Assistive Technology

Assignment 3

According to the article “The Online Disinhibition Effect: How Technology Has Changed the Way We Communicate” by Schuler, the invisibility aspect of being online gives people the courage to go places and do things that they otherwise wouldn’t. I chose to write about this aspect because it has impacted me the most out of all the others. Academically I have experienced this by taking many online classes throughout the semesters. Normally I’m the type of person to sit quietly and not speak in groups or share my opinions because of how others in the past have made me feel. However online I feel more able to share what I’m thinking because no one knows who I am. Even if someone says something negative it doesn’t feel as real or as hurtful as it would in person. This could make educational environments challenging if someone uses the invisibility to make others feel poorly about themselves. This negativity could be remedied by not fueling the fire and responding cordially even though the invisibility works two ways. I think online disinhibition will get worse over time as more things move to online communication. People will be meeting less in person and it will be much easier to fall into the invisibility of being anonymous online. One way to deal with this in an educational setting is to open many opportunities to share personal things with others in a group and creating a community rather than just a class. If people feel supported, then they will be more likely to branch out and become involved.

Assignment 2 (Prezi)

Teacher Blogs

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/

• Teacher Tom is a preschool teacher that uses his blog to post photos of his class doing imaginative activities and explains what's happening in the photographs as well as what the children are learning. He also gives teaching tips from personal experiences about how to interact with young children and how to get them to accept you into their play. Teacher Tom's blog also offers side tabs for the student's artwork or parenting tips and resources for families.

http://primarypunch.blogspot.com/

• I really like the therapy aspect of this blog and all the activities that can be done with young children and those with different abilities. I'm currently in a classroom that has a mixture of children and this blog explains how these activities can be adapted for different groups of children. This blog also has embedded printable portions for easier access to the materials for educators to use in their own classrooms.   

https://ladybugsteacherfiles.com/

• The main thing I really like about this blog is how well the technology usage is explained. Even something as simple as creating a chart or graph is broken down with pictures along the way of each step and how it was done. There are also child friendly music ideas on the blog and other ideas for teachers. One part that really stuck out to me was the organization portion of the blog and how many ways an educator can organize their classroom with just bins and separating tabs. 

Welcome to my Blog

Hi everyone! 

I'm Heather and I love to travel. Over the past few years I've spent some time in 4 different European countries. My favorite of those being Austria and Denmark as a close second. All of the people I met were very welcoming even though in some cases there was a language barrier. Being in another country definitely brought out the foodie in me. Everything was delicious, but the desserts were on another level. I tried a chocolate pastry while I was in Denmark and I'm still searching to find something just as good in the states. I love baking for all my family and friends so much that I've been given the nickname of Betty Crocker. One of my longest passions is choral singing. I've been singing for as long as I can remember and still am involved in different adult groups.

As a future educator, one thing I would like all my students to know is that mistakes are proof that you're growing. I never want my students to feel so afraid of making mistakes that they don't try. I want to impact the lives of students in such a way that they know how great they are and the qualities that they bring to the classroom. Children should be taught as a whole. Meaning supporting them in cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Treating them in that way will help them create deeper relationships with me as an educator because they will feel like I've taken the time to really get to know them and understand who they are. I always want my students to know how special and loved they are because I may not always know their home situation and I want my classroom to be a safe haven for everyone.