Update

Ughh I just had the best post and somehow it didn't save at all- serves me right for blogging during class. Boo, I guess it's lost somewhere in cyberspace. Let me try to recreate what was lost..

Firstly, I was shocked when I glanced at the date today and saw that it was almost October; fall semester is flying by! I'm not ready for winter; I hate the cold. Yesterday, Kelly, Kristin, and I began talking about our living situation for next year. We're all student teaching in the Lansing area, and it's already time to start planning. It will be strange living so close to MSU, not as an undergrad.

Speaking of being in the classroom, I will begin my placement on Monday. I will be in a third grade class in Lansing. Last year I was in a first, fourth, and fifth grade; third grade should be fun! Unfortunately, it's not a special education placement. Maybe I can spend some time in the resource room?

I'm so glad that I have been immersed in the technological world this semester. My grandma had an amazing MacBook Pro that she couldn't quite figure out; to my surprise, she asked me if we could trade! Macbook Pro for Dell Inspiron, yes please! So here I am, figuring out a Mac, after years of Windows. Thank you TE 401, CEP 416, and CEP 452 for making me comfortable learning new technology!

Digital Text and the Future

After reflecting on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/06/05081600/10 and http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/864/773 I have come to the conclusion that digital texts can make some disabilities irrelevant.

I have to somewhat agree with Lynch, that the future looks bleak for written texts and printed books; digital text is the future- and present! I like that new genres are being created especially for the online world. As a future teacher, this sounds amazing to me; being able to include multimedia in a text is quite practical.

Books for All shows that digital text can be the support many students need to succeed. This showed progress with dyslexic students, visually impaired, emergent readers, and many more students.

To me, digital text keeps showing it’s benefits. I hope that eventually it will be used in all schools for all learning types. Digital text is so versatile and can fit a variety of learning needs.

@ # Tweet

I am happy to say that I am kind of getting the hang of Twitter! I know that I may be behind on the times, but I'm proud of myself. I really appreciate all my teacher friends who have been helping me become more technologically advanced- thanks! Follow me on Twitter: @JanevaRae

Besides Twitter, I have been busy with classes and other web related resources. I recently checked out a website that provides e-books for children with disabilities. I wrote a little review about it:

The Accessible Book Collection is an online database of high interest/ low reading level e-books that are targeted for persons with disabilities. Hundreds of e-books are put together and easily organized and categorized by grade level, grade interest, and word count. These titles range in difficulties and subject matter; many I have read or would like to read, and they are constantly adding more. This site also provides accelerated books and picture books.

To access the entire collection government, non-profit schools, and teachers in training must pay an annual subscription. Students can also access the website at home and there is no limit to the number of downloads. The e-books are very versatile and can be changed to have larger font, more contrasting colors, and read aloud; the website provides easy-to-follow instructions that allow these alterations to the text.

Although the webpage doesn’t appear very tech-savvy, this site is an awesome tool for teachers as well as students who have a disability that could inhibit their reading. I like that this website also provides a list of other resources and assistive technology. After closely examining Accessible Book Collection and downloading a demo book, I would definitely want this resource readily available in my own classroom.

If you'd like to learn more about the Accessible Book Collection, please go here.

First Post

My name is Janeva Rae Mammina, and I am new to the digital world of blogging. The only reason I have created this blog is for my classes, which I am taking through Michigan State University. I realize that being a young adult in today's society, I should be more comfortable using all of the new technology available to me, thankfully, this course is exposing me to all kinds of new online programs. I am anticipating learning a lot of new computer skills.