"I Have Something to Say"

In her article, Marla Runyan describes the use of iPods, iPads, and other tablets when helping students with disabilities have a voice. There is an app available called Proloquo2Go which gives students a picture accompanied with a word or phrase that helps them communicate what they want or need. The picture above shows the same concept but in paper form. Runyan explains how easily this app can be customized to fit individual students' needs. My mom has been working with children with learning disabilities for almost thirty years now and has been using the same technique but using laminated pieces of paper (similar to what is shown above) instead of an app. I have sat in on my mom's classroom when students are using these. To me they seem to be extremely helpful when young students with autism have not yet found their voice. It is amazing how, although these students cannot speak, they form sentences together to express their thoughts and feelings. While on the app it can speak the sentences that are formed, when used in classroom the "old school" way, the teachers and teachers' aids can speak the sentences they form which will give students more of a face-to-face connection. Runyan goes on to talk about all the features of this app, which include having one symbol represent an entire sentence or how you can organize things by categories.

As wonderful as this app is, one problem is the accessibility of the iPods or iPads. Some schools may have the budget to provide this kind of technology for their students, but what about when the students go home and their family doesn't have that kind of device? As I mentioned above, my mother's classroom has a binder full of different cards with words and pictures on them and velcro on the back of the cards. On the front of the binder are multiple strips of velcro so the students can grab a card and place it on the cover to indicate what they want. This is definitely a more inexpensive way of using the same concept. This would be great in a classroom where a child with a learning disability may have had to be integrated into a regular paced classroom. Said student may have a better way of communicating with their mentor (most students are accompanied by one when placed in classrooms like these), other peers, and even their teachers.

The ISTE NETS standard I would say fits best with this article is standard two: Communication and Collaboration. This article applies to this standard because with said app, students with disabilities can communicate and form sentences and express themselves through technology. This may also help students when sharing ideas or sharing information or bits of knowledge they wouldn't have been able to share before.

Runyan, Marla. (2011) I Have Something to Say. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(1), 32-33. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201108#pg34

"Are Teachers Even Necessary?"

In the article by Diana Fingel, she briefly discusses two educator's blog posts about their idea about the "value of teachers" in the classroom. The first educator is Pernille Ripp, a 4th grade teacher who believes that teachers are one of the most important teaching tools in classrooms and should never be replaced by technology. She claims that "when we let videos be the only teaching tool for a child, or a computer program, then we stop figuring out why that child is not understanding. We lose that human connection that teachers provide." On the other hand, educator Lisa Nielson blogs about how teachers nowadays can be replaced by technology and how it could possibly be a good thing. She explains, "the reality for me is that I would have been much better off without the teachers in my life weighing me down and wasting my time." Although her experience as a student with a teacher was not a positive one, she does go on to explain that teachers are good tools, just not good for everyone.

This article can be great for teachers because it can give them other options when they see students who may be struggling in their classrooms. I can understand how some teachers may find it difficult to grasp the concept that they are not helping their students, but some students learn differently than others. This article (which lists both teacher's blog links) can help teachers use different technical tools to teach, giving their students multiple ways of learning and understanding the material.

If I had to choose an ISTE NETS standard for students that related most to this article, I would have to say standard six: Technology Operations and Concepts. This standard fits best because students would have to understand how to use certain pieces of technology in order for them to participate in the lesson. Students must also use the proper applications in order to be "effective and productive."

Fingel, Diana. (2012) Are Teachers Even Necessary? Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(6), 5. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20120304#pg7

"To Flip or Not to Flip?"

Johnathan Bergmann and Derrick Waddell voice their opposing views on the new concept of flipped classrooms. Bergmann believes that with a flipped classroom, students go from boring classroom lectures to a "learner-centered, problem-based, inquiry-driven hub of learning."  Bergmann also believes that by letting the children teach themselves the material, they can learn whichever way is easiest to them whether it be via videos or through their textbooks. Waddell, on the other hand, disagrees with Bergmann's ideas of flipping the classroom. Waddell wonders "why aren't we finding innovative ways for our students to collect, collaborate  and create instead of new ways to simply consume information?" Waddell also has the students in mind who may not always have access to a computer or internet at home all the time. What are those students going to do when they are supposed to watch videos online to learn?

This article is good for teachers who are considering flipping their classrooms. Bergmann believes that it's a great idea, but one still has to think about if just a lesson is going to be flipped, which subject is going to be flipped, etc. This article gives teachers, and future teachers, some pros and cons about the new style of flipped classrooms.

The ISTE NETS standard I feel fits best with this article is standard three: Research and Information Fluency. I feel that this standard fits best because with a flipped classroom, students are forced to go home and (mainly) use digital media to teach themselves the concepts that would otherwise be taught in lectures. Not only would the students be using digital media to locate the videos of the lectures online, but some students may branch out and dive deeper into the internet world to find some information that pertains to the subject they are teaching themselves.

Bergmann, J. & Waddell, D. (2012) To Flip or Not to Flip? Learning & Leading with Technology. 39(8), 6-7. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20120607#pg8