I am currently building a sister site to Jamael's Shorts called Jamael's Shortcuts :-) It is a technology toolbox, a hodgepodge of tools for tech integration. It is still in its infancy, but please check it out- there are some things up that you may find useful. Hope to see you there!
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How are we supposed to know what we don't know? It's always interesting to learn something new, but what if it's your JOB to be the first to know about something? How do you learn about it? I recently set up a professional development system for myself. It was necessary for me to have everything come to my phone, because I rarely have time to sit in front of a computer for whatever reason. So here is what I came up with: Twitter: A great RSS feed with great educational and technological minds tweeting about cutting edge research, techniques used in the classroom, and what works and what doesn't. Some great people/groups to follow: @edutopia - "Inspiration and information for what works in education" @InnovativeEdu - Lisa Nielson, "Educator. Innovator. Author. Blogger. Speaker. Passionate about #StuVoice #EdTech #BYOD #Homeschooling #mlearning #Authentic-Assessment " @JaneBozarth - "World's Oldest Millenial, E-learning Coordinator, Author: Social Media for Trainers & more, Positive deviant, Doctor of Learnin' Stuff" TED Talks and the TED Ed blog. Boy, do I love TED Talks. I know I've mentioned it here before. So many great ideas, so many great lectures, it really is just mind-blowing. I would love to go to a TED convention sometime, but I saw that it costs like $950 to go... Umm not on my daycare teacher salary... TED stands for Technology, Education, and Design and it is a conference where educators, scientists, engineers, ohmygosh geniuses of all trades come together and share their brilliant ideas and research. They are typically 15 minute presentations and there is something for everyone. Choose which one strikes your fancy! TED Ed is just for educators- not videos of talks like the TED conferences, but LESSON PLANS. I had a teacher once that said in this day and age, a good teacher should never have to write his/her own lesson plans because there are so many great ones on the Internet. TED Ed is right where you find those. It is also a blog that can be followed via RSS feed or email subscription. Yes, please! Finally, I think this video sums up how Professional Development should be formatted. No more of those workshops. Please, who reads those packets anyway? I keep all my "important documents" from those things in the trunk of my car... ~ Jamael
I knew this would be a tough semester. I really did. Perhaps I'm coping better than I thought I would. But it has so far been nothing short of crazy. Why didn't anyone tell me working full time and going to school full time would be ridiculous?? Oh yeah, they did. Anyway, I'm launching into another semester of Educational Technology as my major at Baldwin Wallace University. The class that you guys are concerned about is the one where they prepare their students to overcome resistance and obstacles as leaders in technology. It has so far been a really intriguing class. I am LOVING the new tech tools we have been introduced to. They are different than the types of tools I have reported on in the past. Before I dive into a few of these tech tools, check out my Prezi on ISTE Coach standards :-) Cute, huh? Anyway, what I loved about my former Technology class at Akron was that it was inspiring. I started this blog (which admittedly I'm pretty terrible at keeping up on), and we were introduced to real and practical technology tools that kids love in the classroom. This class is about introducing tools that are useful to us as teachers and prepping us to deal with administration in making classroom technology accessible.
I will be posting more this semester. That's a promise (and a requirement). *innocent smirk* Jamael I was doing some research on assistive technology for the handicapped, and I was especially interested in the technology available for the Deaf. I took a year of American Sign Language and actually experienced quite a bit of immersion in the Deaf culture, so I became fairly fluent in a short amount of time. I have a particular appreciation for the Deaf and I tend to consider their perspective in a number of situations. I think one of the greatest and most widely used technologies among the Deaf community is the video phone. Actually, it is exactly what was depicted in Back the Future, except it is mobile (a lot like Skype). This technology hasn't really taken off among the hearing community, because we communicate through sound. We don't have to see somebody's face to talk to them. The Deaf really appreciate face-to-face time because it is really the only way to communicate with each other. I found this great YouTube video that gives you a glimpse of what this is like. In this video, they are using a video relay service (VRS) in which the hearing person speaks and the Deaf person signs, but a translator relays the information. I think this video is actually an advertisement, which is why it does such a great job of showing how the technology works. There is only one thing wrong with this video. Notice the daughter and the mom are Deaf, but the dad is hearing. In this case, the dad would definitely know American Sign Language, otherwise he and his wife would have a really hard time communicating (reading lips is NOT a preferred way of communication, and most deaf people actually can't do this). So, the dad would probably just be signing right to the daughter. He wouldn't be speaking with his Deaf wife present, unless to another hearing person. But, you get the jist of how the technology works. Pretty cool, huh? Wait a minute. I just found a follow up of this video where she talks directly to another Deaf person. Now you can see how it works when they get real face-to-face time! This is the preferred way of communication! The deaf also use a texting service (also through an operator) called TeleTYpewriters (TTY) that translates spoken word into text. This was used a lot more often before texting became popular among the hearing. Now, most deaf just remind you to only text them, don't call! I thought it was kind of funny that the Deaf were texting before it was cool! Since we are talking about technologies for the deaf, I guess I can't really get away with not mentioning cochlear implants. These are cutting edge technology, though highly controversial among the Deaf. I think the deaf accept cochlear implants as a useful emerging technology, but I know the Deaf hate them. Did that make your head spin? Deaf with a capital "D" indicates a person that communicates through American Sign Language (ASL - a language with its own sentence structure and grammar independent of English) and is a member of the Deaf community, meaning they have friends that are also Deaf and they have been given a sign name (a sign that represents you and your personality) by other members of the Deaf community. A deaf person with a lower case "d" is simply a person that cannot hear and communicates in other ways other than ASL. They might use Sign English which is a direct sign representation of the English language, or they might read lips, but they usually associate themselves with the hearing.
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted behind the ear to repair neural-sensory hearing. They can literally make a deaf person hear again, or even for the first time in their lives! However, a person involved in the Deaf community is perceived to have abandoned their community/roots when they undergo this procedure. The Deaf community is a very tight-knit community that takes pride in their differences and their unique perspective of the world. To want to change the way you were born and to abandon the rest of your friends is like a stab in the back. Although, as I mentioned before, a deaf person is more likely to want to experience the world with hearing and they are usually supported by hearing friends. Cochlear implants are more popular among these people and have since kept the technology alive. What other technologies are available for people with other disabilities? Jamael |