Week 6 - Last Class

Today was a day full of wonderful presentations. It was very interesting to see the case studies that each  of my classmates had been working on.  The variety of technology used to present the case studies were varied which kept things interesting! We had PowerPoint, Prezi and Pictello. Some people presented from their laptops and others presented from their iPads. I really enjoyed hearing the results from everyone's case studies. It was exciting to see that most people used Apple products as their form of assistive technology! In some cases, my classmates were fortunate enough to have the iPods and iPads at their schools and for others they had to use their own personal devices in order to incorporate the technology. It was exciting to see the successful results, but at the same time it was frustrating to see that it was very common to see that most people do not have access to universal devices at their schools. Desktops and netbooks and even more outdated technology seems to be the common recurring technology that we have to use, but it does not allow us to meet the diverse needs of all the students in our classes. Apple devices are the way to go!      

Below is the the PowerPoint presentation that Maureen and I did for our case study. I really enjoyed seeing the progress for the student. Through the use of the apps that we introduced, he was able to complete tasks successfully. He experienced a lot less frustration which was extremely beneficial for him both at school and at home.

Case Study.pptx

Today was our last class. Our summer course was a great introduction to the technology, but I found that this course allowed us to go more in depth exploring. Each class Barb provided us with the opportunity to work on assignments in class using specific apps. We would then finish up each class with presentations from each group. I found this structure to be very helpful since we had the opportunity to see each groups ideas and learn from each other. I have been able to incorporate some of these ideas and activities into my classroom to engage my students and meet their needs.

Universal devices are a must! It is so important that students are motivated to do the best they can. In order to do this, they need up to date technology and teachers who can teach them how to use the devices. If the technology is in place, time will be used much more effectively. Students will able to show what they know!