Blog Assignment #3

Technology in Special Education

This video, Technology in Special Education really moved me, especially because I want to teach Special Education. It is interesting to think about how much we use technology for entertainment and socially. Special needs students use technology for survival. It helps them to communicate with the world. It also provides ways for them to become more independent adults.
Because technology has become very promising for special needs students, it is being used and taught throughout the day. The student, Kris, were using technology in the classroom to show how it helps him to type words he wants to say. Another student was using a program that helped him see his work better since he was visually impaired. I planned to used technology for my special needs students that will be useful to their futures.
The App I would use on an iPad for my students is called Silly Numbers. It is a way for students to learn how to count. I think this would be a good app for younger autistic children, like Braden in the video.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Soon as I clicked the page, I was amazed. Gary's Social Media Count really shocked me and showed me how social networks like Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook have taken over the Internet. Keeping up virtually is so important in our culture now. Another shock to me was the high number of apps that are downloaded by the second. They have become so useful to us that they are almost mandatory to have. E-mail had the highest number on the whole list, which is one of the first virtual communication users had.
The last category on the page was new Internet users globally.
So many new people are using the Internet for the first time, and that scares me. It feels like technology is taking over the world. If you are not apart of it, you become lost and feel lonely from the world. It makes me look at my future career as an educator. Now, I feel like I need to keep up with technology even if I didn’t want to. My career will be about my future students so I have to make it a part of my life just like they do.

A Vision of Students Today

What a powerful message. A Vision of Students Today was hard to watch and not have a student's perspective because I related to the signs they were holding up. I spend a lot of time on my cell phone and computer, a lot of my school work doesn’t relate to my life, and I will probably read more Facebook profiles than books. But when I watched it again through a teacher’s eyes, I saw it as a wake up call. Technology is changing the classroom atmosphere, and since students are still in classrooms that don’t pertain to technology at all times, they lose interest. Students see the subjects as a waste of time because the information will be useless to the in the future. Now they have other devices that with keep them occupied and pass the time in class.

I am just as guilty as my peers, especially being younger. With this now being the case, I feel that future educators, like myself should pay attention to the visions today, so we can change it for tomorrow. We need to learn the technology so we can relate to our future students and help them get more out of their education. That is why EDM has been really helpful about opening my eyes to the future of the classroom.