Episode 7 - The One Where Cathy Views Other 5173 Students' Blogs

This afternoon I took the opportunity to view the blogs of my fellow EDUC 5173 blogs. I learnt so much! First, everyone has her own personal take on assistive technology; an indication of our professionalism. Next, I discovered diverse applications of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Finally, I discovered additional ways that I can help my students through the use of assistive technology. As I reflect upon my afternoon I feel the satisfaction of knowing that my time was well spent. I tip my hat to everyone for your great blogs.

Episode 6 - The One Where Cathy Loves Wireless

I love the wireless that we installed in our house last weekend, I spent the last week searching, downloading, emailing and much more - so much fun! Completing last week's blog assignment was an absolute pleasure. ( The last time I made that statement about an university course assignment was during my food science days at Memorial University when my class learnt how to properly smoke arctic char.)

I selected the video "Assistive technology - Alice Murphy" because it highlights the necessity for every educators to embrace methods that will help all of our students.

Thanks for reading my blog.

P.S. Expecting to be challenged with next week's assignment - using items from a dollar store to create and personalize assistive technology.

My Assistive Technology You Tube Video Choice

Episode 5 - The One Where Cathy and her Students Continue to Love IPod apps

When I purchased my IPhone 4 last summer I had no idea that I would use it as a teaching tool, and such a great learning aid. But the biggest pleasant surprize is the huge role it plays in my EDUC 5173 course. I have never had so much fun completing assignments! And, my students are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to use the IPod apps. This is a true win-win situation!

One of my students has used my school's IPod to help her meet the math outcomes outlined in her IPP, specifically adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing single digit numbers. IPod apps that have helped her develop math operation skills include Fashion – Math, Addition Game, Add the Cats, Greater Than, Kid Genius, Rocket Math, Kids Math, Basic Math and Kids Math Fun. She also likes to use the IPod calculator too. Now I am looking forward to discovering more apps to support her as she applies her math operation skills to help her shop, cook and launder her clothes.

By the way, my first blog entry explained my fear of technology. Looks like I am getting a little more comfortable with computers and IPods. I added WiFi to our high speed internet this weekend. Now my IPhone 4 will be even more fun.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Episode 4 - The One Where Cathy (and her students) have Lots of Fun with the IPods

Wow! IPods are amazing. My students (under my supervision) and I have been enjoying the use of the IPod lent to us by Barb. From transitioning from activity to activity to learning to form sentence correctly, the IPod holds apps that meet the needs of so many of my students. And, I must confess that I also enjoyed many moments checking out the apps myself and also took the opportunity to practice creating cells in the Proloquo2Go app. My students and I especially like these apps - Bug Squash, Fluid 2, iSentence (Sentence Builder), Math Bingo, and Pocket Frogs.

Upon reflection after listening to our guest speaker, Kerr, last week I have come to realize that several of my students of yesteryear were not recognized for the true intelligence that they possess. Although there is very little chance that I will be involved in the further education of these students of my past, I vow that I will do everything that I can to help my present and future students achieve to their full potential. I expect that technology such as IPods and IPads will play a major role in enhancing in their education.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Episode 3 (Update) – The One Where It Was Cathy versus the IPods

As promised, here is my report about the apps that I found to help various learning and behavioral challenges.

‘Scene Builder’ was my choice for an app that can be beneficial for a student with ASD and sensory needs since it can inspire a child’s imagination. I decided to download the car mechanic version. The user is required to buy items from the warehouse that will be used in the autoshop. It is especially good for students who need a little bit of entertainment. Other sensory apps my student like are ‘Water Globe’ and ‘Drops – an Electric Fluid Toy’.

‘Tap-to-Talk’ provides a communication devise that can help meet the needs of a non-verbal student since it can be accessed through direct selection. The app has a free started album but additional selections come with a small cost. With guidance and practice a child could become proficient with this app as a communication tool.

MLD ‘Multi-Lang Dictionary’ works nicely as a text-to-speech device for students who have handwriting and spelling issues although it is designed as a language translator. Words, phrases and sentences that students write can be read back to them.

‘Zombies vs. Literacy’ is a fun way for a student to improve his or her literacy levels and counteract dyslexia. One of my students loved it as he used this morning. The Zombie works his way across the bottom towards the brain as the student reads words as they appear on the IPod screen. The brain is safe from the Zombie when the student reads the words correctly.

As I searched for a calculus app, I came across ‘Wolfram Calculus Course Assistant’.
Knowing that I took my last calculus course during my second year as a Memorial University (many, many years ago), I decided to consult a first year engineering student for advice. Quoting Brad “Two of my favorite are called ‘Formulas Free’ and ‘Graphing Calculator’. Formulas Free has tons of formulas and can be very useful plus it's free!! Graphing Calculator is very useful when doing the graphing section of calculus because it allows you to enter the equation and it will show you the graph and gives you the values you need to calculate. It just helps to see if you’re going in the right direction when working on some of those lengthy problems. It does cost $1.99 but they often put it on sale for free.” I actually downloaded these apps without cost on my IPhone. Maybe I will be inspired to practice my math skills.

‘8 Planets’ entertained me with its activities, especially the matching game. It would be a wonderful supplement to any science unit about the solar system. One of my students loved it when he had the chance to try it out today. The app costs $2.99 but a light version is also available.

‘Autism Aide Visual Scheduler’ has a heftier cost ($9.99) than most of the apps I reviewed. Nevertheless it is a very nice way to create a visual schedule for students who require organizational support. I suspect one of my students will find this app to be very beneficial with her tendencies to being a visual learner.

‘Magical Me’ contains happy, calming stories read by lovely-voiced lady. The mystical music also helps to create a serene feeling. This app would help counteract anxiety felt by a young student as he or she rode the school bus. It can be downloaded with a cost of $2.99. I had originally selected ‘Undersea’ but the screen went blank as one of my students was using it today. I will keep my eyes open for an ‘Undersea’ update in the near future.

‘Fashion Math’ is one of my favorite apps to use with children who need a little boost to master basic math skills. Students are rewarded with options to change the clothing on a model as they answer questions correctly. Two of my female students absolutely love this app. One of the girls, who is in grade nine, patiently taught a much younger student to use the app with great success.

‘ABC Alphabet Phonics’ appears to be an appropriate app for a younger student to use as a method to enhance his or her phonetic awareness. This free app includes brightly coloured pictures that illustrate objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. Flashcards can be customized allowing the teacher to make the app even more user friendly.

As I end this blog entry, I am pleased to report that the program support IPod worked beautifully today. Maybe I am getting more technologically adept. On this very positive note, I bid you farewell.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Episode Three - The One Where It Was Cathy versus the IPods

A steep learning curve represents my work with IPods this week. I am certainly feeling a lot more proficient with my IPhone 4 but there is still a humongous amount of knowledge for me to attain. After that excellent learning experience last Tuesday night, I enthusiastically continued my quest for the ten IPod apps that Barb had assigned for us. I should have just found the apps and left it there. But that would be too logical and sensible, so ever-avid me had to make sure that the apps were downloaded on my IPhone. My plan was to see them each of them work for myself. Attribute this choice to my determination (or, as my family like to call it, stubborn streak).

Apparently I am not keeping up with this technological world. You see, I do not have Wi-Fi at my house. Consequently, I decided to add and update apps using my high-speed cable internet connection. My inexperience was evident on Wednesday when I clicked on to ITunes, found the apps that I wanted to add and presto – my IPhone went blank resulting in the loss of everything on it. (I actually blame the computer I was using since it decided to crash midway through the synching process.) After freaking out and using a vocabulary rich with unmentionable words, I decided to call it a day with regard to my IPhone. Mother Nature was on my side on Thursday when we were treated to a second snow day. I awoke afresh and started to tackle my IPod app challenge. I decided to use another computer and the decision instantly paid off for me. Watching my IPhone pick up the apps was a thing of beauty – and relief for me. Thanks goodness the apps reloaded for free! Some of the apps would not load without a Wi-Fi so I decided to leave them for Friday morning when I returned to school. I actually waited until later in the day since my school’s staff was participating in an accreditation meeting and our very limited bandwidth was required by the co-chairs.

As I have previously stated in other blog entries, I am technologically challenged. So it should come as no surprise that my school’s program support IPod is also causing me problems. In fact, I have not been able to download 22 app updates. The lack of success using my school’s Wi-Fi prompted my decision to so to bring it home with me this weekend and attempted to use my good computer. I am sure that you will not be shocked that luck evaded me again. Barb and Anita take heed – I am bringing the IPod to our class and Thursday and seek advice from both of you.

You would think that I have developed a hatred for IPhone and IPod but the opposite is the case. I love the handy little techno gadgets even more as time goes on. I suspect that the same area of my brain is affected as that of a parent adoring his or her child who displays challenging behavior.

By the way, I found ten apps that I like so far – Scene Builder, Tap-to-Talk, Multi-Lang Dictionary, Zombies vs. Literacy, Wolfram Calculus Course Assistant, 8 Planets, Autism Aide Visual Scheduler, Undersea and ABC Alphabet Phonics. I am hoping to get a great panel of experts, my students, to try them out tomorrow. If things go as planned, I will post the results tomorrow night.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Happy IPodding!

First Eluminate Live! Class

This is my first Eluminate Live! class and I quite like it. I was a little apprehensive about using the technology but so far so good. Hope it is working for everyone else in the class.