MythBusters

     I would have to say that none of the three myths presented were a surprise to me. We spent a lot of time in my educational psychology class discussing these myths and therefore, I was already aware of the fact that they are not necessarily true.
     In regards to the myth about auditory learning versus visual learning, I go back and forth between deciding whether or not to believe this myth. I do think that it is true that people learn better when they receive information in a certain way. However, some people take this to the extreme and claim that if they are a visual learner then they won't retain anything that is verbally said to them. I think that all people are capable of learning regardless of how information is presented to them, but perhaps we are more willing to learn if/when the information is presented in a way that is more interesting or appealing to us. 

     In the future, I am sure that I will be challenged by my students and coworkers about this. When that happens I see myself asking them to think about a time that information was given to them in a style that did not match their learning preferences. Then I will ask them if they were able to learn any information from that or not? I think this could lead into a conversation about how learning styles are more of learning preferences rather than learning styles being the only way that a student or person is able to learn. 

Legal Issues and Privacy Laws for Students and Schools while using the Internet

     This week, my research was focused on the legal issues and privacy laws that students and schools encounter when using the Internet. In today's technology driven world, students are learning about how to use a computer before they even start preschool. Once students begin kindergarten, they encounter computers and iPads either in their own classroom or in the school library or computer room. When young students have open access to computers, that may mean that they have open access to the internet as well. For this reason, it is crucial that schools take the necessary steps to protect their students when using the internet. 

     The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is one way that students are protected while using the internet. A school can agree to follow the rules that CIPA has set in place such as monitoring the students' activity while on-line. Schools who follow CIPA must also agree to teaching the students about internet safety. Once a school meets the requirements of CIPA, they are given any E-rate funding. E-rate funding helps make communication services and products more affordable schools. While this is a great act and idea for helping to keep young students safe on the internet, schools have to have enough funding to purchase items such as web filters or monitoring systems. Therefore, not all schools can participate in this program/act.

     The other important privacy act is Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This act helps to make sure that children under the age of 13 are not giving out any personal information (full name, phone number, address, birthday, pictures, etc.) when using the internet. The problem with this is that educators can give consent to have this information of the students released on-line which can pose some liability issues for educators. Parents do however have the privilege of revoking the educators' consent at any time. 

I've included a few links that provide further information:

http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step06/cipa.aspx 

This site spells out all the requirements that a school must adhere to in order to be eligible for the E-rate funding.

http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/COPPA

This site gives a brief overview of the act, talks about why it was created and addresses a few common misconceptions about COPPA.

Feedly

I've recently made a Feedly account and have added this blog to it. Feedly is a new concept for me, so I am still getting a feel for it and for all that it can do. I invite you to check it out for yourself and see what it's all about!

Benefits of Blogging

     As a future educator, I see many possible ways that I could use a blog in my classroom. From an instructor's perspective, I think a blog is helpful when it comes to quickly and effectively communicating with the students. A blog creates a place for a classroom to technologically bond and can be a place for assignments and updates to be posted and for safe communication to happen between instructor and the students and from one student to another student.
     For my students, creating and using a blog offers them an easy way to have their work published. Often times, students complete a writing assignment, turn it into the teacher and then that's the end. With a blog however, students' work can be ready by people from all around the world. They can receive immediate feedback and comments on what they have written which is something you can't get with a Word document. Having a blog also pushes students to be vulnerable in their writing due to the fact that the teacher will not be the only one who reads it. I think it is important for students to be pushed in their writing so that they are able to grow as writers. When they write from a vulnerable state, they learn how to express themselves in new ways and eventually will become more confident in their writing abilities.

10 Quality Blogs that Focus on Special Education

About Special Education: This blog is made by Jerry Webster. The blog talks about and shares the basics of special education and offers some of his own insight and experiences from inside the classroom.
(http://specialed.about.com/)

Special 2 Me: This blog was created and is maintained by a special education teacher. The blog contains insight, reflections and experiences of the teacher while working in a low income and high crime school in Los Angeles.
(https://specialedandme.wordpress.com/)

Special Education Strategies and More: This blog was designed for teachers and parents of children with special needs. The blog offers strategies and resources to help the children grow academically, socially and emotionally.
(http://michellespecialeducation.blogspot.com/)

Teacher Sol: A blog created by an exceptional needs specialist (Maria Angala) in which she shares stories and updates about what is happening in her classroom and updates on her battles and challenges that she faces while trying to improve special education.
(http://teachersol.blogspot.com/)

Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties: This blog is maintained by teachers and staff who work with students with special needs at the high school level. The blog features useful lessons, tips and ideas for teaching.
(http://studentswithlearningdifficulties.blogspot.com/)

Life in Special Education: A blog created by Karla Banks who teaches special education at the elementary level. The blog features reflections and information on what she is doing in her classroom with the students.
(http://lifeinspecialeducation.blogspot.com/)

Special Education Advisor: This blog features advice and guidance on doing IEP's and classroom activities/lessons. The blog covers material for students K-12.
(http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/)

ESU 4 Special Education: This blog offers information about staff development, and resources for teachers and administrators to use when working with students in special education.
(http://esu4specialeducation.blogspot.com/)

The Cooke Special Education Blog: This blog features advice from staff at the Cooke Center on how to improve the experience(s) that students in special education have.
(http://www.cookecenter.org/page.cfm?p=406#.VUz9z_lVikp)

Dyslexia My Life: A blog created by someone who has lived with dyslexia his whole life, that offers insight on what it is like to live with dyslexia. The blog's author also offers advice to teachers for working with students who have dyslexia.
(http://dyslexiamylife.blogspot.com/)

Social Media Resources for 

General Education and
Special Education

Facebook sites

Special Education Resources for Kids: a Facebook page used to provide games, activities and resources that students in special education can use to help them in their learning process (https://www.facebook.com/SpecialEducationResourcesForKids?nr)

Autism Support Network: free network of people helping people with autism on a global level

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Autism-Support-Network/150100405892?fref=ts)

Council for Exceptional Children: advocates for children with disabilities and promotes awareness about children with disabilities

(https://www.facebook.com/MnsuCEC?fref=ts)

Teaching Ideas: Facebook page used for sharing new teaching strategies and educational resources

(https://www.facebook.com/TeachingIdeas)

Super Teacher Worksheets: fills up their Facebook timeline with links to websites that provide free worksheets to accompany a variety of subjects and all different age levels (but mostly the elementary level)

(https://www.facebook.com/superteacherworksheetsref=%2Fpage_timeline_chaining%2Fwww)

Free Technology for Teachers: provides ideas for teachers of how to use technology in the classroom and has links to different apps and online resources for both teachers and students

(https://www.facebook.com/FreeTech4Teachers)

Edutopia: Facebook page filled with inspiration, encouragement and ideas for anyone in education, but especially geared towards teachers

(https://www.facebook.com/edutopia)

Classroom Freebies: incredible site filled with links and resources to free material for teachers to use in the classroom and also posts updates on teachers who have classroom materials to give away to other teachers for free

(https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomFreebies)

Classroom Displays: this Facebook page features displays made by children and teachers in schools from all over the world

(https://www.facebook.com/classroomdisplays)

The Teacher's Corner: Facebook page that posts worksheets, collaborative projects, lesson plans, seasonal activities, jobs in education, bulletin board ideas, writing prompts, pen pals, thematic units and message boards that are all related to education

(https://www.facebook.com/theteacherscorner)

YouTube Sites

#specialeducation: connects viewers with hundreds of channels and YouTube videos about special needs, disabilities and special education 

(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQqRc-GKIwfGsnWXxESv0dw)

TeacherTubeSPED: videos for teachers and parents about children with special needs - motivation levels, how to read their facial expressions, helping them with homework/learning new tasks and much more

(https://www.youtube.com/user/teachertubeSPED)

YSERVIDEOS: collection of videos that explain to parents the rights that children with special needs have in the educational system

(https://www.youtube.com/user/YSERVIDEOS)

Videos Related to Special Education: YouTube site that contains videos that discusses and explains issues related to special education and schooling

(https://www.youtube.com/user/specialmeansspecial)

Promoting Success: resources for teachers that focuses on resources for teaching math in regards to the common core requirements - the site can be used by parents, teachers, students and homeschoolers

(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF_0mxu2VApCysbG9keemBQ)

People for Education: collection of videos that promotes public education - they conduct research, answer questions, make policy recommendations and much more

(https://www.youtube.com/user/peopleforeducation)

Special Teacher Resources: this channel was created by a certified special education teacher - the videos focus on supporting special education teachers in the United States and across the world

(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnamVcdEM0ZfGiaAsfNz4uQ)

eSparkLearningVideos: channel that streams the best apps, data collection and educational practices for children in K-8

(https://www.youtube.com/user/eSparkLearningVideos)

Morgan Lemmon: channel that features special education lessons that are aimed towards students in middle school for educators to use in their classrooms

(https://www.youtube.com/user/MissLemmonsRoom)

KidzSkillz: tool to be used to help students in both general and special education learn basic skills such as handwriting and shoe tying

(https://www.youtube.com/user/kidzskillz)

Here are two different professional special education organizations that I found. The first, MAASE, is a state level organization and the second, NASET, is a national level organization.

Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE)
Website: www.maase.org
Twitter: @maasemichigan

MAASE is a group of people who are "dedicated to the enhancement of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual in society...The Mission of MAASE is to provide leadership for the development and implementation of quality programs and services for students with disabilities within the total education community." (Taken from www.maase.org/index.php)

Membership: $80
                      $45 (non-voting associate membership)
I tried to research what is included with a membership or what a membership entails for each individual, but the website is currently under construction and there is no available information. I did however find that there are three different levels of membership: national, state and nonvoting. I cannot tell if there are any magazines or periodicals included with a membership due to it still being under construction and not having available information.

MAASE holds meetings on Tuesday nights for professional learning. There is also a summer institute of learning available. MAASE also has a preschool least restrictive environment project that they are currently working on. Both of these events are free if you are a member.

National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)Website: http://www.naset.org/
Twitter: @NASTEmembership
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasetmembers
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nasetmembers

The mission of NASET is to "render all possible support and assistance to professionals who teach children with special needs. NASET seeks to promote standards of excellence and innovation in special education research, practice, and policy in order to foster exceptional teaching for exceptional children." (Taken from https://www.facebook.com/nasetmembers/info?tab=page_info)

Membership: $59/year or $95/two years
Student membership: $50/year or $85/two years

The benefits of being a NASET member include:
-professional development courses
-weekly e-mail of stories, topics and issues from the field of special education
-research based articles in the field of special education
-a list made by educators of the top 100 forms, tables, checklists and procedures
-special education e-journal
-nine part series of discipline of students in special education
-monthly education resource about assessment in special education
-series of lesser known disorders in special education
-E-publication of the latest learning disabilities
-parent teacher conference handouts
-behavior management series
-resolving disputes with parents series
-question and answer corner
-classroom management series
-RTI (response to intervention) roundtable
-genetics in special education series
-working with paraprofessionals in your school series
-master curriculum to be used when developing lesson plans
-exceptional children and disability information and practical resources
-special education and the law database
-audio lectures
-power point presentations
-career center
-membership certificiate
-national listing of conferences and workshops for special education teachers
-news alerts
-professional reference library
-teacher to teacher forum
-"The Practical Teacher" (a monthly resource filled with tools, tips and strategies to use inside and outside of the classroom)
...and that is just the beginning of what a membership includes!

There are two conferences held every four months (February, June and October). Each conference has a different topic and presents different information regarding special education. There are trainings, workshops and lectures. Some of them just go all day and others last more than one day.

NASET also has apps for phones and iPods/iPads and sells many of their items through Amazon.