then I thought of my mom. She is a special education teacher. For some reason in my mind, I had put her profession in terms of technology in another category, and since I am not planning on teaching special education, figured that would not be the setting for me to interview. However, after thinking more about it, I came to recognize that she does do a lot with technology and that it could, in fact, pertain to me! I also thought about it and I, in turn, would be able to provide her with some valuable suggestions of other Web 2.0 tools that she can use as an educator in the classroom and with her students.
When interviewing my mom, the setting was (of course) casual. This interview took place on the phone, which I found to be helpful because then the questions and answers can be explained and answered more in depth without the pain of having to type it all out.
She teaches five to ten year olds who are severe and profound. They are all in wheelchairs. The school that she teaches at is geared specifically towards special education, therefore the whole school consists of these wonderfully happy students. She always says that although they can talk with their mouths, they can talk with their eyes. She also tells me that her job is to make their day as happy and fun as possible. This is how I know that she is a true believer in her students and wants to do what is best for them. In turn, I wanted this assignment to benefit her (and her students) as well.
Upon originally discussing the Web 2.0 tools, she stated that she didn't think that she used very many, but by the time we were done (with it taking half an hour to go through all of them) she had changed her mind! We discussed various tools, ranging from those that are beneficial mainly to the students, planning lessons, data collecting, or for the sake of professional development and experience.
Here are some of the programs and tools that she uses:
Within her classroom, she uses a program called Intellitools. This is a program that allows teachers to access games, stories or interactive activities for students to use. Different teachers create these and you can access it via Internet and choose topics and download the activities onto you computer. The reason they do this is because for the activities that are uploaded, they receive points. The points add up and can be turned in for equipment.
Mailbox Magazine is a subscription that her school has, however, it also has a sharing website. This is beneficial to her because it allows her to access pictures and games that can be downloaded to her computer and printed. These can be used with the students, bulletin boards, etc.
Scholastic has a wonderful program that she has access to (that the school district funds) called Book Flix. This program has a variety of books that are available to use. This website also pairs books up, one fiction book to one non-fiction, so that students can get a balance of the two. These books are read to the kids, with it changing pages with the touch of a button. This can be programmed to work as a function on a switch that can be placed on the tray of the student's wheelchair.
Reading A to Z is another website that her school has a subscription. It is a database of books that have been made by the Reading A to Z company geared to reading levels AA through Z. These books can be downloaded to the computer, printed and compiled into books. They can be printed in black and white or color (so if you wanted to students to color it as they went).
In order to compile information for the school district, she uses Infinite Campus. This is the school district's data collection program. This is where progress reports, attendance and IEPs are compiled.
My mom's school has a SmartBoard. This board is portable and can be used in different classrooms. The teachers can check out the board and use it in their classroom. She told me that she is one of the only teachers that actually uses it on a semi-regular basis, even though all of the teachers have been trained on how to use it. This is usually used for Book Flix, making it easier for the students to see. She also plays videos for her students to watch, using the a DVD or CD on the computer.
She also uses other websites for implementation into her lesson plans, such as Family Fun Magazine online.
These tools increase engagement with the students, allowing them to trigger and utilize various senses and motor skills. The school district trained the teachers to be prepared to use some of these tools, and others were up to the teachers to find on their own. The representative form the area education agency, came to the school and trained the teachers on how to use Intellitools. There was someone from the district that trained them on the SmartBoard and they went to classes to learn how to use Infinite Campus.
I enjoyed reading about how your mom integrates these tools with her special education students! I am glad that she has found many resources to not only entertain them, but they are surely learning from them too. I wonder if she can tell by their faces (if they can't talk) that they are more engaged when using some of the websites you discussed. I also like that even though they may only have one SmartBoard, that it is portable and any teacher can use it. If only more were willing to take it into their classrooms would it be used more effectively. Did she say why the teachers at her school don't use it more often? I can imagine that working with profoundly disabled children is a LOT of hard work, but I would hope the teachers (like your mom) would find ways to use it so their students experienced the interactivity of it. Hopefully, you can explore and find some other Web 2.0 tools to suggest to her in the last part of this assignment. Maybe some that are even free!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that all of the kids get the opportunity to use these great technological tools, the students in Special Education are just as capable of using technology as other students, and it's frustrating to hear people talk down their capabilities. These all seem like really great tools to use in the classroom, and I'm glad you included the Infinite Campus because although it's not for students use, it still seems like a great tool to use. I'm very excited to get to use my own interactive whiteboard someday (fingers crossed!). As we got to play with them a little in 201, ideas were rushing through my head on how I would use one.
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