Action Plan By: Janine Perfect EDPD 581 July 10, 2009 Taken from Flikr by Pink Sherbert Photography

Professional Growth Professional Growth As a Teacher-on-Call (TOC) and elementary teacher, I know I will use a lot of the assistive technology that I “soaked up” over the last five days, specifically to promote learning for everyone (staff and students alike).

Professional Growth Cont’d… I want to practice Universal Design for Learning so everyone is successful! Although there are almost too many programs and sites to name, I will list a few that really “stuck with me” and that I can’t wait to grow from in my future classroom: - Using audio and graphic resources for the auditory and sensory learners (ex: jamendo and Picassa 3) - Giving students choice of how to present their knowledge; freedom of “expression” (ex: PowerPoint, Talking Books, BoardMaker, Ispeech, PhotoPeach) - Newfound appreciation for the time it takes to create animations and other tech. projects!

Personal Growth I don’t know if someone from this class wrote this, but I found it hilarious!!

Personal Growth Cont’d… I learned PATIENCE and PERSEVERENCE when facing “challenging” tasks (ex: when creating Wikis and a program is not responding the way the creator would like it to – ha!) I also learned to never be afraid to ask questions of colleagues and instructors; even if they don’t have an answer, it’s nice to get suggestions and “bounce ideas off of each other”

Personal Growth Cont’d… Step out of your comfort zone and try new, unfamiliar technology “gadgets” (ex: recording your voice, making a Voki or even creating a video from digital photos) My teaching colleague best sums up creating these technology projects and everything a person does in life with this quote: “Never compare yourself to anyone but the person who you want to be.”~Janelle Keller

Universal Design for Learning When back on the “teaching front,” (maybe in an Integration Support role one day), I will try to incorporate these strategies into my day to help everyone become engaged (including me): - Model ideas of projects, trying to include multiple ways of learning (ex: recording presentations, acting out the presentation and filming it, creating a visual PowerPoint, etc.) - Give students choice of topics - Have resources (links/websites) at my fingertips (Ex: BoardMaker, Switch activities for low-incidence students, Kurzweill for online text, social stories, etc.) - Forever learn and let students know that they can teach me too (make them comfortable and safe in their environment).

Show-and-Share For the parents: - Give them access to a class wiki (online); lets them keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the class and use it as a way of communicating (with posts and comments) - Since every child is “gifted,” let the parents know of all the resources they can use with their child to help them reach their full potential (ex: if a student struggles with written exams, let them record their answers on Voice Comments in Microsoft Word)

Show-and-Share For the staff and colleagues: - Give them helpful links to resources from this Assistive Technology course - Take the time to show them examples of what types of projects can be done within the grade- level they teach (ex: class blogs, wikis and PowerPoints with text-to-speech), or even Michael Abel’s Rubric for determining the learning styles of their students - Engage the staff with Wikipedia Simple English or Auto Summarize so they can make quick adaptations for students with learning disabilities

Show-and-Share For Family & Friends: - Use a wiki for setting up hiking and camping adventures - Enjoy making videos (ex: Animoto, Photopear, etc.) - Share blogging stories about whatever is on my mind!

Leaving a Lasting Mark Beyond the Classroom Although I get “nervous” when thinking of influencing others with technology, I think it would be great to show teachers and staff a program or two that helped me connect with the students and parents. I would love to share the technology resources that helped me in the classroom with fellow teachers in the school! I think even introducing creating a wiki to other staff members and showing them models of other classrooms’ wikis might inspire them to step outside of their “comfort zones.”

BIG difference! I feel that almost EVERYTHING I’ve learned about can make a difference, but if I have to choose in the moment, I can try to name a few powerful tools: - Wikiing friends and family about important events and/or using it in the class - Having students creating blogs to share their passions with fellow peers and parents (even getting feedback from a “real audience” would be great) - Using FREE resources when teaching-on-call!

Aha Moment I felt that there were many times I said “aha” over the duration of the course; but I think the biggest for me had to do with presenting information to incorporate the 8 Multiple Intelligences (something that I know I haven’t really included in here…besides some voice recording)! But knowing that I can reach any student with their “gift” through technology, helping them to shine, is my “aha” and “why I teach” moment!!

The End Thank you to everyone who answered my never-ending questions! I’ve still made mistakes, and learned from those; but sometimes, when it just wasn’t working, someone was there to help me…so from ol’ “Miss IMPerfect” here – Thank you.