(9) Autism is Becoming an Epidemic?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/health/autism/index.html?hpt=hp_t1


In the article (link above) by Miriam Falco on www.CNN.com, she discusses a 78% increase in the U.S. of children diagnosed with Autism, a SCARY fact for parents and future teachers alike.  


"In 2000 and 2002, the autism estimate was about 1 in 150 children. Two years later 1 in 125 8-year-olds had autism. In 2006, the number was 1 in 110, and the newest data -- from 2008 -- suggests 1 in 88 children have autism" (Falco).  That is an alarming statistic that the CDC provides us with - how do we as teachers prepare for this?


http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110301/news/703019898/


Another news article from the Daily Herald (above) suggests the use of technology in the classroom, specifically an iTouch or iPad to assist teachers enhance the learning of students with Autism.  This article discusses how it helps students cope with their need for structure and Apps that assist with vocabulary and help with social cues.  The Apps offered on the iTouch or iPad help track behavior and diets which is helpful for parents and teachers.

Technology will help teachers and students communicate in alternative ways instead of the traditional roles which will foster learning for students with and without special needs.

(8) "A Modest Proposal" by Andrew Delbanco

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-delbanco/a-modest-proposal_9_b_1382791.html?ref=education&ir=Education


Are lucrative careers in information technology, business, and marketing slighting the importance of humanities in our higher education curriculum?  This article discusses the moral implications of a technologically reliant world.  I would say that since intellectual property rights are constantly being questioned - how to successfully attribute recognition and understand what is plaigerism and what is not.


Delbanco goes on to say that the readings and texts of humanities classes help build a moral standing - seeing how past centuries wrestled with morality.  Imagine how they would view our technology today and how hard they would wrestle with our technological moral questions today.


My thought in how this is relevant to our technology class is - do we really think about the moral implications of the technology we use - or at least how it impacts us in a social or moral way? Over the course of this semester I have been more open to technology in the classroom but I still wonder sometimes whether or not we fully understand the future implications of this technological boom.

Interactivity #4

Interactivity #4 Spreadsheet


     I chose this particular lesson plan because I have noticed that the media has permeated every corner of students' lives.  I feel that students from a young age need to learn how to deconstruct these media messages in order to navigate the truth and stay away from the biases and half-truths that people glean from the media and advertisements.  From a marketing standpoint I also think that it is necessary for students to understand what goes into making a media message and more importantly why the message was created.  The group aspect of this lesson was also appealing because I believe that students need to be able to constructively discuss their opinions and come to a collaboration authentically without a lot of teacher's influence.  The small oral presentation also forces students to logically explain their opinions to their classmates.
     My standards and strategies do not perfectly align but there could be a case made for each strategy and it would quasi-fit into a standard.  The technologies that I listed were the ideal technologies that I would have in my classroom, however there will be many instances when I do not have the necessary technology at my fingertips.  I would not be 100% guaranteed classroom internet availability for all of my students simultaneously.  There may not be a projector to project my PowerPoint so there may be a chance that I could not show a commercial, I would have to only use still images of media messages.
     I think that this lesson is pretty comprehensive in regards to state standards. In recreating the lesson I tried to hit a variety of standards, to mix up the lesson itself and to make sure students experience different ways of learning - through reading, public speaking and a writing assignment.  I think it would be extremely difficult to hit every objective but a sampling of them is helpful.  I think that Reading and comprehension standards were extremely focal to this lesson.  Language and Speaking were also key - there is a certain language to media messages and that was translated into the students' oral presentations.

Navigating the Digital Waters of Scholarly Journals

From Information to Knowledge: Also in Science


This article discusses the merit of publishing scholarly journals online and how protecting intellectual property is not the only problem.  Reissuing articles - reworking them so they look like new information (plaigerism) is becoming a hazard to the Science community.


Why is this important to education? Students do all types of research online - for papers, current events, articles, etc.and they must be able to tackle the job of figuring out whether or not their research is authentic, stolen, of poor quality - any number of landmines students must be wary of when they conduct online research. In today's society since there is a heavier reliance on internet research, students should be taught how to properly navigate the internet for optimal research.








...Thank you again to Huffingtonpost.com for providing me with a great/interesting article!!