Teaching+with+Technology+Week+3

This week focused on the need to individualize education for students' based on their needs and abilities. It is something that we have heard over and over again through out our education to become teachers and our teaching careers. We all know it's important, but is one area of teaching which frequently overwhelms educators. Technology offers us so many effective and useful ways to allow for individualized instruction. It certainly can help make managing all the different tracks the students are on possible.

Pitler and Hubbell consider immediate and frequent feedback are crucial for effective learning. I believe it's as vital for the teacher as the students. It's much more effective to correct students' misunderstandings as they are forming rather than after they are set. Immediate feedback helps the teacher adapt lessons as much as it helps students learn. The following video shows how the use of classroom clickers has helped this professor become a better educator.

media type="youtube" key="EhSbTLsxoXU" width="425" height="350" I would love to use clickers to give tests, pre-assessments and final assessments. I can include color visuals or videos. I can make sure all students answer each question during the test. The questions can be read out loud during the test. The clickers would keep track of the grades and it would save time and stress in the grading process, which would allow me more time to plan and create more interesting lessons.

Voice recognition software can help students with motor control issues to tell their stories without handwriting or typing being an issue. There are programs that will read websites to students that are visually impaired. So many possibilities to help every student achieve at their highest level.

There are many things I would love to do with my students, but they seem out of reach at the present time. I don't have a document camera in my room, though I do have a whiteboard and projector. Our campus only has one set of clickers for classroom response, I'm hoping with will have a program next year that will allow us to use the students' laptops as clickers as well.