Coronavirus and Education

The last week has really thrown educators for a loop. With schools shutting down and some switching to online schedules, many of us are running around with our heads cut off.  The college I attend has recently switched to online classes and the school I work at has closed for the next two weeks. There was little to no notice for these teachers and most of them had nothing prepared. With that being said, what are these students to do? But this isn't a break! Students should still be focusing on and working on their education from home. For some of my students, school is the only place they receive consistent food, a safe space, and adequate learning. It really makes me fear for what is to come when we go back to work. Regardless of your stance on the Coronavirus and the severity of it, these next few weeks will be crucial. So what can we do? As educators, we can provide work for our students to do at home to keep their minds active. Be available to your parents and guardians during these times. As parents, limit television and iPad time and create a schedule. Have your children do more thought-provoking activities and work to keep their minds active, especially if they don't have work from their schools. And most importantly wash those hands!

Reflection on Introduction To Technology

When I look back on these last 5 weeks of class I realize not only the amount of things I learned but how much I will bring into my career. I first thought we would only go into Word, Powerpoint, and Excel and I thought to myself "I know these, how hard can this class be". After the first class, I immediately found myself so interested. I was learning far more than I thought and things that would easily enhance my education and future opportunities. Each week I was pushed out of my comfort zone by talking into a webcam, posting my opinions and experiences, and using technology and programs I never have before. One of my favorite things we did was build our portfolio which allowed us to add our projects we made throughout the semester. I love that this will be carried with us throughout the education program and gives future employers easy access to us. I also loved the use of Twitter and the ability it gives to communicate with people from all over. Overall, this class really exceeded my expectations. I learned a lot of things I never thought I would. I learned new programs and tips and tricks and I can't wait to utilize them now and in the future.

Police Training on Autism

This past week I was getting my hair done and I was on the topic of my job and how its been lately.  I work at a Therapeutic School for children with Autism. As I was explaining how my days and weeks have been, we also got on the topic of her husband's job. Her husband works as a police officer and recently switched departments. She told me he had to go a week-long training on autism and other special needs and what to do when involved in those types of calls. After hearing about his training and how it affected him, I came across an article on Facebook this week. "Police Undergo Autism Training". How crazy that we just had this conversation and now it's coming up on my social media? The article showed a video of what the officers experienced during the training. Not only did they have people speak who are trained in Autism and Developmental delays, but they also have parents, advocates, and individuals with special needs share their stories. This made it 100% more real on why this training is so necessary. Every day police can and will be met with individuals with special needs and they need to be prepared. Often times these individuals have processing delays in which can affect how they understand what's happening. Police officers need to understand every individual they may come across and know that some disabilities can be unseen. Some individuals might be scared and fell the need to run despite the situation. It is important that all officers are trained so they can best asset the situation and how to help.

What kind of learner am I?

I have struggled my way through school. It has always been hard for me to focus, even now being an adult student. I need to talk a lot of breaks during homework....okay I'm back... I need fidget throughout classes, and I just have a hard time sitting still. I never officially got diagnosed with ADD but I have the textbook definitely of it. Often times during a lesson, I would zone out and forget what was being taught. I even struggle with that today. One of the advantages of being an adult student is I have really come to know my strengths and weaknesses. I have learned that I am a hand out learner, I prefer to learn through actively doing the work and moving around the classroom to discuss what the class is learning. When it comes to studying and homework, I need a quiet space with no distractions.  I cannot have my phone by me or the tv on and when using my computer I get easily distracted by opening other browsers. My goal when doing homework will be to work in increments. I complete part of a task and then move on to something else otherwise I get too unfocused and bored with it. It is easier for me to shuffle around. As I have gotten older and more motivated with school, it has been easier to organize my tasks and stay more on task but I still need small breaks throughout.

Educator Burn Out

Ending last week at work was a difficult one. I work in a behavioral school for children with Autism and some days can be extremely exhausting. I felt like every student in the building at one point was experiencing a crisis. I was going from one behavior to the next to the next and the days felt like they would honestly never end. My students were having really hard days and I did my best to leave my exhaustion at the doors. By the end of the week, the staff couldn't wait for the weekend for two days to relax. I remember sitting in my classroom with some staff talking about staff appreciation and how to boost morale. We talked about how low morale can lead to educators burn out and ultimately a higher turn over rate. I explained that a book I read in my Introduction To Education class called School Culture Rewired wrote that most jobs focus on increasing morale once the morale has been lowered instead of making it a constant priority. Managing stress, communicate with coworkers, and indulging in personal time are great ideas to prevent burn out. My job did a professional development day a few weeks back where we did yoga, wrote positive affirmations about ourselves and learned how to handle anxiety/stress. We also learned a few cool apps to use for us and our students. Although, what staff doesn't love donuts and coffee every once and a while?

Positive and Negative Effects of Technology

Technology is something I use daily, whether I am checking my email, answering text messages, or showing my students something on the computer. It is something I am constantly surrounded by. There is a range of positive and negative effects of technology. As an educator, I see my students quite dependent on tablets and computers. This is often a positive and negative because technology can often be a positive reinforcement to encourage and redirect students back to work but students can often get distracted and focus only on the end result of getting the Ipad. I work in a school with very intense behaviors. Many of my students work on reward systems and the majority of them work for technology items. This can be a great thing because it can encourage my students to stay on track, have positive behaviors, and finish their work. My students can be motivated by Ipads, computers, and laptops. They often will pick something they want to watch or listen to and I will continue to remind them what they are working for. My job is to motivate them, keep them on track, and redirect them so they can earn their reward at the end of the activity. By having technology so accessible it allows my students to earn their rewards more easily and ultimately their behaviors will lessen. Some of the negatives of technology that I see at work on a daily basis in the same aspect are that my students often obsess/perseverate over these items and will prolong doing work in order to gain access to these items immediately. My students, a lot of the time, only want to work for technological items rather than going for walks or art therapy. This can be a negative thing because students only want to be on the Ipad and computer. They often become reliant on this item. Overall, technology is a great advancement in the education system. I am able to share a lot with my students with a click of a mouse. There are many positives to technology but a few negatives as well.