Kevin+Roche



This is picture of my wife and me and the basketball team we coached this year. We finished with a perfect season and will be around next year to defend our title! __ My Teaching Philosophy __

I am a firm believer of Assisted Technology (AT) and the thought of integrating any form of AT into the classroom is an idea I am embrace with open arms. Having done countless hours of observations in schools I can already say that the way that the successful facilitation of AT into the classroom is a wonderful concept, and benefits both students and teachers. Throughout history people have always strived to become better, and have searched out ways to find that ultimate advantage. In the education arena, that advantage is AT. Successful integration of AT into the classroom should be something that all school districts implement because the rewards that such a successful integration can reap are boundless.

__How I Plan on Using this Website__ I plan on using this website to broaden my knowledge of AT by accessing this website repeatedly and taking advantages of all of the other files that have been uploaded onto it. I plan on going through all of the various files and reports that were done by my fellow students to gain insight into AT. I also plan checking out the software programs as well as the assistance technology devices that they recommended on their personal web pages. There is a lot of information contained on Wikispaces, and I plan on taking advantage of everything that it offers. I will keep my webpage up to date and constantly check back on it to see that it only gets better. __ Professional Development Plan __ Being a proponent of AT means that I will have to keep up with all of the latest trends in the AT field. That will not be a problem. I will keep up with the latest news and developments in AT. I will also try and use AT whenever possible because AT is the way of the future. As calculators replaces the abacus, AT has replaced the calculator. I plan on keeping up with websites that I have already found on the internet, and will strive to find new ones. I will do more and more research on new AT devices, and download more AT software so that when I finally become a teacher, I will be more than ready to implement AT into the classroom.

__5 Websites for Teachers__ http://www.lburkhart.com/ This is a great website for teachers to use. Created by Linda Burkhart, she designed this website for teachers to use to help them integrate technology into their classroom. The website has a whole plethora of information. For example, she has links to companies that make assistive devices for students and how to contact them, along with links to the products they make. She even has pages devoted teachers on how they can integrate technology in their classroom at both the elementary and middle school level. [|http://www.4teachers.org/] This website is devoted to integrate technology into the classroom by offering online tools and resources for teachers. This website contains useful tools for teachers, such web-lessons, quizzes, classroom calendars and rubrics.  [|http://www.iste.org/] This is the official website of the International Society for Technology in Education. The organization’s goal is to improve teaching and learning by advocating the effective use of technology in K–12. The website offers a variety of resources and tools to assist people bringing educational technology into the classroom. It also offers links to hundreds of partner and vender services. [|http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/ <span] By clicking on the link above, you will find a webpage that is all about technology integration in the classroom. This website contains a lot of useful information and tips on how to successfully integrate technology into the classroom. Here, you can read what the tech tips of the week are and read reviews of more than 1,000 WebPages that the technology experts deem as valuable. You can also read articles specifically about technology in the classroom, which give suggestions and expertise on various forms of technology that teachers can use in the classroom. http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/ As the website says, its mission statement is to prepare instructional staff to integrate technology into the curriculum and promote a student-learning environment that assists and encourages technological. This is a great website that offers many valuable resources, such as links to lesson plans that are integrated with technology.

__3 Websites for Students__ 1. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html#6

This is an excellent website that contains links to more than 30 online educational games and exercises that students can use to enhance their literacy skills. The games and exercises range from difficulty and age, but they are very good games. 2.  http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm

This is a website that contains 9 exercises that students can use to practice very basic principles. The exercises are designed to assist students with reading, writing, spelling, and math. 3.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/literacy.shtml

This website was designed by our friends across the pond, The BBC. It is a website designed for students to enhance literacy skills. It contains various games and exercises, which are categorized according to age level. There is also a page devoted to parents and teachers too, which students can also access which contains a plethora of games and exercises that students could benefit from.

__Two Articles about integrating technology__

__No Limits__ by // Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach from Technology and Learning // http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604995 I recommend this article because it discusses what some schools are actually doing when it comes to integrating technology and education, and points out the benefits of such programs.

 __ Reading ____, Writing, and Technology: A Healthy Mix in the Social Studies Curriculum __ by Susan Tancock.

http://www.readingonline.org/articles/tancock/index.html

The value in this article is the role that technology played in a project that was conducted. The project called for the integration of technology into the curriculum of a Social Studies class for a group of 9 and 10 year old students. They had to use technology, in the form of the internet and new software to learn about the different regions of the United States. On top of that they also used presentation software to create reports that they shared with their parents. This is an excellent case study of how successful technology integration benefits students, and offers advice too for teachers who seek it.

__Assisted Technology Devices__

[|http://www.maltron.com] http://www.myicommunicator.com/productinfo/ http://www.zygo-usa.com/polyana.html http://www.enablemart.com/Catalog/AAC-Devices/MACAW-5 http://www.griffinlab.com/trutone2.htm [|http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/dynavoxv.aspx**<span] http://www.pacmedhawaii.com/specialty/delta.htm **

Assisted Technology Software

http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/kidspiration/index.cfm http://www.readplease.com/ http://wizzardsoftware.com/products/tools.php#1 http://www.braillemaster.com/ http://www.icommunicator.com/productinfo/features_benefits.shtml__