Blog 15- 5 Second Rule

On twitter, I follow the National Geographic Education blog. One topic that stood out to me, was featured in their Health section of their education blog. The subject is: Should you break the 5 second rule? 

The 5 second rule is just a myth according to the blog. There is no bacteria that just waits 5 seconds before jumping onto the object that was dropped. However, The article states that there are places that you could drop you r food and be deemed "safe" to eat. The bacteria that touches the food may actually benefit you. But, there are some places that you just shouldn't trust the 5 second rule. 

I found this article interesting because I know people who really believe in the 5 second rule and will eat/ use the object that dropped on the floor regardless of their location. I find it disturbing. The article made me feel a little better about dropping something on the floor in a clean, dry place, and still using the item. This is something that more people should be educated on. Some places you can "get away with" other places, not so much. 

http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/24/should-you-break-the-5-second-rule/

Blog 14- Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology is widely used throughout the Special Education field. In my Special Education class I'm taking we talk about assistive technology in general, but not really about the wide range of the Technology. I have been exposed to several forms of assistive technology since both my mom and I, work at Cape May County Special Services School. However, we never really talk about the various forms of the technology in my class. 
This article by Lisa Nelson talks about 25 different assistive technology options for children with disabilities. Assistive technology is introduced to a student to help them complete their daily activities and assignments to the best of their abilities.
 One form of Assistive technology that I found interesting was the idea of using videotaped social skills with autistic children. Showing children the pre-recorded social skill action gives the child a visual of the action before they preform the action. This eases the autistic child into the social interaction without overwhelming them. Autistic children also learn very visually and do not enjoy social interaction. This helps make the child more comfortable and more likely to learn the social interaction. I also discovered the use of digital pens. The pens can be designed in different ways to aide the student the the writing process. It can translate audio recordings and handwriting. It can enable  the student to become more comfortable with writing and practice their handwriting. 
There were so many forms of assistive technology that I was unaware of. However, they can really help students with disabilities progress in their learning. I am hoping to possible see some of the technologies introduced to my school district. Many of my students would benefit from some of these technologies. 

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/09/25-incredible-assistive-technologies.html

Blog 13

Well... Where did Wells Fargo come from?

It was founded on March 18th 1852 by Henry Wells and William Fargo. They didn't wake up one day thinking they would create a bank. They were wealthy business men who became President and Vice-President of American Express. They were both originally an express delivery business. They delivered mail, packages, and goods. Once gold was discovered in California,  The Wells Fargo stagecoach became a symbol because it ship machinery and finished goods all the way to the other side of the country. Once the transcontinental railroad was completed, Wells Fargo and American Express didn't worry so much about the shipping. Instead, They focused on the financial aspect of things.
I found this article really interesting. I always tend to be fascinated by the background of things, where they started to where they are now. NatGeo Education's Twitter provides these fun facts and backgrounds to things like this. It explains things that other's may take for granted, while I find them very interesting. I would encourage my students to review this twitter with me everyday. It posts about a fun fact everyday and i think it would benefit the students. They would get a more in depth view on the background of some things. 

http://education.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/mar18/wells-fargo-founded/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_twedu_03182016-TDIGH&utm_campaign=Content&sf22512974=1

 

 

Dr. Jacqui Chetty

Dr. Chetty was very excited and passionate about what she does. She gets to travel the world explaining the importance of integrating coding into the schools of both younger and older students. She gets the children excited to learn to code. I didn't know much about coding before her presentation, but she taught me so much. She brought in a robot that spins when it runs over white paper. The robot was built and programmed by kids! I Couldn't believe it. 

 I think that teaching younger kids coding is extremely beneficial. The kids will be exposed to a whole new subject, and they will pick up the skills quickly. Children love video games, teaching them coding will allow them to understand the "background" of they technology they use. They will  learn about how their games are created. It's almost like putting Legos and video games together. Coding to me seems like a foreign subject, but exposing kids to it at a younger age will allow them to pick it up quicker. If I learned how to code when I was younger, I may have really liked it and maybe would have made a career out of it. At first, I didn't think coding would be something I would particularly want/ care about my students learning. However, Dr. Chetty encouraged me to change my views about it. 

Blog 11

This article was one I found on twitter. It was posted by National Geographic Education.

http://education.nationalgeographic.org/programs/love-your-park/?sf21299462=1&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_twedu_0306_2016-FindYourPark&utm_campaign=Content&sf22018086=1

It provided various activities and ideas to get students excited about parks!
I believe that the importance of parks has diminished within the past few years, so getting kids excited about nature again will be very beneficial. It will spark creativity and imagination with nature and stir curiosity within them.

The article describes the idea of a series of mini-field trips. On each of these trips, kids will complete different tasks to help them learn more about nature and to embrace it. Another idea is to create a park atlas for one park. This will encourage the students to learn about various parks once all of the atlas' are combined to create a giant one! Students can get really creative and design their own park! This will help students to better understand what a park consists of. Another activity is to research problems with parks and having the students come up with solutions to solve them. The final activity is where students will learn about the importance of parks in our environment and take a pledge to protect their favorite park.

I found all of these ideas really exciting and hands on for students. They will be able to gain a broader knowledge of the environment in which we live. They will also learn how to preserve the beautiful world we live on. I feel that all of these ideas can really benefit kids in today's society. As I already said, I feel that kids now a days have lost touch with nature. These activities can get kids involved in nature again and get them excited!

Blog 11

I found an interesting post by Jerry Webster on Specialed.about.com.

It was titled, "Tooth Brushing- Teaching the Functional Skill."

The Article talks about how brushing your teeth is a very important functional skill. Once students understand how completing one step leads to the next, they will begin to acquire skills more quickly.
To do this, create a task analysis. Describe the steps to a specific task (like brushing your teeth) in a clear way and it needs to be operational. 

The article then listed 16 clear and concise steps on how to brush your teeth. It described other methods of teaching skills to students. I really liked how the article mentioned the use of visual prompt cards (picture cards) to go along with the task at hand. This will help the student to better understand that particular step. Some students may progress faster than others. if this is the case, then as needed, the steps can be progressed and less defined.  This is known as forward chaining. In back chaining, The steps can be performed at a slower pace such as hand over hand. 

I found this article to be particularly interesting because I work with severely autistic 6 year olds who sometimes need lots of help when it comes to competing a task. Some of my students are still struggling with brushing their teeth. This article really broke down the steps and provided strategies in assisting students who may be struggling in this area,