Kathy+Anaya

Welcome to my homepage. I plan on using this space to include valuable information regarding education and how to integrate technology into the classroom. I feel it is important to have a place that contains information that one can come back to if needed.
 * How I intend to use this homepage**

I feel that I have a great base of knowledge on how to integrate technology into the classroom. I think that it is important to integrate technology as often as possible, whether it includes no-tech, low-tech, or high-tech. It is important for schools in general to be open to purchasing or incorporating technology within the school as a whole. There are so many ways in integrating technology, and it can help teachers with differentiating instruction.
 * My Philosophy on Technology**

[] The mission of the Instructional Technology Team is to prepare instructional staff to integrate technology into the curriculum and promote a student-learning environment that assists and encourages technological skills.
 * Technology Integration/Assistive Technology Websites for Teachers**

[] Education World offers twenty easy and painless ways to integrate technology into the daily routine. It provides various links to recommended sites that teachers and students can use. It has a section on Lesson Planning, Professional Development, Administrator’s Desk, Technology Integration, School Issues, and More Resources.

[] Internet4classrooms is a great site for teachers who need to find sites that would help them integrate technology into the classroom. It lists various software programs, devices, and games that the students can use as well.

[] Abledata is a site that provides objective information about assistive technology products and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources. Abledata does not sell any products, but they can help locate companies that do. This site is very easy to navigate and it breaks down the devices into separate categories.

[] 4Teachers.org works to help integrate technology into the classroom by offering online tools and resources. The site also helps teachers locate ready-made lessons, quizzes, rubrics, and classroom calendars. There are also tools for students to use.

[|www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html] Enchanted Learning is very kid friendly and is always updated with new information. It has a great online dictionary and encyclopedia, an incredible thematic "Zoom Units" and great diagrams for kids of all ages. It is great for struggling readers.
 * Literacy and Content-Area Learning Websites for Students**

[|www.funbrain.com] Is a website full of educational games for students. It covers the content areas of math, language arts, science, history, geography, art, and music. It is easy to browse games by subject ad by age level. It is also a site in which teachers can find the perfect games for their class to play. It includes a curriculum guide for the teachers and has flash cards that can be printed for practice.

[] Internet4classrooms is a great site for students who need to practice their skills in math, language arts, and science. There are various activities the students can complete based on their grade level.

Inspiration Kidspiration 3 Boardmaker / Boardmaker Plus Wiggleworks Natural Reader Dragon Naturally Speaking
 * List of Assistive Technology Devices**

Vision: Magnifiers Screen Readers Braille Displays Notetakers Braille Translation Talking Books

Hearing: Amplified phones

Mobility: Voice Recognition Touch Screens Head/Eye Controlled Input On Screen Keyboards Word Prediction

[] I would recommend this article, The Best Tech Tools for Teachers, if you were planning on entering elementary or middle school education. This article talks about what technology tools teachers find most useful in their classrooms. And about what programs their students have had success with. It also provides various links to the software programs that they mention.
 * Articles**

[] This article includes various teacher online tools that include RubiStar, BlogMeister, Survey Builder, and Web Collaborator. I would recommend it because it contains many links to the various tools that teachers can use.

I think that assistive technology is very important to include in the classroom, especially when the classroom contains students with disabilities. I feel that the only way for AT to be successful in the school or classroom, is for the staff to be trained in AT. I hope to continue to receive training in assistive technology and to become more familiar with the various tools and devices that are readily available to students. I think that as long as I receive the appropriate training, I will be able to easily implement AT in my classroom and be able to better assist my students use them as well.
 * Professional Development**

Teachers at various grade levels can include class assignments as well as conduct discussions using Wikispaces. It is a great way for students to express themselves and receive feedback as well. Teachers can include worksheets and various information that the students may need. Teachers can also create individual home pages for the students so that they can keep an online portfolio of what they have completed throughout the year, and the portfolio can carry on year after year if the teachers want.
 * How Wikispaces might be used by K-12 teachers**

I plan to use this homepage frequently and plan to update the information as I deem is necessary. I hope to be able to continue to grow professional, and hopefully take additional assistive technology courses in order to gain more knowledge. Plus I think that it will be a useful tool for my classroom someday.
 * My plan to sustain the usability of the homepage content**