This is a Powerpoint project I had to do for my W200 course at IUPUI.

1. By: Patrick Noble
For W200 Prof. R. Grimes
Due 5/3/2011
Click on the arrow to go to the Menu!

2. Assistive Learning Technologies
 AT (Cont.)
 AT Personal Reflection
Podcasting
 Podcasting (Cont.)
 Podcasting Personal Reflection
Blogs
 Blogs (Cont.)
 Blogs Personal Reflection
Conclusion

3. greatsschools.com- Assistive Technologies
 Assistive Learning Technologies (AT’s) are tools and
technologies that have been developed to help students
with learning disabilities or difficulties in certain
topics. This includes all fields, such as math, science,
reading and writing. Some useful tools would include
things such as audio books, in which “a student who
struggles with reading but who has good listening
skills might benefit from listening to audio books”
(GreatSchools, 2011).
Back to the Menu On to the next slide

4.  This is an interesting technique, in which a student’s weaknesses
are noted, and their strengths are taken into consideration for how
to help a student learn new material. It’s also important to
remember that “AT doesn't cure or eliminate learning difficulties,
but it can help your child reach her potential because it allows
[them] to capitalize on [their] strengths and bypass areas of
difficulty “ (GreatSchool, 2011). These technologies aren’t meant to
compensate for learning issues or promote and environment in
which a student doesn’t need to work for their education. Instead,
it simply makes it so that the student doesn’t have extra difficulty
with acquiring information.
Back to the Menu On to the next slide

5.  I was surprised by what is now considered assistive
technologies, for example, GreatSchool’s website
said that devices such as the Amazon Kindle or an
iPod with an audio book app are considered AT’s.
That opens up an entire field of fairly affordable
electronic devices to the ability to aid students in
gaining new information.
 I also never knew that these technologies encompass
all fields of education. When I was in elementary
school, the only things we had were audio books to
Apple iPod: another
help students get through books they had trouble music device, or a
reading. Technology sure has come a long way! potential tool for
learning?
 These technologies are no longer just available for
single devices; they now have whole websites
available to use-many for free! One piece of software
is a tool that has an instant link to online
dictionaries, thesauruses, and references (for
Neat! Back to the
students who have trouble spelling or writing),
Menu!
available at Clever Keys .

6. PC Review: What is PodCasting?
 Podcasting “allows you to download files via a feed (such as RSS)
onto your computer and MP3 player. These files can be music, talk
shows, interviews, discussions, news… the list is endless.
However, there is more to it than that: The significant
characteristic about podcasting is that you can subscribe to a series
so that it automatically downloads on to your computer and MP3
player.” (PCReview, 2005).
 Websites that support these functions include YouTube, Voice
Thread, Audacity, and Phonecasting, to name a few. There are
quite a few sites available that utilize podcasting.
Menu Next

7.  Podcasting is very beneficial from an education standpoint, as a
teacher can do something such as upload a podcast for their class
to watch. This can be helpful in several instances, such as in a case
where an instructor is unable to attend class for a day but has to
give students important information.
 Not only can teachers use podcasting, but students can also use
them to upload projects and homework to a website.
 Podcasting is on a steady increase in usage; it’s popularity is in
small part to the fact that you can download the podcasts directly
to any mp3 player, so you can listen to them practically anywhere
you want to.
Menu Next

8.  It may sound odd and not profound at all (it was to me, believe it
or not), but when I originally heard about podcasting, I actually
thought that it was only available for iPods. It turns out that they
are, in fact, available for any and all music players.
 Additionally, the ease at which you can get podcasts is astounding
to me. You can get them from most popular music and video
websites, and you can set them so that you automatically
download any new podcasts from certain authors, meaning that
you can almost instantly get new data from whomever you want
to (teachers, students, etc.)
 It’s popularity has grown far faster than I ever expected. When I
heard about it in 2001, I figured it would be another fad that
would fade away. Ten years later, mp3 players have become much
cheaper, and more people everyday are using podcasts, making
their popularity exponentially more important than I could ever
imagine.
Intriguing….Menu!

9.  A blog is an online log that acts like a journal. It can be
written by a person or a group of people, and can be
used for just about any topic imaginable, from people
talking about how their day was to celebrities talking
about things they do. The possibilities really are
endless.
 There are literally hundreds of blogging sites, with a
few popular ones including Blogspot, and WordPress,
just to name only a couple.
Next Menu

10.  Blogs, just like podcasts, are another effective
tool that teachers can use to keep in contact
with their students and keep them updated on
current class discussions, relevant world topics,
and assignments.
 Not only can teachers and students use blogs,
but they can also be open to the public so
parents and other teachers can view what is
being taught classrooms other than their own.
Next Menu

11.  Once I learned of blogs and read up on how to use them, I think
that they are probably one of the most promising new
technologies to help teachers educate their students. Not only can
teachers post information, but this seems like the fastest way to
get feedback from other people since you can just post a comment
under the current topic posted on the blog.
 Blogs are very accessible to most people who use them since they
are a basic text style interface, so students shouldn’t need any
special instructions to learn how to use them. Additionally, there
are probably some older teachers who have no idea how to use
newer technologies, so easier to use applications like blogs can be
simple enough for those kinds of teachers to use them.
 Blogs allow students to show some of their own creativity, since
you can customize many aspects of their personal blogs.
Good point! Let’s go back to the …Unless you want to see
Menu! my Conclusion!

12.  In conclusion, I think these three fields of
technology are making great strides in the field
of education. They are giving students of all
kinds access to a proper education. Not only do
they help students with disabilities utilize their
strengths to gain knowledge, they also give
regular students the ability to communicate
with their instructors in a timely fashion.
Additionally, they can also get information
from their teachers without having to be in a
classroom.
The End! That was so good, I’d like to see it
again! (Menu)