What I Know About Assistive Technology

I haven't done any research on this yet but I believe assistive technology relates to students with special needs. I have encountered this in my classroom. I had a legally blind student for awhile and he had a special tool to help him magnify the screen for him. This was a way to help equalize the field for him to do projects just like anyone else. I have seen many professionals who are paralyzed and many use assistive technology to help them communicate, live, and lead professional lives. This is what I think assistive technology is.

Yo, Yo, Yo, Check out Flocabulary

Here is a great site to connect students with their current music likes and learning. Flocabulary.com is a lot of fun for students and mixes rapping with education. As I write this I am still singing the last tune I listened to about multiplying by 7. As teachers we need to take the standard learning and somehow bring it to a level that will get kids excited about learning. If I have the students sing old songs they might enjoy it but if I have them sing along to raps they will be much more aware and walk away with more understanding. The site covers six different areas with each one have numerous sub groups and sub, sub groups. The most obvious one is math. It covers multiplication, division, subtraction, and addition. The science section has a number of fun songs to help students learn. Social studies, language arts, vocabulary and even the week in rap are covered in this fun learning tool. You really need to try this in your classroom and I believe you will get students much more involved and excited about learning.

Internet4Classrooms is Da BOMB!

Okay so I have been reviewing a number of websites during the last few months. I have come across many incredible sites to help teachers and students in the goal of learning, but I was absolutely blown away by Internet4Classrooms.com. If you want resources at your fingertips PLEASE check this website out. I was in discovery mode for about a half hour and I still haven't come close to uncovering all the gems this site offers. To start off with they offer the brain teaser and question of the day to use. I thought this would be one problem or question but it goes much further than that. The brain teasers section provides numerous links to come up with unique ideas regarding brain activities. The question of the day can be customized to a subject or area you want. Many links are ready to take you a fun question you can use in your class. The SAT/ACT section allows anyone to practice a particular area of need. I love how the standards are available to browse through and links are available for lessons tied directly to that standard. WOW, what a great tool this is. Countless links are ready to hook a teacher up with informative and unique ideas about teaching students needed areas. But wait, how much would you pay now? The tech tools tab is filled with tremendous helps on Excel, PPT, numerous applications, and an unbelievable amount of 2.0 tools. This includes bogging, podcasts, video, and so much more. All this and I think I have barely scratched the surface. Please do yourself a favor and check this website out when you get a chance.

Check Out ChartGo!

Need a chart quickly? You could pull up Excel and spend time creating a chart...or you could go to ChartGo.com and quickly create a customized chart by simply selecting what chart you want and clicking a few buttons to customize the style. I spent a few minutes on the site and in about 2 minutes created a lovely chart. With a few more clicks I was able to enhance it even more. For the student on the go, this is an excellent tool to help students complete a chart quickly. As a teacher I might want to show this to my students. Unless the lesson is for the student to learn how to work in Excel, I would recommend using this website to my students. As a working professional going to school I appreciate tools to help me complete work efficiently. Check it out when you get the opportunity.

My Voki

Hey-Ho, Hey-Ho, Let's All Go To ChartGo!

Hey-ho, I just spent some time on ChartGo.com and want to share my thoughts about this educational site. On this site you can create a basic chart in a matter of seconds. You choose the settings and then enter data. With the click of a mouse you now have a colorful chart. I liked how easy it is to create a title or label for each part. The introductory video could be enhanced more to help a new user. I had to spend time analyzing what each area represented but once I found my way around the site I think it would be very helpful to students who do not want to spend the time in excel creating a chart that can be duplicated in 1/4 of the time. Check it out when you get some time! Hey-Ho I'm out of here.

CNN Student News Review

Hey, when you get a chance check out http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/. What a cool way to introduce current events and increase student interest in learning what is happening around the world. The site has a 10 minute feature each day for students to view. It is available on a podcast so students can view it anytime after. The site also has tools to help teachers create lessons or current events. Students can sign up to receive emails daily. One really neat feature is where students can report on local news events and send it to CNN for possible additions to air. What a great way to generate interest. Students can sound off about stories and chat. Transcripts and maps are also available. A section is ready for possible careers related to the news site. This is a must for any teacher to consider. Check it out!