It's like a box of chocolates...

To began this weeks blog, I just want to point out the differentiation discussion. I know that Melissa works with hearing impaired students and interprets for them in a first grade classroom and probably was the inspiration for this discussion this week. I never really put much though in how much consideration goes into having a hearing impaired student in my classroom. I could only imagine the type of planning that is involved, as well as instruction-- giving the interpreter enough time to transfer the information and the student enough time to comprehend it.
Teachers already have their plates full with just basic everyday instruction, but having a student that evidently needs assistance (yet still trying to keep them equal) can be challenging. I pray that I have the tools and strategies to conquer this challenge if this should be my story.


Secondly, I find the TPACK and the SAMR are great benchmarks for making sure that teachers are teaching through a pedagogical, technological and conceptual lenses-- along with being able to measure the level of technology use. I remember being introducesd to these two frameworks in a class with Dr. Clark , so its nice to not be totally oblivious to what they are. I found TPACK to be interesting because it is a combination of everything that I have learned separately (pedagogy, technology, and concepts) wrapped into one framework. SAMR gets a little bit tricky as you have to measure the the level of technology within the content. These infographs were easy for me to follow as I trully begin to undersatnd what both of these frameworks mean and how I use them within my own classroom. I really liked the SAMR inforgraph because it correlates with Bloom's taxonomy, which I am more familiar and comfortable with.

Outside of being reintroduced to TPACK and SAMR and a refreshing differentiation discussion, it has been work as usual. We are learning so much in this class. It's been like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you are going to get! But I hope everyone is continuing to give it all they've got and push through the semester. We are half way there!!

Connection to the standards: 4c. Teachers use a variety of instructional methods. 4d.Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction.