Module 3: Applying Technology to Effective Instruction

           As future educators, it is important to be aware of the postitive elements that technology can bring to the classroom. It can enhance lesson plans and provide special instruction for students with special needs. In Chapter 4, I learned about many different ways that technology can assist students with special needs in the classroom. Technology can help remediate auditory, visual and physical disablilties by providing technical activites that involve bettering reading, writing, organization and communication skills.
         During my Junior and Senior years of high school,  I interacted with students with reading disabilities and had been diagnosed with ADHD. I was a Study Buddy and read along with students who struggled with reading and comphrension skills. As we read together, I  noticed how when a student arrived at a challenging word, they would try to sound it out and I would help them finish the pronounication. They would often say it, but if it came up again, they would be stumped once more. There were times that I would have the students get the read-aloud books from the library and follow along with them. After the book was over, I would ask them questions about the story. I found that after listening to the read-aloud books, the students comphrended the story much better. I believe that recorded books are a great resource in the classroom, because it is appropriate for the students who struggle to decode information.
         When I was Cadeting Teaching, I worked with students who were diagnosed with ADHD, meaning that theses student had a hard time paying attention in classs and focusing on assignments. I helped aid these children by helping them plan the format of their writing assignments. When it came to writing, the students struggled to stay focused on the main topic and key points. I helped them do this by having them write and outline or make a concept mapping diagram (such as a web diagram). The visual organization of the key points seemed to keep the students on topic and made it easier for them to write their paper.
     I feel as though all classrooms should use read-aloud books and concept-mapping diagrams for writing, because it assist students with certain special needs and will help better the work of the other students in the classroom.

Module 2: Chapter 2 Reading Review

     Teaching requires the instruction of others, which can often be challenging. To be successful, a teacher must properly communicate their lessons to every student to the best of their ability. From the reading,  I learned about the "communication cycle"  and how significant it is in the classroom. I found learning styles within the "communication cycle"  to be the most important.
      Everyone has their own way of learning different types of information. Some people are visual learners, while others my auditory or kinesthetic learners. Identifying this information in your classroom will allow you to make lesson plans that apply to your classroom. For example, a student is a visual learner and acquires information best when they have a visual aid in front of them. With that information known, you can integrate visual elements into your lesson plan. Everyone has their own preferences as to how they receive information  (the best way to their knowledge). As educators, the goal is to meet the needs of ever student by acknowledging a child's learning patterns and identifying th learning style that works best for them. We will be able to do this in the future by understanding the different types of learning styles and how to represent them in our lesson plans.