What I did for the Project.

For my part of the Portfolio Module I did Specific Learning Disabilities and Sensory Impairment. Our group created a separate blog and posted all our information on that blog so it was all together. This would make things easier for grading instead of searching over all our blogs for our answers. To see the complete blog a hyperlink has been provided. I did not include all my information rather just screen captures to give an example. Our group formated everything in a combination of laundry lists and paragraphs in order to accomplish all the tasks presented.

Week 14 Post - Chapter 12

Including Students with Physical Disabilities

1. Teacher Lisa Kelleher describes her role as a teacher in an inclusive classroom as being quite multifaceted. Are there any aspects of her role that surprised you or made you envision your future role as a teacher differently? Explain.

In my high school we had a few students with physical disabilities that participated in the school day with us. They were a part of the lecture, a part of the group work, and a part of the tests. They did have an aid that came around with them for help when the student needed them and were typically with them all day and through their high school career. It is typical, as shown by Kelleher and my experiences in high school, that it is the teacher that creates the lesson plans where as the aid helps the student in a more one on one fashion. However, when I take my role as a teacher I want to be more involved with the aid and the student with the physical disability to know what I could do in order to make things easier for them.

2. What skills does elementary classroom aid Danielle Doucette bring to her work with MaryAnne, the child who has spinal bifida? How does Danielle take MaryAnne's academic and social/emotional development into account when planning activities?

Danielle Doucette has a strong knowledge of the different technologies out there today to assist children with disabilities. In order to make MaryAnne's learning environment easier she has MaryAnne use these different devices in the classroom. For classroom work she has MaryAnne use a wheelchair so she can easily move around the classroom and she is in the same position as here peers. When it comes to art she has MaryAnn uses standers so she is at the same level as peers. Danielle also makes sure that MaryAnne's feelings aren't hurt and creates activities that she can be involved in.

3. What questions has this video raised in your mind about your own familiarity with adaptive technologies for children? How can you take action on Lisa's suggestion that teachers familiarize themselves with how the equipment work (e.g., an electronic wheelchair) even before you have your own classroom?

The only question that I can think of in terms of assistive technologies is: What will they be like when I'm a teacher? I know that they have electric wheelchairs, even ones that raise to help an individual stand upright (I saw one on the television show Private Practice). When I'm a teacher looking up these new advances will benefit myself and my students tremendously and also noting the advances that are occurring now will help in my preparation.

4. In the bonus video, "Encouraging Social Interactions in an Inclusion Classroom," Lisa explains how she makes sure that all students have opportunities to play together, typically through music or art. Can you think of any activities you've used successfully to engage a full range of learners? If not, what types of activities do you plan to add to your repertoire?

Creating a mural in art class was always so much fun. You did not necessarily have to be good at art or anything but you got a chance to just fool around with paint. This activity is something anyone can do because all you have to do is paint a line and you've done your part. It's a simple way to express yourself. In terms of using this activity in a history class creating a group time line using both words and pictures allows everyone to have an equal opportunity to participate.

5. The classroom artifact entitled, "MaryAnne's Schedule" blocks out MaryAnne's schedule for the day in words and illustrations. How could a chart like this be used more generally to help students with other types of learning challenges (such as ADHD)? Explain.

This formation provides a different type of structure. Sometimes students with ADHD get distracted and cannot sit and read a long laundry list of things they have to do. By adding images you are switching up the pattern in hopes this will make it so distractions are avoided.

Assistive Technology in the Inclusive Classroom: Best Practices

1. Kindergarten teacher Tony Byers describes his responsibility to teach Jamie, a girl in his classroom who has cerebral palsy, so that she can feel like an equal participant. Have you had experience in working with children who are physically challenged? If not, how can you gain experience before you have your own classroom?

I have not yet in my placement have experienced working with children who are physically challenged. I'm enrolled in a Special Olympics coarse next semester and I'm not sure if it involves children with physical disabilities but if it is, then there is one way to gain experience. After school programs are also a possibility, and even returning to my old high school over a break to work with students who have physical disabilities is an option.

2. Inclusion facilitator Sara Woodruff is an advocate for assistive technologies. She explains that there are many to help children access their voices and their minds the best they can. What assistive technologies -- either high tech or low tech -- have you seen or read about? How and when would you be likely to incorporate them into your teaching?

Communication boards are popular for students who have difficulty communicating. It allows them to explain their thoughts so they do not get frustrated while trying to explain themselves. Wheelchairs are used to help students who are otherwise immobile move around the classroom and participate in activities.

3. As you watch Jamie complete an activity using a speech output device what do you notice about the way Sara interacts with her? What can you learn from Sara's approach in general, and the way she describes her goals for Jamie?

Sara was patient and helped Jamie complete the activity on her own. She did not take everything into her own hands and just do the work herself, she gave Jamie the chance to get things done herself no matter how long it took. It would be important to take Sara aside and praise her for the good job she did that day because everyones confidence should be boosted when they do something correctly.

4. According to Tony, having Jamie use assistive technologies " help show the others children that there is a wide range of communication capabilities in our population as a whole. Children are shown an alternative way of communicating that is different rather than better or worse." What questions about your own understanding of the potential of assistive technologies has this video raised?

The way we have seen advancements in something we take completely for granted like a telephone have advanced tremendously over the past few years. Assistive technologies will continue to advance and become more affordable and available to individuals and families who are in need of them. However, we don't want the technology to become so advanced that the students aren't doing their work for them. We want the technology to help them, not do everything for them.

5. In the bonus video entitled "adapting the curriculum: Mr. Byers' view," Tony describes the tension he feels between teaching spontaneously and the need to slow down and adapt every lesson for all students. Can you think of any experiences you've had that have created a similar tension? Explain your answer.

I have a hard time meeting new people and being able to start conversation. I would really love it if there was a way that I could have some background knowledge on people before I actually met them. I know that's close to impossible but as a high school teacher I will have access to records and the opinions of other teachers, so in some way that's background knowledge. I'm a people person, it's just when they are my age or older I become nervous. This is just a recent development, I've never actually been this way so I'm hoping maybe it'll go away.

Kirk, S., Gallagher, J., Coleman, M., Anastaslow, N. (2009). Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Kentucky: Cengage Learning. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from http://college.cengage.com/education/kirk/educating/12e/resources/video_cases.html

Blog Week 10 - Opportunities Unlimited

Today we had some special guests come and hang out with us during class. These guests were from Opportunities Unlimited which is an organization that that provides rehabilitation and supportive services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They came and hung out with us for a few hours and our job was to take them around campus shoot some pictures with them and just get to know them. Have a conversation, make and be a friend.

We started off by playing a game that allowed us to get to know the names of not only the members of our class but our new friends as well. We had to throw a ball and shot out a persons name as we threw it to them. These games always make me nervous because I'm not very athletic and I'm always scared I'm going to drop the ball or hit someone in the face because my aim is way off. Maybe someday I'll actually grow up and stop getting nervous about things like that. Anyways, it was a good time and the students from Opportunities Unlimited loved it as well.

I was in a group with Heather and Dallan and we met our friend Ben and explained that we were going to take a walk around campus and show him some fun things we do here. The second we walked outside it smelled like cookies so we all decided it would be a fantastic plan if we all went and got some chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious that's for sure. While we ate we talked with Ben and he told us some things he likes to do. Ben loves hockey, he actually went to the Sabres game the night before so we talked about his favorite players and the fun he had at the game. My friend Patrick was in Gally when we were there and he came over to say hi and talked with us and Ben for a bit. Then Ben wanted to check out the radio station and he actually explained to us what some of the things were.

When we got back to the classroom there were stations set up, making pictures of what we did, more questions to start conversations with, playing with play-do (awesome), and building a fort. I think Dallan, Heather, and I had more fun then Ben building the fort though. It was a fun day and it was nice to see how people with special needs transition later on in life. The people from Opportunities Unlimited were not young kids, they were adults older then us. Seeing first hand how this program helps out families in Niagara Falls with adults with special needs highlighted the transition process found in our textbook. Some are able to hold jobs, and even live on their own. many of them get the opportunity to graduate from high school which is a rewarding feeling. (Page: 174) It was another nice alternet to a traditional classroom which has been the purpose of this class all along. After all, instead of writing a paper here I am typing up a blog.

Kirk S. , Gallagher J.J. , Coleman M.R. , & Anastasiow N. (2009).Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Blog Week 5 - Hike

Today wasn't a traditional class to say the least, but many of the classes so far haven't been. We don't get bored to death listening to a professor ramble on about how we should teach students from a boring textbook, rather, we're a more hands on group of educators. Today was one of those hands on days, today we went for a hike on the Niagara Gorge.

Okay, so my Learn and Serve is at 11:30 on Thursdays and the bus leave at 11. Well, class ends at 11 so needless today going on a hike and trying to look presentable at the end of it to go teach kids just sucks. First thing Shelly said was, "You look nice for going on a hike." It's not my fault I had to look nice! And it's not like looking nice stopped me from climbing over big rocks. I let Emily crawl in them, but I crawled all over them.

We stopped along the way and chatted about educational things, but to me the lesson I mostly learned was that there are just some things that once you throw them into the gorge you throw them out of your life. I'm talking about how we had to pick a rock and carry it with us a ways and then think of something that bothered us and then throw it away. Honest to god I felt just so much better. I really felt up lifted.

Making up a story was so fun too. We all were fooling around and thinking of the most ridiculous ideas and taking some crazy pictures that we'd probably not even use. Yes we created a story but hey making up stories about everyone falling off the cliff was way more fun.

I know a lot of students didn't understand the point of the hike or of walking all the way up those 200 stairs or what ever it was and I guess I don't understand what the educational purpose was other then the cards we were given. For myself I personally took relaxation and meditation out from the hike. It is beyond beautiful down there and the chance to walk in the middle of fall when the air was crisp and the leave were just starting to change was awesome. I thought it was just fun. I got stress off my chest, got a chance to sit by myself and think, and a few hours to make some new friends and just talk.

I was a little rushed when we got to Shelly's house and a little winded from walking up all those stairs so talking about what was on those cards really just wafted over me. I was worried about getting to Learn and Serve on-time, which I did by the way. I liked the gorge hike and I didn't think it was pointless or stupid like other people did I thought it was just a fun way to spend a class rather then sitting in a classroom listening to a boring lecture. It was an altered form of teaching that was teaching us how to teach.

Creating alternate ways to teach is a key point in this class, because after all the students we are learning about have alternate ways of learning. They cannot sit in a structured traditional classroom environment with a teacher standing in front of them lecturing. For example children with ADHD are often distracted and sitting in an environment where the teacher is always talking and is not hands on could limit their learning capability. By providing more hands on activities for students you can grab and hold onto their attention for a longer period of time. For example History can be a boring topic if you just sit there and talk and talk about what has happened in the past. An alternate lesson perhaps could be taking students on a hike to the gorge to teach them about the underground railroad and how close the gorge is to Canada and how many people escaped. Or how building the paths and the stairs we walked on was part of FDR's plan to get us out of the Great Depression. Changing the environment is a key way to hold attention of students rather then letting them just drift off. (Page: 115)

Kirk S. , Gallagher J.J. , Coleman M.R. , & Anastasiow N. (2009).Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Portfolio Project So Far

<---- My ideas for the group project.

What I've done so far.

Learn&Serve: Week 10

Week 10

Today was my final day of Learn and Serve. We had a new 8th grader, and for the first period he was with us he sat and drew and watched television. As I've said before, this bothers me because I just don't think that letting them sit around and watch television is a good idea, but I am not the teacher so the best I can do it sit here on my blog and complain about the situation. At the end of the period I asked to see what he had drawn and and he was more than happy to show me. It was a drawing of the streets of Niagara Falls and the nicknames of his friends that were born on the corresponding streets. It was really a good drawing a lot of these students can draw and enjoy drawing. Another thing these kids love to do is make a beat and dance or create a rap that goes along with the beat. I'm a true believer in supporting funding for art and music programs in schools. They cannot go away, they are truly needed and these kids prove it. Our society should focus on math and science skills but honestly not everyone is good at them. i know I'm not and taking away programs that help these kids like school even a little bit is just an idiotic idea.

In the 10th grade class we did a powerpoint and Mr. C let the kids change the slides. They didn't even read the slides they just filled in the blanks on the worksheets they were given. Again, this bothered me because there wasn't a drop of learning going on. One of the students asked for help and I asked him to read something and he couldn't, again schools aren't focusing on reading and English anymore, even some kids in college are like that. (I'm sort of using this entry to vent) One of the students was talking about basket ball and how much he loved it. I suggested maybe he get a job as a coach and try out for the high school team, he liked that idea.

Many students that have behavioral issues have a hard time in after school in the transitional period into adult life. "One of the unsolved challenges involving the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders is their poor record of school completion, together with limited success in the vocational arena following school." (Page: 212) Unfortunately many of these students might not even graduate high school because they can do the work and just don't want to. These students should be educated more on where and what they can do outside of school so they break from this track that they are on. That's why I suggested getting a coaching job to earn some money and maybe take a few classes at the community college. For other students who love to dance Mr. C and I both suggested that they teach dance classes. It would be a good way to earn money and help people around you.

I didn't learn about lesson plans, I wasn't in a traditional classroom. I didn't get to watch a crafty review session that a teacher spent hours on. Instead I learned about kids that have had more things happen to them then I will in my lifetime. I was not a fan of the kids sitting there watching television and not doing work when they are supposed to. I was not a fan that the kids weren't learning anything just sitting there filling out a power point in record time. I did like that the students listened to Mr. C and that at most times they were polite to me. I really did learn that you're not always going to get a good class and you do have the option if you want to teach at a school like this. I changed my previous statement. I don't think I would like to work there, I'd just get to bored and frustrated when they didn't feel like doing anything. I'm not saying I couldn't handle Special Ed but I couldn't do the sitting around, it's just not my thing.

I'm grateful for this Learn and Serve program, but I'd really like to get out of the city schools. I've been in the high school, an after school tutor for the 5th grade at Hyde Park, and now at the Alternative school. It's not bad to say that I want to go to a school like LewPort because I've experienced the city school and it is part of Learn and Serve to get us into the different types of environments. I really think that I've had my fare share of the city district in terms of Learn and Serve.

Hours Completed : 2

Total Hours: 20

Kirk S. , Gallagher J.J. , Coleman M.R. , & Anastasiow N. (2009).Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Learn&Serve Week 9

(This image is not authentic)

Week 9

During my last Learn and Serve before Thanksgiving break three new students were added to the 10th grade class, there are still no students during the first hour I'm at Niagara Falls Alternative. Mr. C suggested that I use the time to catch up on work and he read some of my papers and helped me out. Some of the other teachers came in and out of the classroom so I got to talk with them, to be honest it was nice to have some time to just catch up and relax because that was probably the most stressful week I've had in a really long time. You could probably see it all over my face.

One of the students was really quiet and the entire class he kept his arms in his shirt and his head down the other student had faded green hair so some parts were a light green, others were bleached looking. The last new student was a bit rounder, with classes and he was dressed in a polo and jeans. He was polite and introduced himself. We continued on with the lesson which was a powerpoint about Greek culture. When learning about the role of woman the student with his arms up his sleeve said he was surprised I wasn't complaining about how woman were treated back then. It can be strange being the only girl in the classroom at times. The boy dressed in the polo started asking me questions about school and the Learn and Serve program. Then somehow I'm not sure how we got on the topic of Mr. C failing me. Mr. C said he wasn't going to fail me and the boy said, "Even if she walks in wearing a sexy red dress you wont fail her?" Mr. C was livid and told him not to talk like that to me and told him to apologize. I'm not going to lie, I expected something like this to happen eventually due to the circumstances. My facial expression did not change when he said that I did not look shocked or anything. I just gave that look that says you are angry, not just angry but pissed. He got the point across.

A few more rude remarks were made not directed towards me, but I really did expect this to happen and it was coming from the new students not those who have previously been there. Whether or not the previous students acted like this before I'm not sure since I only see them for an hour a week but if they did then Niagara Falls Alternative is doing something to alter the actions of these students. Sadly, but also expected, the students would talk about drugs and what they plan to do after school. Marijuana was their drug of choice it seems at least that is what they would talk about. it was weird that they were so open about it even in front of myself and Mr. C. The reason that I was not surprised that the students were involved with drugs is because of the enviornment that they live in. Also, the link between substance abuse and behavior problems has been well established according to a study conducted by the Pittsburgh Youth Study of inner-city boys. (Page: 196) The study says that many boys have tried beer, wine, tobacco, hard liquor, marijuana, and other drugs by the time they were 13. Although Niagara Falls is not Pittsburgh these findings lead to not being all so surprised that these students are talking about all these activities.

Mr. C always asked them why when they brought up drugs. He did not advocate "Say No" and yell at them he turned to a different side. He asked them why they would waste there money since it was so expensive just to get high or drunk for a little bit. We suggested all the different things they could buy like shoes or clothes which all of them obviously love. When you advocate against drugs you must remember who you are talking to and where you are talking because in every situation things are different.

Hours Completed: 2

Kirk S. , Gallagher J.J. , Coleman M.R. , & Anastasiow N. (2009).Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.