Well, our final day has arrived. This is the most useful and applicable course I have ever taken. I now have tons of new ideas and technology knowledge to engage and instruct my students, having worked with Low Tech and High Tech options, which apply to a variety of learners. I have learned techniques to inform my practice and have met and worked with wonderful colleagues. Since I have access to 6 iPads, Book Creator activities and many of the apps we have learned about the easily accessible and applicable. I appreciate the hands on approach to the course and am reminded again how much I actually learn by DOING, not just seeing or hearing.
Before I took the course, I asked another resource teacher from AVRSB who had taken it in the spring if she had enjoyed the course. She said yes she had, but much of the course was based on iPad use and she didn't have one at school or home and really felt that she wasn't able to apply her knowledge well. With 2/3 assignments done on the iPad, I can see her point, but HOW SAD. Our school used to have a class set of iPads through the Discovering Opportunities program, but has went heavily in the direction of Chromebooks. I was never aware of how limited they are until taking this course.
Through the course, I have blogged for the first time. In talking about this blog in general over social media, the grandmother of two of my Learning Centre students said she wished she could blog. I'm heading over to her house on Thursday morning to teach her a bit of what I've learned. I know this will help me in the fall as I plan to start my Career Access students blogging. We have used iMovie and viewed inspiring videos. Thank you, Barb and my fellow classmates for all you have demonstrated and shared over the past 10 classes. I hope to learn more in the future at Barb Welsford's other technology class and maybe reconnect with some of you there. All the best to each of you as you move into, hopefully, summer holidays and then the fall with new ideas and skills.
PS: iMovie was a lot of fun and will be great in many ways in the classroom. Here is a link to show some of them : http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/6-way-to-enhance-students-learning.html
The dbGlove is a wearable, powerful portable device that interfaces with a tablet to let deaf blind people communicate as they live within their communities. I chose this video because it demonstrated a technology that I was not aware in a brief, viewable time span. Helen Keller would have loved it!
Well, what a full day of seeing different collaborative Book Creator works from our class! I was super impressed with the variety of ideas and creativity! I jotted down a few notes of what I thought was particularly memorable from each pair, although I could have said A LOT more. How enlightening and varied were our assignments!
Joy and Nike: I enjoyed their game show link. I think my students would have a lot of fun with this format... cool idea. I also like the burgundy icons to show instructions. Their whole "welcome book" idea was awesome too. I can see my students doing something like this for our school.
Laurianne and John: 65 pages!!! I felt a little scared when I saw that, but really liked their use of space and how they used multiple pages to show their content. It was almost like a Book Creator template. Smart.
Alecia and Holly: I liked the "tec buddies" concept for doing book creator together. This could be great for my career access students next year. Perhaps we can pair with a grade 6 class to do some collaborative work with Book Creator.
Rachel and Terry: I wasn't familiar with the term "Elevator Pitch", but am now. This again is something that would apply directly to a high school population. I liked the 2 minute rant ideas as well as linking a rubric right onto the assignment page. So versatile!
Susanne and Dave: Social Stories on Book Creator were awesome! What a great platform for students of any age. I also liked the show and talk about math ideas.
Chelsea and Christine: APP Smashing... who knew there were so many things that would work inside Book Creator. Now I have to put all of them on my iPads. Nike said maybe the way to go in our board is to get a grant.
Shari and Michelle: The math journal idea was a great one. I wouldn't have considered using Book Creator for math, but it totally works.
Nick and Sue: I like how they used drawing in their book and had the class year book idea. Another thing I could apply directly to my teaching. I liked their link to Khan Academy too. Brilliant way to use the hyperlink feature.
Chris and Jill: I was really impressed with how they linked so many different activities to outcomes at various grades. I will apply the provinces and sentence starter books to my programming.
Tracy and I: We learned a lot and have produced something really useable, while having a good time doing so....
..... and we get copies of everyone's Books.... HOW AWESOME IS THAT!
Remove the Stumbling Block: Fair Isn't Always Equal
Over the weekend I viewed some informative videos showing the accessibility options in various technology platforms... well, I never even knew before last week that accessibility options even existed, I'm embarrassed to say. I have iPads, PCs, classroom Chromebooks, and an Apple/Mac Air computer, although I don't own an Android tablet. I teach kids with special needs and those with specific learning disabilities and didn't even know that accessibility options existed, even though I own and have access to 4/5 of the style of devices... geesh! I sure am glad I took this course! Each platform has some similar features, but there are also vast differences. The most striking thing to me was how many options the iPad has included at no additional cost. They are easy to access and apply with a few taps of easy to follow buttons. Android seems to be making an effort to have similar options to the iPad, including such things as the Talkback feature for those with vision challenges and switch access links, which is great to know, although Android's supports are less plentiful. Apple computers also have loads of easy to use and apply options. There are so many to list for a variety of user needs, but all attempt to level the playing field for access for a variety of users. PCs and Chromebooks, which is the direction our board has went, are quite limited in options and confusing to navigate or cost additional fees to download, but one can hope that over time the availability of options will increase. I appreciated Barb Welsford saying that apps are constantly expanding and that something like eye gaze may even become available. Amazing! I have learned how to web search accessibility apps over each platform and also have videos to refer back to in my resource practice to aid individual students, which is awesome. Students with vision, hearing, physical and learning challenges can have their needs more widely met with accessibility options.
Today in class Tracy and I finished our Book Creator assignment. We have also just made an awesome resource for my career access program and her BIRT program. How cool is that! My top take away was how applicable the app was for a huge variety of ages. While we were using Book Creator for MS and HS, Holly and Aleicia were able to design activities for primary students! I also learned how to interface the app through Showbie with my computer to upload graphics... and it was easy peasy... or as they say "Down Under" "easy peasy lemon squeezy". We also learned Book Creator is really forgiving and easy to go back and edit... we added our title and author names after we had published it the first time and it still was ok letting us go back and add changes. A winner for sure! No wonder it won an App of the Year award for 2015!
Yesterday in class we were introduced to the Book Creator app. What a lot of useage it has! My students next year are going to love it. It's sure great we have 6 iPads... but to get the app put on means I have to go through my IT guy and that's not going to be fun at all because last time he had my iPads he wiped them back to factory settings....
SO, my first take away from today is HOW can be get the services like the SSRSB has? Or the discount codes? Or something so I don't have to pay from my pocket 6 times to get the class iPads set up? This is a serious conundrum. I will certainly put Book Creator on my own personal iPad and then I'm stuck. Grrrr....
All school boards are not created equally....
My second take away had to do with partners. Barb asked us at the beginning of the class to work with someone he hadn't worked with already in the course. I felt a little bad being resistant to doing this, but Tracy and I had already brainstormed on topics that suited out caseloads and wanted to do something quite usable. So we stuck together... but before this course we had never worked together on anything and I had done ONE of the other projects with Holly who I just met in the course. From the partner activity, I could put myself in the place of a student. If they have warning that they are going to be doing a partner activity they may find it harder to switch partners than if they are assigned before they have a chance to wrap their heads around who they want to be paired with.
My third take away had to do with Book Creator itself. What a wonderful app! We are having a lot of fun doing our assignment with the variety of choices the app allows. BUT the assignment itself, which appeared so straightforward to the teacher was not so straightforward to my group or to some of the nearby groups. This reminds me that, like our professor is doing, I may need to explain something that to me seemed straightforward. Patience and understanding work well in keeping students, even M. Ed. ones, motivated and moving.
This has nothing to do with class, per say, but was taken from a friend and I liked it so much I wanted to share it. My friend wrote:
"There's a boy on pit crew (at camp) this week. I think he has cerebral palsy. He
was here a few summers ago and my thought then was that it was nice
that the camp had made space for him on staff because they invest in
people no matter the ability. He was a worker, though, no doubt about
it. I watched him as he struggled to get out of the lake after a swim
back those few years ago. It was hard for him to get back to his feet.
I offered help; he, respectfully, declined. It took a bit but he made
it up. This year, you'd be hard pressed to keep up to him with his work
ethic and ability, no matter your ability. I also watched him get out
of the lake this year... like a boss. In him, I see courage,
perseverance, strength,"
I thought what my friend shared was beautiful. Tracy and I had a conversation in class today that we both dislike the term "disability". She prefers exceptionalities, which applies to everyone. I like the terms "strength" and "challenge". Kudos to this young man who my friend wrote about, who reminds us that there is learning and growth in the struggle. Kudos to my friend who used the term "ability" rather than highlighting the DIS.
YEAH! Today we got some more experience with hands on Assistive Tech... and lots of it. We started our day viewing a video that was probably from the 80's, showing 3 students. Todd, Justin and Joy were able to use switches at home and school to enhance their independence and communication in high interest engaging activities. I loved the shot of Joy laying out on her kitchen counter participating in cooking and how much OT support was available for the individuals. BUT NOW, we have even more choices in what is available for both FUN and FUNction and at affordable costs for families and schools. MANY of the items we explored today are readily available, from apps, to multiple switches, on iPads, computers, tablets and chromebooks.
Powerlink
The first station we looked at was using a variety of switches with a powerlink. A powerlink could be used to power a bunch of things, such as a blender, mixer, lights, cd player, buzzer, TV, video games, amp, microphone, computer monitor, microscope or anything else that is able to be plugged in. I had used a powerlink before, but had not used the tiniest switch (jellybean), the antenna style or the squeezable switch. It seems these switches would be used for students with low mobility/fine motor challenges that wouldn't turn things on or off easily in a traditional method or would have a difficult time controlling the item the switch is powering due to less physical strength. The switch allows participation without teaching directly how to operate multiple types of systems. Hand over hand support can also be used for success for a greater variety of users. In the learning centre where I had worked, switches were used for nonverbal and physically challenged students in a variety of ways, primarily in the kitchen, which was built into the IPP. Devices were also used for a "morning meeting" to communicate a message for greeting and socializing with peers, also in the IPP. A student with minimal vision or cognition learned that a switch made something happen. This student LOVED the produced result. Switches were FUN, but also made him more a part of the social, academic and active life of the classroom. Students used switches to operate music in plays, cuing repeated sounds. BIG part of the room!
Bluetooth Switch
What a fun way to engage a student in a task! I had never used a bluetooth switch before, but loved all the choices available to use with it... Wow what a lot of apps there are; I made a word cloud above noting a few of them. The technology could be used for people who want to engage in social interactions in a fun way, especially those who are used to switches. For students with gross motor skills, but limited fine motor skills, those who like to throw things or are spastic, or those who can't isolate their fingers well can use this tool so they can participate productively.
Alternate Keyboard
My goodness my dear what BIG KEYS you have... The alternate keyboard would have uses for students who were visually challenged or needed a really high contrast keyboard. The letters are easily visible and in the traditional locations, although there are no home key "bumps" so those who are used to "feeling" the key's "home" may find a little challenge. It's pretty portable and easily attaches to a chrome book. A student could have straps on the outside of a chrome book case or just a bigger case to transport them both. It would have been nice if there was some sort of track pad/mouse with the keyboard, but we are assuming that could have been attached as well.
Eye Gaze
What a fun thing to try! The eye gaze attachment was easy to calibrate with minimal eye movement and almost no head movement. It would probably be best done in collaboration with OT, PT, classroom and resource teachers and AT consultant (if available). The team would be able to work together to train those involved and help identify uses for the technology. It seemed to only require the use of the eyes and the ability to follow some very basic movements of things on the screen, quite natural since the objects were eye "catching". The technology would be very useful for anyone with minimal physical movement abilities, such as people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, ALS, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, locked in syndrome, or MS. Eye-gaze could be used for such things as typing on an onscreen keyboard for those who knew letters/words, selecting YES/NO, text to speech, games to enhance quality of life, scrolling, selecting or communicating using the computer or social engagement with the class. It could be used to operate a morning message or a buzzer in the gym or just about anything that could be a sound or signal in the classroom or with peers. I kept thinking of Stephen Hawking and all the intellect he has which now relies on AT to be used in production of his writing, which includes books. We did feel that after a while, this task would become tiring on the eyes. Also, it worked well for those with and without glasses.
Accessibility Options: WOW.... FUNctional
Our group was shocked at the amount of accessibility options on both chrome book, iPad and tablets that we looked at. Font size, magnification, dark/reverse screen, text to speech, accessibility short cuts, rapid key input, voice assist, spoken passwords and color inversion were only a few of them... WOW! I was quite familiar with the Read Write Toolbar as I've been using it with LD students in my resource program. The process of creating a vocabulary list with definitions and pictures is awesome. It is especially helpful in areas like cell organelles notetaking in science class. The ability to highlight any text and have it read to you is also extremely easy to use. My students enjoy how well the word prediction tool works. It is also available in a free version for teachers and there are several YouTube videos to demonstrate its usage. Many accessibility apps helped those with vision, hearing or motor challenges, as well as learning disabilities or reduced reading/spelling abilities.
Keyboard Scanning with Trackball
I realized after the fact that I did not have a picture of the actual trackball, but it was quite lovely, as was the scanning feature. The trackball allowed a large motor actively to replace what would typically be a fine motor activity. It would work well for people with limited movement ability. It could be used for people with CP, stroke, or any other challenge in controlling a traditional mouse. Visual acuity would need to be quite good though as the keys on the screen were small. Patience and spelling ability would be required in using this method for typing. I have an LD student who I think would find the hovering piece "cool" since the letters appear almost like magic. The word prediction feature was useful too. This device eliminated the need for a two step mouse operation, allowing a shortened task. The scanning feature would seem really useful for someone like Stephen Hawking who may have a lot to say, but limited physical skills.
Finally, our group found many videos with people using switches.... I chose three that showed a progression from intro to switch use, right through to fully independent use in completing a course of study.... LOTS here.... FUNdamentals that are FUNctional and FUN.
This is Alice learning to use a switch for intentional communication... the Youtube link is available by clicking on the video.
Maddy's video is moving and informative. She used a knee switch since her eyes and hands can not operate AT. She is able to clearly and independently communicate with this technology.
BUT if you haven't heard or seen Christopher Hills video, you better grab a tissue. Technology is extremely important to him. So moving... but I feel that if our professor Barb Welsford met with him and his family she may have suggestions to add so that his dad wasn't doing so much of the typing... or maybe over time there will be more available for Christopher, as there has been since the first video that started our class....
Wow! Who would have known there were so many communication apps for iPads, ranging from under $10 to over $200.... certainly one of my take-aways from today was the huge variety of apps through the App store that can be used on an iPad... made me awfully happy that I have 6 of them in my classroom....I also learned today how to use Tagul, a fun way to make a word cloud. Now I know what my first "get to know you" activity will be in my Career Access English class this fall. It was also interesting to see how challenging it was for Tracy, who is techno smart, to find much at all on the chrome store in the way of apps for chrome... at least Nike was able to find quite a bit though google play... maybe the chrome store will catch up eventually? I never even knew there were so many "stores" to shop at for apps.
I also realized in class today how many of us enjoyed talking about our experience at the dollar store. Even though we were mostly supposed to (by the end) present our "show and share" object, we all wanted to talk about other things. It was a great task to show a huge variety of items available. I really loved the pool noodle card holder... indeed who would have DREAMED there would be so many uses for a pool noodle, from sensory device for active students, tag toys or finger protector for cutting in the kitchen!
My last "take" away from today was around Joy and Nike's iMovie to share their AT object. Smart to use technology from the course to present the object chosen! Loved it... engaging, interesting and easy (according to Nike). I can hardly wait to try it myself.... but not this afternoon for I truly am heading to the beach.....
Maybe I should be taking along some laminated cards or a float toy for communication? No, my friend's kids are adept at verbalizing their wants and needs... I will try to remember what a blessing that is when they are fighting with each other in my car..... oh dear, maybe I should have bought ear plugs or ear protectors to assist my own sanity while driving.... or a pool noodle since they have so many uses....or maybe a stress ball..... so many things to think about ....
Today was a full day of listening, processing and thinking which started even before the actual conference began. My friend RaeAnne has been taking her M. Ed. in counselling over the past year. She is nearing the end. We planned to meet for breakfast at ATF, sit together and go for lunch up the hill. One of the lovely things about conference day is meeting up with friends that you may not see often enough.
The day had 3 main speakers, all very different from one another, which I found made the day go quickly. I learned several things from each of them.
Janet Duncan talked about "International Perspectives on Inclusion Societies." I guess I'd never thought that much about inclusion in the "transitional democracies" (a new term for me meaning parts of the former soviet union), although I've heard and talked a lot about inclusion with the last few international high school students who have lived with us over the past couple of years. I also knew that a lot of children born with physical or intellectual challenges did end up in orphanages, but never knew that by not having their births registered the parents could go on to have another child. I also found her explanation of how, before the Olympics in China, the local population was actually taught how to respond and befriend people with challenges in preparation for the Paralympic games. Hmmm... fascinating. I enjoyed watching the 3 interpreters too. After spending a week each summer over 3 years at APSEA ASL immersion, they were as enjoyable to watch as the speaker was to listen to.
Joanne Syms, who talked about "Anti-bullying for Schools" was engaging and dynamic. I had heard her speak before and she constantly said interesting points. A couple of her fascinating ones were that bullying usually takes place in front of peers and that it usually only takes 10 seconds after peers intervene for an incident to stop. She also stated that "hurt people hurt people". We can't change all bullies, but can teach peers and staff alike to being an inclusive caring community that will make a difference with a restorative justice approach.
Rola Abi-Hanna spoke on the newcomer experience in NS schools. I really liked the term "newcomer". Although I had heard it before, I had not reflected on newcomer vs. refugee vs. immigrant. This past year I met a student in my school who was on our cheerleading team (I'm staff co-ordinator of the team) whose family had moved to Canada from South America due to threats on their lives. I have a greater appreciation of what these "newcomers" have been through.
Conference day was enjoyable.... maybe not quite a fun as a day at the beach though....but I certainly did learn and enjoy the day.
Tools do not need to be elaborate to be amazing.....just look at what a simple paper clip can do
Today Holly and I went "shopping" at the Dollar Store. Oh my there's a lot of things to see that would support students benefiting from assistive tech.... after going through the store we had over 50 items in our basket. We photographed most of them and then came the process of figuring out which 20 to present. There were some obvious ones like laminating paper to make paper items more durable, or a magnifying glass for those with visual issues.... but in the end I chose 20 that most appealed to me.
1. The rainbow keychains looked like an awesome way to teach kids with cognitive delays the colors of the rainbow in order. The key tags could be labeled with the color word. The frame could have the letters ROY G BIV written below each letter (not in the order they are now) with the white/clear marker being at the end to teach that all the colors together make white light. This task would support organization and fine motor skills without the student even being aware that these skills were being developed. I thought for more advanced students who learned the colors, they could be learning how to alphabetize or spell if the paper tags in the keychains were replaced by words or letters.
2. Chunky markers are great for fine motor issues. The short markers are easier to grip. These can be used by students with fine motor control issues or limited grasp/mobility. They can be "fisted" as a grip too, so they are pretty versatile.
3. This picnic set could be used by students with cognitive delays as a learning frame in terms of how to set a table. The frame could originally be used with the original cutlery and eventually replaced by either metal cutlery or other cutlery. As a final step, the frame could be put above the place where the place setting would be held and used as a visual reference when setting a place at the table (where the frame isn't under the dishes).
4. Sandpaper can be used to make shapes, letters, or numbers that are tactile. These could be used to help students with visual or cognitive challenges "feel" the forms that they are learning. Sandpaper forms can be mounted on tagboard to make them more durable.
5. How fun! Non-tie shoe laces for students with fine motor or cognitive challenges who can't tie shoes (could also be used by visually impaired/blind students). These laces are stretchy and stay together in shoes without needing to be tied.
6. There are so many things at the dollar store to make texture boards for tactile stimulation/learning for complex case students with significant delays. Textures such as the gripper fabric or the microfibre (along with various other object like sandpaper cubes or pot scrubbers) can be attached to a board and a wheel chair or table to provide a fun, stimulating activity.
7. Students who have difficulty isolating their fingers on the iPad can use a stylus to help operate technology. Use of the stylus can also work on grasp and fine motor skills. Students who may have a physical disability, such as an artificial hand may also grasp a stylus since they may find the prosthetic does not have the ability to operate an iPad.
8. Tennis balls can be used as a pencil holder for students who have a lot of issues with grasping a small object such as a pencil or paint brush. A small hole can be put through the ball to have a pencil/brush inserted. These balls can also be used on chair legs to help students with sensory issues find the classroom more enjoyable/quiet.
9. Finger puppets can help work on pointing skills for students, such as young students with sensory motor issues or Down's Syndrome, isolate their pointing finger. A favorite puppet is chosen for the pointer finger and the student practices extending it. I have used a puppet before with a student who used to "swear" with her fourth finger. The puppet was put on the middle finger which made it harder for the fourth finger to "pop up".
10. These foam pieces looked like a lot of fun! They could be used as tactile objects in so many different ways. They could be counting tools (counters) for students who find that small chips are too tough to move/control (fine motor issues), they could be used to help strengthen scissor skills by having students hold and cut them, or they could be used as sorting play for kids with cognitive delays (scramble the small straws and sort them to match the large straw of the same color).
11. These ice cube or muffin tin could be used in a variety of ways too. They could help students who don't like to see things touch (sensory issues) have a place to sort. They could also be used by students with fine motor issues to develop a pincer grip. The student could develop skills going from the larger muffin tin, to the white ice cube tray and finally to the small red ice cube tray.
12. Fidget and stress objects can be used for students with attention or anxiety challenges. Stress balls are designed for this purpose (squeeze and feel less stressed), but a small piece of blue instant tac can be a used discretely by an older student as a fidget object.
13. This bluetooth enabled shutter could be used by students with either sensory issues or who may have a tendency to throw things to involve them in picture taking or operating other bluetooth enabled devices (iPad, iPod etc) to play music or take videos/pictures. The small button is less breakable/more durable and would still allow direct control and cause/effect participation. This would also protect the expensive device. This item could also be placed in a ziploc bag for students who may drool and could damage the actual electronic switch or device.
14, Holly knew a neat use for bungee cords. In her school they are fastened under the desks as a fidget tool for active/ADHD type students. These attached bungee cords allow their feet to bounce up and down while their bodies stay in their seats. How cool is that!
15. Large clips can be used in a variety of ways. For students with significant cognitive delays, they can be attached to the pages of books so that the student can help turn these pages with minimal support. For student orientation issues around books, a clip could be put on the cover of the book at the top to show directionality. This could also be helpful in orienting a braille book for the blind.
16. This cosmetic organizer could be used by students with fine motor, sensory or organizational issues. School supplies could be organized in the upright position in the sections so that all is able to be seen and accessed. There would be no need to open/close a pencil case. Items could also be sorted and organized for easy access (markers on one side/pencil crayons on the other etc.)
17. Triangular glue comes to the aid of students with fine motor issues. The shape is easier to have control over when opening, spreading and closing the glue stick, allowing the student more independence. As well, the lid pushes on/pulls off so no threading of the lid is needed.
18. A gripper is a pretty obvious low tech aid for students with mobility issues. It can be used by students who can't bend to the floor to pick up things or who can't reach forward fall enough. Students in wheelchairs benefit from this tool to pick up things from the floor. It can help people who use walkers or canes.
19. A wide mouth funnel can help students with motor issues, cognitive challenges or sensory issues pour liquids or small/tiny solid ingredients confidently. Students could use this in so many ways, from baking, filling containers in task boxes, pouring milk/juice for the class/self or breakfast program cereal bags.
20. Spray and squirt bottles can be used to help students with cognitive or fine motor issues to enjoy art experiences. Paint could be loaded into the containers so the student could "spray" or "squirt" to create art. This could even be done using a "hand over hand" method.
The dollar store has so many things that are inexpensive yet usable in a variety of ways to help students accomplish goals. It was amazing how many things Holly (who teaches Primary) and I (who work in a High School) saw that fit both groups of our students. What a great project !!!
Today Tracey and I got to share our "I Spy" game. It was fun to both make and explain. I really enjoyed listening to the choices my classmates had in activities using the P2go app. What a variety from each of the 10 groups even though we had not talked together about what we were each choosing!
My "take aways" from today included:
It is really motivating to see yourself and your friend's photos in the P2go program. Seeing ourselves there gave an immediate boost. How awesome that the same iPad can take the pictures and have them easily uploaded. Pictured above are two of my international student friends. It makes me smile just to see them smile, an automatic hook into an activity, Tracy and I could have put in photos of classmates of Enrique's to the I Spy game. The "fun factor" would be enhanced.
I have to sign up for our instructors other AT course.... there is a lot of information that Professor Welsford says is taught in her other course. Since most of my caseload currently consists of students with Learning Disabilities, I know the other course will be of benefit.... I also see a self-directed inservice in my future at the SSRSB.....and maybe a suggested one for my LD itinerant teacher....
BUT the most amazing thing was the feedback from our instructor. Only once in courses have I had immediate feedback and that was from an online true/false quiz that the computer marked. In my past two courses, there was absolutely not one assignment graded until the entire course was over. Wow... if I needed a second reminder of how motivating prompt feedback was (as I mentioned yesterday) I sure got it today. Barb Welsford is a rock star! Positive message as well as suggestions for improvement. Not only do we get to have hands on experience, we have super role models in this course. So glad I have the opportunity to be part of Educ 5173....
