Unit 2 Learning Menu

Appetizer

Dr. Long,

I will send you the attachment to my flyer in an email. It will not allow me to attach or upload it here. 

Thanks,

Courtney 

Entree`

There are quite a few assistive technologies. In the PowerPoint they were broke up into three sections (low tech, mid tech, and high tech) 

Low tech:

Low tech is very simple modifications that really don't require going out and buying an expensive tablet. It is basically just making simple modifications in things like visuals and wording. an example of this would be to enlarge or increase spacing between pictures and such. another modification would be to use visual cues to help with vocabulary (this could help with association)

Mid tech:
This is where we get into actual technology.
Talking dictionaries for the people who cannot read. Another great technology that I like is the use of leapfrog. leapfrog is a set of instructional games in a child's tablet form. they learn and don't know it. E-books are also a great resource in the classroom that does not require the best of technology to have in the classroom. Electronic audio text is another great AT. A popular version of this would be audio books.
High tech:
One of the biggest things is the computer. computers can do just about anything and they come in two very different flavors (MAC OS10 and Microsoft Windows). Adobe has many different software's for leaning and creating.
tablets can also be considered high tech considering they can do almost everything that a computer can do and are much more portable. 

Tech/Talk- Speech technology that let nonverbal children communicate. When a button was pressed on the machine it would say a phrase to correspond with the button pressed.

Fujitzu tablet pc- used to replace the tech/talk because Thomas did not like to use it. Thomas later decided that he did not like this, either because he might press the wrong button and say the wrong thing.  Tablets can be purchased from a store like Walmart. They are great resources for communicating with others because they have large screens for pictures and they have speakers for communicating verbally.
There is a classroom computer with special software and a track ball. This is good because of the versatility of computers. Computers can have countless amount of software for speech therapy, the arts, and many more.

I honestly cannot think of newer technology that can be utilized at a wide-spread level. Tablets are still the biggest and best thing for this kind of job because of their power and portability. Apple has a great program for schools that want to incorporate iPads in schools. The best way that I have seen this incorporated is by using them as mobile computer labs. The iPads are placed in ports on a cart (that also keeps them charged so they are ready to go at a moments notice) that can be taken from class to class. this also has the added benefit of freeing up space for new teachers to have classrooms.

 

Dessert

I have taken several learning style surveys before. Therefore going into the inventory and questionnaire, I knew that my learning style preference lent more towards kinesthetic/hands-on learning style. However the VARK questionnaire reported that I was more of an aural learner, whereas the Learning Style Preference Inventory shows that I am a strong kinesthetic learner. In the Inventory, visual nor auditory were close in number to the amount that I answered kinesthetic which is the result I have with learning preference surveys. The VARK questionnaire on the other hand has four categories and kinesthetic was not far behind in number to the aural. It surprised me that the amount of questions I answers led to aural because I have a very difficult time learning by only hearing a professor lecture. 

Looking closer into the description of aural learners that VARK gives I can see a few of the characteristics that do describe me. Of course, attending class helps anyone learn. I can remember bits and pieces of lectures from memory as long as I am taking notes while the professor teaches. The characteristic of an aural learner to intake information better is to discuss topics with the teacher or others. This characteristic, from experience, helps me learn information greatly. If I am studying for a test and have the opportunity to help/teach someone else the information that does not understand it, I then remember and understand the information better. However, it goes on to say that notes do not really help these type of learners study, and I can not study without notes. I will not learn the information without visually seeing it after I write it. The characteristic of notes to study strongly correlates with the kinesthetic learning style. The best way for these type of learners to study according to VARK is to convert your notes into a learnable packet by reducing them. This makes sense why I always have to reorganize my notes and condense them to one page when studying for exams. Additionally, writing practice answers that might be on an exam also is beneficial for kenesthetic learners which I also do while rewriting my notes.

I can see how these two learning styles have affected me in the classroom. I have learned how to learn through auditory tendencies because many teachings only use this technique when teaching. Maybe that is why in the VARK questionnaire my results were high in this area. Over the years, I noticed if I stayed involved in discussion in the classroom while the teacher was giving a lecture by asking questions, I could learn and remember the information better. Additionally, I learned if I would take my notes in a way that I could visually remember them I would also learn better. 

In short, I have learned a lot about myself over the years by seeking questionnaire to learn more about how I best learn. It has helped to pay attention in the classroom better and study more efficiently. I still do not believe that I am an aural learner, but that I best learn through hands-on experiences and visually.

Nearpod: I have created a poll on this website and Socrative as well. Both are completed, but I cannot figure out how to share them. I will come by your office tomorrow to see if you can help me share the presentations.