Web Anywhere

When I first was reading about and listening to the movie Web Anywhere released I thought what a great device for those with limited or no vision.  This AT is available at any location and it is free!  What could be wrong with that?  As I did some more investigating I found more cons then pros so that is how I will do this post.

CONS:

The system uses a computer voice, the one I had was an English voice and as it read it was very difficult to under stand.
Along that same thought the computer has a hard time with word pronunciation so as I was listening and trying to understand I would not be able to keep up because I was processing and trying to get what computer is saying.  It was weird to hear how google was pronounced.
I tried to load several everyday pages I use.  First was facebook, nothing happened.  Next was my gmail account, I was able to get to google but when I tried to sign in, nothing happened.  And finally, I went to CNN, it opened the main page but when I went into a specific article, the page loaded but nothing audio happened.  Not sure if or what I did but it did not read me the article.
I did not like how it said page loaded and read everything a bit at a time.

PROS:
I liked the the page to Web Anywhere loaded so quickly and started reading right way.
I like that this is available to everyone and that it is free.
I like that you can use with any device that is connected to the internet.

I would have loved to meet someone with vision difficulties and see what their take on Web Anywhere would be.  I am a seeing person playing around with the program, it would be nice to see if a person that is not seeing thought along the same lines as me or whether they liked or disliked the program.

*thanks for sharing the cite, I found it really interesting.

Mod 13 reflection on Assistive Tech

Of all the articles, I liked the Understood article best because it starts off stating "Assistive technology can't "cure" learning and attention issues, but it can help kids work . . . ."  If I were in a classroom I would have a copy of this article for every parent of a child that needs AT in class.  Why you ask, well I want parents to understand that AT is there to help their kids not be the end all be all to handling a disability.  Many times I think parents want their teachers and AT device to fix their kids, that is not going to happen.  We (parents, staff, teachers) have to find ways to help kids adapt in the classroom and then succeed from their.
The next bullet point in the same article is that not all AT's are high tech.  Again a great thing for parents to learn.  AT's don't have to be electronic or expensive, it can be as simple as images from the web or someone reading out loud for their student.  As long as it works for the student and is planned in whatever IEP or 504 plan it will be allowed in the classroom.
I think parents (and teachers) have to do their research on AT's.  Find something that works best for your child and then introduce to teachers and the student.  Get information from specialist but find what works best for your situation.  Just because it is the newest and greatest AT does not mean it will be best for your child.  Don't fall into the trap of spending tons of money and your child not feeling comfortable or disliking the AT.
I have no personal experience with AT in any of my student teaching experiences.  I did have several students with severe allergies in my classrooms but that just required careful planning on what came in and out of the classroom.  I did have a college course where we were introduced to a family dealing with a child who lost her muscle control and speech abilities as she had gotten older.  The name of the disorder escapes me at this time but there was a computer that recognized eye movements to alert parents to a child's need or give the child a way to communicate.  The computer was rather expensive and insurance did not cover.  I found that unacceptable, if a child needs it, it should be made available to them.  I think that is something that has to be fixed with our insurance companies, stop making devices that will help our sick kids so impossible to get.
I think AT's are great for kids and as long as the classroom staff is trained how to use to the benefit of the child they should be part of the classroom like pencils and paper.

Article review Mod 12

MOD 12 post

The article on putting computers in every teacher and student’s hands was very similar to what my daughter’s charter school did when they started the ipad initiative.  What I liked the most about the article was allowing teachers and administrators more time with the devices and then letting students have them.  Giving teachers and admin more time to learn to use properly and take professional develop courses with the devices means that there is less time used during class when an issue may arise and less running to the tech person if an issue comes up.  Also, when a teacher is familiar with the possibilities of a device uses they can build lesson plans and classroom activities around that device and have another tool in their arsenal for teaching effectively.  Other issues that the article brought up that I agreed with are:

            -ensuring the building was built to handle wireless-are all locations going to be able to connect properly?  If not make sure to make the necessary changes so no one is left out

            -having a plan in place that all parents and students agree to when it comes to:

                        -usage

                        -safety in transportation

                        -proper insurance

                        -guidelines are well stated and understood by all

                        -procedures in place for broken or forgotten devices

I think with the availability of devices today and the way we are moving to more technological advances it makes perfect sense to have students using laptops/tablets in the classroom.  Educators need all the best tools to teach their kids and kids relate to these devices more than the traditional chalkboard and overhead projector.  

Mod 12 troubleshooting table

Problem No sound coming out of students speakers: No network connection: Computer keeps freezing up: Printer won’t print: SMARTboard pens not working:

Solution Are speaker wires connected to computer Is the speaker switch turned on and turned up Check the internal volume application If there is still no volume go to the Control Panel-Sounds and Audio Devices and check for speakers volume Buy new speakers Are you using correct user/password Make sure the caps button is not on and that you are using correct case for user/password Make sure you are not logged in on another computer, if so log off and try logging in where you are having issues again Computer may be low on internal memory and you cannot fix this, only tech You may need to update Windows or have a patch that tech can do Check to make sure printer cables are hooked up Make sure you are connected to network Make sure CORRECT printer is on and that you are sending document to that printer Make sure there are no paper jams and that you are not low on ink Make sure no jobs stuck in queue if so you will have to delete all docs in queue and try printing them again Make sure the board is on and calibrated Make sure pens are in the pen tray recess correctly

I think when issues come up we (the student and I) would try to fix the problems together so that they have experience troubleshooting.  This should be a group effort not just one person taking over.

I would keep this website address handy to help me BEFORE I call tech:  http://webpage.pace.edu/ms16182p/troubleshooting/home.html

GINA HECKEL'S VITUAL TOUR

GINA HECKEL’S

TOLEDO SPAIN VITUAL TOUR

Start out by watching this video on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gopnmLCLUQo

(ProudBasque, Jan. 14, 2012, Toledo A walking tour around the city / Un paseo por la ciudad, retrieved from https://youtu.be/gopnmLCLUQo )

Then visit the following sites: 

http://www.toledo-turismo.com/en/the-well-of-el-salvador_140 under the what to see tab  you can gather information on museums, monuments and other historical buildings. 

From there go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Spain#Politics to read up on the history of Toledo Spain.

https://travel.sygic.com/Spain/Castile-La-Mancha/Toledo-Spain/Toledo-City-Hall/ is the last site to visit and as you scroll down the page there is a map that allows you to click on bubbles to get more information on a spot in Toledo. 

I decided to do Toledo Spain because of my previous experience and only getting information from encyclopedias and from our teacher.  The sites I used will give students pictures and information of the various structures in this beautiful city.  I would combine this virtual tour with a worksheet or some sort of research project so student build their knowledge of the City. 

Mod 11 article review and virtual tour review

Gina Heckel Mod 11

The global issue document was interesting to read and I did agree with much of what was written but I am not sure teachers could realistically prepare students to think and act “globally”.  This is why, first getting students to think about others and not just how something affects them is big.  This generation is more me oriented (though I see a little shift away from that train of thought).  Teaching students to think about consequences and to have empathy is difficult. 

Diversity has been taught in schools for a while now, but are students making connections between of why learning about diversity is important.  Do they understand that the differences and similarities of different cultures are important to understand so that we can relate and tolerate differences and work together to make world decisions?  After all, we share one planet and all our actions affect this world. 

The final piece that had me thinking is here in the U.S. teachers often are limited to the time they have to teach more in depth “global competencies” because we are required to cover “tested” subjects.  Making sure our students do well on those core subjects is hard enough.  Can teachers go back to teaching without pressure on tested curriculum and then you could find teachers that are able to integrate global competence into their lessons.  

The sister city/sister school was short and sweet, the biggest point being that with the technology has provided teachers with a greater opportunity explore and connect with a city and/or school.  With the invention of the internet, facetime and skype the connection is as simple as a mouse click or phone call.  During my 5^th/6^th grade year my school did a sister city project with Toledo, Spain and the El Greco art exhibit visit to the Toledo Museum of Art.  The teachers had us write a letter to a school, we did a mini time capsule with items from our school and town and then went to the Toledo Museum of Art’s El Greco exhibit.  It is something I remember to this day and hope that the students of our sister city do too!  I believe this gives students a look at oversea schools/cities and provide that global connectedness the article discusses. 

I went on several virtual tours on the listed page, I liked the Louvre best because you did not have to join anything and you just clicked and saw different rooms in the Louvre.  I don’t want to have to register with every site just to explore!  This particular tour would be wonderful for art students and could give those that love art but can’t afford to travel overseas a way to experience the museum.  I wish more museums had such an easy and great virtual page to share.  

Mod 10

Gina Heckel Mod 10

As I read the “Tweeting” article I was surprised that tweeting was even part of a educators tool box but as I continued through the article I understood some of the usefulness.  The authors discuss how using this informal communication (tweeting) would enhance student/teacher relationship by providing insight to each other outside of the traditional relationship perimeters.  This gives each group a glimpse of what happens outside school walls and gives each a way of relating to each other on another level.  I have to admit, I feel I have a better relationship with many of my grad professors because of the sharing we have done in the past.  I feel that this friendship has helped me stay invested in my education. 

But I believe as with any tool used in the classroom, we have to “rules” in place.  I think if you are using twitter in the classroom, it should have time restraints on responses, it should not be used to “share” information and should be monitored by teacher regularly.  By monitoring you can make sure no bullying or bashing is occurring and make sure students are using correctly. 

And when Dunlap and Lowenthal mentioned that bad grammar could be a drawback because of the 140 character limit I was happy.  Students need to be encouraged to at all times, to use proper grammar and grammar rules!

I LOVED THE IDEAS IN THE HERRINGTON, HERRINGTON, KERVIN AND FERRY ARTICLE!  I think the Austrian Department of Education has developed and designed a program to help new teachers and retain them.  The online support for novice teachers has to be an awesome tool and give these new teachers another place to look for help.  The BEST program that the University of Wollongong put into place is something the States should consider.  I know after we graduate (in Ohio) there is a mentoring program but I think the BEST program is more intense.  Students are actually paired up with mentors while student teaching and in their final college courses.  I think this is a great way to build self confidence in new teachers and give them someplace to go with questions.  I believe with these tools new teachers could do nothing but succeed.

O’Brien’s post on what parents want from communications with their school and school officials brought back memories of trying to find and get information from my daughter’s school.  We had to either call or rely on the brown envelope for information.  I agree that schools should have some sort of email system in place because this would provide privacy to sender and receiver and not put it out in the public events and such.  I don’t think that schools should not share too much information because you are just giving those that may prey on kids more information than they need.  The big point in the article that I liked that O’Brien brought up was all information shared with parents has to be accurate!!  Whether you post on some sort of social media or emails the information has to be true because parents need to know fact not hearsay.

O’Keefe’s article on school communities needing to build partnerships with the businesses they share space with I think is very important.  I really think this is something that has changed in the last 50 years; if you look at how those without children in school now vote for levies and how businesses are not involved as in the past you can see how schools have lost out on money, support and knowledge.   O’Keefe reminds us that we are all stakeholders in a child’s future and how the school need to again reach out to the resources around them.  Again, we want to give our students all the tools to succeed.