Technology Integration in Action: Flip Charts

Braille Dot by Dot

by Barbara Fletcher

Projects | Braille Dot by Dot

Brief Introduction

Barbara Fletcher's flipchart, Braille Dot by Dot, satisfies the three different categories of technology use based on problem solving through addressing how to motivate and engage students, how to support students' learning needs, and how to prepare students for future learning (Doering & Roblyer, p. 25-26, 2013).

Braille Dot by Dot is classified as special-purpose lab. These labs are "dedicated to [specific] content area(s)" (Doering & Roblyer, p. 12, 2013). As a special-purpose lab, this flipchart provides specific content area resources (ex. Resources for Learning Braille) for the very specific needs of particular types of students: students sight-impaired, students directly related to sight-impaired individuals, or students who are interested in comprehending Braille with fluency for their future career (Doering & Roblyer, p. 12, 2013). 

Even though this flipchart targets the appropriate audience, it also has its limitations in satisfying the three categories listed above due to the specificity of its content. Braille, as an area of study, naturally "excludes groups who do not meet [this] special-purpose lab's criterium" (Doering & Robyler, p. 12, 2013).

Relevance

As a collaborative education teacher with students who are sight-impaired, this flipchart would be an amazingly helpful resource for myself, instructional aides, and our peer helpers. It is an engaging way to promote simple fluency of the braille alphabet by including interactive activities in deciphering and memorizing the braille alphabet so that you can increase fluency.

Hardware/Software

Flip charts like Braille Dot by Dot are easily downloadable files if you have access to hardware such as a computer or tablet. 

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/ 

Once you register as an educator on the Promethean Planet website, you are required to download their compatible productivity software, ActiveInspire, in order to open the flipchart files onto your SmartBoard. ActiveInspire is classified as a productivity software that helps "teachers and students plan, develop materials, communicate, and keep records" (Doering & Roblyer, p. 12, 2013).

SmartBoard hardware and ActiveInspire software allow for the flip charts on Promethean Planet to become interactive within the classroom with the help of Adobe Flash software. Monetarily, you could save money up front by downloading the free trial version of ActiveInspire. However, advocating for the purchase of Promethean Planet's software for your school or district would be required once the free trial is over (Doering & Roblyer, p. 66, 2013). 

Technology Use Based On Problem Solving

• Problem 1: How to motivate and engage students?

Braille Dot by Dot motivates and engages students through illustrating real-world relevance through highly visual presentations, engaging students through production work, and engaging learners through real-world situations and collaborations (Doering & Roblyer, p. 25, 2013).

• Problem 2: How to support students' learning needs?

Braille Dot by Dot supports students' learning needs by supporting effective skill practice of braille usage and fluency and by letting students study systems or braille in unique ways (Doering & Roblyer, p. 25, 2013).

• Problem 3: How to prepare students' for future learning?

Braille Dot by Dot prepares students' for future learning by reinforcing technological literacy, information literacy, and visual literacy (Doering & Roblyer, p. 26, 2013).

Essential Conditions for Technology Integration

Braille Dot by Dot flip chart presented by the Promethean Planet website supports all eight of the essential conditions for technology integration: 

• A Shared Vision for Technology Integration with schools and districts via the cooperation of teachers, administrators, and staff.
• Standards and Curriculum Support
• Abiding by Required Policies in regards to safe internet browsing, legal and ethical policies, and financial policies
• Access to Hardware, Software, and Other Resources 
• Skilled Personnel or any hardware user who takes the time to learn how to use the software
• Technical Assistance or an IT department that is willing to help provided by your school system
• Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Approaches presented through the flip chart
• Engaged Community through interactive activities on the flip chart

Software Support Tools

Braille Dot by Dot could be seen as a software support tool because it "helps teachers and students produce instructional materials on paper and online" by giving you interactive activities that are easily duplicated, edited, and transferrable to paper  (Doering & Roblyer, p. 141, 2013). It also provides data collection and analysis, graphic tools, and content-area tools that support teaching and learning of braille.

REFERENCES:

Doering, A. H., & Roblyer, M. D. (2013). Hypermedia Tools for 21st Century Teaching. In Pearson Education, Inc., Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (pp. 11-12, 64-69, 140-151). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Role of the Internet: Web-Based Teaching & Learning

Using the Internet to Our Advantage: Web-Based Learning

Search Engines

Google,Yahoo, & Bing: 

How can learning to use search engines help you find better information?

http://www.google.com

http://www.yahoo.com

As a student or teacher, learning to use a search engine is incredibly resourceful. Before search engines were available to the general population via the world wide web, we could only find the answers to our questions through the use of catalogued literature such as an Almanac or Encyclopedia. 

In the 21st Century, we can now type any specific phrase, topic, word, or question into a search engine and receive a result instantaneously. This efficiency of both time and effort makes search engines like Google absolutely vital for the 21st century student and educator. Information is at our finger tips and the Internet is an infinite digital world where learning is limitless.

For example, if you need video, audio, graphics, or background information to support a project, paper, or presentation, all you have to do is type what you're looking for within Google, Yahoo, or Bling. These search engines then generate a metaphorical highway for your technology to traverse while also connecting locations all across the web that deliver addresses that exactly or approximately contain what you were trying to find. Like bread crumbs, the search engine leads the user to their destination according to the number of hits or frequency/popularity in usage of particular sources. Hits help to bring you choices while also delivering the most relevant or approximate results to satisfy your search requests (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 219).

Website Evaluation Video

Youtube Tutorial:

"At a time when everything in the world seems so high tech and highly controlled, the Internet is, in some ways, a wild frontier" (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 254).

As users of the world wide web, we must use great discernment in order to define what a credible source looks like versus a non-credible source. Since "technology is [merely] a vehicle, not a destination," we cannot expect our computers to properly assess the quality of the sources without our help (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 226). We must critically evaluate all content and all designs of every source on the Internet. It is imperative to avoid "blind acceptance of [all] information" on the web or to assume "that [all] content is accurate and reliable" (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 255).

The following video will present a brief tutorial on the insight needed in order to make intelligent evalutations of Internet information:

Favorite Web Site #1

National Geographic - Education:

National Geographic was originally published by the National Geographic Society as a magazine in October of 1888. Overtime, it became a revolutionary printed collection of renowned resources: photos, research, global issue articles, geography, maps, news, and videos catalogued from places all over the planet from 1888 to present day. 

For educators, families, and students alike, National Geographic is a comprehensive resource viable for most every subject covered within the classroom. Today, National Geographic offers a variety of online formats for users to choose from in addition to its monthly published magazine.

Ex.  http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/?ar_a=1

The National Geographic: Education homepage satisfies the criteria required of an authoritative website by "clearly [showing] how to navigate to other features of the site" by using concise navigation options at the top, bottom, and sides of the page typed in readable font, appropriate font colors, with poignant graphics that do not distract, and overall appealing yet simple aesthetics (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 255).

Favorite Website #2

Wikispaces - Special Education:

"Wikis are a collection of web pages located in an online community that encourage collaboration and communication of ideas by having users contribute or modify content" (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 223). 

Ex. http://edutechdatabase.wikispaces.com/Special+Education

This wiki was created by hundreds of members who organized and compiled three clearly defined catagories of K-12 Special Education Tech Tools: Apps, Online Resources, & Tips/Advice. Although the design of the homepage is nothing fancy, it remains simple, clean, and easy to navigate. All URLs are hyperlinked properly, typed in an appropriate font selection, and color coordinated by specific category, website, and description.

The above web address is a perfect example of a wiki collection easily used and created for the collaborative classroom. It offers very specific links to lesson plans, teaching materials, resources, and engagingly educational applications for students with Autism, learning disabilities, and physical handicaps.

Wikis collections like this one are created to ensure that "the lack of awareness and knowledge about [disabilities]" is replaced with universal access to the Internet and appropriate accomodation for all individuals, whether disabled or not (Doering & Roblyer, 2013, p. 213).

REFERENCES:

Doering, A. H., & Roblyer, M. D. (2013). Hypermedia Tools for 21st Century Teaching. In Pearson Education, Inc., Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (pp. 202-257). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.