7 - PowerPoint

You can achieve the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy through the use of PowerPoint. There are effective ways to teach students to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create through the use of this program. This can be used while learning and reviewing novels. For "remember", students can use PowerPoint like a flashcard system linking new words found in our reading with their definitions. For "understand", I would add special effects and pictures to help students make connections with the characters and their physical characteristics and behaviors. For "apply", students can form their own groups making individual slides to create one large class-wide presentation that connects certain events and significant happenings in the novel. For "analyze", students can use PowerPoint to compare and contrast certain characters and their opposites by inputting a venn diagram. For "evaluate", students will be able to use PowerPoint to review and take my practice quizzes and tests before their final evaluation. Lastly, for "create", students will complete their own research and presentations on assigned topics as one of their final assessments of understanding.

Adaptive technologies are important to have access to when teaching those with disabilities how to access and use available technology. For student's with physical disabilities, holding pen or pencil, and even clicking a mouse is a difficult process. Programs such as "speech-to-text" allow children to interact with the technology, and complete assignments without having to lift a finger. This type of program can also be used the other way ("text-to-speech") around to benefit those with visual impairments. While, braille printers can benefit those with auditory impairments. Access to technology should be made easy for everyone who has access to it as our technological world is advancing. I have only seen adaptive technology in action once before as I witnessed an elementary school student who was visually impaired participate in "active reading time" by listening to an audio file. In the future the only thing I worry about when it comes to making use of adapt technology would be using it the most beneficial way possible for my students who need it. I do not want to deprive anyone from learning just because a disability is present in the classroom.

Making a Web page design was a lot of fun for me. I enjoyed being able to build up a website from scratch based on what I wanted my students and their parents to have access to. The software was simple and easy to use, especially when it came to getting to be creative and personal. The only thing I did not like about designing was that I felt limited when it came to choosing my page layouts. For next time, I would just like to better prepare myself for finding reliable links, and how everything was going to fit on my web page. As a teacher, it will be very important for me not only to keep my students in the loop, but their parents as well. I never want my students to miss out on any opportunity because they were "never told", and a great solution to that problem is an intriguing web page like the one made for this project.

http://msbrinkshistoryclass.weebly.com