December 2006 — Technology Integration
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Customized Learning
“It’s much easier for me to learn new words by using my mouse to follow along,” says Kevin Knight, another fourth-grader. “Last week I learned about new weather words like precipitation.”
The addition of the text-to-speech component makes the search tool eligible for funding through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act, which is meaningful in light of the rise in the number of teachers who have special needs kids in their classes as a result of the growth in immersion programs nationwide. The most recent statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics show that more than 31 percent of teachers say they need information on helping students with disabilities achieve higher standards.
I have assigned each child a readability level, so my students immediately know which resources are best for them. On any given week, I have as many as five various academic levels of students using [netTrekker].Mary Lane Sloan, Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School
Part of a Larger Plan
Curriculum drives technology. As Richland’s technology integration specialist, I understand that. It is my job to model innovative best practices for teaching and to locate modern technology tools and resources that provide ongoing support for teaching and learning each day, and to provide professional development for those tools. netTrekker is the latest piece in our district’s continuing effort to incorporate technology tools into instruction, which includes the ITEC classrooms, the week of staff development in differentiated instruction Richland educators receive in the summer, and the range of technology training courses offered to teachers in the district’s Technology for Two recertification program. The search tool has become one of the most regularly used and appropriate resources we utilize. Ultimately, we have found that differentiated tools which provide efficient ways for our students to research independently are crucial to our educational process.
Amy Ellisor is the technology integration specialist for Richland School District Two.
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