Aha+Moments

__**Aha Moments**__ Explore **5** of your classmates' wikispaces and find an "AHA Moment" from each site. In the discussion area, of Marian Online, explain what you found.

1.) [|Online text to speech] I came across another article that uses a text to speech software for students with learning disabilities so that tests can be read aloud within the general education classroom. After reading this article listed under Danielle Vetter's wikispace, I realize that I could use this software at a Language Arts "station" for students to listen to their work for grammar mistakes. I also focus on the six traits of writing in my classroom and by allowing students to listen to their work read aloud to them, they have the opportunity to critique their own work before conferences with the teacher.

2.) [|iPods in the Classroom] When exploring iPod articles linked on Mara Buck's wikispace, I found a website that categorizes different ways iPods are used in the classroom. Podcasts allow students to access information from experts in various fields, search information based on interest right at their fingertips, travel to the other side of the world within minutes, and so much more. From exploring this site, I thought of using iPods in the class to search for current events at the end of each school day. Currently in my class, five students are assigned to each day of the week and share a current event they find in the newspaper or in the news. Using the iPods, I could have students search for current events together and divide the class into groups assigned to different topics. One group could focus on local news, another on national news, while another looks at international news. Students would have access to what is happening in the world the minute it happens and our discussion could be more indepth with the source in our hands.

3.) [|Grand Prairie Schools] Tim Bauer linked an article that described how every student in one Dallas school district received an iPod to use for education. With my hopes of encouraging my district to move in this direction, I was excited to find a variety of ways iPods are used in the elementary schools. I love the idea of students and teachers creating their own music and videos to demonstrate their knowledge in what is normally "boring" material. With older generations using School House Rock videos to introduce and teach concepts, new teachers can take the interest of videos and put a new spin on it. I also love the idea of integrating different subjects to reinforce concepts. Working with music, art, and gym teachers could encourage students to see how everything in our world works together. This can be possible with a tool that is portable and powerful enough to access numerous applications.

4.) [|Using iPods in the Classroom] I was very excited to find that a link on Emilia Hackney's wiki space included an article written by someone I met in last year's Milwaukee Zoo Multimedia Conference, Tammy Stephens. I learned so much from last year's conference that I continue to look for courses taught by the Stephens group. In Stephens's article, an application called iQuiz can be downloaded on iPods. With this application, students could create quizzes during instruction to help them study the material later. Students could turn everyday note taking into friendly competition with friends. If each indiviudal student created a quiz, a variety of questions could be asked, saved, then uploads all of the quizzes onto their iPods. The whole class could participate in taking a group of the quizzes to review material and a winner could be established by the highest score. My students love when I create review games and they become more motivated to study if that means they could be the winner of the class. With quizzes and review games taking a large part of my prep time to create, this could now be placed in the hands of the students making it their responsibility for what information they revisit and practice.

5.) [|Quotes Everyday] Angie Williquette found an iPod application that is perfect for using in the classroom and makes higher level response journal topics available anywhere and anytime. I love this application because it offers a new quote each day and the prompts require deep thought and the student to use the background knowledge and opinions to respond. It is difficult finding writing prompts that aren't superficial or something that they haven't heard before. I want to push my students to use their emotions, morals, and values to answer questions when the rest of our curriculum asks more factual questions.