Journal #10

Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged
By Diane Curtis

This article shows how technology is helping students with disabilities accomplish tasks they would not normally be able to do. More specifically, it focuses on Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland, California, TACLE (Technology and Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement) program. The program is designed to help all students realize their potential through the use of technology to assist them. It also mentions University of Washington’s DO-IT(disabilities, opportunities, internet working, and technology) program that is opening new doors for disabled students with the help of technology.

What opportunities can technology provide for disabled students?
Technology can enable kids to perform a wide array of jobs, assignments, and other tasks that they would normally not be able to complete. Technology also gives these students a better sense of self-confidence, by giving them independence.

How can teachers level the playing field for disabled students?
With a new generation of teachers coming into the workforce, I believe that we can eliminate the labels we put on students and hold them all to high expectations. By including all students with the use of technology instead of aides, it will empower disabled students and encourage learning. We need to educate other teachers and administrators on new technology available and how it is “leveling the playing field” for all students.

Journal #9

Robots Rock at California High School
By Dian Schaffhauser

Mr. Lam’s robotics engineering class at Monte Vista High School in Monte Vista, CA is about electronics, circuitry, mechanics, programming, and most of all problem solving. His class is all about learning how to build robots, which Lam says inspires students to become engineers. The students are first introduced to theory, then shown each individual component that makes up the robot, and finally start building a small robot. Then if they can raise enough money, the students can compete in a national competition. National competitions can get pricey, with Lam’s class spending over $10,000 on parts and registration fees alone. Lam points out that few schools offer robotics classes, but encourages other schools to get involved.


How can you get a robotics class started at your school?
Lam suggests that you first write a curriculum, and he even has a sample of the one he uses for his class you can use as a guideline. After that you need to get the equipment, which he suggests getting in kit form. You can fund raise money to go to national competitions or you can keep it simple and hold local ones.

What applicable skills does a robotics class teach students?
Robotics will teach your students about technology, workplace safety, working as a team, and also how to communicate. Problem solving is another skill that will greatly help students further down the line in either school or life situations.

Journal #8

Spotlight: Free Science Resources Online
By Dave Nagel

Dave Nagel’s article goes over different free online resources that will blind your students with science! These resources include projects, multimedia, lesson plans, and other educational materials all designed to get your kids excited about the subject. Some of his suggestions include:

MIT OpenCourseWare: Free Education for All
• Designed for schools
• Contains lecture notes, syllabi, videos, audio clips, assignments, and assessments.
• Also known as Highlights for High School

NASA: Online Science
• Resources for both students and teachers
• Videos, animations, simulations, links, etc…
• Can sort resources by grade level

Smithsonian Institution: Standards-Aligned Science Resources
• All material is standards-aligned
• Material searchable by grade, subject, or even state standard

How can you incorporate these websites into your classroom?
One good lesson plan I found on Smithsonian was a means, medians, and modes activity. Student collect data and enter it into an excel worksheet. Then they will learn how to create a table. Once they have created a table, they will analyze the data and find the mean, median, and mode. This activity will not only teach them how to use excel, but will also incorporate math.

What grades are these website designed for?
The MIT website seems to be more targeted at post-secondary students, but could be used in some way for younger students. The other two websites have great material for all ages.

Journal #7-Podcasting

Podcast- series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players(iPod) and computers.

Podcasting- merely the publishing of a podcast
One user on classroom2.0 put it as: “publishing a podcast can be as simple as uploading the audio file ( mp3 is the standard) to the server, then creating a link to it”

Basically a podcast is an online pre-recorded program share via world wide web. It can be strictly audio(original podcast) or can contain video as well (video podcast).

Podcasting originally was designed for people to distribute their very own radio-style show, but educators also saw the value and started using it to distribute lessons. Podcasts allow teachers and students to share information without being at a physical location. For example, the entire class could take a tour of the Smithsonian Museum without leaving their chairs in the classroom. Another application could be allowing absent students to download any recorded lessons they may have missed. Have you ever watched a YouTube video? The chances are you have downloaded a podcast before and just didn’t realize that it was the result of another person podcasting. You can also integrate a podcast into other tools, such as a class blog to keep parents up to date. This way, when a parent asks their child what they learned today in school, the kid can tell them to get their lazy butt online to the class blog and learn it themselves.

Journal #6

Inspiration/iMovie Review

Inspiration is a good program and after using it I can see all the applicable uses for it in a school setting. Initially I had some difficulties because I wanted to learn how to use InspireData, seeing as how I want to teach math. After several attempts of arguing with computer lab workers, I could not get the administration’s approval to download the program, so I just used Inspiration. It was fairly easy to use after playing around with the program for a while and watching tutorials on Atomiclearning. I believe the students would really like Inspiration. First off, kids usually get excited any time they get to use technology to assist them in completing an assignment, and any time you can intertwine technology with your core content, it is a bonus. Also, every kid learns differently and Inspiration incorporates a number of different learning styles.

One great project I had envisioned for a middle school math class was with InspireData. You could give the students different number sequences and they have to decipher the algebraic equation. Once the students had a good understanding of how to solve these problems, I would have them each create their own to further deepen their conceptual understanding. If I wasn’t in an only mathematics setting I would have the students create a family tree. Inspiration allows students to clearly map out each generation and add any interesting notes about each person. A well thought out and detailed family tree is a project that every student may not appreciate at the time, but somewhere down the road they will be glad mean old Mr. Ludwig made them complete the assignment.

This is a diagram I created in Inspiration to show the relationship between all real numbers. Somewhat of a elementary lesson, but it really reinforces real numbers, which can be difficult to understand, but much easier with pictures. 





Atomiclearning.com is an excellent website and I have already recommended it to several other educators. The tutorials are easy to follow, clearly spoken, and you can watch every step of the process. The tutorial topics are easily searched and each topic is broken down into subtopics. So instead of watching an hour long tutorial on powerpoint, a teacher can learn just the stuff they don’t know by watching three 5min videos. This would be a great learning tool for the older teachers who shy away from technology. This way they could teach themselves about computers, programs, etc, and can learn at their own pace.

iMovie is a sweet program that is user friendly and easy to use. It’s a program that if you fool around with it enough, you can teach yourself and the more you fool around with it the more efficient you will become. I love how all of the related programs work together with such ease. I showed my movie to a couple of different people and they didn’t believe that I created THE BEST MOVIE EVER!

Journal #5

Storytelling in the Web 2.0 Era by Glen Bull

Mr. Bull wrote a very interesting article in which he gives a lot of great examples of how to apply and where to find web 2.0 media applications.

How could a teacher incorporate storytelling in a math setting?

One assignment I thought of is to have the students teach a section from the textbook and have them do it digitally. They could use different web 2.0 storytelling telling tools to create a lesson that would be played for the entire class and they would be encouraged to be as creative as possible. This would not only take the pressure off a live presentation in front of their classmates, it would also present math to their peers in a manner they understand.

How could a teacher incorporate a project of this magnitude while keeping pace to achieve standardized test results?

The project could be introduced at the beginning of the year and spend some time showing examples and giving different ideas. Then group the students making sure each group contains students of various math and computer skill levels. The lesson they teach could be a chapter review so they are teaching content that theoretically they already know. The majority of this project would have to be completed during study hall periods, lunch, free class time, and after school. This would be a difficult project to include in a math class, but if you could pull it off it would be a great learning experience for the students.

Journal #4

Five don’ts of Classroom Blogging by Julie Sturgeon

This article gave some very good advice for conducting a classroom blog. I would like to integrate some type of blog in my class, and I think by reading this article it should help streamline the process. Some of the comments made I don’t necessarily agree with, and I think that I will learn more about the do’s and don’ts of blogging by trial and error in my classroom.

How do you know if your students are mature enough for a free blog platform?

I like the idea of having students sign off on a code of conduct and sending a note home to parents, but this still doesn’t protect them having access to everyone else’s blog on the website. I think that the very first blog entry should be a free write and then you can see which students are going to be mature enough to handle blogging and which students you need to speak one on one.

What would Jeffery Heil say to Jeffery Yan’s comment about blogger.com?

I really don’t know, but I think the Jeffery’s should have a blog off to settle this, and I think Heil would kick the blog out of Yan. Yan makes a very good point, but teachers in a public school setting need to make use of free resources around them. With a very limited budget, I find it hard to believe that a school district would allocate monies to a math or science teacher to spend on an Internet blog.

Journal #3

Using Chat in the Multicultural Math Classroom by Janet Graham

This article discusses various methods of integrating chat rooms and discussion forums into a multicultural mathematical setting. It outlines how to construct effective web-based learning environments, as well as how the students and teacher stand to gain from using chat rooms and discussion forums. I was digging on this article because I want to become a cool mathematics teacher. Growing up I loved math, but by the time I had reached high school I had become turned off by math. I believe that this is because every math teacher I ever had was the biggest nerd in the school, which did not appeal to me. Math is so cut and dry, and that it needs to integrated with technology and taught in creative ways besides writing out problems on the marker board.

How can a teacher use chat rooms to encourage quiet/shy students to attempt to answer questions without being embarrassed?

I love the idea of using icons and names to differentiate the students’ cultures and characteristics, but this is also a way of identifying each other, which in turn could decrease the likely hood of 100% class participation. Instead, I would allow students to remain anonymous to each other until I have developed a community in which they feel comfortable enough to identify themselves and answer questions freely. This will allow all students to answer questions without the possibility of getting ridiculed for giving an incorrect answer,

How can a teacher use discussion forums before they teach any math?

One idea I thought of was to take the students to the computer lab the right at the beginning of the year and have them respond to different math equations and definitions. Then analyze each student’s response to gauge his or her understanding and alter chapter contact accordingly.

Journal #2

Social Networking for the K-12 Set by Jim Klein

Jim Klein presented a lot of different great ideas and insight from his experiences with social networking. He stresses creating secure communities in which students and teachers can access and share information from anywhere. He argues that this social platform is very successful in enriching education, and yet it is affordable.

How do you provide equal technological learning opportunities for students who don’t have access to a computer or the Internet at home?

I believe that integrating technology into the classroom is vital to learning this day and age, but it needs to be done in a manner that does not give one students an advantage over another. Doing little extra things for students who come from a lower socioeconomic background can help level the playing field. They need to have more exposure to computers in order to catch up to the other students whom have more experience with technology. Coming in early, staying late, and making yourself available during lunch/study hall periods are all great way to enable less fortune students to still get the same learning opportunities.


How could a teacher justify to a school board spending money to implement a district wide program for social networking?

For starters you could show them this article by Jim Klein, but I don’t believe this would be nearly enough. You would need to find some type of research showing the benefits of social networking in a public school. You would also need to get help from other teachers and students’ parents to persuade a board to grant money

Journal 1/Intro Letter

Hello everyone. I am currently breaking my blogging cherry...and it doesnt hurt one bit.
I am Christian Ludwig. I grew up in Freeport, IL which is about two hours West of Chicago and ten minutes south of the Wisconsin border. I graduated from Freeport High School in 2001 and then went on to pursue higher education at Northern Illinois University. Earning my BS in Marketing in May 2005, I accepted a job selling industrial and construction supplies in beautiful San Bernardino (which I later found out is the armpit of California). Working my way up to General Manager, I then opened stores in Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario. After two and one half years of enjoying the Inland Empire's industrial market and heavy smog, I needed a serious change... I quit my job, moved to a small beach house just South of the Village in Carlsbad, decided to become a teacher, and have been much happier since.

I have been a PC guy my entire life, but just recently have been more involved with Mac, and I am completely sold. My next computer purchase will be an Apple product. I use a computer daily. Checking email, reading articles, surfing the Internet, or writing papers consumes the majority of my time on the computer. I manily use a PC with Windows XP, but have been using my girlfriends' Mac Book with the new Leopard operating system as well. On a scale of 1-10 of my computer geekiness, I would give myself a 5. I would like to become more tech savvy overall and especially with Apple computers. I am excited to be working my iMac's for EDUC422.


Cal State University- College of Education Mission Statement

The mission of the College of Education Community is to collaboratively transform public education by preparing thoughtful educators and advancing professional practices. We are committed to diversity, educational equity, and social justice, exemplified through reflective teaching, life-long learning, innovative research, and ongoing service. Our practices demonstrate a commitment to student centered education, diversity, collaboration, professionalism, and shared governance.

To be honest this statement was not a factor in coming to school here. I came to CSUSM because I heard it was a great school to earn a credential and it is close to my home. Upon getting into the college, I was very impressed with the student centered education and diversity. I believe that we as future educators need to be well educated and preparated for today's diverse and ever changing classroom. So far, I am very impressed with level of teacher involvement and commitement to the students here at Cal State San Marcos.