Creative Commons License

Right now we are learning about Creative Commons license.  I had to create one for work of my own that I may post on this webpage.  Here is my license:


Personal Photos by Angela Breneman is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br /><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">Personal Photos</span> by <span xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" property="cc:attributionName">Angela Breneman</span> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.

Discovering with Technology for Learning Course- Reflect- Emerging Technology

   

Photo taken from Pixabay.com

    From the first module of Discovering with Technology for Learning, I have become aware of many new technological tools that are being developed and some that are brand new.  I also learned about how to more effectively apply the SAMR Model to my teaching, even in my resource room.
    When I think of the new and emerging technology, I think of all the different ways the technology can infuse the students learning experience and how they can support students with disabilities.  It is hard to believe that some of the tech that is coming out is real.  I used to see it in moves and thought, "that will never happen."  I am surprised now.  I really think that the Oculous Rift will help be a big game changer in students learning.  Students will be able to experience events of history, manipulate and explore scientific environments, and experience stories through the effects of the Oculous Rift.  I also think this is a great tool for people that are physically disabled.  People that may have not been able to experience sky diving, roller coasters, deep sea diving, may be able to experience some of the affects of it now.  Another new tech that I really enjoyed learning about was the Makey Makey, I could see that being used in many STEM classrooms and a great tool for students to creatively get involved with their assignments.
    The SAMR Model is a very influential model to use when creating higher order thinking and engaging lessons for students.  I thought it would take more time and be a lot harder to make the activities in my lessons at the higher level of modification and redefinition.  I also thought that it would take too much time for my students to complete the assignment in my resource room.  I think that the redefining the activities my students do to fill in the gaps of the learning my actually help them understand the content better.

Discovering with Technology for Learning Course- SAMR Model Redesigning a Lesson

    There are a lot of different things that can be done using the SAMR Model to allow students to be creative while learning and to present what they have learned.  In a Discovering with Technology for Learning course I am taking, I have to redesign a lesson that I taught at the lower SAMR Models and bring it above the line on the SAMR Model.  When I say "above the line" it means in the Modification or Redefinition level.  I did a little research on how to make my activity on a higher level of the SAMR Model because I thought it would be a little difficult to do in a resource room with students at an elementary level.  I found a very helpful poster.  Click on the link below for the poster of some apps at different levels of the SAMR Model at from Greg Swanson's Website.

Photo taken from Pixabay.com

Here is what my students task in the lesson before redesigning my lesson:
   Before christmas break, I had the students write about the best gift for them.  After the students wrote about what the best present was I had them type it on the computer.  This activity fell in the substitution area of the SAMR Model.

After thinking about how I could change the lesson to be above the line of the SAMR Model the lesson looked like this:
    Students will create interview questions they have to ask someone about the best gift ever.  Students will use the Sock Puppets app on the iPad to record and present this interview.  After interviewing their classmate, students will draw a picture (either by hand or using an application on the computer or tablet) of what their classmate wants and create a Voicethread reviewing the interview they had with their classmate.

    If I would have done my lesson after redesigning it, students would be at the redefining level of the SAMR Model, when completing this activity.  I wish I would have done this activity before Christmas.  I think the kids would have had a lot of fun doing it.  I then would have them e-mail it to their parents.  I think I am going to use this redesigned lesson format for an opinion piece I am going to have my students do later this month.  :)
 

Discovering with Technology for Learning Course- Impact of Emerging Technology

  There is so much up and coming technology that I would love to explore.  I think that a lot of the up and coming tech could be used more in the general education classroom as opposed the the resource room.  I had to think very creatively on how these tools could be applied to a resource room and in other special education classroom.
    I think drones and Oculous Rift glasses could be very useful in the general education classroom.  These would be be great tools to experience things that from different views.  The drones would be great for hands on math activities using measurement, weight, speed, and even talking about how far the drone could go or how long it could operate before the it losses energy.  I think the Oculous glasses would be great when studying social studies or history topics.  I think the Oculous and Drones could be a great tool for students to be creative with their writing responses.  Students could write about what they want to do with it, an experience they had with the tools, or create a story and show it to others on the Drones and even virtually on the Oculous.
    If I had these tools in my classroom, I would definitely use the Oculous and the Drone for encouraging creative writing.  I think I would also have my student write stories that they would then create a virtual world on the Oculous.   I would also have the student write stories about a super hero or the life of an ant by using the view of the drone.  I think one tool that I would use is the Makey Makey in my classroom.  It looks like there is so much you can do with those using any types material for the Makey Makey to connect to.  I would have the students do some phonics lessons and building words using the Makey Makey.  I also could see all three of these tools being used with students with physical impairments to help them better interact with their environment and experience things they couldn't experience in person(i.e., some people with physical impairments can't ride on roller coasters, the Oculous makes it possible for them to experience it, to a certain point).
    A type of technology that is emerging that I think would be useful in the classroom is a screenless display.  I think this would be a great tool, especially for teachers that are always traveling from room to room.  There are many different types of screenless displays, such as contact form of screenless displays.  I am worried about the health benefits of them though.

Exploring Blog Sites

Photo taken from http://s3.amazonaws.com/everystockphoto/fspid20/19/07/17/channel-islands-morro-190717-o.jpg
Text added through use of FotoFlexer

  This week I took time to explore away from Blogger and tried Weebly's blogging tools.  I was having trouble with some of the editing tools of Blogger but I have gotten most of them figured out.  I am now here to stay.
    Weebly is a great tool for creating websites and it is so user friendly but it just wasn't meeting my needs.  I wanted a blog site that people could subscribe to and I could connect to other bloggers.  I also wanted a site that would link to my google account.  So, I came back to Blogger.
    If you would like read about a response to #flipclass on Twitter and my feedback to a prompt in my Developing Technology for Learning class I am taking, feel free to explore my other blog page.  The address is missbseesit.weebly.com,

Discovering with Technology for Learning Session 0.5 Response

 I am writing this blog in response to a technology course I am taking online Calhoun County ISD.  I have to respond to the questions for one of my first assignments for this class.  

1. Why are you taking this course? 

          I am taking this course because I love technology and I think it can be a great way to differentiate for students and a way to connect with students.  I think technology has a lot to offer and that there are a lot of tools out there I don't know about that can really support my students with learning disabilities.

1.  What do you hope to learn during this course?

         I hope to learn about different tools that I can use with my students and students I co-teach with to infuse their learning.  I also hope that I learn some more tools that would be very helpful with PBL(Project Based Learning).

1. What concerns/fears or other issues are causing you anxiety as you start the course?

         I am concerned about the lack of access to technology for my students to practice some of the things I am learning during this course.  I am currently sharing 2 computers with the person in my room, and sharing my 5 iPads with 2 others on the special education team in my building.