“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

My two cents is that the world will never change the way it responds to minority groups physically until we change the way we respond mentally. Individuals with disabilities are capable, although limited and often times not fully, human beings. Sure, they have physical and perhaps mental short-comings but, we all do. I, personally, do not believe in an "average" or "normal" person, we all have something wrong with us.

Luckily, there are companies working to combat that issue. They are currently working to develop and further produce technologies which aid persons with disabilities in everyday tasks. Theses technologies are known as assistive technologies.

1. Tobi c8 is a dynamic device that turns text and symbols into speech. It has a follow-up device known as Tobi c12. It comes with an upgraded eye control option. This could help individuals with limited to no hand functionality to better communicate.
   

1. Vibrotactile systems are systems which allow easier access for individuals with accessibility issues. A more common type pf vibrotactile device is a recliner, it allows individuals with spinal/vibrotactile issues to easily enter and exit the seat.
   


2. Designer Talking Calculator w/Music Box is a device designed to aid those with low to no vision, it reads entries out-loud so that the user doesn't need to physically see the calculator in order to use it. It could help those students who are blind/visually impaired to easier perform mathematics problems.

More resources include:

• http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm
• Education World's Classroom Assistive Classroom Technologies
  
• http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te7assist.htm
• http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Foundation/intro/introbasic.php

The great thing about elementary education is that children are still primarily innocent and thus motivated by abstract, fun, concepts like imagination, creativity, and love. It doesn't take much to entertain their brains. All it takes is some quick ingenuity and thinking outside the box.

It takes some thinking about using tools not necessarily designed for the classroom or the purpose of education, tools like the Apple iTouch [iPod]. JenniferWillems, writes on a Ning.com education post about her schools recent funding of the invention, originally designed for entertainment purposes through music and television. One way Jennifer could use the iTouches is by uploading fun and creative song related to classroom lessons like School House tunes which range in content from Social Studies, to Math, and even Language Arts! In fact, you can upload both audio and video further enhancing the experience. Perhaps the sweetest part to having an Apple iTouch in the classroom is its Wifi connectivity features which is also a huge downfall (but no worries we have passwords and such to keep kiddies safe!). Still, that capability allows a teacher to download Apps from Apple's wide array of selection including educational software!

More Help:

• iPhone Apps for Kids
• Top 10 iphone Apps for Children
• Apple.com
• 5 uses for the iTouch in the Classroom
  

A flashcard or flash card is a card used to aid rote memorization. They are often made using index cards and combined to form a set. The set of cards bears information such as words or numbers, on either or both sides, used in classroom drills or to help for memorization practices.

I know I used flashcards growing up to help memorize my multiplication table and again for Social Studies to help memorize the capitals.

Long gone however are the days of handwritten flashcards. Instead classrooms everywhere are implementing electronic flashcards. There are lots of advantages to electronic flashcards for example:

1. e-flashcards are a more effective technologically advanced method of conveying the same information, making this an efficient use of classroom-time.
2. Technology also allows for you, the teacher, to access the cards and information just as easily as the students, meaning there is a lesser chance of students studying the wrong information.
   
3. It is also easier to monitor student participation, decreasing the possibility of students doing poorly or being allowed to fall behind.
4. E-cards cut down on waste and costs, meaning students have equal opportunity to do well. As cheap as they are, with standard flashcards there is always the possibility that some students may not be able to afford the costs of flashcards.
5. E-flashcards can be printed out! So, for those learners who prefer physical cards they still have the opportunity to have a tangible set.

Electronic Flash card Website: Homework Hub's Flashcard Maker

Other Flashcard makers: http://www.flashcardmachine.com/, http://www.kitzkikz.com/flashcards/

Kid Pix is a bitmap drawing program aimed at children. Originally created by Craig Hickman, it was first released for the Macintosh in 1989 and subsequently published in 1991 by Brøderbund.

Hickman was inspired to create Kid Pix after watching his son Ben struggle with MacPaint, and thus the main idea behind its development was to create a drawing program that would be very simple to use.



With this particular in-class workout we explored different ways in which to use drawing, like the ones you can create via Kidpix, to help in other areas of instruction, like counting in math. Below is a copy our activity where we discussed how to use KidPix to discuss "tallying,"a quick way of keeping track of numbers in groups of five.












For the full example check out the File Cabinet page in my ePortfolio.

A podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. The mode of delivery differentiates podcasting from other means of accessing media files over the Internet, such as direct download, or streamed webcasting. My personal favorite part about Podcast are that they are available on my time. As educators, even if we aren't so great, we're busy! Podcast allow you to stop,go, pause, and return to your section of the podcast at your own convince.

Here's an example of a podcast I REALLY appreciate--perhaps, because it reminds me of myself.

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/item.php?itemID=9813

An experienced educational technologist shares the discovery of a fifth year middle school teacher who is using blogging to inspire her students. A true profile in innovation and success with practical suggestions to start your own student blog project.

It's currently at the height of much controversy and media attention. But why? What's so important about a series of words across a screen anyways?The Web and cell phones help us communicate, connect and learn in ways we never could before, but they've also forever changed how we interact with others. Things we used to share in person – and in private – can now be broadcast to thousands, instantly. Sometimes we type things we would never say to someone's face. As a result, new issues like forced sexting, textual harassment and cyberbullyiing have emerged, which now affect a majority of young people in the U.S.

A Thin Line.com is designed to empower you (or students,parents, etc.) to identify, respond to, and stop the spread of digital abuse in your life and amongst your peers.

Not meaning to sound so terribly blunt/realistic or shocking but, sexting can make or break more than a career. It can destroy a persons' reputation, stunting their education, hopes, goals, and desires. It's important to know how to properly and appropriately address both the possibility and reality of such an issue within an educational context.

In my opinion the biggest problem with education today is not that we rely too heavily, or not heavily enough, on education but, rather on books for educational resources. When we learn to ride a bike, talk, bake a cake, walk, and even breathe for the first time we usually don't link those experiences to opening up a book, flipping to the coordinating chapter and reading on how to accomplish our goals. No, early on in life when we want to learn something we do.

BrainPop is a great educational device which creates animated, curriculum-based content that supports educators and engages students. And the best part?! BrainPOP is thinking exclusively, offering BrainPOP in more than 3 different language wonderful for ESL students!

Pros:

• Access to BrainPOP ESL is free of charge during the product's introductory period.
  
• Ideal for both group and one-on-one settings, BrainPOP is used in numerous ways, from introducing a new lesson or topic to illustrating complex subject matter to reviewing before a test. Content is aligned to state standards and easily searchable with our online State Standards Tool.
• No downloading, installation, or special hardware is required.

Suppose, or perhaps it's a reality, that you've got some students that are having trouble paying attention in class. Now what's a teacher with an obvious age and perhaps generational gap to do to regain students' attention?! Try visiting Edutopia.com, where schools have access to the same invaluable technology as businesses and universities -- where innovation is the rule, not the exception. More importantly however, they have an amazing array of articles and resources which are innovative, inventive, and encourage interaction. All of this however is important for one reason... to keep visitors engaged!

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Edutopia.com is a part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which aims to address the issue of an increasingly fast paced transformational societal change with slowly adapting teaching strategies and methods.



As we know all too well, kids aren't a whole lot different than adults: If they aren't absorbed by what's going on, they'll find something else that interests them. This site gives helpful tools,hints, and resources to not only, keep students awake but, also keep them actively engaged in education and Edutopia.com is a great place to search for resources, strategies and tools to keep minds engaged!

The name is not for you to know if you do not know it already. But, for all intents and purposes you can call me, K. She was born and raised behind the gated communities and generic personalities of suburbia Texas. But, it takes a lot more than a happy meal to make me happy and lot more than housewives and their gates to encage my imagination.

Long story short, I currently reside here, Bloomington, IN, easily one of the most whimsically beautiful places in America. I am here though for an education. It's kind of ironic I'm getting an education to give an education (since I want to be a teacher, ya know). Long story short, this blog is designed in part for the IU ~W200 course- Teaching Technologies & Methods.





For more info on the author, course, or life click the "more +" button above.