Week 1 Recap

MyFitnessPal, anyone?

We should be friends!

Find me at Sraustin123.

I did pretty well this week as far as drinking more water and eating more fruits and veggies,

but I still have some areas of improvement.

I really struggle right when I get home from school because I'm always so hungry and I start snacking.

The calories really rack up then.

Weekly Average- 1798 calories

Daily Goal- 1200

So I went over, but overall I still feel good about my first week.

I also did zumba, walking, dancing, and hiking this week for exercise.

I have decided to give myself one day to splurge and yesterday was the day.

Pizza and beer...really kills the whole calorie counting thing, but that's ok.

Next week, I am aiming for a lower weekly average.

As far as my 101 in 1001...

I am giving blood tomorrow

I have found 2 bikes on Craigslist that I deciding between.

I entered a contest to win 2 free tickets to see Wicked in February.

I have listened to my daily audio bible every day.

I planned to go to church this morning, but woke up feeling really sickly.

I wish everyone a very healthy Sunday!

I'm off to buy a scale.

Yippee

XoXo

Friend Makin' Monday

Favorite Holiday Pictures

Friend Christmas Party!

Heather, Melissa, and me

Me and my other half at our friend Christmas Party

Mama and me at our Family Christmas

Me and Stephen at my family Christmas

Me and Coop!

Me Landen and Carter...love these boys!

All the sisters (Bekah, me, Blaine, Kim, Brooke, and Jenn)

Precious Carter

Stephen and I exchanging gifts

He likes making goofy faces!

Me sporting my new necklace that Stephen gave me! I love it!

I am so behind on blogging, but I will try to do better! Happy Monday!!!

Dream Classroom

My school has allocated enough money for each teacher to buy a computer for their classroom. As the special education representative for my school, I have decided that I am going to suggest the HP Touch Smart IQ500t series to the committee. I have researched this computer and have decided that the features that it offers would be very beneficial for the special education department at my school. Its features include touch technology, fast and easy access, and last but not least protection against viruses.

The touch technology would definitely be beneficial for students who have problems in the motor domain of development. Students who have poor fine motor skills have difficulties manipulating the mouse and cannot actively participate in computer technology. With the HP Touch Smart IQ500t series, students can use the touch screen feature to navigate on the computer. This allows them to participate in things that they may not have previously been able to participate.

The fast and easy access would be beneficial for students who have ADD or ADHD and cannot attend to activities for a very long time. Having a system that is fast and easy for them to participate in will encourage them to be a part of the learning process. Also the touch screen technology will also be beneficial for these students because they may get discouraged by the act of having to manipulate the mouse.

The last feature that I am going to discuss is the protection that is available with this system. It protects from viruses which is a huge benefit of the HP Touch Smart IQ500t series. The special education department may not be allocated much money considering the small population, but the one computer that they may have would need to have a strong hard-drive to protect against viruses.

The price of this system starts at $999. Although it is a lot of money, I feel that the advantages of the system are well worth the price. As a special education teacher, we have to have the assistive and instructional technology that will aid in the success of all of our students. This particular computer would be beneficial for each and every one of our students.

Benefits of the Touch Screen for teachers

Act as both input and output (no need for mouse or keyboard)

Very durable (most are water, dirt, oil, and grease resistant)

Small and compact (no wires)

They can be mounted

Learning Style Inventory Results

These are the results of your inventory. The scores are out of 20 for each style. A score of 20 indicates you use that style often.

Style Scores

Visual-19

Social-22

Physical-22

Aural-23

Solitary-37

Logical-18

http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/results.asp

Assignment 1

Assignment 1 - Technology in Education: Using a Word document, prepare 1 - 2 pages describing any experience you have in teaching or helping in schools; what you have seen as a teacher or student in the use of technology in K-12 classrooms; and finally, how you feel technology should be integrated into teaching and learning. You should address the following questions in your essay:
How would you define educational technology?
What is its role in teaching? In learning?
What factors encourage or discourage the use of technology in the classroom?

Educational technology is any type of media that a teacher uses to assist in teaching and learning. Media, used as educational technology, ranges from powerpoints, videos, audio, computers, etc. Educational technology enhances learning for the students and provides alternative ways for them to understand the material being taught. In the field of special education, there are two other forms of technology used: assistive and instructional. These forms of technology are essential for providing assistance needed for some individuals to complete a task. I believe that they can also be considered educational technology because they are often necessary for educational achievement.
I believe the role of educational technology is to provide alternate forms of relaying a lesson to the students. Students often have different learning styles and by using educational technology, all students have the opportunity to learn using the style that they benefit most from. Educational technology also enhances learning by changing things up a bit. No child wants to have to sit through a lecture every day. Through the use of educational technology, teachers can use interactive powerpoints, videos, and even websites to teach a specific lesson.
There are several factors that encourage and discourage the use of technology in the classroom. I believe that individuals, who have had lots of experience with the internet, computers, and other forms of media are often going to me more open to using them in the classroom. Individuals who aren’t very confident in their ability to use the media, are probably less likely to welcome educational technology into their classroom. I think that schools should do workshops to get all their teachers on the same page about technologies that can be incorporated into their classrooms. I do feel that if I were unaware of how to use certain technologies, then I would not likely try to use them in my classroom. I have spent quite a bit of time in the schools, and have seen an equal amount of teachers who do and do not incorporate educational technology into their classrooms. I do feel that the students who have access to computers and other educational technology are more excited about learning and about being at school. I am excited about taking this course and learning more about technology that can be incorporated into my lessons when I become a teacher