So we are on the home stretch.  Classes are overwhelming me...LOTS of work.

Downloaded Boardmaker and working on a communication board.  Went back to use boardmaker and now it won't work.  Says need license agreement so now I'm FREAKING out.  Hoping I can start over and get my project done by Thursday.

So it's almost the end and I have to say I'm glad to see it come.  Learned alot. Found out I really like TED talks.  http://www.ted.com/talks  Going to watch continue watching them.

Been an interesting semester.  Thanks Professor :)  

Ok...so I'm an idiot.  Note to self:  READ directions more carefully and don't be stupid.  So I totally screwed up my LAIP because I misunderstood.  Won't make that mistake again.  Plus side. I learned a lot.  More than I thought I would.  Working on final LAIP won't screw this one up!!

LAIP II and III

The LAIP was quite challenging and sorta fun.  Which means I probably didn't do it correctly.  I know I will be working with a variety of students at a variety of levels.  It was very satisfying to create something for them that will benefit their learning.  I'm a very artistic/creative person and I like being able to put my creativity to work to make things for the students in an affordable way.  I have been looking at things you can buy for your classroom to enhance learning and have found them to be very expensive.  With time and effort I created useful learning tools for my future classroom.  Hoping I did them correctly but will still save them for use in my classroom.

TED Talks

What a wonderful way to view information.  These are short talks from various experts about quick topics related to learning, our brains, language, anything you can imagine.  They are delivered quickly in an interesting manner by a variety of people considered experts in on that topic.  Below is a summary of the TED talks I viewed:  TED talks can be found at http://www.ted.com/

Temple Grandin: The World needs all Kinds of Mind

1.       What I gained from this talk was…. We need to take a different approach with a child who is found to be “on the spectrum”.   I found Temple Grandins approach to visual teaching very interesting.  She stated how she learned in pictures and how many autistic children like her “think in pictures”.   Her comparison of an autistic child’s mind to that of an animal was enlightening and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way.  An animal remembers what it sees and sees the world in pictures as it does not have the verbal ability to associate what it sees to words.  She states this is true for many autistic children as well. 

2.       What I agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I’m not sure I agree with Ms. Grandin that most of Silicon Valley is made up of people with Asperger’s.  She almost makes it sound like any person with high intelligence has some form of autism.  I don’t think that to be true.  Some highly intelligent people may have a form of autism but I don’t think that is a requirement of intelligence.  

3.       Here are some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… There are many types of learners but visual learning appears to work best with child on the spectrum according to Ms. Grandin.  Learning has become abstract.  Classes like art and music may be where some autistic children excel.  By incorporating these, especially art, into my lessons the visual learners may be able to better understand the lesson.  An autistic child’s mind tends to have fixations.  I could use those fixations in my lessons to get the child interested in learning.  Keeping the students interest is important when teaching students with special needs.

Doodlers Unite

1.       What I gained from this talk was…. Doodling engages all four learning modules simultaneously with the possibility of an emotional experience.  That’s a very good argument for what some people consider to be a distraction to learning.  By incorporating all four learning modules the learner has a better chance of retaining the information being presented.  

2.       What I agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I very much agree with Sunni Brown in the fact that our society is so focused on verbal information that we see doodling as a waste of time and an indication of not paying attention.  I am a compulsive doodler and I have restrained myself for years from doodling because of this very reason.  I have been reprimanded so often for my doodles that I have to consciously concentrate on not doing it.

3.       Here are some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… I will allow doodling in my classroom.  I have always felt it was beneficial to my concentration and I am now vindicated in my beliefs. 

The Game that can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life

1.       What I gained from this talk was…. Positive thoughts and actions are important to your life, health and thoughts.  By incorporating some fun into your life you will have fewer regrets and live longer…allowing yourself to have more fun. 

2.       What I agreed or disagreed from this talk was… Jane McGonigal had some very good points.  I myself am a gamer.  I don’t play for hours a day but I do use a few minutes each night to play hidden object games or brain age games.  I find I sleep better when I use this time to relax my mind.  Most of my friends are gamers and find that gamers are much happier people.  I find they are more systematic in their decision making and are in general more content, happy and healthy people.

3.       Here are some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice…  I have always been a strong supporter of games and learning.  You can make any learning experience into a game.  It doesn’t have to be a video game.  Even Walt Disney realized this and in the movie Mary Poppins Ms. Poppins quotes “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game”.   I think this can be used in so many ways in a classroom without chaos. 

A Second Opinion on Learning Disorders

1.       What I gained from this talk was…. I always wondered why if it was a brain disorder they didn’t look at the brain for diagnosis.  When my daughter was sick that was part of the first testing that was done.  When a child is given a diagnosis such as autism etc.  it is very important for the parents to get a second opinion from a medical perspective instead of just a behavioral perspective. 

2.       What I agreed or disagreed from this talk was… I agree Ms. Shankardass in that parents should not accept the word of a single person but should look into alternate diagnosis possibilities.  It would be wonderful for some parents to hear that their child is not destined to a world of silence but to a normal childhood. 

3.       Here are some ways that I can incorporate this information in my teaching practice… As a teacher you have to be very careful in how you suggest alternate treatments to parents.  You might offer suggestions to parents that other options may be available to them and perhaps they should seek a second opinion but as a teacher we are not allowed to make any kind of recommendation to parents regarding the medical testing of their children.

WebQuest...

 http://questgarden.com/124/35/0/110414114751/index.htm

Teaching Time

So for Teaching Time each group has a topic and teaches us instead of the teacher.  I have never seen a student do a Prezi presentation before and I was very impressed with it. I like the way the questions were big for the teams Noggin Knockers but the answers were small and moved the screen before you seen them.  I like listening to students its interesting what information they find important compared to what a professor might find important.  I plan on utilizing Teaching Time in my classroom.  It give the students a chance to be the expert.  Do I feel like an expert in my topic...yes and no.  It was a very broad topic (Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Low Vision) and very hard to narrow down to a specific area to discuss.  There was A LOT of information out there a lot of good information at that.  But, I think we have narrowed it down to provide the class with a good snapshot of what information we are trying to put across. 

I have to say I'm learning a lot.  Its a LOT of work and I'm doing things i didn't know I would be doing but learning none the less.  I like that my classmates are posting other resources as they find them.  I've been keep a binder with all the resources in one spot.  As I find something that will benefit my future I print it and stick it in the binder.  I hadn't been doing this in the past and now I'm sorta mad at myself.  I have the stuff from my previous classes in notebooks and such at home but I think I'm going to purchase a few more binders and organize all my resources.  I've realized I have quite a bit of workable material at my disposal if I just give it some direction.

I have surfing the Internet and keep track of the links I find also.  What a HUGE surplus of information out there. 

My classes are starting to work off of each other.  I have been waiting for that.  As I am learning something in one class another class picks up on some of the material and expands on it.  I'm also keeping all of that in a notebook. 

I'm not a good test taker and the projects are more to my liking.  It is allowing me to accumulate a lot of information without the stress of memorization or pressure of testing.  I learn MUCH better by doing and using the information than just throwing it up on a formal exam. 

Here's to keepin on keepin on!!