Articulation Station App

My three-year-old son has an expressive speech delay.  This week at his speech therapy appointment, his speech language pathologist introduced us to a cool new iPad app.  It's called Articulation Station.  The app uses a variety of strategies, such as flashcards and games, to help early learners with speech delays.  Parents and educators can customize the activities by choosing the sounds that the child is experiencing difficulties with.

For anyone wishing to become an early childhood teacher, this could be a very useful tool.  We may not be speech specialists, but with technology like this, we can become knowledgeable in different areas.  Apps like Articulation Station are great tools to incorporate in the classroom curriculum and suggest for home use.

Notebook vs. Digital Notebook

I've always been one to write down all my notes on a piece of paper or notebook from home. I know how easier it would be to maybe put them on a Digital Pad or Digital Notebook but something about a simple pen and paper make me feel more accomplished. It's amazing how much I consider myself a "tech savvy" but still like to stick with the basics. In today's era, in a classroom or maybe in a work meeting, you see various people pull out their tablets or Apple Laptops or maybe even their phones. Then, there are some who, like myself, enjoy the pen and paper idea. Why is that so? I like to believe that there is still some security in a simple hardcover notebook. Although I enjoy technology, files tend to get lost, erased, or deleted forever. And then you're left panicking, wondering how you're going to get it all back in time. My rule of thumb: Always keep a hard copy just in case something drastic happens.

Ipad Pro

The Ipad Pro is the newest version of Apple's Ipad. An Ipad is a great piece of new technology to use in the classroom for assessments, activities, and lesson planning. In my classroom, I use the Ipad to use the Precioustatus App which allows me to stream a live feed to the parents of what their child is doing, how much they have eaten and how long they have napped for. I also use to Ipad to track the assessments and progress of my students throughout the year by using the Assessment Technology website.

Apple’s Ipad also offers an abundance of educational activities directed toward preschool age groups for in class activities as well as homework activities. Not only are these activities beneficial for the child’s education, but it also introduces an advanced use of technology at young age. Since using the Ipad in my classroom, I have been able to keep better records of each child’s assessments and plan my lessons accordingly. It also holds virtually all the information on the child at the press of a button, so educational data can be given to the parents at their request to see the progress of their child. The Ipad offers unlimited information on projects and activities that are age appropriate for every age group and has benefited my classroom tremendously. 

Library Thing

Are you an avid book reader that can't seem to keep track of what you read? Maybe you're a teacher that enjoys sharing a lot of literature with your students? LibraryThing is the perfect solution! It is an online service that allows you to catalog and categorize your books in a list. All you have to do is search for the title of the book/s you've read and save them to your page. I was introduced to this website from my "Literature for Children" professor. This particular class requires the reading of various children's books and using Library Thing allows us to remember what we have read over the semester. I save each book to my personal profile and then add comments to it that help me remember key things about the book. This will be extremely useful once I start my teaching career because I will be able to pull books from this list and share them with my students! This website also has really cool features like connecting me with people that have read the same books and offering me suggestions for my next read.  

Technology in Schools

In today's academic world technology is getting stronger as we travel further in time. Instead of

traditional pencil and paper, public schools in the United States are handing out one computer for

five students. The amount spent on digital content costs about $3 billion each year. In 2015-2016

standardized tests taken by elementary and middle school students are being delivered through the

use of technology. One of the many benefits of technology in schools is that it reaches out to a more

diverse-student population. Digital devices, software and different learning platforms deliver many

options for students with different strengths, weaknesses, and learning pace. In 2013 and 14 schools

bought more than 23 million devices for their classrooms. Among those devices were I pads, and

chrome books. These devices in schools can help teachers organize class lessons for the

day.  Students benefit because it will allow them to grow and learn at their own pace and disability

level. Students will also become more technologically skilled, getting them ready for working in

today's modern workplaces. As time goes on, one day our future generation will be very well

technologically skilled, they will have the power to help generations and beyond.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/index.html

Technology Taking Over Kids

  As an educator I have realized that over the last couple of years technology has become increasing popular in classrooms and for young children. I’ve noticed children two and three years old and they’re able to operate ipads, cellphones, and tablets. Although it has its pro’s and con’s, I think it is overall hindering children of this generation. Technology is very helpful in the classroom but I don’t think it should be so accessible to children especially at a young age. Technology is helpful when it comes to using it for educational purposes. But I think using technology to play games, watch movies, and more is not useful to children. I read an article online that described how parents are becoming concerned with technology being used in classrooms because they feel that students will be lacking the basic skills. Many students cannot even do basic math without using their calculators on their devices. The other concern with technology becoming so popular is children’s social skills. Many children are use to playing ipads and things at home that they never really reach there potential socially. So the next time you want to give your young child or even teenager access to so much technology think about all the effects it has on the child in the long run.

Technology affecting children academically

Tablets and smartphones affecting emotional development 

SMARTBOARDS for Early Childhood Learners

 Why use a smart board in an Early Childhood Classroom?

It helps with...

Fine Motor-  When the children "write" with their wrist up and arm extended it strengthens their arm, wrist, hand and fingers making it easier for a child to write on a table top. 

Gross Motor-   When they "write" on  a smart board it increases their balance and core strength.

It helps with interaction and increasing their attention spans.

Visual attention increases.

Enhances learning for more visual learners. 

When to use smart board in the classroom?

-Music/Movement

-Taking attendance

-Calendar

-Teaching and reinforcing skill with a few different websites.

Why teachers love it?

-Its great for demonstrations.

-It can accommodate different learning styles.

-All ages respond well to this method of learning.   SMART BOARDS

Please check out the link above for websites that you can use for your smart board in your classroom.

I loved using smart board in my old preschool classroom, and I sure do miss it.  My preschoolers loved it and the fact that they could get involved with it was one of the best parts about it. 

By: Amy Tanielian

  

Raz-Kids

Raz-Kids is an awesome addition to any elementary classroom to help promote reading and critical thinking. Last year when my son was in Kindergarten, his classroom used this both on an individual basis and with groups. His teacher was even nice enough to send home his student information so we could use it at home! This web-based reading site tracks the children's reading levels using quizzes for comprehension and allows them to either follow along with the book or can record themselves reading the book out loud to practice reading skills. Raz-Kids also promotes close reading, a technique used to teach children to question the material their reading to develop a better understanding of the text. Below is a link to the Raz-Kids site for those that would like more information!

Raz-Kids

THE NABI

A great technology tool that came out was the Nabi, a tablet that the whole family can use. It was design for the younger child in mine like a toddler. The case is design so the child would not damage it if they drop it. The Nabi comes preloaded with educational and fun games. It can be used just like any other tablet, it has Wi Fi, download capabilities and parent control. It also has multiple accounts where you can have more than one child use it. Another feature the nabi has is that a child can’t download any program because the tablet needs parental permission. I personally use the 27” nabi that I purchase for my Pre-K students and they love playing the learning games.      

                                                                                                                                                                    

The nabi came out as a small learning tablet that was design for the use of children

from toddlers to pre-teens. It is also use in place of the computer, where it would

be safe for children to use.

The nabi comes in a variety of sizes that can also be used

in the classroom as a teaching and learning tool. The teacher can use the larger size

nabi as a smartboard and the students can use the nabi to interact with each other.

https://www.nabitablet.com/support/whyupdate/

http://techland.time.com/2011/12/07/nabi-review-a-kids-tablet-thats-not-a-toy/

Kahoot.it in The Classroom

Looking for new tools to keep your students engaged in the classroom? Kahoot.it is a new website that gets students involved. It is more useful in high school and middle school classrooms where students have cellphones, or can be used with younger students if laptops, iPads, or computers are readily available. The website is game-based where the student is taking a live quiz, and is in competition with other kids in their class. I used this when I was in high school, and it only got positive feedback from my fellow classmates. It encourages you to know the subject that you are learning so that you can beat your classmates in a little friendly competition. As a teacher, you can have the top winner, or top three winners get extra credit on their next test if you are using Kahoot as a type of review tool. Not only is it used for learning, it can also be used for a little bit of fun. For those elementary teachers, Kahoot can be used at holiday parties to keep the students busy and have a class quiz on the holiday for fun.

Distracted Driving, It's Normal

       The other day, I was driving on the freeway, I had my cellphone propped up on my phone holder 

which was safely secured to the windshield by a suction-cup. I was headed in a direction that didn't 

require any help from my phone's GPS or for Siri to look up the nearest gas station or best coffee 

shop along the way. I came to a hard stop in traffic and had a second to glance around me at the other 

drivers, and I noticed something normal. Yes, normal, I say this because it is something we don't find 

peculiar in our society and generation anymore. Even though we were stopped on the freeway, 

everyone of us should have been paying attention to our surroundings and the movement up ahead, 

but instead everyone I could see was looking down at their phone. In that moment I thought anything 

could happen, the traffic could start moving, their could be an ambulance needing to get through, 

anything. 

       With the advancements in technology, there is no need for a hard copy of a map shoved into our 

glove-boxes any longer, nor a need to fixate our attention to driving. Essentially, we can have our 

phones do that for us, right? There are even cars that have video enabled parking features that assist 

the driver in backing up. Why is this "normal" and what happened to the old-fashioned "driving?" 

There once was a day where driving without distractions was actually important and allowed for us 

to see the traffic up ahead, but now it's ok to wave sorry to the pedestrian that you almost ran 

over? Sure, texting and driving is a sort of epidemic that has been made aware worldwide, even 

allowing law enforcement to pull you over for. Yet, even with the continuous streaming of ads and 

videos based on victims that have survived "texting accidents", there are more and more accidents 

everyday specific to cell phone usage and technology enthrallment.

       Accident Statistics shows us how we are inevitably moving closer to the extinction of safe roads. 

The approximated rate of accidents related to cellphones being using while driving is said to be a 

gross amount of 1.6 million, as the statistics states. Alarmingly, this isn't being shown in the news, 

when people complain about the pointless stories that show up in the news because of the lack of 

stories available, why aren't we hearing more about the severity of the issue at hand? The ads that 

show up on tv include alcoholism today, but it turns out that drinking isn't the number one cause of 

accidents anymore. Distracted driving is something that happens, it's normal, but should it be?

Social Media in Education

How does social media and the internet affect school?

In today’s world, everyone is connected all the time and that carries over into the classroom. Many students might seem disconnected from learning and only be interested in their phones, which takes away from their time to do homework and study. They might only rely on the internet to give them answers and take advantage of the accessibility. Since social media isn’t going to go away any time soon, there have to be ways to get around the negative parts of social media.

There are negatives to having social media in all aspects of life, but there are many ways that it helps us and makes life easier. Very young students will use social media, as well as older students. Not to mention all of the people that can now attend college online and work classes into their busy lives. Teachers now have to learn how to use and control the use of the internet and social media during school. Now students can collaborate inside and outside of school and we no longer need to meet in person to finish projects. Discussion can occur at any time and it is easier to get in contact with fellow students when it is needed. Teachers also use social media to connect with students about assignments and upcoming due dates, and with parents to keep them in the loop. Social media allows us to learn quicker and learn more about our world than before, and it will continue to evolve and take us even farther in the future. 

Links to look at!

How Social Media has Changed the Traditional Classroom

6 Ways Social Media is Changing Education

FunBrain fun for all kids

Hello This is Leland,

This is my very first blog, so please be nice....
I was trying to figure out what can  I blog about, as my 3 year old daughter tugged on my leg trying to get on to the computer. "Dad let me play, let me play," she said. Kids and technology are something else. They get along together like bread and butter.
 After she climbed onto my lap and forced me to click on something she likes, I decided to make it something educational and fun.
My 6 year son enjoys FunBrain, it's an internet interactional website. So I decided to introduce it to her.
Just go to funbrain.com it has educational games for grade levels K-8. And the best part is, IT'S FREE.....
It has over a 100 different games relating to subjects like Math, Reading, Arcade Games and virtual playground. Very easy to follow, and fun for all ages. funbrain.com

Click on to the link and tell me what you think.

Nicole Lane-EDT 211-9/21/16

                                                                                                                                                              
          Nicole Lane

                                                                                                                                                                                9/19/2016

                                             How Technology affects 21^st century Teachers.

   As I was reflecting in my EDA 205 class, we discussed how technology affects 21st century teachers. One of the number one challenges for current teachers is how technology has “flattened” out world, flattened meaning technological advances have provided greater access to information and jobs. The information has become global, so as the U.S Transitions into the ”information age” teaching/ teachers and schools need to change with the rest of the world, just as they did when entering into the 19^th century. Students in the 21^st century learned in a flat world, although their teachers may not have. In order for the teacher to teach they have to understand how the students learn.  A man named Friedman said “ learning in a flat world has become easier for student’s, but it has also made education more difficult and complex”. Social media has distracted students from the traditional way of learning, its like they no longer have the patience to read a chapter in a book, they use Google to tell them a summary of a chapter, or an answer to any question they have. Teachers soon will start moving away from an out dated, broadcast style pedagogy and towards a student focused multimodal pedagogy, where the teacher is no longer in the “transmission of data business but in the customizing learning experiences for students business”- Friedman. Friedman also stated that “over 15 million k-12 students are currently enrolled in some sort of online education” to me this statement proves that education is changing, therefore the teachers have to evolve with the students, even if it is challenging.

 The Journal- Technology challenges in education.

Blogger Technology: Using Canva to Create Interesting Graphics

As a personal blogger, I wanted to share one of my favorite resources with you: Canva!  I use Canva to create free(!) eye-catching graphics.  This is one of my favorite websites, because it saves me both money and time.  I no longer have to use Photoshop to edit and jazz up my photos and documents.

Now, you may be wondering, Why in the world is she sharing this Canva thing with us? Well, I got to thinking and figured that my fellow teachers would appreciate this resource to create engaging documents and images for the classroom.  Didn't we all agree that technology is something that makes our lives easier?

When it comes to PowerPoints, blogs, Facebook images, etc., wouldn't you rather see this...

versus this...?

You can even use Canva to make infographics!  SAY WHAT?!

Of course, as with any free resource on the internet, there is an option to pay for some upgraded features.  As students/teachers/bloggers, do we need this?  Heck no!  We can use this technology make free images that will get our students excited about learning!

PreciouStatus

I am currently employed at Childtime Preschool and I teach Pre-K. For my class I use the website and app called PreciouStatus. For each child, I am able to give a live feed which is sent straight to the parent’s email or they can download the app it will notify them when there is an update. I use this tool to update them on what activities their child did for the day as well as send them pictures of their child doing projects, if they had an accident at anytime, what they had for lunch and how much they ate, how long they slept at nap time, and their mood for throughout the day. This app also allows teachers to send notes to the parents via email for reminders and upcoming events.

I have found from parent reviews that not only does this app work well, but the parents absolutely love it! Dropping your child off at a preschool for the first time can be intimidating, but giving a live feed to the parents throughout of exactly what is happening with their child and photos to support it, they are much more at ease. Before we started using this website, we used paper daily sheets to give to the parents at the end of the day to let the parent know how the day went, but with this app, we have saved so much paper and the parents can actually save the photos they receive in their email onto their phones to keep. PreciouStatus is beneficial to parents as well as teachers and I love how it has helped me manage my classroom on a daily basis. 

ABC Mouse

As a preschool teacher we have used ABC mouse frequently. It’s a website that allows children to play games while still learning. It has games and activities that target different skills such as math, literacy, and memory. I found this website to be beneficial because not only do we allow the child access to the website at school, but we also provide login information so that the child has access to their name and their able to practice these skills while at home. The website offers free services to school once a teacher sets up an account

ABC Mouse Website
ABC Mouse website

ABC Mouse Youtube, to offer more information on the website and how to access it.

ABC Mouse Youtube