Online Software Reviews

The textbook for our class is called Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.  On page 105, four different software review websites were provided.  My assignment was to compare the information that they present.

The websites that were reviewed were the following:  SREB Evalutech, California Learning Resource Network, SuperKids, and Education World.

In my opinion, Education World appeared to evaluate the largest number of various software titles.  Super Kids appeared to be updated most frequently and also included reviews from visitors to the site.  I would likely consider using Super Kids if I was looking up various software for my students.  I liked how the site was organized and it appeared to have the most software titles that interested me.  I also liked that it included various apps because my students really benefit from using their iPad, iTouch, and iPods in therapy sessions.  The California Learning Network's site was also well organized and easy to access and navigate.

I was not very impressed with SREB Evalutech.  SREB Evalutech's website was difficult to access and I had trouble locating software reviews and resource materials.  It appeared to be much more for professional development instead of software reviews for a classroom.

Web 2.0

For my Web 2.0 assignment, I have chosen Figurative Language as my topic.  This is a topic that I occasionally am able to teach as a speech-language pathologist.  I have worked with classroom teachers using the inclusion model to co-teach units like this in the past.  This topic has always been one of my favorite higher-level speech therapy lessons!  My concept map was created using https://bubble.us/.

Concept Map

For this assignment, I also had to complete a Figurative Language Glog using glogster.com, an Animoto Video demonstrating figurative language, and then a web 2.0 free choice assignment.  For my free choice assignment, I chose Big Huge Labs.  By using this website, I created three different images.

Motivational Poster

Movie Poster

Roadside Billboard

I had fun creating these images.  I can definitely see that students would enjoy making projects like these, especially if the teacher printed some out and placed them around the room.  I did think it was great that as a teacher, you could pre-register your students and they would have full access to the site for free.  

My opinion on the use of these various Web 2.0 tools changed some throughout this assignment.  In the beginning, I decided that I hated glogster!  Well, that opinion hasn't changed very much! :)  I can definitely use this tool now, but I still think the functionality is difficult for an average learner to grasp.  I also don't know how it would be very beneficial in a classroom setting.  However, that may be because I have always taught younger grades.  It may be more suited for older students.  

I wasn't really sure about how to use the Animoto video in a classroom environment.  I think that for this to be most useful, the teacher would need to purchase a membership so that the videos could be longer than thirty seconds.  It would be really great to use to show parents an end-of-year video or to share pictures from a class field trip.

I think that the students would benefit most from using Big Huge Labs.  I think it would motivate the children to be able to actually play with the puzzles that they created, view the posters on the classroom wall, etc.  It was easy to use and quick to create.

I hope you enjoy!

The Use of Technology in Speech Therapy Sessions

This is a video of a little girl with autism who is using the iPad in speech therapy.  She is using the Grace App.  This is an app that allows the user to form simple sentences using the iPad.  In this video, Elsie goes from simply using the iPad to say "I want this" to saying "I want cereal".

This is the future of speech therapy.  My field is changing very fast due to technology like this.  Did you, or your child, ever benefit from speech therapy?  What do you think about the use of technology like this in therapy sessions?  Do you feel that it is more of a help or more of a distraction to the child?  Also, what are your thoughts for using technology like this with families who cannot afford to have these same devices at home for carryover practice?

New Beginnings

 My name is Jennifer Crawley.  As of Sunday (March 18), I will have been married six years.  My husband, Michael, works at Vestavia Hills High School.  We have a three year old daughter named Sarah.  I started a new job today at the Burkett Preschool in the Jefferson County School System.  I am a speech-language pathologist.  I have previously worked in the Bessemer School System (4 years) and also with the Alabama Early Intervention System (6 years).  I am enrolled in two online classes this semester to regain my certification after having been out of the school system for a few years.  


Here are a few pictures of my family ...

Jennifer and Sarah

Michael and Sarah