Assistive Technologies

Today I was able to explore Assistive Technologies (AT) and technologies that can become AT and learn a little more about using them to make my class more effective and efficient and in order to enhance my students' experience.














One technology that I learned about is an online stopwatch: http://online-stopwatch.com/. This tool is a stopwatch and countdown tool that can be used online. This tool would be really helpful to prepare students for standardized tests and other timed writings by having them practice writing while using the timer. Students could also use this tool to help them stay on track while they are studying, or to time breaks if they need breaks in order to study most effectively.
















A second tool that I saw demonstrated today is at http://www.donjohnston.com/media/flash/product_demo/cowriter6/index.html, which talks about the Co-Writer program. This program functions much like T9 word on cell phones that are text-ready, suggesting words based on what letters have been typed in the word already. As an English teacher, this would be really useful for students who have trouble with word recall and need a little nudge in order to do so.





















The third tool that I would like to incorporate into my English classroom is http://text-to-speech.imtranslator.net/. This tool is a text to speech translator which would be really useful because students would be able to have their papers read back to them in order to better catch mistakes and places in which the clarity of wording could be improved upon.

Data Analysis and Collection

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFFxUlhjNFI4NmtTYlVFY3NyUnpkM1E6MA

Part I: About the Station

Station 6: Language Arts - Persuasive Speaking Survey

It was kind of difficult to work on this in a group setting, but Sarah Beck, Kelsey Lauter, and I worked together to some extent, though we all have different actual projects. The project to was practice persuasive speaking, with a construction project on Bypass 45/46 as the topic. Each of us created our own survey and had others answer it for us.

Part II: Your Work

We were asked to create a Google form survey to ask about how people would be affected by construction on Bypass 45/46 (see screenshots above). Students would then create a persuasive speech using the information that they were furnished by the survey to back up their position.

Part III: What did you think?

Personally, though I appreciated the opportunity to learn how to create a Google form, I thought that this activity felt like busy-work. Though I'm a student in Bloomington, I'm from northern Indiana, so construction in Bloomington wouldn't really affect me very much. As a student, I like that the project is relevant to real life and could actually be useful for either proponents or opponents of the proposed construction. As a teacher, I would like the opportunity to have students learn a new digital tool (Google forms) and to use a real-life issue as the base for their speeches. As a teacher, it might be difficult to get students interested in this issue, especially if they are ninth graders who can't drive yet. It was interesting that this proposal has been in the works since the 70s and that those in charge are taking it so seriously. It was also nice to learn how to create a Google form.

Ning podcast: Digital Writers' Workshop

I viewed a podcast called Digital Writers' Workshop found at http://k12online.ning.com/video/digital-writers-workshop-1, which highlighted the experience of a class whose teacher led in a digital writers' workshop in which they created a digital story complete with plot, 3-D setting, and theme song. The students created the entire story in small groups which were decided based upon similar or compatible characteristics of the character that each student created. With that group, they created a script, theme song, 3-D setting, and put them all together into a digital video. The project promoted not only technological skill, but also collaborative work and story-writing skills, as well as artistic skills (e.g. music and set-building). The teacher talked about the process, specified which programs they used, and justified what levels of learning were being developed through each stage of the process.

TEWT website review

I explored the Teaching English with Technology (TEWT) website, which can be found at http://tewt.org/englishteachersites.html. It is sponsored by edtechteacher.org, which is an educational professional development provider. The TEWT site is intended to be a resource for English teachers to use technology in their courses, but also as a resource for teachers to access in order to better plan their courses. The site is mainly geared at educating teachers to best educate students, but there are advertisements on the site for other resources (e.g. books and other websites), some of which have to be purchased. The site is well laid out and easy to use. The different tabs are labeled in a way that is easy to understand and navigate, and there are many useful tools, especially the "Commonly Taught Books" section. This section in particular will be very useful for me as an educator. Seeing what other teachers have to say about some commonly taught books and reading what others view as main points that need to be taught with them is a wonderful jumping-off point. There are also videos about the books on the site; I am not sure who posted them, but if they can be posted by anyone, having my students create digital videos to post about books that we read could be a wonderful activity, especially if I am in a middle school setting. There are links to Teaching History with Technology (THWT) as well as to edtechteacher.org, and some other resources for using technology in the classroom.

NCTE-NING website review

I discovered NCTE-NING at http://ncte2008.ning.com/ through Dr. Leftwich's bookmarks. It is sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, a professional organization. The site was created by Emily Nafziger. The purpose of the site is to keep English teachers up-to-date about things related to our content area that are happening around the nation.
The website is very easy to navigate and clearly labeled. The only advertising on the site is for NCTE and the activities it promotes. The site allows a user to connect with others in his/her field as well as resources for English teachers. Not only are there forums and groups to join, but there is also a calendar of events such as seminars and classes that will help English teachers become better digital-age educators. These aspects of the site--allowing me to connect with others who are more experienced than am I, as well as sharing opportunities for professional development--make it a very valuable website for a future teacher. I think that using it to keep up with what is changing in the world of English education would be a great boon for me. There are also innumerable links to external sites for opportunities for further education, English sites, and much more. There is so much interesting and useful information compiled into this one site that it is a little overwhelming! But I expect it to be very useful, both now and in the future.