Servive Project Wrap-up

This was our last week for service projects, and our class was really busy putting the final touches on everthing. As on online correspondent, I have been busy e-mailing my peers to ask if they needed help with anything. I have been mainly corresponding with group 4 (mealworms) and I commented on their blog. Group 4 was really on top of things, and the only help they needed was comments. Their blog and VoiceThread look great.

I reached out to other people to through e-mail asking if I could do anything to help, and they either told me to just comment on their blogs for the kids to see, or that they are already finished. So, at the end of this project, I ended up being more of a "commenter" than an online support, because the other education majors that I was in contact with really had it under control. I really enjoyed being able to look at all the ECDC group blogs, and I was amazed at how well they turned out. When we first started, I thought that it would be really tough to get 2nd graders comfortable with the technology, and that the education majors would end up doing the bulk of the work for the students. But, when I look at and interact with all the student blogs, I can tell that the students really did the research, and the education majors were really there to facilitate learning.

I did get to practice with VoiceThread on my own, since in our previous assignment I used SlideShare. I explored the site, and I know I will use VoiceThread not only in the future, but in the present. I have already started setting up a VoiceThread for one of my clients with autism to do. I think that all the technology applications we have learned this semester will really revolutionize classrooms as well as private clinics like the one I work at.

Week 2

Because of my job, I cannot attend face-to-face sessions with the kids at the ECDC, so I will be helping my group out with online correspondence. I emailed the members of my group and asked how they were progressing with the students and what I needed to do. Katie replied with everything and said that the group we are working with is off to a great start. They have their KWL charts up on GoogleDocs, and they also have their blogs up with their first entry.

Because I cannot phyisically be with the students in my group, I will be corresponding with other education majors who are able to meet with the students at the ECDC this week. They're goals are to collect photos of mealworms and embed them into their blog, and also get their VoiceThread started. I will be working behind the scenes, so I will be commenting on blogs, working on the VoiceThread, and doing anything else I can.

Because I am now assigned to a group, I feel much more comfortable and confident about this project. I wasn't sure what to expect last week, but I have a feeling that all the education majors are going to help these students complete wonderful research projects.

This week we were given the basic principles of our service projects. I will be working with students in the ECDC, and although we have not had a chance to meet with the students, I have been thinking about and preparing questions that will help the students with their researching and incorporating technology into their projects.

Here are just a few open-ended questions to ask the students to help them think deeper about their project. I am excited about getting to help them learn about the different technology that they can incorporate into their research project.

Spreadsheets

This week I learned how I could incorporate spreadsheets into my future "classroom." I have always enjoyed using spreadsheets (my dad is FANATICAL about them!) I really love how a simple equation can do so much so fast in Excel. You can type it in one time and then just drag it down a whole column.

Thinking of ways to use spreadsheets with my students was a little tough for me. I tried to think of ways that spreadsheets would really help them master their goals, and I couldn't. But, spreadsheets are an invaluable tool for behavior therapists. Behavior analysis is essentially data-based decision making. You take data on a behavior, which is anything that is observable and measurable, and then you take that data to develop or modify behavior plans and goals. Without data, ABA is nothing. But, you also have to look at that data and make decisions using that data. Spreadsheets are an easy way to chart and graph data, and I have used them many times in my ABA experience.

Here is my Google Docs spreadsheet.

Making Movies!

This week was the first time I had ever used Movie Maker, and I was quite apprehensive about using the software. It did take me a while to get familiar with it, and I had quite a few problems converting my media into files that Movie Maker accepted. I think the hardest part for me was figuring out to convert the video shots I took into a file that was compatible, and I ended up having to purchase something to convert my files.

My movie is about making friends. As I mentioned before, one of the hardest things for someone on the autism spectrum to do is to create meaningful relationships and friendships with people, and keeping those friendships. Originally, I wanted to make a movie that modeled for children with autism how to make friends, but I had a tough time finding kids that could be in the movie. I think that before I would use this with one of my clients, I would get more footage of actual people making friends to make it more meaningful for the child. A lot of children with autism need to be shown how to do something, not just told.

In my movie, I incorporated some of my original photos of my friends and some students I know. I also shot footage of a friend and her brother answering the EQ's I asked, which were "What is a friend?" and "How do we make friends?" I also used a video that I found on YouTube that a teacher had make for his class on the meaning of friendship. The song I used is very calm, yet still upbeat, and it is called "Din Din Wo" by Muso Ko. All in all, this was a very tough assignment for me, and I think I need more time to immerse myself in Movie Maker, as well as learn how to convert files, pictures, and video into compatible files. Here it is!

Planning to Make a Movie

This week I decided that a good movie to make for my students with autism would be a video about social interaction. I think that making a movie about how to interact with others would be helpful for students with autsim. I could show them a movie about social interactions before we went out to a park, or for the kids in school, out to recess.

For my movie, I plan on using the 7 elements of digital storytelling in the following ways. First, I plan on having my movie illustrate the point of view of my students. I want them to feel that the person in the movie could be them so they will be more likely to imitate the actions. For my dramatic question, I will be asking, "How do we make friends?" For the majority of people on the spectrum, making and keeping friends is one of the hardest skill to master. I will be using the gift of my voice, and I will ask questions and talk, while leaving meaningful pauses for the student to reflect. I am still searching for the perfect soundtrack that will compliment my movie, but not over power it. I will also not overload this movie in order to not overwhelm my students with autism. This is a common problem for these students, especially with "verbal clutter." It is sometimes compared to Charlie Brown's teacher (WA WA WA) when people with autism are bombarded with too much information, and they simply cannot process it. This deals with the economy and pacing of my movie. Here is my storyboard for my movie and my lesson plan for my movie.

Slide Share (Session 6)

Slide Share (Session 6)

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