Blog #4: Google for Educators

Being able to recognize and utilize tools and resources is the sign of an effective teacher. Google for Educators is full of helpful tools that can be used to elevate the level of efficiency and communication not only for teacher-student relationships, but for student-student relationships as well. I was amazed at the breadth of the available options. One of the greatest things about this system of resources is that it is all free, and all can be accessed at any time through the internet. Nowhere else can you have such an expansive, free educational resources system.

One of my favorite tools was the Google Notebook. Pieces of paper with scribbled notes are easy to lose, and hard to organize. With this application, students would have complete access and control of information they found. It all would make organize research for a paper much easier, especially if it was a group project. If I assigned any sort of research paper or project, students could use Google notebook to record websites, download pictures and graphics, and keep progress recorded in a place that all members had access to. This would increase accountability between the students, as they would all have responsibility to update and record certain research.

Another helpful too I will use is Google Maps and Google earth. As I teach students about history and world events, it will become so much more real to them as they see it visually represented. If we are talking about a specific area in Europe or the Middle East, the students can use the Google Apps to find the area, pinpoint it, and explore the images of the location. This may be as close as some will ever get to some really amazing places, and I want to be able to give them the greatest experience possible.

One other tool that I would use to help facilitate organization and communication is the Google Calendar application. Students, parents, and teachers can all have clear communication about when assignments are due, scheduled days off, and upcoming projects. Also, students working in groups could create calendars to organize study groups and project sessions. For whatever reason, everyone can be up to date and receive real time updates on deadlines and schedules.

Google Docs is another tool that would be invaluable to the classroom. I remember as a student, being assigned group projects was such a headache because one student would end up “typing the paper”, but really doing all the work, from research, writing, editing, and printing. With Google Docs, all students have equal access and opportunity to update, create, and comment on the progress of a document. I will use this tool a lot in my classroom. Whenever projects or papers are assigned at a group level, they can be created using this tool, so that all students have access to the project. No longer can there be the excuse that they had no chance to help. They each would be able to give feedback right from home or the classroom. Changes can be recorded and saved, and the entire process would be so much smoother.

I look forward to using each of these tools in my classroom. I think that as I start to use them, it will get easier to understand how they work, and when to use them. It is really amazing to me that these great resources are free to use, and can be accessed at any time, from anywhere. I look forward to the chance I will have to integrate them in to my teaching in the future.

Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

Welcome to another school year! I am Heather Davis, and I am so excited to teach your children social studies this year. With the start of a new year, I am very excited to have each one of your children in my classroom. We are fortunate enough to have a very diverse population of students this year, some of those with special learning needs. I am writing you this letter to make you aware of some of the legislation in place to protect the learning needs of each of your children, and to assure you of the equality and fairness in our classroom. A number of teachers in our district have worked together, and this letter is the result of our collaborative research and efforts.

Our government has passed three major pieces of legislation that all parents should be aware of. The first is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This act provides special services to children all over the nation, and assures that each state follows specific regulations and guidelines to ensure every child receives a fair education. My fellow teacher, Jia Acree, agrees with me on the importance of making sure every child gets a fair chance. In the past, that was not always the case, but with this act, more children then ever are able to have a fair classroom environment. Another teacher, Jessica Burns, has done some research on this topic, and she said that up until the 1970's, many children with disabilities were not allowed in the classroom. We are happy to inform you that your children will be treated fairly and will receive an equal education opportunity.

Another important piece of legislation is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and it was signed in to law in 1990. The research of Crystal Fronk says that the primary function of this act is to prevent the discrimination of people with disabilities. This act does not only prevent discrimination in schools, but also by employers, state and local governments, and at public facilities and telecommunications. This has an impact on education because it will never allow your student to be discriminated against. Another teacher, Rylee McClellan, states that a person with a disability who is just as qualified as someone without, then the person with the disability will have an equal chance to succeed. As parents, you can rest assured that laws are in place to protect the education of every one of your students. As Will Wardwell puts it, the ADA is "ambitious in its scope and, for many Americans, life-changing."

One other important act is the Assistive Technology Act, originally passed in 1998, and amended in 2004. The ATA specifically deals with the use of technology, and assures that those with special needs receive the training and tools they need to succeed. This reaches the classroom as well. According to Janelle Ottersberg, Congress acknowledged that the use of technology has "come to play an important role in the lives of U.S. citizens." For this reason, states need to have available funding to help make this goal a reality. Fellow teacher Tanya Rush adds that this act "increases the overall knowledge and advances in technology and helps enable people with disabilities to advance in the technical world." What this means for you as parents is that your children will have the technology resources they need to succeed in my classroom this year. This act reaches every single state, and as Jocelyn Stearns points out, each state receives the necessary funding to distribute to all those who fall in need of the Act's provisions.

This year in our classroom, we will do everything we can to ensure each child receives an equal opportunity for the best education possible. As educators, we look forward to teaching every one of your students, and helping them feel engaged and excited to learn. Thank you so much for your continued support, and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about any of the aforementioned material.

Please see the following websites if you would like more information on any one of these pieces of legislation.

Assistive Technology Act: http://www.fctd.info/resources/ATlaws_print.pdf
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act http://idea.ed.gov
Americans with Disabilities Act http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/)


Thank you for your time, and I hope you all enjoy the year as much as I will!!
Heather L. Davis

References Teacher Research Websites
http://jiamarieacree.blogspot.com/
http://cfdraw.blogspot.com/
http://heatherdavis202edtech.blogspot.com/
http://jocelynstearns.blogspot.com/
http://ryleemcclellan.blogspot.com/
http://timyoungblood.blogspot.com/
http://trush-trush.blogspot.com/
http://willwardwell.blogspot.com/

Assistive Technology in the Classroom

Everyday in our country, there are millions of people who need some type of assistive technology to go to school, work, or just to live independently. Especially in our public school system, there is a need for assistive technologies to help give each individual child an equal opportunity to have their learning needs met. Fortunately, our government has also recognized this need and the importance of funding for assistive technology. A monumental act was passed that affected assistive technology programs in every state. On October 25, 2004, President Bush signed the Assistive Technology Act of 2004, setting a landmark precedence for Assistive Technology programs all over the country. The text of the actual law can be found on this site. The AT Act of 2004 was actually the final in a series of Acts set on helping with assistive technology. Previous acts were declared in 1988 and 1998, but in 2004, the most grandiose leap was made to ensure that vital funding never goes away for AT programs. For this reason, this act in 2004 was not the first provided funding, as every state had previously had Assistive Technology Act Programs due to the earlier acts; however, under the original language, funding for these vital programs was due to cease in 2004, according to RampWeb, which can be found here. The purpose of the AT Act of 2004, specifically, was to amend previous acts, ensuring that the funding would not be stopped. Millions of people could rest easy, knowing they would not be losing their independence or much needed services and devices. Because of the previous nature of the 1988 and 1998 acts, supporters had to lobby Congress every single year to ensure the proper funding was given. Now, with the passage of this act, that funding will stay available, according to Access World, whose words can be found here.

Specifically, this Act states that under law, every single state receives a certain grant that funds an Assistive Technology Act Project or Program, according to Access World. The Projects in each state do numerous things for thousands of people, including providing services to people who have disabilities throughout their entire lives. With no age limit on the act, the smallest kindergarten child to the oldest senior citizen can both receive the help they need. Another push of the 2004 Act was to standardize assistance across all states, and Access World (found here), said that more consistent, reliable services are being provided across the board. Regardless of how you look at it, success is definitely the result for people with disabilities who need this assistance. The provisions are expansive, as the Assistive Technology Act Projects in each state are able to provide things such as low-cost loans for equipment and devices, actual demonstrations of new technologies that are more efficient, as well as the knowledge and resources to get this information out to the public. According to the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, found here, some additional provisions of the act are to increase access to assistance, programs of repair and exchange, technical assistance and training, and public awareness of the severity of this need. Through the help of an Advisory Council in each state, these provision have far reaching effects, and are literally changing the lives of millions across the country.

So what does this mean for educators and future participants in the educational system? According to Deborah Buck, even teachers are covered under this act to receive the technology they need to help those students with disabilities in their classroom. A main goal of education is to try and provide an equal, fair opportunity to learn for each and every student that comes in the halls of your school. This act provides much needed access to technology to assist students in that type of fair learning environment. The supporters at RampWeb argue that this piece of legislation is a grand representation of the support Congress and the President are pledging, and also their commitment to help those who are in need of this type of assistance. With improvements like this to the law on the side of those in need, the possibilities are almost endless in assisting them to live their lives independently and truly achieve their full potential.

SITES
http://www.ataporg.org/atap/atact_law.pdf
http://www.rampweb.com/Accessibility_News/ATAP.asp
http://www.afb.org/AFBPress/pub.asp?DocID=aw060109
http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/disability_Legislation/ata.shtml
http://www.ncdae.org/activities/papers/carol/atapnews.htm

Life Learning

Lifelong learning is a goal of mine that directs everything I do. Whether it is reading outside on a sunny day, strolling the streets of an ancient Spanish town, or searching the internet for a must-have answer, I love to learn. It keeps life exciting, and every day is full of exploring and surprises. To cultivate that love of learning in the minds of students would be an incomparable life achievement. My focus of teaching is not to simply relay content, but to create a culture of learning and exploration that ignites a spark in my students, and helps them discover that learning is fun. It is vital. It is never ending. And most of all, it can be an insatiable goal of successful people. One of the most important concepts to understand while fostering this type of learning environment is that every student is different. I need to recognize these differences, and apply my teaching style to each individual mind. As I work to know my students, I can become more successful in helping them find their own motivation for being a lifelong learner.

I have been interested in teaching since I was a student myself. I remember sitting in my ninth grade math classes, looking at my teacher, Mrs. Meine, and deciding that I wanted to live like she lived. She not only taught us math very effectively, but she taught us to use our minds, and to stretch what we already knew. I really felt her passion for teaching, and as a student, I responded to her enthusiasm for learning. Teaching creates opportunities to change the lives of developing minds, and it would be impossible to pass up that opportunity. While I recognize teaching can be such a challenge, I would want nothing more than to get the chance to pass on my love of learning to my students. I can think of no greater gift I could give back than that. And besides, there is nothing more dynamic than being a part of the exciting, miserable, dramatic, conquering, scary, and insane lives of American teenagers.

In my life, I have had some amazing opportunities to learn and grow. Coming from a family of all girls, I had a very different growing up experience, full of blow dryers, communal closets, and high heels. My dad, though, kept us doing plenty of manly activities, like football, hiking, and watching ESPN. Thanks to both of my parents, I have a healthy appreciation for all aspects of life, like reading, music, the outdoors, and art. Some of the things I am most passionate about are dancing, my family and friends, reading, history, and good movies. I am married to my best friend of 12 years, Josh, and we love calling Boise our home. The highlight of my education was a semester spent in Madrid, Spain, learning Spanish and traveling all over that amazing country. A tie for first would be finishing my undergrad degree last year, and now am pursuing my dream of teaching. Overall, I am so excited to become a teacher, and can’t wait to tackle this technology class of educational applications.