Divenanzio,+Chelsea

Chelsea DiVenanzio my personal web page: []

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The Learning Planet The learning planet is easy to navigate, has a wide use of colors, which are visually stimulating to young children, and a wide variety of activities. There are many learning activities for children in the grade I want to teach, which is Kindergarten. The use of characters/cartoons can hold the children's interest, while still being a strong learning website and environment. There is also printable worksheet page, a teacher's page and student's page. The teacher's page has Early Learning activities, Brain and Memory games, Language Arts and Word games, Logic-Problem Solving games, and Creative Activities.

 __I am a Visual/Verbal learner.__
I learn best when information is presented visually and in a written language format. In a classroom setting, I benefit from instructors who use the blackboard (or overhead projector) to list the essential points of a lecture, or who provide me with an outline to follow along with during lecture. I benefit from information obtained from textbooks and class notes. I tend to like to study by myself in a quiet room. I often see information "in my mind's eye" when I am trying to remember some thing. I agree that I am a visual/verbal learner. I definitely learn best when I can see things in front of me and it is spelled out for me. I have a hard time paying attention in lecture classrooms because I'm not an auditory learner. I find myself daydreaming often because I can't pay attention when someone is only using their voice. If a professor has visual aids, I find it easier to stay focused. When the teacher writes what she says, or what she is talking about on the board, it's so much easier for me to follow along and learn the lesson. __Visual/Virtual Field Trips__ After browsing through a few virtual field trip websites, and browsing in depth through the whale museum, I think virtual field trips is a great way to substitute physically going on a field trip. However, I still prefer actually going to a place over viewing it online. But as discussed in class, a lot of schools no longer have access because of budget cuts and safety issues. So, because physically going on a field trip is no longer a possibility, i find virtual field trips to be a great replacement of physically going. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things missing from going on a field trip, that simply going online can't bring you. The physical experience, social interactions, certain sensory learning experiences, and the idea of being completely surrounded and enveloped in the culture/subject at hand. Going on an actual field trip is also a more joyful experience than sitting at your desk and learning about it. You might learn the same information from a field trip that you would online, but a field trip lacks the adventure and excitement of exploring a new place. A lot of children learn better with physical involvement in activities because it uses the whole person to learn. Visual/Virtual field trips are the best thing you are going to find without actually going on a field trip. It really is the next best idea when it comes to stimulating the child and bringing them an enjoyable, interactive experience. I think a lot of children will appreciate how many of the virtual field trips have interactive activities and a vast amount of information presented in an interesting and different way.

__Reading/Reflection Article__ Help Your Students Change The World  **Summary:** <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students were instructed to do research projects on a person who had changed the world. They were to give presentations including memorable quotes, pictures and biographies on the person and what they did to make a difference to the world for the better. They were then asked to contribute to the class blog so that they could become part of a “bigger conversation.” They students were encouraged to ask questions, write responses and acknowledge other student’s research, that way they could learn from them and take into consideration what they did to make the world a better place. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Reflection:** <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I think this is a great idea to help students change the world. The only thing is, I don’t think this idea is brand new. I’ve never heard of a student having to do a report on someone who didn’t create a large impact in an inspirational way – unless the presentation is on Hitler or someone like that. Throughout my life I’ve had to do reports on people from Eleanor Roosevelt, to Mother Theresa, to Ghandi. My teachers have always tried to create projects on these influential people to inspire us to do great things like they did. Even though it’s a widely popular concept, I still think the idea of is great. It’s a great way for students to get encouraged to do something to make a difference. The only thing different from this project than the ones I experienced was the blogging aspect. I think that’s a great idea so students can reflect and ask questions about other influential people, not just the person they did a report on. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I question how big of a difference a person would have had to make in order to be considered part of the list. I’m sure President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery is a candidate, but what about Alexander Graham Bell? He changed the way people communicate. His invention of the telephone had a great impact on the world, but is it considered unimportant because it didn’t have any heroic overtones? What is considered an “influential” world change and what world changes are considered lacking influence? <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">__Assistive Technology__ <span style="color: #ff00cc; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__Digital Storytelling__ media type="youtube" key="s9PITHvfziM?fs=1" height="390" width="480" <span style="color: #ec3232; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My video is a narration of one of my favorite children's books "Goodnight Moon." This book is a great story to read to a pre-k or kindergarten class!
 * 1) <span style="color: #c313c3; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; margin-bottom: 0in;">It never occurred to me that people could use assistive technology to play music! I never thought of modifying instruments so that they work in different ways than how they were originally set up. It must be terrible to have a passion for something and not be able to do it because of personal limitations. However, the kid in the video broke those limits and was able to achieve his goals because of what assistive technology has to offer.
 * 2) <span style="color: #c313c3; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; margin-bottom: 0in;">Most of the products I viewed on the first site Assistivetech.net, were for home use, or tools and objects the individual would bring to class. Things like an angled cushion, a pen ring, Bottom Buddys, button hooks, etc. There were a few good products on the Microsoft site that I would use with computers in my classroom. They have things like a Bull's Eye mouse pointer that changes into a red bull's eye when you hover over click-able controls on a Web page. They have an Nlarge for technical presentations. It magnifies the screen through a smooth animation and allows you to pan and zoom around the magnified screen. I would also use things like alternative keyboards. They come with bigger keys, bigger printing on the keys, and multiple colored keys for children with visual impairments. WiggleWorks also seems like a good program to have in my elementary school classroom. WiggleWorks combines powerful technology with leveled books and instructional materials to develop reading, writing, and language skills.
 * 3) <span style="color: #c313c3; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; margin-bottom: 0in;">Technology provides students who have diverse learning needs with the ability to complete multiple tasks more fluently and better access the classroom and their home. Technology can alter and adapt tools and activities that children in a general education setting would use, to make them more accessible to students with learning disabilities.
 * 4) <span style="color: #c313c3; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; margin-bottom: 0in;">My uncle suffered from a stroke and has difficulty walking and seeing. He has a phone in his room with number pads that are about 2” by 2” and with big, black, bold numbers written on them so that seeing and dialing the number keys are not such a challenge. There is also a program on his computer that enlarges the text he highlights with his mouse. When we take him to Dialysis, there is a machine that the company brings out that lifts him out of my Dad's van, and onto the street. Also, all of the door frame are made larger for wheel chair accessibility and all of the doors inside the Dialysis center are motion censored or have a handicap button so that way no one has to grab handles or use force.
 * 5) <span style="color: #c313c3; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; margin-bottom: 0in;">I will carry on the fact that technology is always growing and changing. I will never have a student in my class not participate or not learn because of any physical or mental limitations because I know there are resources out there that can help them expand their potential. The only thing I hope is that the school I work for is as motivated to help me gain access to assistive technology as I am eager to get it.

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