Since beginning my Assistive Technology course and recognizing the various ways that I am expanding and part of a Professional Learning Network, I have been traveling outside of my comfort zone to become more active within it. I do tend to lean more towards the passive role, but I am slowly progressing towards being more active. When on social media, I continue to save and provide a "like" or heart for posts I like, send emoticons for stories, and save posts I would like to get back to. However, I have started to look in the comment sections and reply when I think I have something useful to offer. I have also started filling in answers when teacher accounts ask for questions or for suggestions in their stories. As I said, very small steps!

The next thing that I would like to begin doing is to start sharing content of some of the accounts I follow on my own stories. This would allow friends/followers of mine who also make up my PLN to maybe learn of accounts that could also help them. I am not quite at that point yet and am considering creating at least a "teacher" Instagram account so that I might feel more comfortable sharing professional content rather than blurring the lines between work and personal life.

During my short time in Assistive Technology, I have been introduced to many new resources that may help me meet the needs of students in the future. I have also confessed that I am very much a pen and paper kind of person who enjoys taking jotting down information as it is presented to her. Currently, I have resources that have been introduced to me in a few different places. During Clinical Practice, I carried a binder containing loose leaf paper with me and reserved certain pages to write down resources that would be useful going forward. Since finishing CP, I have organized those notes into an accordion file folder to refer back to as needed. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the most accessible tool since I would then need to carry it along with me.

In terms of social media, any resources or accounts that I want to access again in the future are readily available to me as I have either followed the accounts or saved the pages, posts, or videos and labeled them into different categories. However, all of the resources that have been presented to us in Assistive Technology have not been organized by me in a convenient way. I plan on taking all of the resources that I have written down from this class and any other tools I come accross and placing them in either an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets document. Using either of these applications will allow me to organize the different resources based on how they might be useful. I can either color code by type or give each type its own sheet based on general use or subject it would be relevant for. Additionally, if I go the Google Sheets route, I will have access to it from any device to be able to add new resources into it. The spreadsheet will include the name of the platform, a link to it, and a few notes about what it can provide so that I may easily recall.

Hopefully, creating this spreadsheet will improve my ability to locate potentially useful resources going forward!

Prior to my first class meeting for Assistive Technology towards completion of my Masters in Special Education, I had not put much thought into whether or not I was involved in any Professional Learning Networks. Over the past week, I have been thinking about the different ways that I participate and build upon my own PLN. During my two years in Teacher Education at Ramapo, I have continuously and unknowingly grown my PLN. I have obviously learned a great deal from my professors, but have gained some close friends who I frequently converse with about the different resources we have come across, how we may use them in the future, or brainstorming innovative ways they could be used. The algorithms on TikTok and Instagram have definitely caught on to what I am interested in and often displays educator related content on my "For You Page" and search page. I often take a passive approach when using social media by either using the "save" or "love" features to access again at a later time. I have not interacted with the accounts by reaching out to the content creators. I do, however, send content over to my classmates who I think may also benefit or be interested in what I have discovered. Similarly, during Clinical Practice and the maternity leave coverage I provided for the end of 2022, I witnessed PLNs that took the form of grade-level teams. Resources were often shared during grade-level meetings, text and email threads, or by even just leaving a copy of instructional materials in the mailboxes of other members of the team. This allowed everyone to have access or be made aware of what was out there, while also giving the educators control of what they would utilize as is, adjust to make work for their own class, or disregard completely. The goal of my role within these various PLNs has been to find resources/ideas that are new and exciting first and then determine how it would look and work with the students I have the opportunity to teach. I do believe that those who choose to teach, are should search for opportunities to improve the effectiveness of their instruction by learning what else is available. There is so much we can learn from others in the same field and PLNs truly can offer chance for improvements within classrooms.

I think emergent technology is an important component to include in future classrooms because it can breathe new life into lessons. More often than not, the basic components or necessary units of curriculum remain the same. After years of teaching the same material, this can add excitement back into teaching for the educator and at the same time provide a way to promote student engagement.

The children of today have grown up relying on technology for a lot and most enjoy their screen time. Why not add learning experiences through technology? Students will be excited for lessons if they are able to participate by using devices that are maybe considered a reward to use at home or just something they associate with play and less with work. Emergent technology can elevate the learning experience for students. Students can be locked into another world with these supplemental tools. They can block out the regular distractions of a classroom and focus on the emergent experience in front of them.

Virtual reality can take people on trips to places they would never be able to visit during a school day. It can bring museums into the classroom. It can allow students to explore places they never would have thought possible, like underwater or in space. During pandemic times it is what is continuing to allow students to have field trips. Applications like Google Expeditions offer many options for exploration in the world of virtual reality. This same application offers augmented reality options as well.

Augmented reality allows students to view inventions, animals, or other objects right in their own workspace. Applications such as 3DBear can offer opportunities for students to create scenes and then build stories for writing assignments around the scene. It can also allow students to show work with mathematics by placing objects to create visuals and explain how the problem was solved. For even younger students, augmented reality offers options that can bring the alphabet to life through AR Flashcards. JigSpace can even allow teachers or students to create their own jigs for others to explore.

There are so many opportunities for emergent technology in the classroom, educators just need to be open to learning what is out there and how to incorporate it into lesson plans in meaningful ways. That being said, there is no reason not to take advantage of the advancements we have at our fingertips.

Teachers fill one of the most important roles in childrens’ lives as they grow up. Yes, of course students have parents and family who support them as they grow, but those same students spend most of their time during the week for ten months out of the year at school. Teachers have the potential to assume an equal role in each of their students’ lives to that of their parents. In assuming such a role, it is important that they not only teach the appropriate curriculum in the traditional subjects, but also provide social and emotional learning to their class. We as educators share this responsibility with the families of students.

It is important to focus on social and emotional learning to establish an understanding of five personal areas. Teachers should help students with their self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills. To start they should work towards creating self-awareness which will allow them to recognize their own emotions and values along with their strengths and the challenges they face. Following this they should work on self-management so they know how to manage their emotions and behaviors to reach goals. Teachers can help students learn self-awareness and management skills by starting the day with a check-in. This forces students to acknowledge their current mood or feelings. After a relationship has been established between teacher and student this can be done verbally upon greeting the child as they enter the classroom, but can also be done through journaling. Emotions and behaviors can also be introduced and explored through read-alouds. Sharing stories about fictional characters can help students recognize emotions and have a better understanding of why they may feel a certain way and how they can change it when needed. Educators should also provide students with new ways to say how they are feeling, such as “How can I improve?” instead of “I’m not good at this.” Changing how they think by offering alternative phrases like this can help them be kinder to themselves. Classrooms can also include a calm corner where students can excuse themselves when feeling upset, frustrated, or angry to manage their emotions before returning.

Educators should also help students establish relationship skills. Students can learn these by working in teams with their classmates and forming positive relationships. They should also be taught how to deal with conflict. This can be taught by explaining compromise and having them communicate what they are feeling with their classmates. Some schools also offer peer mediation. Older students can become peer mediators and help others resolve conflicts that may occur where those students do not have the skills to resolve on their own. Experiencing this process can help them learn from older students and puts them in a situation where they feel more comfortable since the mediators are only a few years older. Students should also be asked how they think events may have made someone else feel. It is important for them to have social awareness and learn to be empathetic towards others. Educators can create an anchor chart titled “What does respect look like?” to remind students of how others should be treated. Also, students can practice a lot of role play in the safe space of their classroom so that they know how to problem solve, be empathetic, and check-in with their own feelings in real life situations.

Overall, teachers should strive to create a nurturing classroom environment that harnesses social and emotional growth. A classroom should be seen as safe and respecting themselves and each other should be the number one priority. Through all of this, students should then be able to make decisions responsibly including those regarding personal and social behavior.

Field trips provide a fun change of pace for students. The purpose of the trip always has an educational component and sometimes ties into the unit students are working on. However, the pandemic is preventing schools from planning any typical field trips. The need to social distance, not travel in large crowds, and remain masked limits the options available to school districts. Educators, schools, and even the locations that would often be trip sites are getting creative in how people can still have access to such experiences.

Virtual field trips are becoming more and more popular. The internet offers many video options for viewing attractions, other parts of the country, other countries, and much more. Many museums like the American Museum of Natural History and sites like the Statue of Liberty have offered virtual tours/field trip options on their websites. Although the inability to take physical field trips is frustrating, virtual options offer so much in terms of convenience.

Virtual field trips are inexpensive (usually free) and take less time than the traditional. Teachers will still have to incorporate into their schedule, but they no longer have to worry about permission slips, fees, transportation, travel time, and distance. Classrooms across the country or in another country can now go on field trips in New York City or explore the works of Gaudi in Barcelona. Thus, virtual field trips actually open up many more opportunities to add excitement into the classroom through their ability to occur more often.

There are many benefits of providing virtual experiences. The current state of the world and how it has impacted every aspect of our lives including school is strange, to say the least. Virtual field trips allow an escape from reality and return to normalcy. It gives students and educators something to look forward to that is different from the regular school day. They can become world travelers and cultured without ever leaving the classroom. For younger students it might also offer a quick opportunity to add motion into the classroom as well. Have them put their jackets on and take a quick loop around the playground, return inside, and start to explore! Linking “trips” to specific units also gives students an experience to tie to the lesson and will most likely improve their engagement during and ability to recall information later on.

The pandemic has forced us to adapt, but I think it has also given educators the chance to think outside of the box. Current and future educators have been granted permission to take risks to accommodate hybrid or full virtual lessons. Now, when this is behind us we will be able to offer so much more to our students through the new resources we have discovered. Virtual field trips along with many other tools 2020 educators have been introduced to have been a necessity at this time, but will end up becoming staples of the future.

Digital citizenship refers to the use of technology, by any person who uses the internet, computers, and any other electronic devices to engage with society on any level regularly and effectively. Just as in everyday life there are certain rules of conduct and respect that we expect from each person, the same holds true for our presence online. Due to this, there is also the possibility of people being good digital citizens or bad digital citizens.

Since school relies more and more on technology as time passes (especially in pandemic times), educators should work to mold their students into responsible and good digital citizens. First, students should be taught how to appropriately use the internet in a secure manner for their protection. This should include a conversation about user data and how they should go about protecting their personal information. They should also be taught how to access information from reputable sources and give credit to any sources they may use in any of their own work.

If we focus on teaching children one additional thing, it should be empathy. The younger they are the better because it will hopefully mean they will go through life understanding that each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Furthermore, they need to take another person’s feelings into account and be taught how to respectfully disagree with others and attempt to understand the other individual’s point of view. Students should also be taught how quickly text can be misinterpreted considering there is no actual voice they are hearing. Educators might consider making this a quick lesson by writing a comment or sentence on the board and asking students to read it in the voice they hear it in. The teacher should then be prepared to read it in a different way. Hopefully, this will demonstrate how people think and interpret differently and teach them to really think before reacting. People, too often, feel as if the internet provides a protective shield of anonymity where they can act as they please with little to no consequence. Irresponsibly posting or reacting to the thoughts of another person are the beginnings of what could evolve into cyberbullying. It is very easy to harshly type words from behind a screen, therefore I think it is also crucial to remind students that their voice on the internet is in writing and cannot be taken back. There will always be some form of evidence of it. They should act as if their teacher or parents are looking over their shoulder when online.

Educators will have a much easier time cultivating responsible digital citizenship if they establish classroom rules in how students should treat the space, their classmates, and their teacher. Reminding them that they should act the exact same way online as they are expected to do in person.

Electronic devices have become a constant in all of our lives. Phones, tablets, laptops, we use them all day and every day. The school environment, like most others, has also welcomed such devices into the day-to-day. In COVID times, we are pretty grateful that devices and technology had already made their way into the classroom otherwise educators would have experienced many more complications when the pandemic hit in March.

Today’s students experience a classroom where much of the lessons incorporate technology and many schools distributing 1:1 devices to each student. If students are issued these devices it can be assumed that they are adding value, improving teaching methods and classroom efficiency. Although the devices are very useful for educators and students, there is a question of whether students should be allowed to take a school issued laptop or tablet home with them. Many schools require that students keep the devices on school property, but what potential issues can this cause?

Requiring devices to remain “on campus” could present an unfair advantage for some students over others. Not all children in the same school district come from the same economic class. Some students’ families may have financial limitations, which may restrict them from having access to a computer. In other households maybe they do have a family computer, but multiple children. Maybe their parents need the only in-home devices to complete their work? These and many other possibilities could cause disruption or prevent a child’s educational success. It is important for them to have access to the same or similar resources as they have in school. If homework must be completed and submitted online, lack of access to a device can prevent a student from completing work. Before the coronavirus students may have opted to use computers in public libraries, but parent work schedules and fear of additional exposure could prevent even this option. Previously, children remained in school all day and maybe would not need the device after leaving. However, most schools are holding classes virtually for half of the day. A student without access to a device would not be able to log on and would miss out on opportunities to participate in further lessons and ask questions.

Schools put their finances and devices at risk when giving students the freedom to carry devices between school and home, but providing students with the proper tools for success should be worth the risk. Districts can put rules of use into place for protection. Devices should only be used for educational purposes which have been assigned by school. Students and their parents should be the only ones touching the device. Restrictions should be placed on what sites can be accessed and students should not download any applications outside of school instruction. The district or individual school should then require each family to sign an agreement which would include a consequence of misuse or damage. This provides the school with some protection while also allowing students to take the device off of school grounds.

If school districts want to give their students the best chance for success and level the playing field among students of all financial backgrounds, devices should be allowed to leave school grounds. Yes, maybe some students have access to additional resources that others may not but at least the district is doing everything they can to set them up for educational success.

As Americans we often sit at desks for six to eight hours a day, sometimes more! This is true from the time we are of school age and continues through into our adult lives for many careers. Adults can try to take walks throughout their work day or hit the gym at the end, but what about children who are in school? Is gym and recess enough movement during the main part of their day?

As educators it is important to incorporate movement into the classroom. We are with our students for the main part of their day whether in-person or virtually. Not only is the day dull, but it becomes hard to focus because there is nothing breaking up the day. There are many ways that we, as teachers, can add movement into school days.

Teachers can add movement into lesson plans whether adding into a lesson or scheduled breaks. This easily improves student engagement because it jolts them out of the routine. In younger classrooms, teachers can demonstrate a motion and ask students to try with them to explain a vocabulary word. This not only adds movement and excitement but also an experience to associate with the word and reinforce the definition. Between subjects students can be asked to do a variety of tasks. During a change from reading to math maybe all students do five jumping jacks, have a quick two minute dance party, or jog in a circle around the room. Out of curiosity, I reached out to my younger cousins to see if and how their teachers add motion to the school day. My youngest cousin has a good morning and goodbye song where they all stand and sing, but said that his teacher uses a program called “i-Ready” (my aunt was not sure that her six year old was correct) apparently numbers flash and it tells them to do certain activities. Students are also now given hand washing and mask breaks during the day where they go outside for five minutes, spread out, and take their masks off. Strange circumstances during the pandemic, but movement is movement!

Depending on budget and what is already available in schools, the classroom can be modified to include opportunities for movement without adding into lessons. Teachers can provide alternative seating options. Installment of standing desks or the addition of stability balls where students can take turns throughout the day (pre pandemic), or rotate depending on the day (pandemic). This not only changes the environment, but also provides assistive tools for students with ADHD without making it apparent to the entire class that accommodations are being made for specific students.

There are endless opportunities to add motion into the classroom and is mostly dependent on how creative a teacher is willing to be. Movement does not need to be complicated, it can be free, fun, easy and hopefully offer the least amount of disruption to the day’s flow.

It is very easy for each of us to get wrapped up in our own reality and find comfort in what we know. However, there is no growth in only accepting our day-to-day. Students must recognize that their world is not the only world that exists. Their reality is not the same as those living in other countries. Some cognitive development theories stress that a child learns through sociocultural experiences, which is done through the environment they grow around. We constantly learn throughout life and the more information we are exposed to, the more opportunities we have to learn. It is important for students to explore other environments to learn about different cultures and people from other walks of life, what traditions and holidays are the same and what is different.

When I was completing my undergraduate degree, my Spanish professor had us each take part in weekly online chats. The website name escapes me now, but it allowed us to log on and choose a language we were learning. Once the language was chosen, we would be placed in a text chat where we had the opportunity to practice Spanish with a native speaker and they could practice their English. I always thought how amazing it was that the internet was connecting me with the other side of the world without ever leaving my room. Experiences are equally, if not more, important for younger children. Children when exposed to ideas outside of the familiar at younger ages are more likely to be more open-minded and tolerant of other cultures throughout life.

Although there are some risks associated with connecting strangers online, there are safe methods of exposure that an educator can use beginning with inside the classroom. The teacher can schedule a multicultural day where children are asked to share information about their heritage, cultures, holidays, food, etc. They would be required to do research through family and the internet, as well as incorporate information and traditions they have experienced firsthand. Teachers can encourage further cultural exploration by assigning different countries randomly. There are many videos on YouTube about different cultures, including ones where people from countries all across the world share specific information about what it is like growing up in __________.

Teachers probably have the ability to reach out to schools in other countries and coordinate/control Zoom calls where classes of the same age can join in their regular classroom. The two classes can then ask each other questions. A translator may need to be secured in some cases. In a time where the whole world is experiencing the same pandemic, we have a common ground to bond through. Children can break the ice through discussion of what kids in other countries have been doing to keep busy. We are all craving more social interaction and are limited in our methods, so we need to find creative ways to connect these and luckily technology increases our opportunities to do so.

Recently, we have seen many different versions of a school calendar being utilized to meet guidelines for student and faculty safety during the pandemic. Some districts are back to a regular schedule and following protocols, some hybrid, and others fully virtual. At this point a regular school calendar with the traditional (United States) Summer Break is still being followed, but now may be the time to reconsider if we should switch to a twelve month instructional calendar utilized by most of the world.

Meaningful learning can be established through use of the school calendar. The school calendar can help educators plan units and lessons to make sure they are completed before any scheduled breaks to prevent any issues of information loss and cut back on the need for any additional remediation. Teachers should also use the school calendar to plan lessons relevant to current events, heritage months, notable dates, and holidays. This keeps students interested and keeps material fresh.

The United States is one of, what seems like, few countries that does not operate on a year-round instructional learning calendar. A twelve month calendar still operates on the 180 day learning schedule but has short breaks spread throughout the year. If we want to make this change, now would be the time to do it. Our work and school lives and schedules have already changed so much that now would be an easier time to make the switch as we figure out what our new world will look like.

A twelve month school calendar can ease overcrowding, which would be a benefit to issues of social distancing at this time. Splitting into three different cohorts allows schools to keep classroom sizes low, which increases student learning opportunities and engagement since educators can devote more time to each student’s needs. Also, having shorter breaks throughout the year could prevent too much time being spent on refresher lessons because there is less time for information loss to occur. These breaks throughout the year would also give teachers time to decompress and hopefully decrease their chances of burnout.

Although there are benefits to making this change, it would be remiss to not bring up the cons. Teachers, on average, earn fairly low salaries with many tutoring or holding summer jobs to make a bit more money. This schedule would not allow for that. It would also require families to reconfigure their schedules throughout the year. Rather than just making sure children are busy, have childcare scheduled, or parents are off during winter break, spring break, and summer break they now have to plan for a two week break every nine weeks. Other countries are given much more vacation time to use throughout the year, whereas the United States does not provide the same.

There are benefits and drawbacks to switching over to a twelve month instructional calendar. However, I think at this point we need to focus on making sure all students and educators are comfortable with the current situation they are navigating. Our country is not currently set up to handle a year-round school schedule, but as we are reworking our “normal” maybe we can put some of the pieces in place to make it a future option.

Education is one of the areas that the pandemic has had a major impact on. With the need to socially distance and prevent the spread of COVID-19, came the necessity to stray from traditional methods of teaching. Although we have seen a gradual increase in the incorporation of online learning over the years, the majority of school has been held in person. Yes, some colleges have been offering fully online instruction for years, but that has not been the societal norm. The shift to hybrid and remote teaching models is forcing educators to spend much more time developing lessons and activities that work in class and virtually.

Teachers already spend a lot of time planning for each unit they teach, but the need to build lessons that incorporate virtual components requires even more attention. They are teaching in-person lessons, videoing for those who are fully remote, and then determining what pieces work best in class versus what will be just as effective online. All while being as creative as possible to ensure the class’ continued engagement. Luckily, it seems while teachers are working overtime to meet these demands so has the technological industry to strengthen their platforms and tools.

Over the past six months it has become apparent that we may never return to our pre-pandemic normal and we need to accept the current as well as expect a new future normal. Even with promises of vaccines, it will still be a couple of years before they are ready for us and even more time before deemed effective. Hybrid and remote teaching will not be disappearing which makes it a crucial focal point in the education of future teachers like me. Our eyes need to be opened up to the resources that are available and how to use them in engaging ways. Methods for developing relationships with each student and fostering those between students. As educators we are responsible not only for an individual's educational growth, but also for providing support to him or her socially and emotionally. We also need to become proficient in any educational technology we use in order to provide technological support and troubleshoot with our students.

So far my first semester in Education has included various video conferences, fun games/quizzes through Kahoot!, introduction to a few instructional education platforms, online surveys, Twitter chat, and pre-recorded lessons. This change in education has arrived and unfortunately has placed students, parents, administrators, and educators in a sink or swim situation. I feel lucky to be able to learn from the experiences of those at the forefront of this embrace, am excited to see what else technology can offer in the world of education, and look forward to experiencing it from the teacher’s point of view.

Throughout my life as a student I have experienced so much advancement in technology and it has been nothing short of beneficial. The beginning of my education occurred only a year after the internet became mainstream in 1991. I believe that is part of the reason that I am more accepting of change and willing to adapt to the new. However, I can remember using the internet at home (as long as nobody was on the phone), at school, and at the library for very specific educational searches. Since the internet was not necessarily always available to me, I also had the experience of using my grandmother’s encyclopedia set to work on school assignments. This specific technology has opened up a world of more information than any individual could possibly retain and advancement in technological devices has allowed us to carry all of its contents in our back pockets.

If it was not for technology, the pandemic we are currently living through would have been much more difficult to cope with. Technology has allowed society to work from home, provide telemedicine, and continue educating elementary through college students. The ability for educators to provide online and virtual classes is what has allowed me to begin my journey towards becoming an educator myself and has prevented students from falling behind since March of this year. The use and need for such technology at this time, is fascinating as I can assume virtual learning will be interlaced with traditional methods even after quarantine, masks, and 2020 are over. Existing educators were required to quickly find solutions to prevent any gaps in education, but their efforts will provide much more in terms of developing additional effective learning techniques in and out of the classroom.

There is a learning curve with technology, and although I’ve stated that I am willing to adapt and learn the newest technologies, I also recognize that it takes me a bit longer to learn new systems than it did my freshman year of undergrad in 2006. It is for this reason that school districts scrambled to put a remote learning system in place and provide as much training to teachers in the limited amount of time they had prior to the start of remote learning. In addition to the learning curve posing a challenge for individuals, there is also the risk of malfunction when using any advancements beyond pen and paper. A storm like the one that hit New Jersey in August 2020 knocked out power and the internet for many, disrupting work and school for multiple days. Situations similar to this prevent technology from working properly thus creating a major issue when such equipment is required.

Overall, technology’s benefits outweigh any potential challenges and I hope to learn more about what platforms and resources are available as well as what their functions are in the industry of education.