Tech+Tips

Technology Integration Strategies

My UDL plan required students to measure with rulers. As part of an accommodation, I had the students in my lesson plan use rulers that have a thin, colored, see through film on top of the ruler. This makes it easier for students to line up the ruler with the object they are trying to measure and enables them to see the measurement more clearly. I liked the idea of this tool a lot. I think that many students would benefit from this, especially those students with physical disabilities or visual impairments.

Katie Fitch ___ During my observation, I was placed in a class with 4 students with hearing loss. The students used assistive listening devices (ADLs) that were synced with a microphone the teacher had. The teacher referred to the system as an FM system. While this technology was very helpful to the students, I saw it malfunction on more than one occasion. For this and other reasons, there were multiple forms of representation during the lesson. While the FM system was in use, the teacher also used the Promethean board to show students the lesson. A movie on the board used closed captioning that the students were able to read along with. Handouts were given to each student. The teacher also communicated in sign language while she was speaking. These elements allowed the class to continue when the FM system failed.

Matt Craig

In one of the classrooms where I observed, the students used Edmoto. Edmoto is like a classroom Facebook page. All the students in the class have a username and password; but the teacher controls the entire site. The teacher uses Edmoto to post discussion questions/exit tickets/homework reminders/etc. One really neat thing about it is if the teacher posts a poll/discussion/exit ticket, it provides instant feedback! For this particular lesson, the students were completing research projects about penguins. The teacher posted a discussion question (regarding the book the class is reading about penguins) and each student had to respond before the end of the period. Each student would post, as they had time, and could read all the other students' responses. This is a great tool to have in any classroom. It helps to tie everything together and allows the classroom to connect through the site. I would definitely use it and suggest it for future classrooms!

Amanda Reed

When I observed at Chase Elementary for this particular class. I observed a particular student that had multiple disabilities working during pull-out instruction. She was using a touch screen computer to practice/improve her fine motor skills and cognitive abilities. The program would tell the child to "Touch the Balloon" that came up on the screen. The child would try to touch the balloon. At some times, she would not be strong enough to touch it, but the instructor knew that she understood what it was because he would watch the child follow the balloon from one side of the screen to the other with her eyes. The program would tell her to touch other particular items on the screen and she would do the same. I really liked this activity because it really did assess her cognitive and physical ability. At times, even though she could not touch it, she did understand and know what it was. I would definitely use it with a child experiencing these disabilities if I was a pull-out instructor.

Jordyn Minty

In the classroom where I observed, students were given specific bins for their independent work. These bins were labeled with Boardmaker numbers. The students knew which ones were their bins because they also had Boardmaker numbers at their work station. They took one of their numbers from their work station and found the bin that matched it. This helped these students because it gave them clear goals, knew how many bins they needed to complete during their independent work time, and helped them to stay organized. When the students finished their work, they turned the bin around to show the side that did not have a number. That side was labeled with the Boardmaker symbol for "finished", which was also used by the teachers to say specific activities or times of the day were finished. This was an easy way that combined a hands-on way of organizing materials with a symbol that students saw throughout the day.

Joanna Rizzo

In one of the classrooms where I observed, a few students were given Alphasmart 3000’s to write the stories they were working on. These students worked on the Alphasmart keyboards instead of at the computer stations. This tool helped these students because it eliminated the extra navigation needed when working on a computer and it helped them choose words for their paper. For example, one student showed me how she could access starter sentence words when she did not know how to start a sentence. They also showed me how as they started to spell a word they were not sure of, options would pop up and they could select the word they were looking for. This was an effective tool that allowed all students to work independently on the same assignment.

Sarah Callanan

One teaching with technology tip that I learned about and observed this semester was the low-tech tool, the Slant Board with Clips. It is a light-weight tool that is sturdy and is very convenient and easy to use. In the classroom where I observed, there was one student who has Cerebral Palsy and was given a Slant Board with Clips. This tool can be integrated into the classroom and would benefit the student. The tool assists her with their writing on a daily basis. The Slant Board with Clips helps the child develop their fine motor skills and allows the student to stay on task and not get distracted. This tool was beneficial and effective and allowed the student to work independently on the same assignment as her peers.

Kathleen Seale

In a special education classroom that I have observed in, one of the students had an iPad to work with. This student had autism and his iPad was filled with programs that were specifically for him and benefited his education. He had programs that worked on spelling, and word sounds. Teachers worked with him individually to work on these concepts and while I was there, I was able to work individually with him as well. I thought this was really beneficial to the student because his iPad was not for multiple students so the programs on it were specifically for him. Therefore, everything programmed onto that iPad was to help him succeed in his education. I think for students who has autism, or really any disability or specific need, an iPad is a good way for them to be engaged and learn the specific concepts that they need assistance with.

Rachel Winter

A teaching with technology tip that I have observed to be very helpful in the classroom is PollEverywhere. It is a free website as long as the audience responding is under 40 people. Students with speech delays can respond using this program or it can act as a quick way to assess all students. I have used it in multiple classes. Older students can respond on their cellphones. If cellphones aren't available, students can use the computers, iPads, etc. with internet access. It is a quick and easy way for teachers to assess students understand of a topic or it can be used as a pre-teaching strategy to assess what students already know about a topic before it is taught.

Kate Stuart

In my observation, the classrooms I observed in have a 1:1 program with students and their tablets. They use Mobeelity tablets, which have an app called Studyboard on them. This Studyboard app is an interactive workplace between students and teachers that has an interface that looks just like Facebook. Teachers can upload links, files, and audio or video clips, and students can upload homework, ask questions, and organize assignments. Though we were not able to surf the interface ourselves, we did observe a student flipping through her Studyboard interface to find the homework she handed in the night before. Teachers can see all of the files uploaded by students, but students can only see what the teachers upload and what they individually upload (no student can view another students’ work or uploads). I thought it was a very interesting way to complete assignments, because teachers can check students’ comprehension and understanding on their own time.

Erin Entwistle

In my observation I observed students with hearing disabilities using a Phoniak microphone. This microphone was attached to the teachers shirt and wirelessly connected to the children's hearing aids. This is a great technology tip for any teacher teaching a student who has any degree of hearing loss. The students can hear what the teacher is saying without having to look up to see any visual signs. The students were extremely encouraged by this and were able to concentrate on the work they were doing and the lesson being presented. Teachers should pay attention to who may have a hearing disability and if they would benefit from this technology.

Kelly Murkey

Throughout the duration of this class, I have learned one huge tip: technology is not going to work all the time. During class and my observations there have been many instances where technology suddenly fails. While I observed at Loch Raven Technical Academy, one student’s tablet would not connect to the school’s server. Even though the teacher seemed frustrated, she calmly gave the student her tablet and allowed the student to answer the warm-up question that way. As a future educator I cannot allow my frustration with technology to ruin the flow of the lesson and always have a backup plan in mind. Technology is a wonderful tool to use, but teachers must be prepared to face any obstacles that may come my way.

Heather Slavings

I was placed in Villa Cresta Elementary School for my observation. In this classroom there were about students in Mrs. Jones' homeroom. All of them were hearing impaired to some extent. When it was math time the 5th graders would move on to their regular inclusion classrooms and the 3rd graders would stay with Mrs. Jones. The technology that I found very interesting was that, before Mrs. Jones starting teaching she would bring out a microphone device and would hold it next to each students' hearing aid to sync it. This way, if the student was able to hear better with the hearing aid, then it was like Mrs. Jones was talking directly to them in their ear. This did have it's fall backs because one morning John's hearing aid didn't want to work. They tried everything from changing out batteries to cleaning the ear wax out of the hearing aid. In the end they couldn't figure out what was wrong and had to give up for the time being. This in turn took up half and hour of instruction.

Jessica Behnke

A teaching with technology tip that I saw during my observation is a program called News 2 You. It is the curriculum used in the classroom I observed in since they do not have text books for the students. This website provides a news article each week for students. The articles are available at four different levels of difficulty, which are 'regular', 'simplified', 'higher', and 'advanced'. The simpler versions are mostly symbols with few text, where the advanced versions are more text and less symbols. The reading each week is related to the same topic even though the difficulty levels vary. The articles are also provided with questions for students to answer, worksheets, recipes, and review material to help keep all students engaged. I found this site very beneficial because the teacher is able to choose which level is best for each student to read and work with, but all students in class are learning the same information on their own level.

Kim Price

While observing at Loch Raven Technical Academy, I was amazed at how much Technology was used throughout a typical school day. Most classes relied on the tablets that were given to each student. These tablets are the students to keep all year long. They complete their homework, papers, and classwork assignments on them. One of the most beneficial applications on these tablets that I found was called the Flash Card Wizard. This app allowed them to share and save flash cards for future use. The class created definitions for vocabulary words and entered them into their individual tablets. As they worked, the teacher asked, "What image can you picture for each card?" I found this app very helpful because it got the students thinking visually and creatively instead of simply copying and pasting from the board.

Dana Errico

One teaching with technology tip I learned about was Wordle. This is a web tool that can be used to create word clouds from provided text. The more frequently a word is used, the larger the word will appear in the cloud. Also, the fonts can be changed as well as the layouts and color schemes. The clouds can be printed out or saved and shared with others. This can be used for many dfferent purposes. It could be used to show a student that they are using a word too much in their writing. It could also be used when the whole class is giving responses and you want to figure out which words were given the most.

Brittany Cartwright

A teaching tip I observed in my field placement that I found to be very beneficial in the classroom was a Coinulator. As the students were learning about how to add up money, first they were given fake money manipulatives. After they added up the money on their own, they then check their work on the Coinulator. This tool has a button for different coins and dollars. The students were very engaged when using this, and made for an interesting and fun way to check their work. This also made it very easy for the students to copy their work down, as well as for the teacher to quickly assess them.

Jennifer Evans

During my observation, I observed students using screen shots as a supplement to verbal directions given for computer instruction. This was a good use of UDL. The teacher gave kindergarten students instruction on how to use PowerPoint to learn letter-sound correspondence. She modeled what she was saying verbally on the Promethean Board. Then she passed out screen shots of what she did incase students forgot or could not read the words on the screen. I thought that this was a great strategy to use with technology instruction.

Danielle Mooney

I observed in a classroom with three hard of hearing/Deaf students. These students were all supplied with FM systems, an assistive technology tool they used when they were included in the general education kindergarten classroom. This FM system plugs into the student's hearing aid, and the other part is a microphone connected to the teacher. The system eliminates background noises, so that the student can focus on the teacher's instruction. Not only did the teachers utilize this FM system, but they also turned on the TV for the morning announcements, so the students could watch one of the administrators sign the announcements in addition to listening. The teachers also used the Promethean boards for a lot of activities, which included activities that allows students to answer using the pen on the board, watch videos with closed captioning, and videos that used sign language. All of these technology tools are great ways to make sure each student is included in instruction and has an equal opportunity to be successful.

Bridie Condon

During my 6 hour observation in Villa Cresta Elementary School I saw many different technologies being used. The self contained classroom that I observed had deaf or hard of hearing students. One technology that was incorporated into the instruction of the classroom was a promethium board. This is a very interactive and engaging technology to use in a lesson. The board allows diverse ways for information to be represented as well as diverse response and expression of the students' answers. Another form of technology that was used in this classroom was an FM system. This is a hearing device that attaches to the student's hearing aids. A microphone attached to the teachers shirt creating the student to be able to hear the teacher more clearly while blocking out any other background noise that could be distracting. This helped the students to stay on task and provide them with the best form of instruction possible. Assistive technology in a classroom is so important because it allows a student to learn new information to the best of their ability and provides them with the best education possible to meet their individual needs.

Tracy Peterson

In a classroom I observed this semester I saw a student using a switch. The teacher would play a video for the student. Then periodically stop the video. The student would use the switch to turn the video back on. This was helping the student to learn cause and effect. While helping the student to start too learn how to use a computer. These beginning tool can help to lead to using more technology by the student.

Alisa Rogers