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We are lucky to have iPads for each student in the class so we have lots of opportunities to use digital technologies to enhance learning. I use Padlet to create learning pathways individualised to each child to reinforce learning content. Following on from this course I will also make use of the resources presented here.
I can use the SSE guidelines to identify what I am doing well and what can be improved, almost like a roadmap of where I am and where I would like to be. I could also use the SSE guidelines to inform my teaching by encouraging regular communication and feedback with stakeholders. This type of reflective practice underpins the guidelines.
The impact of developing my own use of Digital Technology benefits all stakeholders in the school community and the SSE process. Firstly, by actively using technology you are modelling key skills and promoting the school as engaged in continuous improvement, thus ensuring a commitment to the continuous improvement of the quality of students’ learning. Secondly, you are exposing stakeholders that may have a fear of technology to its accessibility, which supports school-wide community development. Thirdly you are creating a positive technological culture and supporting children to develop 21st- century literacy skills which will equip them in the years ahead.
One Note expands and deepens learner experiences as it fosters clarity and cohesion for students. The design aspects such as the navigation bar in One Note, facilitate user accessibility and meet good UI criteria which support student learning. The students’ learning potential is further bolstered through colour coding which creates a visual schema which creates familiarity for students and consequentially bolsters learning opportunities. Additionally, the potential for annotations, video input etc supports visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic learners, thus being more inclusive by design.
Hyperlexia is a challenge for some students with AS, equally, comprehension can challenge neurotypical children too, but the One Note learning tools certainly offer support for this. The capacity to foster comprehension of a text is increased by using these learning tools. For example, by including visual images and keyword boxes aid comprehension. Additionally, the keyword boxes could be pre-taught or linked to external sources that support the understanding of key concepts. I also like the inclusive nature of the customisable settings that support inclusion for all learners. As a SEN teacher,
I also think One Note has the potential to facilitate the onboarding of new staff members as it offers a central location for sharing school policies, information, whole-school planning documentation, and planning material.Opportunities/Challenges in using Microsoft Teams for Shared Department and Classroom Resources
Share conversations – very useful in special ed context as multidisciplinary teams often work together to share the challenges and progress of students’ holistic development. This could be particularly helpful during the creation and review of IEP’s for students.
It can be difficult to find a time/day that suits everyone for meetings. However, an asynchronous collaborative document could be used as an alternative to record and discuss topics.On an individual teacher level, Teams would be beneficial in setting assignments that are individualised to meet students’ needs or for using with collaborative jigsaw grouping projects.
Time is the major challenge for most teachers and this acts as a barrier in creating resources.In terms of using Teams as a sharing tool – teacher workload could be reduced as resources are shared and teachers would not have to recreate what was already done. A catalogue of resources in each subject area could be created and built upon.
Teams would have to ensure consistency in style guides and in how the information would be recorded, coded and found using data tags.https://forms.office.com/r/0LhzWgbpxb
<span id=”docs-internal-guid-96e76a75-7fff-5b3f-667c-20bb8cb167da”><span style=”font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;”>I feel Sway would be beneficial in my particular class as I teach in an AS setting where the children are accessing different curriculums, with the variance being between Junior infants and Sixth class levels. Sway would enable me to quickly create targeted resources for these children. For instance, I could scan texts and link learning pathways for the content to foster independent learning for some children. Whereas I could differentiate the text by adding audio recordings of reading texts, for example, with others. Given the need for home/school communication in an AS setting I think it would also be very beneficial in creating online newsletters for the parents so they are aware and get to see some of the activities that take place each week. I often collate these pictures at the end of the year and create a movie – but this is time-consuming and Sway potentially makes this more manageable by delivering the content on a weekly/monthly basis. I think this is relevant to the SSE process as it fosters the links between home and school; the children could share their work with parents, and the parents can be informed through newsletters of activities. Equally, the forms app also has great potential for self-reflective practice for both students and staff, as well as enabling all partners in education to contribute to topics of relevance. In summary, the sharing and communication elements of these apps support and benefit all. </span></span>
https://sway.office.com/p5vheH2gzmD9qgfk?ref=Link
<p class=”MsoNormal”>I feel Sway would be beneficial in my particular class as I teach in an AS setting where the children are accessing different curriculums, with the variance being between Junior infants and Sixth class levels. Sway would enable me to quickly create targeted resources for these children. For instance, I could scan texts and link learning pathways for the content to foster independent learning for some children. Whereas I could differentiate the text by adding audio recordings of reading texts, for example, with others. Given the need for home/school communication in an AS setting I think it would also be very beneficial in creating online newsletters for the parents so they are aware and get to see some of the activities that take place each week. I often collate these pictures at the end of the year and create a movie – but this is time-consuming and Sway potentially makes this more manageable by delivering the content on a weekly/monthly basis. I think this is relevant to the SSE process as it fosters the links between home and school; the children could share their work with parents, and the parents can be informed through newsletters of activities. Equally, the forms app also has great potential for self-reflective practice for both students and staff, as well as enabling all partners in education to contribute to topics of relevance. In summary, the sharing and communication elements of these apps support and benefit all.</p>
