Khan/Koller Review

 Khan 
I could see myself using this website. I think that in a lot of my classes it would be beneficial to have a little extra help with something especially if you don't meet for class everyday. I think if my students felt like they were not understanding something that is being taught and they have tried getting help from me as a teacher and it is still not clicking, that they should try to look into some of the videos that may be beneficial to them. I know from experience that these videos are easy to follow. While in high school when I was having a hard time with math, I would youtube them and Khan's videos would always pop up. I did not even realize that this was the same person until I watched one of his videos. In a way I think that we rely on our credentials now. Maybe it's not just where you went for school. It can be a number of things like your degree that you got. I think that it makes it more accessible because we live in a world now where technology is increasing significantly and to have this online option gives learners an extra step that they might need at home. 

 Coursera

The course that looks most interesting to me is music and arts. I think that it is amazing that these type of courses are being offered and how they can be taught online. These courses can be transferred over to Columbus State if they wanted to grow education at a more face to face environment. It looks to me that they might be more challenging but also interesting. The reason I say it may be more challenging is because one might have a hard time comprehending the information that is given to them. I find it interesting that you can ask other students questions and you can even have a small group that you could meet up with. I personally think that who the teacher is may affect the course by how exciting they make it rather than a boring monotone voice talking in the videos. I think these MOOCs will eventually be more popular. I don't think they will necessarily be the future because I believe that people still like going into classroom settings and meeting people face to face.

Exploring Standards-Based Lesson Plans

https://www.teacher.org/lesson-plan/rainbow-fish/

The class that I have decided to look further into in a lesson plan was Kindergarten. While looking at different lesson plans I noticed that a lot of the lesson plans were from Kindergarten to first grade. The plan that I choose is considered a language arts or English lesson plan. 

This is what is stated that the students are supposed to learn from this lesson and what the objectives should be. 

The common core standards are to confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. This is the procedures and the activities that the students will go through with this lesson plan.

This lesson overall will help students become more respectful to each other as peers. I think in a classroom where the kids spend most of the time with each other, that they should be able to express themselves without being afraid of being judged by other classmates. I think that for the students it will be a challenge to have someone so young tell us what er are feeling without looking at others fishes to see what they have put and write and speak their own thoughts. 

This is the book that the lesson plan is based off of.

Assistive Technology for students with Visual Impairments

Students who have visual impairments have a loss of vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses. This disability makes it harder for the student to participate in every day activities. Each child is different, where in some cases one child may see more things and may be able to be involved in day to day task. Where another child may see less and have a harder time to go through activities from day to day. 

Assistive Technology for Visual Impairment

Assistive technology promotes more free by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing improvements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. An example of this is Braille technology. There is a Braille alphabet that students with visual impairments would learn to make more understanding for them. With that, there are keyboards that make it easier to do tasks at school on computers.

https://www.visionaustralia.org/information/living-independently/braille-technology-opens-up-a-world-of-content
Another example of this is a finger mounted reading device. There is a prototype that they are trying to produce. There are two monitors on there that help the student guide its finger along the page by using vibrations. If the user of this device feels a vibration on the top of its finger it shows that they need to lower the finger as they are scrolling across the page. When vibration is indicated on the lower portion of the finger being used it shows that the finger needs to be raised. The other trail of this device has an audio feedback for the student. There is not a clear understanding of which one works better but the audio is a lighter version.

https://www.mddionline.com/finger-mounted-device-offers-reading-visually-impaired

Future Directions
There are prototypes that are being made like the one you see above. I believe that in the future they will have a more compatible one that is easy to use, it's light, and there are ones that are wireless. With technology there is always a better way to improve it, and I think that with this device it will incorporate a lot more than vibrations and and sound with it. In the future I think that they will put Braille and this prototype together to have a better sense of learning for the child.

Works Cited

“Braille Technology Opens up a World of Content.” Vision Australia. Blindness and Low Vision Services, www.visionaustralia.org/information/living-independently/braille-technology-opens-up-a-world-of-content.

Pedersen, Amanda. “This Finger-Mounted Device Offers Reading to the Visually Impaired.” MDDI Online, 31 Jan. 2018, www.mddionline.com/finger-mounted-device-offers-reading-visually-impaired.

DL SCHOOL CHOICES

Each website clearly stated what e-school meant to them and what they wanted the kids to take away from it. Each website has information that will be valuable in deciding whether to try e-schooling. I felt like some websites looked better and felt more welcoming than others. For example OHDELA’s website felt welcoming and the site was very well organized and easy to navigate things. The first thing that I saw when I visited the site were two students who look excited to learn, which makes me feel like a welcoming to the e-school. My overall thought on this website is that I felt like it was a good option to be enrolled in because of how much information is provided and how the site answered each question and made sure who to contact if I had anymore. One e-school I don’t think I would enroll my child in is Ohio Virtual Academy. This website had many good things about it and had a lot of information that pertained to what I was looking for. The only thing was that I was disorganized and a little harder to find things. The one thing I did enjoy was that they showed a picture and name of staff members. This gives a child an idea of who is teaching them. The other website that I looked at was Connections Academy. This one was also a very organized and looked like it was thought out. Some things that I enjoyed from this site was how it gave information of costs that would be needed. I could easily find the FAQs on here and it showed the curriculum for my child whether they are in elementary, middle, or high school. Overall I think that there are two sites that I think my child could go to OHDELA and Connections Academy Since these sites were very strong, clean and welcoming, it made me think that the school system and workload will be organized for the children.