Khan/Koller Review

Khan Academy

Recently I had the opportunity to peruse Salman Khan’s website called Khan Academy.  Salman Khan turned a hobby of making videos to tutor family members into an entrepreneurial opportunity. Khan Academy is a free educational learning website available to parents, students and teachers. It has an extensive learning library on just about any topic. It’s self-paced and can be tailored to individual learning needs. You might want to use Khan Academy if you are brushing up on some math concepts, getting ready for the SAT or just wanting to learn something new. I signed up to try it out and took the suggested math pretest.  I found it quite interactive and easy to use. While doing the math pretest, I actually viewed a video on negative exponents. I thought he did a really nice job explaining and simplifying the concept. He uses a “no frills” approach, but it’s effective.  Ironically, my daughter had a question on the very same topic the next day. Of course, I didn't hesitate to impress her with my newly learned expertise.

From an educator perspective, I would definitely incorporate this website into my classroom. I would use this to advance children who master concepts quickly or students who need extra work in a particular area. This way of learning will redefine the way we think of traditional education. Khan states that we will rely more on credentialing through on-line coursework in the future. The software industry already uses forms of on-line credentialing. Many programmers become certified in different types of software development or code and use these courses as highlights for jobs. This type of learning will definitely continue to create opportunities for both traditional and non-traditional students to further their education. It will also appeal to those seeking a degree and those who just want to seek additional education to become more marketable in the ever changing world economy. I foresee Khan Academy as becoming a household name.

Coursera

Another educational website I reviewed was the newly created Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) founded by Stanford University Professor, Daphne Koller and several of her colleagues. These academics are in the process of revolutionizing access to top educational courses, professors and universities. They created an online education platform that can be accessed worldwide at no cost to the student. The learning platform is called Coursera.  The idea behind Coursera is simply bringing a high quality education to anyone in the world free of charge. Right now students who take courses can earn certificates of completion for finished coursework. They hope in the future that these courses will be accepted as transfer credits to other academic learning institutions. Our own Columbus State refers to Coursera "as a useful do-it-yourself professional development resource". You cannot currently earn credit at Columbus State, but it’s definitely on many academic institutions radar. 

I personally explored several of Coursera’s course offerings. I was amazed at the number of Teacher and Professional Development courses you can take. Even though I did not grow up with technology, I realize it’s the wave of future. I am always looking for opportunities to learn more about how to incorporate it into the classroom. The specific course I found interesting was Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom. Coursera definitely sells itself through university and instructor name recognition. I’m guessing the coursework is as rigorous as attending any on-line course at an academic institution of higher learning. Either way, I think MOOC’s are the new trend. With the cost of education rising more than 559% since 1985, the expansion of the internet and constant state of financial crises across the globe, MOOC’s will be looked at as a cost-effective education alternative. I think students 10 years from now will be taking classes through a combination of traditional classrooms, MOOC’s, and other online forums. 

The landscape of the way we learn and educate ourselves is ever changing. These two learning environments are just a glimpse at how technology is helping bring affordable global access to education.  

Ohio DL Schools

Recently I perused five distant learning websites for schools in Ohio. Below I have created a chart comparison reviewing the schools.  All the websites contained a plethora of information. I personally wouldn't choose a DL school for my child. I believe children need social interaction and exposure to different environments outside the home. However, if I had a child who was an athlete in training, pursuing drama, dance, music, gymnastics or other extra-curricular activities for competitive or professional reasons, I would consider choosing a DL school because of the flexibility.  If I were a home schooling parent, I would also consider one of these options to supplement my lesson plans. Many of the schools have multiple learning formats to keep students connected, while allowing the child to achieve their educational goals at pace best for them.

If I were choosing a DL school, I would choose Connections Academy or ECOT. I liked both these websites, because they were easy to navigate. They both make good use of video technology, which helped me envision what my children’s virtual learning experience would be with them. I like it when the website posts its accreditation's and endorsements. I also look for how long a place has been in business to tell me a lot about their success. Corporate and celebrity sponsorship's are huge selling points. This lends credibility to the school and both these sites have prominent pictures and big names. Another plus for Connection Academy is being nationally recognized as an on-line school in other states.  This showed me they have more experience and a proven track record for implementing virtual schools successfully.

I would not choose Ohio Virtual Academy or the Virtual Community School for my child. I didn't really think either of these schools showed they were tech savvy. I felt the content of the website was there, but expressed all in text. This didn't convey to me how my child’s on-line learning experience would be at their institution. Virtual Community School did have a nice video gallery, but you had to drill down through the pages to find it.  I also noticed neither of these school sites had name recognition endorsements. The Virtual School House was an interesting website. The website was tastefully done, but I found all the services overwhelming. For instance, if you click on the “About” tab, it says the mission is to serve kids in danger of dropping out of school. This would not apply to my children. I think it fails to sell itself, because it also serves as the main website for School House Academy. Because I reviewed this one last, I was inclined not to drill down to find the information I needed. It did have an extensive resource list of services for kids with special needs, which would help if you were in search of those services.

Thus, if I wanted a direct learning school for my children, I would first research how long the school and has been around, scores on standardized tests and then graduation rates. I would also put an emphasis on checking the testimonials. Who endorses the company? Do they have a local branch if you need person to person contact? Does the DL school appear well funded? There are many schools like these that pop-up and go out of business. Your child’s educational future cannot afford to be compromised by not doing the appropriate research. Keeping these things in mind, Connections Academy and ECOT seem to be potential DL choices for those students who need a non-traditional school setting!

Review of Websites

Name of Ohio DL Schools	Clarity and Understandability of information	Look and feel of DL environment	Presence of FAQ page
Connections Academy	Video Intro by CEO Many videos Menu bar of options Well organized Understand both public and private Able to put in zip code to link to location of school nearest to you Easy to learn how to enroll	On-line, phone and in-person support options Corporate support Pearson Statistics about success Nationally recognized Videos give you real feeling of what DL environment would be like Lots of support and appears to be using state of art technology	FAQ option visible on main header  menu with links to technology or enrollment options
ECOT	Not clear what acronym ECOT stands for Is this only Ohio or available in other states? Multiple video options Main header with clearly marked info Specific videos centered around student/parent info Enrollment process clearly marked Mission statement identifiable	Live Chat Option for questions & 800 number Graduate success stories Secure login area clearly marked Celebrity endorsement- Jack Hanna Video on state of the art technology used Features discussed such as ECOT TV, ECOT Connect Video demonstrations for look and feel	FAQ’s on link with options for enrollment technology and calendar. General FAQ’s more difficult to find
Ohio Virtual Academy	Standard menu bar navigation Nice 10 minute video for you to determine if on-line learning for you Site seemed busy looking Well organized with lots of information Was not fan of bird logo	Text based, not a lot of videos didn’t give you a real feel for virtual environment Accreditation info clearly marked Letter from CEO rather than video Parent written endorsements	FAQ’s-visible from main header Broken down by enrollment and attendance Tech FAQ Testing and Assessment FAQ’s
Virtual Community School of Ohio	Site Search and request info at top of page, easily found Intro video didn’t give enough information about what it’s about Nice video gallery section, but need to drill down to get to it	No corporate or celebrity endorsements Videos give you look and feel of DL learning, but need to drill down to get info Location clearly visible	No visible FAQ’s-you need to drill down to get info No live chat option for questions
Virtual School House	About button confusing, you first see employment info Site has a lot going on serving multiple purposes First glance made me think it was just a supplemental education option	No apparent videos immediately to get you in touch with DL environment might be like Does have mission statement Equal opportunity Testimonials visible	Can’t find FAQ’s Need to have time to sift through all information

Assistive Technology for students with Down Syndrome

She has a smile that would light up a room. She beams with confidence when she accomplishes a task. She loves to do the superman move during gym class. Please meet one of the students I am working with in my current field placement. For privacy reasons, I am going to refer to her as Abby. Abby has Down syndrome. Children diagnosed with Down syndrome are not specifically covered under the IDEA act. However, children with Down syndrome can have either physical, cognitive, communication, social or emotional impairments. For these reasons, they are typically eligible for early intervention from birth-age three. Once they reach age three, they typically qualify through local school districts for special education related services through IDEA.

What is Down syndrome? Children with Down syndrome have inherited an extra chromosome, which can lead to a variety of physical challenges, speech and cognitive impairments. Some of these developmental delays can be mild to severe. Down syndrome children can be easily recognized by characteristic features. They usually have slanted eyes, poor muscle tone, shorter than normal fingers, short necks, speech delays, hearing impairments and can be smaller in stature than typical developing kids.

Abby is shorter in stature than a typical child her age. She does not speak, but grins and makes noises to communicate. She struggles with fine motor skills, because her fingers are tinier than a typical child’s. I am going to focus on two types of assistive technology devices, which help Abby with her physical and communication impairments. First, let’s look at this alternative keyboard.

http://www.abilityhub.com/keyboard/expanded.htm

This alternative keyboard has keys that are four times as large as a traditional keyboard. It also lets the teacher customize the letter layout. This is perfect for Abby’s small fingers.  She is able to participate in technology centers with less supervision. The letters are also color coded on some layouts.  The bright colored keys are larger than normal, easy to read and easy to find.

Down syndrome children are also benefiting from the Ipad.  A specific application called Photo Touch enables children with moderate to severe disabilities, who are non-readers and are non-verbal to learn their site words. The students listen to oral prompts and connect it to the picture with the beginning sound. This is a free app, downloadable through the app store. Since Abby is non-verbal, this application is perfect for her to use and keep pace with the children who are working on the ODE standard of identifying the beginning sound of an object.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-words-by-photo-touch/id421341850?mt=8

Most people think assistive technology is only electronic in nature. But assistive technology is actually defined as any item or material that enhances learning for the student. Since Abby struggles with her fine motor skills, we start each day off with some putty on the desk with little animals adhered to it. Each morning she practices her fine motor skills by grasping each little animal and tugging it away from the putty. She is improving her pincer grasp and improving her dexterity in the process. These are just a few things we are currently using in the classroom to assist Abby.

What technologies are on the horizon for children with fine motor skill impairments and speech delays?  Since sometimes wrist bones are not formed completely in children with Down syndrome, using writing utensils can be difficult.  They usually try to prop the pencil up against their thumb rather than using the tip of their thumb to hold the pencil. The shortened pencils below are great for Down syndrome children, because it helps them achieve this much needed skill. 

Another new item on the horizon that can benefit children with speech impairments has been created by the company called Dynavox. It’s the first dedicated speech generating tablet. Essentially the student taps the picture and it generates the words. This will help students with speech impairments to communicate better.

https://mydynavox.com/

Most people agree technology continues to improve. The popularity of the Ipad as a communication and teaching tool continues to give educators more assistive technology options. They have also added a Voiceover feature, which also adjusts the speaking rates for kids with physical impairments. These and many more technologies continue to improve the learning for students with disabilities, allowing them to keep pace with their peers. Assistive Technology, both electronic and non-electronic continue to open doors for students with disabilities by allowing teachers to meet their individual learning styles and needs.

 References:

http://www.abilityhub.com/keyboard/expanded.htm

http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-success-stories

http://www.ehow.com/about_6465574_assistive-technology-down_s-syndrome-students.html

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-words-by-photo-touch/id421341850?mt=8

http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/downsyndrome

https://sites.google.com/site/teacherivideos/assistive-technology-down-syndrome

My PicMonkey Creation

Photo by: Laura Mevis

For assignment four, I created this masterpiece using the free photo editing website called PicMonkey. Picmonkey is very easy to use. I have used other photo editing software when I have created digital scrapbooks. This was a nice change, because you can add fun effects to make the photo more interesting.One thing I did not like about the free version was that it had limited options. Many of the features I wanted to use were premium. I think if you are going to edit pictures often, I would upgrade.  If you take photos in the classroom, this might be fun way to feature student pictures during seasonal activities or students work on a class website or blog. You could also use it to feature a star student each month. I give the software two thumbs up.    

My GoAnimate Video

Mrs. Mevis GoAnimate Video by lmevis on GoAnimate

            Anita's Welcome to 4th grade

My GoAnimate video is about a student named Anita and her first day in 4th grade. Anita feels a bit overwhelmed about being a 4th grade student at a new school. She meets her new homeroom teacher named, Mrs. Mevis. Mrs. Mevis happily greets Anita and offers her reassurance and guidance. But Anita is a bit overzealous when locating her desk and shouts out in glee. Mrs. Mevis then points out the classroom rules. Anita feels badly for having shouted out. They end the conversation, by Mrs. Mevis forgiving Anita and telling her all the wonderful things she will learn about in 4th grade. This video was meant to have humor. In real-life Mrs. Mevis would not chastise an overzealous student as she did in the video. I just needed to get some emotion changes incorporated into my video!
This is a fun tool and I think kids would get a kick out of this spoof.

QR Code

Laura Mevis-QR Code- This week we created a QR code. If you have a smart phone and scan my QR code you will be taken directly to my blog.

To Create your own QR codes check out: http://goqr.me/

My Prezi

What is my presentation about?

My Prezi presentation was created as an introduction to students about me and my interests. My desire is to teach 4th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. However, depending on the school, I may be responsible for all subjects. I did add some information about math and science, but my primary focus was Language Arts and Social Studies. I was able to include real-life photos from my experiences serving as a chaperon at many 4th grade field trips for my children. This presentation can be easily modified depending on what subjects I am teaching. I included a teaching philosophy video section geared at parents, so this could also be used as a curriculum night introduction tool. I think I would definitely revise this presentation and continue to improve it. I will use it as a resource in the future.

My experience with Prezi

Prezi was interesting to learn. When I was working full-time, I gave a lot of presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. It's a lot different in my opinion. First, I chose a template and I am not sure if it helped or hindered the process. I had some trouble adding slides, which took some research. In addition, I had a lot of photos and I wanted to zoom in on them. It took me a while to figure this out. Several times when I wanted to modify a slide, I ended up deleting the entire slide and it's contents. This was very frustrating. I also added links to other websites and then had inactive hyper links. I was able to get this resolved. I do agree once you figure out the basics it gets easier. Next time I try it, I would like to try a custom template. I am wondering if it would give me more flexibility with content. I was pleased with the animation of my final product. I think it looks more professional than PowerPoint. I would definitely use it again. The best way to learn an unfamiliar software program is to use it over and over again. The old saying is "practice makes perfect"!