I watched a couple of videos about assistive technology. Also I was happy to read that through Assistive Technology there is more learning opportunities for students with SEN.
SEN teachers are relying on tablets as an assistive technology tool for students with SEN. The students have Apps designed for their capabilities. There are many new assistive technologies out there and I am please to say that it is growing within schools.
PROLOQUO2GO is a symbol supported communication app that gives a voice to people who can not speak. This is one App that is growing within SEN schools.
The App speaks by tapping buttons or phrases that appear.
The App is free and has many different accents.
There are symbols and pictures with words underneath.
When you tap the image the App will speak the word.
I believe this App and many more Apps like these are perfect for children with SEN or children with talking difficulties.
I am currently on placement one day a week in a primary school. I can tell you now that technology is a big part of children's learning today.
A normal classroom would have
Numerous Ipads/tablets for children to engage with.
Interactive white boards.
Computers.
Printers.
CD/DVD players.
Head phones.
Technology aids learning through children being more interactive and more willing to learn through technology. Children have more fun by playing interactive educational games on the white board or listening to audio readings on the computer. Teachers teach various lessons through technology, I have recently seen a lesson where children are using the interactive white board and the teacher is guiding the learning.
Children have different educational apps on the Ipads and in their free time they can read along with an App that helps them learn to read. Also there is an App that allows children to practise their shapes or hand writing. I believe technology is beneficial to a child's learning experience and in this day and age for someone to get a job it is crucial for them to have some sort of I.T skills.
I love shopping! I find it really convenient being able to shop online. As I have a son who's nearly 1 I find it hard to get out and about shopping if anything it is a hassle to get everything ready... Baby bag, nappies, milk, bottles all to go out to my local shops. Online Shopping is my saviour!!
Online shopping is the new craze it is so useful especially to people who can not get about for example disabled or unwell people can get their food shopping delivered to their front door. People who can't drive and don't live near a local shop or shopping centre can order online....
I used to worry about online shopping and I used to think all of these different websites -Next, Newlook, Ebay, Amazon... have my credit card details. I used to wonder if there would be one website that Id use one day that would hack my bank account details.
Pay Pal is a safe and reliable website that handles your credit card details.
Pay Pal is free and easy to sign up to.
I only give my credit card details to PayPal and then I don't have to type my credit card details into every website.
PayPal is the quickest method to paying online.
I would highly recommend everyone who has not already signed up to PayPal to do so as it is the safest way to keep your details hidden away from con artists!
I am now happy and confident to shop online because I know I can pay safely.
On my blog list there are few educational blogs that I follow. @TeacherToolKit is the blog that I engaged with the most.
The Blog belongs to a deputy head teacher-Ross Morrison McGill , the blog ranked number 1 educational blog in the UK. As a result of his blog he published his book in 2013, he is a proud author of 100 ideas: Outstanding Lessons. He is the most followed teacher on Twitter in the UK!! He is responsible for improving the quality of teaching and learning. The blog itself basically does what it says provides teachers the right tools for teaching and learning.
The blog reveals very useful strategies for teachers like the '5 Minute Lesson Plan' which is there to advise teachers to reduce planning time for lessons and to focus more on key learning phases within the lesson. 'Stickability' is a term used a lot to aid learning. It is there to guide teachers and for them to ask -what sticks in students minds in your lessons?
The blog is designed to help teaching and learning. There are many PDF , Word,documents available for teachers to use and engage with to spark new ideas for their lessons. The '5 Minute Lesson Plan' comes under many languages so this is useful for schools all around the world.
There are links on his blog to interactive learning games for students to engage with. I have enjoyed playing some of these interactive games like the puzzles and quizzes. There are many resources for students and teachers on this Blog. There is also homework templates and marking plans for teachers to follow. As a student myself I feel like this is a useful blog to have on my blog list.
CPD is another tool used on his blog where teachers are in a room like a speed dating event. They quickly engage and converse with each other whilst moving around the room exchanging teaching and learning ideas. I feel like this a brilliant and fun way of parting new ideas. The term Bring and Brag is used which means that teachers prepare a visual, physical or verbal idea that can be shared for 30 seconds. This to me sounds like a better way to have a staff meeting!
The Blog provides resources ,presentations and knowledge for new learning experiences such as the interactive white board, games and so forth. There are different links to these areas of learning. There is also a chat forum for teachers to join. And anyone can follow the Blog. There is a link to 'teachmeets' where dates on teachers national events are posted. On this blog there is links to educational youtube videos, images and also teachers selfies!!
I feel like this blog is a great educational resource with great ideas for teaching and learning.I will definitely come to this blog for some top tips for revision and learning. I feel like I can take away the 5 minute plan with me when I am now preparing for a presentation in university and I can use this to my advantage. The Blog is very modern with it's links to twitter and Facebook and many other social networking sites. This makes it appealing to myself and other students and I can follow and share ideas from this Blog to my Facebook page.
I chose this video because I found this to be a truly inspiring journey of how technology has played such an amazing part in this man's life and for all blind people. Technology has given opportunities for the blind to read and to be like everybody else. I love to get lost into a book and I thoroughly enjoy reading I find it so peaceful. Technology and inventors have come together and have provided the equipment now for blind people. Iphone's and laptops are more accessible to the blind, there are talking books on cd's for blind people to listen to stories. Which is brilliant for the education systems today.
Ron McCallum was born in 1948, after he was born he became blind it was a rare condition that he had through being born premature. Even though he is blind he still became an academic and a lawyer.
This video was very moving and inspirational as he talks about being blind and how he loves to read.
'I love stories, I want to read'
Through technology he was able to become a confident academic and a fine reader.
He learnt braille at the age of 5 and in high school he had his first ever Phillips Tape Recorder. This gave him the ability to let family and friends record material for him and then he could play it back on his tape recorder as many times as he needed. The technology of tape recorders were everything to him and he used them for 25 years during his career.
He talked about his first blind computer called the 'keynotegold84k' which was invented by Russell Smith. This computer had cost him $4,000 dollars back in 1987. The computer had a speech synthesiser which gave him the ability to read back what he typed. This aided him with his social lifestyle and also with his job.
'This allowed me to enter the computer world' Machines were invented in 1989 where Ron could scan books and the machine would talk back to him. Now instead of a machine technology has developed rapidly, that he now has JAWS (job, access with speech) programme on his Iphone and Laptop. This gives him the ability to browse the Internet and the programme will read out to him information from the internet. Technology has it's bad points but I am truly touched by how technology has effected this man's life, technology has helped the blind in so many ways.
This video is a great introduction to the usage of Glogster.
Glogster is website and an App that allows users to create interactive posters and canvases.
I believe
Glogster can be very beneficial to the education system......
Teachers can guide the learning process by giving the students a chance to be imaginative and creative with their work. Teachers can make learning fun by letting students use this website to create their work. Some students may feel limited when told to create/draw a poster on a particular subject I know I would because I am not very artistic. I feel with Glogster all students can produce excellent, unique posters without feeling under pressure to have good artistic skills.
Glogster does not require much expertise in technology and it's quick and easy to use.
Teachers create accounts for their students and can easily mark their work. Student accounts can either be open to public , teacher or teacher and classroom which makes it easier for them to share their work in a safe manner.
Teachers can choose a topic or base the task on the poster around the curriculum so it can be used as an educational learning tool.
Students can use this site to produce posters, journals, blogs, presentations and book reviews.
The sky is their limit!!!!
My Experience With Glogster.....
I wanted to sign up to Glogster but the downfall was that the website needed and educator code to sign up but I found another way to sign up through using my google account.
I decided to try Glogster out for myself....
I created a simple poster about myself, I found glogster slighty complicated to start with as there is so much I could do on the site. I kept referring back to the introduction videos when I needed help. After a short while I was aware of all the buttons and it was then clear to me how to use everything. I chose a simple template to start with and picked a simple theme 'Myself' to create a poster with.
I used clipart images and I was able to edit text and change colours. There were many more great things to do but I think the more I get used to Glogster the easier and more advanced my poster creations will come. The toolbar is already set out into subjects such as school, science, history, languages and many more. When I wrote about university I clicked on the subject school to get images and certain borders and speech bubbles. I can now relate to how this is an exciting way to create work.
I would have loved to have had the opportunity to use this site when I was in school. I can think of so many school projects that I would have been able to use this with. There are more advanced templates with ideas and themes that are already there for you which is brilliant because that's half the work done!
I was then able to share,email or link friends to my glog creation which is very similar to other social networking sites. This can be ideal when having to share work with other group members or teachers.
I am looking forward to using Glogster in the future! It will definitely aid my personal learning experience through helping me revise for exams.
University work and revision will be a lot more bearable from now on!
Web 2 is a development of the World Wide Web. It is a user-centred design where it's possible to share knowledge and information, it is interactive and collaborative and it is usually associated with web applications that help in two way communication. It focuses on user collaboration, user sharing and social networking.
Everyone is more than likely to have used some form of web2. If it's through blogging like I am now, or through being part of a social networking site like Twitter or Instagram. Even Wikipedia is a form of web2. What are the key characteristics of a web2 website?
It has a way to search information-search bar/engine.
It includes links.
It gives you the right to publish and upload images, videos and tag friends ect.
I use many forms of web2 through social media interaction. Aspects of web 2 that I am most involved with is Facebook including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. These are the ones I use on a daily basis and as sad as it sounds I can't imagine being without them!
WhatsApp is a messenger service for smartphones. The App uses 3G or WIFI to contact friends and family. I love using WhatsApp I find it so easy and reliable. I have the App on my Iphone and use it daily.
How can you tell if a website is a good or bad website?
Are websites reliable?
These are question's I always ask myself.... How do I know if I can trust information on a particular website? Is the information factual?
EasyWhoIs
I recently found a web source that let's me check the reliability of a website. If I have a website that I need to reference from I go on EasyWhoIs which then allows me to see the user domain of the website, author, date that the website was created and also the creator of the website and his/her records of online creations and so on ....
WOT
WOT stands for web of trust. This is another source that shows if websites are trustworthy. WOT rates other websites through red being not trustworthy, yellow to be cautious and green to be trustworthy. It is a way to make sure my browsing is safe. This is simple and easy to use. It can put up a block on my computer when I click on bad websites. So this is very handy for people who are not sure about computers and who are not sure on what sources and websites to trust.
Facebook is a social media website where people can become friends. It is a useful site and beneficial to people who haven't heard off relatives and need to interact with them or track down old friends from school for example. Facebook is becoming one of the largest social media sites. There are 500 million users who are currently on Facebook. And over 250 million people use Facebook on their mobile devices.
Pros to Facebook
Facebook helps people gain social skills and to build friendships.
It is useful to advertise businesses, create group pages and also for educational purposes e.g. helps promote different books, magazines, community day trips, volunteer work.
It is a fast growing network where people can like and share each others posts and pictures.
Cons to Facebook
Unless a person changes his/hers privacy settings then anyone across the world can access your personal information, all your images are there for the world to see and people might try to con you or pretend to be you by using your information.
Even though Facebook is for older teens+ some of the younger children can lie about their age and access Facebook. This is then dangerous because they can add strangers and talk to older people.
People don't tend to interact in person any more they are only communicating through these social sites.
Many people can access important things online e.g. Nhs advise service, read the news, pay bills, shopping. People can now gain so much knowledge and understanding of the world through social media sites. Schools are now involved with so much technology. Social Media is apart of everyday life for most teenagers. But there has been an increase in bullying through Social Media websites, this is not acceptable.
I recently downloaded the Blogger App on my IPhone. I find it so useful and it's actually easier than the Blogger website itself.
All I had to do was go into my App Store and type on my phone Blogger in the App search area. I found the Blogger icon and clicked download. After it had completed downloading I singed in using the same user and password as I do when using the Blogger website on the computer.
4 simple icons appear where I can look at my posts, write a new post, view my blog or settings. The camera icon in the top right hand corner is where I can upload images to my blog from my phone. I had to first agree and change my restriction on my settings to allow the Blogger App to access my images on my phone.
I prefer to use this app on my phone as I find It quicker and easier. I do not have to go on safari or internet explorer and type in Blogger.com to then finally get on to my blog. It's similar to the Facebook App that I have on my phone. When I'm out and about I can quickly post on my blog. It's great!
GoAnimate is a website where I created an animation video.
I could choose my own characters and design a background setting for example in a house or out the garden. I could then pick out of the toolbar what I wanted the character to do e.g. clean a room, eat some chocolate. I found it funny when you could pick a certain voice for your character, there were many different accents to choose from. When I wrote in the speech bubble the animated character would talk in the accent that I chose and spoke what I had just written.
I had to sign up to get my 14 day free trial. One of the websites faults is that I could only use it for 14 days then I would have to sign up to a payment plan with the website to then create more animation videos. There were different types of packages to go for, starting from $39 dollars a month which is quite expensive ! There were guides and videos to help me if I didn't understand how to create my video.
Connected to the ShabbyBlogs website there is a page for tutorials. On that page I had seen a video clip about a photo editing site called FotoFlexer.
This is how I was able to create my header for my blog. I was able to choose a header design that I liked from the ShabbyBlogs website. I clicked download to save the header design to my computer. I then went onto the FotoFlexer website and straight away I found it easy to use. I did not have to login or create an account to use this application. Under the title 'get started' was the icon 'upload photo'. Then there were options on where to upload the photo's from for example Facebook, my computer, twitter and many more. I decided to choose the header design that I had earlier saved to my computer from the ShabbyBlogs website.
You then can see many different icons and also the image you have uploaded. In the design I had chosen for my header there was a place to put a picture. I then clicked on the icon 'layers' and I added the image that I wanted to the header design that was already there. I saw it fitting to add a photograph of myself as it was for my blog.
Once I reshaped and cropped the image to fit the header design I then wanted to add a text. There was a 'Text' icon to add a text to the design. I decided to call my blog 'Lauren's Babbles' so after I wrote the text I placed it where I wanted it on the design , chose colours and the style of writing I preferred. I then clicked transparent for the text to blend in with the design I chose. After I was happy I clicked the icon 'select all' and the layers I had uploaded e.g. my header design, photograph of myself and the text were all selected and highlighted. I then clicked the icon 'merge' and all the layers merged into one photo. I found this to be a very clever and excellent way to be creative. I then saved the photo and added it to my blog through editing my header and selecting 'add image'.
FotoFlexer is a great, creative and fun way to edit or merge images. I think this website would be ideal for teenagers and young people. Especially for people who have chosen media studies for one of their subjects in school. I'm very happy with the image I have created and I think you should give it a try! There is no fees to pay or no login requirements. There is a login button if you wished to sign up.
I wanted a nice background for my blog, I did not like any of the template versions that blogger provided so... I went searching on Google for backgrounds. I came across a site called ShabbyBlogs. Which had different links at the top of the website page. I clicked on the link 'designs' and there were many different, unique background styles for my blog. Once I had found a background that I liked I clicked on the label 'get the code'. A set of instructions appeared on the screen and told me a step by step guide on how to install the background on to my blog. I highly recommend using http://shabbyblogs.com/ if you want a unique background that suits you. They have many choices of colours and also have a 'tutorial' link that takes you to different video clips that will help you apply backgrounds and headers to your blog. The video clips I find can be easier than reading a set of instructions and might benefit a more visual person.
Today we made a Wiki website. Before today I was not sure what a wiki website was... now I know that it is a web application which allows users to freely edit and adapt the content and structure of the web page.
Characteristics of a Wiki Website
Wiki supports hyperlinks and embeds videos and images.
It differs from a blog through there not being one defined owner of the account , you can add in users to create and adapt the web page.
Wiki page does not have much structure to it so the users can basically do what they want a need to suit them.
You can also set it up to be a private account so only you and your friends or chosen users can use and are allowed to edit the website.
We used a site called PBWORKS to set up our wiki website. There is a clear 'get started' button which gives you an option of 6 links to choose from. There is a link for Wiki Hub. Our lecturer helped us create our wiki website and gave all our class a username and link to use the website.
The whole class had access to our wiki website and it was interesting to see everyone putting their own style to the front page. The theme for the class wiki site was 'Technology Through The Ages.'
We were then split into groups and my group's theme was Education in 20 Years Time. I found this website similar to a blog but it made it possible for other members of my group to edit our page from their computer. For example I wrote about what I thought technology would be like within the next 20 years and saved the page, then Chris from his computer was able to edit the work and add in video link.
We found this video extremely interesting and basically it summed up what we thought technology would be like in the future. It was amazing to see how advanced technology could get within a school classroom. This really made me think would there be need for pen and paper? Would children ever need to learn how to write?
2Animate is a software that is easy to download to your computer at home. I used this application to make an animated gif. The application was easy and simple to use. I chose my own background out of the backgrounds that was provided. I then used the toolbar to create the spaceman. There were different colours, thickness of pen and shapes in the toolbar. I am not very artistic , art was not the best subject for me in school. I felt using this app was a fun and new experience for me. It was easy enough to draw, capture and scan images and then you can click on play and watch your moving animation! This application would be perfect for children there are modes of how difficult you would like your animation to be, so easy mode would be ideal for children.
My PhotoStory was made using an application on my Iphone. I was able to download the application from my app store on my phone. I decided to go with an app called 'YourMoments' I was able to read views and comments about the app before downloading it. It is a photo collage maker app. Once I downloaded the app I was able to choose a border or frame- the borders were set up to accommodate a certain amount of images. I choose 6 images as that was the maximum amount of images in one frame. I decided to base my images around the theme 'unconditional love' as it is in my opinion the most powerful connection between people. My son was my inspiration. I decided to tell a story of how love grows. And how instantly you feel love for your child. I feel that many mothers can empathize with this photostory. I choose images to upload in each box which was easy enough to do. The application asked if it was able to connect to my images, I firstly had to change my settings to allow the app to see my images which were already on my phone. This then made it easier for me to basically tick the boxes of the images I wanted in my photo story. I was able to edit the images, crop and change the colour. Also through the app I added the title to the images.
The downfall to this app was that the maximum amount of images you could have in one frame is 6.
An upside to the app is that if you had no images on your phone you could connect to other apps like Facebook or Instagram to then take images from these sites.
Also in favour of the app I could use this anywhere as it is on my phone for example on a train or in a park.
I used the site Bubbl.us to create my mind map. The site was a great way to put my brainstorming to good use. The site made it possible for me to capture and connect my ideas through using a mind map and also I found it a very useful way to expand and organise my way of thinking. Bubbl.us is simple, quick and helpful way to organise ideas. You have to sign up to register to the website and I think there is a fee depending on how many times you use it. This was beneficial to me when I was revising for exams. I could use the mind map system to revise a certain topic by putting the topic as the centre of the mind map and branch out on that topic using different colours to organise it. The image above is an example of a mind map I had done recently on the topic 'My Reflection.' There is a bubbl.us app you can now download to your phone which is an effective way to brainstorm on the go!
Today I have learnt about websites. In our groups we had to find a topic we were all interested in and then say why we choose this website. We choose how to carve pumpkins as our topic. There is a need to be cautious when choosing a website, if you are say choosing a website for an academic purpose then you need to know that the website is reliable with up to date facts and information. The website should have an author a date that it was published and recent update dates to see when the website was last used and updated. As a group we used the website checkereasywhois to check who created the website and if the person or the organisation is valid and reliable.
My name is Lauren. I am in my first year of university, I love the freedom of university life. I'm currently studying my degree and I like the course so far. I am a little worried about the work load , hopefully I will be able to manage all these assignments! I wanted to go to this university simply becuase it's close to home and I needed to be close to my son. I like the structure of the course. I drive in everyday which costs a bomb in petrol! I need a money tree!
