Blog Journal 8

• Adaptive technology is equipment or products that are used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability. For example, alternative keyboards can help kids with disabilities type, which is something all students do in school! Expanded keyboards offer keys that are larger and have a larger surface area than regular keyboards which is good for students who lack fine motor control. Mini-keybords are significantly smaller than regular keyboards which helps kids who have motor impairments that restrict range of motion in arms. Also, on-screen keyboards are helpful to students that can't use a physical keyboard but can use a mouse. I have personally never used or known anyone that had to use these kinds of adaptive technologies. Using these technologies in my classroom might be challenging because other students might not understand why one student gets to use the special technology. It would be my job to make sure that the student that needs adaptive technology doesn't feel left out, and also to make sure that other students understand that just because one student is a little different, doesn't mean they can't be your friend.  I also think that it might be hard to bring adaptive technologies into the classroom because it could be expensive so the school needs to have enough funds to help the students in need.
• If I was teaching a history lesson about slavery a great way to teach would be to incorporate Bloom's Taxonomy. To begin, I would have my students research and create their own "Quilt of the Underground Railroad" so they can understand the culture of the time period. I would also have my students evaluate the laws made at the time about slavery and discuss if they think that the laws put in place were beneficial or did enough to help free slaves. Next, I would have my students analyze by comparing and contrasting the lifestyles and opinions of people in the North and people of the South. To continue the learning, I would have my students apply what they learned by researching and sketching a map of how some slaves escaped and made it up to the North safely! To help my students understand I will ask discussion questions for them to talk out as a class until we come to a good final answer and conclusion. Lastly, for my students to remember I will play a fun game such as Kahoot! or a game on Quizlet to help them review and repeat the facts so they will do well on a test.
• PBS TeacherLine is an Online Professional Development website to help teachers old and new come up with new ways to instruct and show them different tools they can use! Older teachers tend to get caught up in their usual techniques but this website can teach them new strategies. Copy & paste link to browser! http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/