Kidsinpiration and Inspiration provides a lot a  visual amenities to help younger and older students develop writing skills. I remember when I was in school,  I  never was  taught how to develop a writing piece. We just had to write an essay or composition without any  structural guidance. Nowadays students have the opportunity to use writing  tools that we never dreamed of. These software  not just help the emergent writers it also is a good asset to older students. Because it help them organized  ideas and format them in  context.

I also believe  that is a good tool for English Language Learners because it has features that alleviate the teacher’s  work load.  I spend a lot of hours making translations to Spanish . With these software especially Kidsinpiration ,I can record my words in a different language and children can follow through.

Inspiration and Kidspiration are very useful tools in the classroom. I have discovered that  my school’s library has the software. I haven’t gotten  the  opportunity to sign up for the computer lab yet because it’s being used to teach some classes. I can’ t way to take my students to the the computer lab. I  know that they are going to enjoy working with both software because  eventhough Kidsinsparation is for grades 1-5 , the visuals are going to help them and motivate them to do productive work.

This week was very interesting working on how to identify and evaluate a good resource web site. It is very scary seeing how anybody can create a web page on advertising  or publicizing  false information to sell any product.  Also , It called my attention on how these websites can mislead the public including young children. When my partner and I were evaluating our assigned page about the “tree octopus “at   first instance the facts were questionable,however we kept searching and found out that it was a hoax. I went  way back and I found some pictures of a blue stuffed octopus hanging on a tree. That was a good lesson on evaluating a web page.

I am glad that I am taking this class,  sometimes frustaration  overpower my emotions . I guess that it takes patience to work in something that is foreigner to you. This semester I am taking  INCL 502 and I had the opportunity to show off my ” computer skills” in class. I created a concept Map for my unit lesson plan. I was very exited and proud ,I guess that on my pace I am making some improvement.

Thursday’s class seemed elementary  for some people but for others like me, it  was very challenging.  Microsoft Word is an extraordinary  tool that makes complex text very simple. I was  intimidated by too many tasks assigned. I did not know  half of them. Thanks to  my lab’s partner Lydia and Dr.Ransom I could accomplished  most of them. For me,  It is difficult to pay attention to the professor and follow the auditory directions at the same time . I have to switch to my English channel to process the information.I felt  behind and I got frustrated.

Like me there are students in the classroom in the same situation where English is their second language. Sometimes their  work production isn’t accomplished because they  are afraid to ask questions. Or because they  don’t understand the task.  It was  a good idea to work in our own pace and  to work  with a partner.In my perspective I think that written instruction would also be beneficial.

Computers are powerful resources in the classroom, especially for children with gross and fine motor skills delay. They can be utilized as a resource strategy in the classroom to differentiate instruction. Sometimes it is very frustrating for students with this impairment to be productive especially during writing lessons.

Some students with writing gross and fine motor skills delay tend to avoid writing at any cause because it is very difficult, painful and their fingers get tired. It is frustrating for them because sometimes they are categorized as sloppy or lazy writers. I have a brilliant young man in my classroom. He is extremely smart and articulated. He always participates in class discussions and contributes with positive feedback toward lessons. But when it is time to do written work he never completes it. Handwriting is very difficult and challenging for him.However, he is very fast writing on the keyboard. For written assignments , he uses the computer. Unfortunately , he has to use the library’s computers because we don’t have computers for students in the classrooms.

Last night’ s class topic was an  eye opener for me. Technology has empowered and revolutionazed our word.  I commented on the lack of technology in many of our districts and I believe, if we are moving into the technology era, we should at least be able to provide the tools that the students need to survive. 

At the beginning of the school year I took my students to a computer lab to do a research project on Famous Latin American People  and I asumed that they were able to search and look up information on their own. To my surprise I found out that the majority of them did’nt have any experience with computers either at school or at home. I spent about three days trying to help them log in step by step. My point is, as the professor said last night, are we prepared for the technological era? What do you think?

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