SpOnkiFonki

United Streaming

There were some great clips that I used from United Streaming to supplement my lessons on money, bartering, and food chain.  Showing short videos helped especially when I wanted to quickly show a concept and discuss it.  It also allowed the students to review what they had just learned.

Youtube

I used Youtube to post a video that I had recorded of the students doing a readers theater. It can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPVmwAr8Ojw

The Magic Gourd

Audacity

To record a poem and a song which the students in my class created, I used Audacity to record it and export it to an mp3 file for the students to listen to and enjoy.

http://tat.clairvoy.com/tiki-index.php?page=Work%20Sample%20of%20Use%20of%20Technology

(Mali Poem and Song)

Smartboard/Powerpoint

I created many Smartboard lessons as well as games for the students to interact with.   Posted are just three examples:

http://tat.clairvoy.com/tiki-index.php?page=Work%20Sample%20of%20Use%20of%20Technology

(Queen Banana; King Henry’s Meat Group; Food Chains)

The Educational Leadership article in ASCD, explained the effectiveness of blogging in a classroom environment.  I agree with what was said about students in this generation are constantly on the web, chatting, surfing, and blogging.  The idea of connecting what students normally do with writing in class s is a great idea.  With support from the school community of commenting on each other’s blog entries, students can be motivated to write more.   I think it’s a challenge to start a blogging community in the classroom, but once it is up, I can see how it may engage the students, causing them to read more and write about their thoughts.  Students can also share the reading strategies that they used while reading.

One important aspect that teachers may want to cover is the security and privacy issue of blogging.  Real names of people and names of location (such as schools) should not be mentioned.  This is strictly for the safety of the person and for those affiliated.  Integrating curriculum content and technology should be on the minds of teachers.  To not do that in this day and age is just wrong.  Welcome to the 21st century!

Article:http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Reader_Responsiveness_2.0.aspx

This is a Mali unit plan that integrates the fine arts and technology for the second grade.  Lessons can be adapted and be easily modified for individual’s classroom and students.  The unit consists of poetry, money, economic terminologies, and study of Mali.  By integrating the fine arts and technology students will be able to retain information and be engaged in their learning.

Please click on the following link: http://tat.clairvoy.com/tiki-index.php?page=Fine%20Arts%20and%20Technology%20Integrated%20Unit%20Plan%3A%20Mali

Kid: Why is the sky blue? Why do cows moo?  Why do I have to eat broccoli?  Why are we flushing the fish down the toilet?

It’s the WHY questions that really matter.  The WHATs are easy to figure out (well, at least most of the time).  Like a student who may wonder why he is learning what he is learning, a teacher will have to know why she is teaching what she is teaching.  As it is shared in Clairvoy, it is important for teachers to learn strategies and apply them when needed.

Let’s define the word strategy: it’s a careful plan or method toward a goal (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strategy)

If that’s the case, why not have teachers share these intentional and thought provoking methods to reach the goal of teaching the students successfully.  And Clairvoy is a great place just for that.  It is a community of educators respectfully sharing ideas with other another.

Gone are the old days where teachers are loners and survivors at what seems like a deserted school.  It’s time to share and care!

As it is written in Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms by Grace Smith and Stephanie Throne (2007), technology can be used in several ways to assess learning.  Whether it’s for pre-assessment, formative assessment, or summative assessment, teachers can used softwares, websites, and programs to create a variety of ways to assess students.  You can create checklists on Excel, or questions on Publisher, or a KWL chart on Word.  Teachers can easily manipulate or customize graphs and charts to collect data.  This can be useful in observation/anecdotal records and creating rubrics.  One thing that I thought was interesting was creating portfolios of work samples electronically rather than paper.  Students in this way will be able to include artifacts created through digital means.  Perhaps they can even create their own content-based games.  Even for teachers, creating a simple game using Powerpoint or Smartboard can help students be enganged and be assessed.  And of course, if there is a plus, use of technology definitely gives it a polished and organized presentation.  Being a perfectionist (as it is so with many teachers) this will eliminate the crooked lines and unequal spacing. =P  Therefore, I encourage teachers to use technology to assess learning.

“Ms. SpOnkiFonki, did you watch the game last night?”  Smiley would often approach me in the morning with this question.  Being a fan of football myself, it was easy to talk to Smiley about his interest.  We would talk about how much we loved Tom Brady last year, and how it stunk that he didn’t play at all this year.  And how the Redskins played a great game (for once!).  As I got to enjoy these little moments and began to create a rapport, I got to learn that Smiley plays flag football.  It dawned on me that I should have asked how he does it, but I never got the chance to ask.  Nonetheless, it was interesting to know that he did and he enjoyed it very much.  Knowing that his vision does not stand in the way of him enjoying sports, made me quite pleased.

Especially for a child like Smiley, there is the obvious and the absolute need for differentiated instruction.  It is true that “[Teachers] must focus on essential standards and goals, but they must also modify what is taught and match instructional models and strategies to the needs and abilities of particular students” (Arends, 2007).  Being visually challenged, every assignment and task need to be differentiated for him.  For Smiley, the use of technology is a great benefit.  For example, his SOLO program helps him with writing.  The computer program reads aloud as he types in the word.  The font being in a larger size also is an advantage to him.  This shows that “technology improves student performance when the application directly supports the curriculum objectives being assessed” and that it “improves performance when the application adjusts for student ability and prior experience, and provides feedback to the student and teacher about student performance or progress with the application” (Smith and Throne, 2007).  Seeing and finding out all the ways instruction is differentiated for Smiley allowed me to see that his challenge with vision does not stand in his way of receiving education.  And this made me quite pleased.

The other day, I got to watch Smiley and also got the chance to speak with his special education teacher.  It really seemed like Mrs. T, the special education teacher, and many other specialists are doing all that they can for Smiley’s education.  It was also comforting to know that his special education teacher knows everything about him.  I was able to see that she cares a lot about Smiley.

Smiley sits up in the front of the room with a group of students.  His desk is the closest one to the Smartboard.  On top of his desk there is a slant tray, which is a “desk” that is slanted, in order to elevate the book or assignments he may be working on.  It allows him to have a better view of his work.  According to the special education teacher, she is in the process of finding perhaps a more vertical supporter to help him to see.  Right by his desk there are four plastic drawers, each with a labeled subject on it.  It’s in these shelves that Smiley puts in his work or book related to that subject.  This helps him organize his materials, since organization is also a weakness that Smiley has.

If you were to even look at his social studies text book, you would see that it is in large print.  The county provided him with textbooks with large font to meet his needs.  All of his books are found this way.  To also help him read the text, certain books also have a CD with a read aloud of the text.

Recently, he obtained magnifying glasses for him to use mainly for reading.  He also began to learn braille using the brailler.  He is learning this skills couple days a week.  The magnifying glasses and the braille were both implemented this year.

To help keep up with writing, he uses the SOLO program, which is a program that reads it back to him as he types the words in.  It also shows up in a larger font on the computer.  In addition, he has a special computer that he uses which has the keys on velcro, and the letters are raised.  It allows Smiley to type by the kinesthetic feel of the letters.

To help with braille and also typing skills, there is a vision specialist that comes in four days a week for about forty-five minutes.  She spends time with Smiley one-on-one to give him the proper guidance that he requires to learn.

Along with the vision instructor, there is an adaptive P.E. helper who assists Smiley during the days he has P.E.  He comes twice a week to be with him every moment.  Since P.E. involves sports and throwing of balls, Smiley needs the extra attention to help with the sense of depth.

Even outside of school, he recently got a tutor to help him two days a week for reading and fluency.  Due to his vision, decoding is an area of concentration for him.  According to the special education teacher, she’s hoping that a tutor will help him improve significantly with his fluency.

In relation to his classes and teachers, he has Mrs. T for homeroom and social studies.  He also follows the Mrs. T’s lunch and recess, and specials hour.  Aside from that, he goes to Mrs. L’s for science, since that’s where the homeroom class goes for the class switch.  And he has reading, spelling, writing, and math with the special education teacher.  However, whether it’s in Mrs. T’s class for social studies or Mrs. L’s class for science, Smiley has a an instructional assisstant who provides assistance. Since math is in numbers and not much text is included, it is Smiley’s stronger subject.  It is nice to know that Smiley has a strong subject.

As for assessments, Smiley’s tests are modified and also read aloud to him.  This is actually the case for all of the students in special education.  Although the test is read aloud, Smiley writes the answers down on the actual test.  His in particular is also blown up in font size so he can read along.  With not much of a choice, Smiley’s learning style is auditory.

The special education teacher shared with me that next year Smiley was going to be in self-contained classes.  This will mean that he will be in a classroom with a smaller group, with a ratio about 8:2.  Especially since it is middle school, too much stimulation is going to be rather difficult for him.  Therefore, a self-contained class will give him the learning environment that he needs.  He will also have a push button lock to access his locker.  This will be much easier, since turning a dial with little numbers is going to be inconvenient for him.  I got to briefly discuss the transition piece with the special education teacher.  She stated that Smiley’s mom, who has the choice to send him to the base school or Robinson High school, which has a vision program, decided to have Smiley attend the base school.  I thought this was an interesting choice.  When I asked the special education teacher what her thoughts were on that, she simply said that it really was not up to her, but Smiley’s parents.  This is just my conjecture, but I’m thinking that perhaps it may have had to do with commute and transition.  I’m sure his mom thought Robinson High school was just too far from home, and that it would be better for him to be with his friends who will all be attending the base school.  But that’s just my guess.

On top of all this support and differentiated instruction from teachers, the school supports Smiley as well.  Since the sixth graders are in the trailers this year, the school painted the ramps and the stairs with alternating black and bright yellow colors, so that Smiley would be able to see and get to his class with ease.  From this, I got to see the dedication of the school wanting to care for each and every individual student.  It impressed, as well as amazed, me the tremendous effort and support that the school has.

Every once in awhile you’ll meet a person who just simply likes to smile.  When that person smiles, you know it’s genuine and it reflects the goodness of who he or she is to the very core.  You just can’t help but to smile back in return.  Well, the student that I will be describing is just this way.  For this very reason, I will call him “Smiley”.

Smiley is a student in Mrs. T’s sixth grade class.  Having been an intern in Mrs. T’s class during this past fall term, I got to know him quite well.  (Note: There are no recorded special needs students in my current spring term class.  Therefore, I decided to go back to my fall placement class, since it had several students with special needs.)  As mentioned before, this child is unbelievably sweet.  There is a sense of peace about him that exudes through his demeanor and presence.  In spite of his condition, he is content with life.  If I had to choose a model student with courteous behavior and manners, it would be Smiley.

Speaking only from my observations and what I got to know from Mrs. T, Smiley is visually challenged.  If I am correct, I believe his vision is at a 20/2000.  And yes, that is the correct number of zeros.  He is very close to being considered blind.  He is still capable to see to a certain degree, but only if they are adjusted to his sight level.  This often entails having alternating colored lines and enlarged text.  Even then, I have seen him in all occasions putting his nose right up against the paper or book to read.

To bring things into context, let me just go briefly into the layout of the classroom’s demographics.  The sixth grade class consists of twenty-three students.  There are ten boys and thirteen girls.  The class contains no ESOL students, but several GT and Special Education students.  To be more specific, there are seven GT students and six students in the special education program.  Not only is there a variety of learning styles, but a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups.  Even the school as a whole, is very diverse.  Half the school is from an Asian background, followed by a third being Caucasian, seven percent are African American, another seven percent are Hispanic, and four percent are other.  This may give you a picture of the makeup of the classroom.

These twenty-three students are all in a small modular classroom; therefore there are three heterogeneous groups of siz, and one heterogenous group of five.  The rest of the space is used for a supply station, a reading corner, a reading group table, and a center table to hold the projector for the Smartboard that is up against the one side of the wall.  Since there are several GT students and LD students, there is a great deal of differentiation in the lessons.  Many of the projects and activites are made so that they are achievable for the LD students, but accessible to creativity for the GT students.  All in all, Mrs. T tries her best to provide for each students’ needs.  She puts emphasis on building a learning community.  It is in this strong sense of team that Smiley receives his education.

Due to his vision impairment, Smiley inevitably has difficulty in several areas.  His reading level is low, as well as his math level, and writing.  He is certainly capable to know the materials, but the amount of time and effort that is required is tremendous for the young child.  Never once does he seize to give only but the best efforts.  He tries and tries with all of his heart.  And again, never once does he complain about his condition or become angry.

Mrs. T has him in the morning, lunch, and for Social Studies, but for Language Arts and Spelling he goes to the special education teacher right next door.  For math he is in the low level group.  And for science, he goes along with his homeroom class to another teacher since sixth grade switches for class.  When Mrs. T have him in her room, she does her best to make sure to have an enlarged copy of anything and everything that is used for the lesson.  She’ll have worksheets and textbooks that are in large font for him.  She will also make the extra effort to listen to him and repeat directions for him.  Mrs. T also is great with updating Smiley’s mom on everything that is going on in the classroom.  They have an open communication line.  It is encouraging to know that Smiley’s parents are incredibly supportive of Smiley.  They are the parents that are constantly pouring out their lives for their child.

There is a long list of differentiation that is provided for Smiley.  A comprehensive list that clearly shows that the school is doing its absolute best to provide for Smiley in every way across all spectrum.  This will be continued in the next entry.

The long awaited snow finally came today.

When I woke up this morning, I took a curious peek out of my window, letting out a small gasp at its beauty.  How beautiful it was to see the world covered in pure white.  There was a sense of peace and an indescribable stillness.  As a child, I recall how I would squeal and check the news for cancellation of school then jump for joy only to run back into my warm covers to finish sleeping in.  When woken up, I would smile gleefully (beside a few seconds of frowning and being peeved at whoever first ruined the blanket of snow with ugly tire marks and footprints) at the free day bestowed to me to go nuts playing in the snow.

Being out of school for some years now, seeing snow doesn’t instill the same kind of excitement that I had as a child.  It means work is not canceled, and that I better get my butt out of bed so I can get a head start on the long ride to work (and now grad school) which is going to be inevitably painful due to traffic.  Like today, I drove for an hour for a typical 17 minute car ride to GMU.  In the midst of annoyance and concentration of the steering wheel and constant glances at my side mirrors so that no one was sliding towards me, I got a text message from my boyfriend saying “It’s beautiful outside though it sucks to have to go to work”.   It was at that moment that I actually looked at the snow coming down and the snow covering the ground.  It made me think, ‘Huh. Well, will you look at that.  Snow is beautiful.’ Of course, this was just a fleeting moment.  Oh too soon did I snap out of that and noticed that there was one car completely at a stand still on one of the two lanes.  ‘Dargh! No wonder we haven’t been moving! Why can’t that person just move to the side of the road?!!?’  Slowly approaching the car, like all drivers, I glanced sideways at whoever it was in the car delaying even more this horrific traffic.  I noticed an anxious and utterly embarrassed college boy looking guilty beyond belief.  Seeing him look so helpless, I felt really bad.  I wanted to help, but not able to think quickly enough, I ended up just passing him.  Cringing at my “oops, my bad”, all I could do was hope and pray that some other man would help him move the car off the side of the road with him.  So much for being a good samaritan, eh? =/

Anyhow, the first day of snow was not all as great as I hoped and thought it would be.  Again.  Because I’m a grown up.

What?!  A grown up can’t have fun in the snow?  Dang it!  Forget it!  Writing this entry just made me angry.  That’s it….I’m going outside to make me some good snow angels! =P