Blog 7

            Assistive technologies are used to help students further their education when they have a disability preventing them from learning the way a majority of students learn. Recorded books are a great tool for students who can grasp the concepts of their grade level reading requirements but cannot read at that level. There are also mini keyboards, which are smaller than the standard sized keyboards, that make it easier for students with smaller mobility range to type. I have never personally met anyone who has used technology like this before, however my high school did have this technology for students with extra learning needs to use. The only challenge I could see being associated with this technology is the cost, because it is extremely beneficial to those who require extra assistance.

            When first working with Weebly, I did not like it. I was unable to get my website to format the way I wanted it to be because it kept requiring me to pick a template. Then I accidently deleted my entire website that could not be retrieved. However, once I got started the second time, I was able to shut off the templates and set up the pages the way I wanted them to be. I can improve next time by getting rid of the templates from the start and that way I can work the website to fit my needs. I learned about having patience with technology when I was unable to get the text and pictures to be placed where I wanted them to be and when this caused me to delete my website by accident. I learned it is alright to step away from technology and come back and try to work with it later.

            I learned about annotating sources in Diigo and how these annotations can be shared to a group. This will be a great tool when I assign readings to my students. They can all read the prompt independently and annotate on their own. Then when they have all completed this, we can come together as a class and see what parts stood out as a whole. This is also great when colleagues of mine and I are trying to prepare similar lesson plans to meet state requirements. If a colleague finds an article with some great points in it, they can annotate the points so we can view just the important parts. 

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