Summer & Amazing

Here I am . . . sitting in my hotel room in Washington, D.C. overlooking the Potamac river with the Washington Monument off in the distance. The lights last night were beautiful, the sunrise that awakened me even moreso. I am a blessed lady!!

Today Sekoe will move out of the dorm and put all that stuff in the van. . . sound familiar? We'll make the 8.5 hour trip back to Kentucky . . . and then for us . . .

SUMMER BEGINS!

Lots of the schedule for all of us but it will be SUMMER! I work through the summer with July being my busiest month at KDE. But, it is a wonderful time. I wish you a wonderful, relaxing time filled with family, summer picnics, friends, lots of laughter and time to rest your brain :)!!

Thanks for making this blog such an informative, entertaining at times and beneficial sight for your peers, yourself and me.

Be Blessed!

Good Luck

Good Luck to everybody with the rest of your school, if you not allready done. Thanks to Mrs. White i felt like i learned a lot.

Summer Break

So I'm finally finished with this semester. I wanted to wish anybody who still have finals good luck. And to Mrs. White and everybody else...Have a wonderful summer!!! : )

Bluegrass technology Center

I didn't get a chance to go the Bluegrass Technology Center, but I feel that I really missed out on an wonderful experience. Do you think that I could schedule any time to see it around the summer?

Thanks,
Carolyn

Final thoughts!!!

Well, I finished a couple of my finals today and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with being finished this semester. I really enjoyed your class Mrs. White I feel like I actually learned how to relate the material that we went over to real life situations. Also, you're a great teacher who will challenge her student to succeed in the course. I wish more of my teacher were like you than the typical teacher who comes to work and doesn't' care if the students understand the material. I know a lot of you guys know what i am talking about..ha ha! Well, I hope everyone has a good summer!

-Carolyn

What a relief!!! I finally finished the final. I need to know why I go completely blank when I am put under pressure. It is not that this test was any harder than the rest, but because it was the final and because I read the email that Mrs. White sent that said the first test she graded had a perfect score I just went blank. I have been working on this test since Sunday and I just could not get it done. I was totally stressing and freaking out!!!!!!!!!! I am still worried, but, boy am I relieved!

Thanks again to Mrs. White for a wonderful semester. You were so understanding and considerate. I wish all my professors could be as good as you!!! Good luck to all on remaining finals and things to come. Hope to meet up with some of you again in classes in the future. Have a great summer everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Sigh of Relief

I can feel the weight of the world lifting off my shoulders as the semester comes to a close. Enjoyed every minute of class and meeting everyone. Thanks Mrs. White for a great class and for everything you did to help each of us. I just wish I had more teachers/professors like you. :) I really do appreciate it!!! Again, I hope everyone done great on the final and for the class. Hope you all have an awesome and relaxing summer!!! Hope to see you again in future classes, I just hope I made it out of this one. :)
Have a good one!!!!

Deaf Ed

Hey Guys those of you that are Deaf ed They Finally published a new updated dictionary from random house webster's. It is really good.

Your Personality - Just for Fun!

Need a quick break? Want to take your mind off Finals and studying for a few minutes? Do this for fun - very interesting! http://memoriter.net/flash/test.html

Final Grades

Does anyone know when we will be able to view all of our final grades for all of our classes?

GONNA MISS U GUYZ

I just wanted to say it was nice to see everyone for the last time in this class tonight and i hope everyone does well on the final and succeed with their majors.

ASL video dictionary

Check this sight out guys! It is linked to the right of the blog titled "ASL Video Dictionary." If you have not done it yet, DO IT! Mrs. White, thanks for posting it. I wish I had looked at it earlier because it totally could have helped me in ASL 101. But thanks for posting it!

Blogs?

Mrs. White,
When are our last two blogs due by? I also wanted you to know how much I have enjoyed your class very much. I have watched how you have taught our class and made mental notes of strategies to use. I hope I am even half as good at being able to get through to my students as you have been. Thank you for reinforcing for me that this profession is exactly what I want to be doing.

YOUR WED260 FINAL EXAM

• The final exam will be available to be taken from Wednesday, April 30th until Wednesday, May 7th. It MUST be completed by midnight on the 7th.
  
• The final exam will be open book, open note. I encourage you to ORGANIZE your notes and materials prior to the exam.
  
• The final exam will not be timed. It can be accessed multiple times.
  
• The final exam will consist of essay questions with 3 multiple choice questions for extra credit.
  
• The final exam will provide you the option of skipping two questions.
  
• The final exam will be comprehensive.

I just wanted to say thank you to Mrs. White...for letting us out of class early. This has been a very tiring week already!! Testing is going on in the schools and I work in the school system so guess what...I am a proctor for testing. For some reason it has absolutely wore me out. Getting out of class early was super!! I enjoyed the drive home and even got home before my husband and boys got home from church and got to surprise them. So, THANK YOU Mrs. White!!!!!!!! It was greatly appreciated!

FINAL

I liked test 3 because we were given some choice about what questions to answer. However, whether or not the final is the same format or not, I'll be fine. My concern is that I hope it will still be an untimed test. It is so much less streesful that way! I also love the idea of the test being posted early so people can go ahead and get it out of the way. I know for me my finals are all clumped up together.

Good luck to everybody on your finals!!!

Quick question...do we bring in a hard copy of the language analysis or do we submit it on-line? Should we do both? I don't remeber hearing anyone say.

Clauses

I just had a question about sectioning off the clauses. Do we have to section off the clauses for semantics and pragmatics, or is sectioning off the clauses limited to the analysis of form? I looked at the sheet for pragmatics and it said nothing about sectioning off clauses, but on the major components of conducting a language sample, under bullet E, it says to section off the clauses. Guess I'm just confused again. Thanks for the help in advance!

Final Exam

I'm trying to figure out when to have my family come to help me move out. Is the final exam online, or do we have night class? I'm assuming it's online, but it would be just my luck that I'm wrong. An answer from anyone would be appreciated! thanks

Semantics

I was just wondering where utterances like ummm, yea sure, sure and OK would go on the phase sheet. I'm not quite sure and any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, when a child says no to something that is considered to be rejection correct? Or does it have to be something in particular?

Pragmatics

I just had a quick question about my project. I have done the transcription and am to the part where I section off all turns. I am assuming this is refering to the turn-taking within the conversation, but am a little unsure of how I should section them off. Should I do this on the transcription and just number everytime the child takes a turn in the conversation? I understand what I'm looking for, I'm just not sure how to section it off. Any information would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

One Word Utterances

ok, so my project is all typed out and the utterances are numbered, and im on the step where you tell what kind of utterance it is (transitive, intransitive, or equative). I've got them all except for the one work utterances, what category do they go under? There are lots of times when the girl just said "Yes" or "WHOA!" Also, what do I call the utterances where she says, "And....And....And..." Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Tech Center

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed visiting the technology center last night. It really made me look at objects I use on a daily basis and think how they can be modified or simplified. Not only is this center a good resource while I'm in school doing projects and such, but it is also a place I will keep in mind to visit when I'm actually in the field of OT and helping children adapt to their environment! Thanks for sharing this resource center with us Mrs. White!

Language Project

I am finding it hard to choose which area I want to address in my project--pragmatics, semantics, etc. Would someone share with me what they based their choice on? I need to figure that out in order to move on to doing the analysis. Thanks in advance!

Daily Dozen

As the semester is winding down and you tend to become overwhelemed I encourage you to consider these dozen tips for each day...

• Take one day at a time.
• Pray
• Eat right.
• Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
• Talk less; listen more.
• Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety . If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
• Find time to be alone, jot down thoughts and inspirations.
• Spend time with someone you love
• Laugh, find at least a few minutes to relax and have fun.
• Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
• Go to bed on time and get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
• Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.

language analysis project

when counting utterances on our language analysis project if the child answers a  question or statement by saying "yeah", then pauses before saying their next sentence is that considered an utterance to be counted or should we include the "yeah" as part of the sentences

I know this may seem as a silly question but i wasn't positive and didn't want to number everything wrong then have to go back and change all my answers. 

THANKS for the help!!

HBOT

I found this website tonight and thought that some of you may be interested. It explains what HBOT does and how it works.

http://www.drcranton.com/hbo.htm

Apr. 9 class

Hey all!
I was just wondering if someone could leave a summary of class on the blog for me tonight. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to miss class so if someone could just leave me the major topics we cover tonight it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Bluegrass Technology Center Class

We WILL be meeting at the Bluegrass Technology Center on April 16th for class. If you wish to carpool feel free to leave a comment here so that students can plan to ride together. Class will start PROMPTLY at 6:30 at the center which is located 961 Beasley Street Suite in Lexington. I have GOOGLED a map for you at http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=961+Beasley+Street+Suite,+Lexington,+KY&sll=44.527843,-95.712891&sspn=28.225224,59.414063&ie=UTF8&ll=38.041839,-84.440145&spn=0.030486,0.058022&z=14 . Class will end at approximately 8:00.

If anyone is interested in going out to eat after class for a question/answer session on your project we will head to a restaurant in Hamburg. Feel free to bring your transcribed language project and have the group help you with any questions.

Basically you will take 75 North and get off at the Winchester, US 60 exit. Turn left towards Lexington. Go approximately 2 miles. Turn LEFT at the LIGHT onto FORTUNE Drive. Immediately turn RIGHT onto Beasley.

The center is a not for profit organization and accepts donations in order to continue their work. If any of you have and CAN bring any of the following items it will be very much appreciated. If you can not that is ok.

• External mouse for computers you no longer are using
• EMPTY printer cartridges - all types
• NEW AA or C size batteries (one pack per person would be great - again do not feel as if you MUST do this)

Comment here with any questions or concerns.

TEST

I just finished the test and feel as if some questions were much harder since we weren't able to talk and get in depth about certain parts of intellecutal disabilites as i would have liked. Other than that I hope ever one else isn't as loaded with projects and papers to be done with in the next few weeks as me. Summer is just around the corner YAY!!!!

Beautiful

observation report

Do we turn in the observation reports on blackboard? I cannot find a spot for them, just the assignment and the rubric.

Abbey

Class tonight

Can someone give me an overview on tonights lesson I have been so sick and could not make it this week. Anything would help me alot. Thanks

Sample Project

Do we determine the mean length utterance for which ever way we choose to analyize the sample? I know we have three different ways we can analyize, but do we do the MLU for all of them?

HELP!

Hi!
This is last minute but I thought I would ask..
Is anyone coming from Lexington anytime after 5p.m. for class tomorrow? My car was supposed to be fixed but we found more problems with it and I am stuck in between Lexington and Richmond tomorrow!
I work off of exit 97 off of 75. If anyone is coming from lexington to richmond, they pass right by the exit. can anyone pick me up? i do not need a ride home from class, just to class.
i hate to miss class again because of this silly car problem..
call 513-490-6889 if anybody can help. and thank you!!!!!
abbey

Just wanted to say happy April Fool's day to all!! My husband has already got me this morning. Hope you all do better than I did (don't be fooled)!!!!!!!!!

Absence

Becasue of a severe family illness in St. Louis, I will be absent on Wed. April 2nd. Can some one please give me an over view of what we do either through email or on the blog.
Thank you.

CNN Specials on Autism

This week CNN will be running specials on Autism in light of Wednesday be
National Autism Awareness Day. Check out the EXTREMELY interesting links on CNN's website. Let me know what you think of the Naughty Auties virtual reality space!

CNN Specials on Autism

what was that called?

Does anyone remember what those word puzzles are called when you write a word vertically down a page and then write words or phrases vertically at each letter that start with the same letter as the vertical words? We made one for blindness a few weeks ago and I am trying to use the same idea for a lesson but cannot remember what the correct term is for them. I tried looking on the internet but did not have any luck. Let me know!

Abbey

Totally Depends – Some More

1. How do you keep from singling out the kid when offering assistance? - - - You can't, really.  But, good teachers provide assistance to ALL kids - just in different ways
   
2. Have you ever ran into educators that will refuse to work with a deaf child? How do you handle that? - - - I can actually say in my career I NEVER did. Everyone of my colleagues WELCOMED my students and/or me into their classrooms. However, if it were to happen – it depends on the situation, the IEP, the teacher, the principal, etc. how it is handled. But, always very professionally and focusing on STUDENT'S BEST INTEREST
   
3. I'm curious about how a signing and a hearing teacher's opinions different in the 2 different DHH schools. Which do they think is better. - - - You will get many different answers for this. Most of the time you will find teachers in Deaf Schools, residential programs, will most often support ASL. However, that is not always true. And that does not mean that OTHERS do NOT. It is impossible to make sweeping generalizations. Hopefully educators will realize the value of various methods of communicating and the role each play.
   

Your Questions – That Totally Depends on the Individual

You asked many excellent questions Wednesday night on the papers you submitted. Many of these however, simply cannot be answered with a statement or generalization because ALL children are different and all educators are different. It is impossible to say what "all girls like in clothes" and it is impossible to say what is best for all children who are deaf or who are hard of hearing. So, I have listed several questions that the answer is simply, "It truly depends on the individual student, the individual situation, or the individual educators."

1. What do you think is the best method for learning for these children? – It is truly an INDIVIDUAL CHILD decision.
   
2. In Deaf schools do children with cochlear implants get made fun of or looked down upon by Deaf children without them? – Can't generalize – it certainly does happen at times, but also happens in hearing schools, too. Some children who are Deaf WILL make fun, but many others will not. Totally depends on the child.
   
3. "Does the deaf student like when the teacher uses differentiated instruction or like to be treated exactly like the others?" – It would depend on the child who is d/Deaf and it would depend on how the teacher is differentiating and implementing it. Very difficult to answer this question in general

observation

On Friday I went to the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center to do my observation and I really really enjoyed it. I encourage anyone who is a deaf ed major (I believe there are two others besides myself in our class), or maybe if you aren't but are interested in seeing this to go and observe there! It is a preschool with a variety of students who have cochlear implants, hearing aids and some who just need help with speech. It is all oral and no signing takes place and I have never seen that before. It was really eye opening and I really enjoyed observing there. The whole day they focus on the students developing speech and language so it goes great with this specific SED class as well!

Jena's the only one qualified to TRULY answer...

"Most of the time do deaf and hard of hearing individuals date other deaf individuals?"

Jena - WhattayaThink?

"Is it more difficult for deaf to learn math, especially in a setting where the teacher signs? In particular math such as algebra and calculus?"

Jena Answers This One

The student asks, "Any suggestions on how to include all students into learning to better communicate with a deaf student in a mainstream class?

Extra Credit Feedback - From Both Classes

Impressed. I am impressed by your candor and excellent suggestions. Here are a few I will be implementing:

1. Offer you one MORE question than you HAVE TO answer. This gives you an option in case there is one question that you really do NOT know or feel less confident in answering.

2. Be more intentional about stating the instructional objectives of each class and ensuring by the end of class we have met them. If students still have questions that there is an avenue to have those questions addressed.

3. Balance direct instruction and student activities to accomplish the instructional objectives.

4. Ensure that the questions on the test are worded clearly. (Remember ANY time a student is UNCLEAR about a test question you can call and get an explanation of what the question means) However, I will do a better job of writing specific questions.

5. Balance the points between all questions, not making any ONE question be worth such a large percentage of the overall score.

6. Continue with an open book, open note and untimed test.

7. Continue having it be the synthesis, evaluation and application of material as a professional teacher would apply information in a real world setting - not the regurgitation of information from the text and notes. You want college classes that actually are what you can USE in the real world.

8. The questions can demonstrate your own "opinion" or style but MUST reflect best practice or what the book and resources have demonstrated are effective and maximize student learning. Just because a question asks what YOU would do doesn't mean the answer is CORRECT if it does not include what brings about the greatest good or is the most appropriate measure in that given situation. Jena's teacher was 100% wrong in her opinion that Jena HAD TO TAKE NOTES because ALL kids take notes in that class. Not every practice is appropriate.

A few of the things it appears some or all of YOU will be doing...

1. Prepare more effectively - for tests.

2. Read the questions carefully to determine WHAT they are asking you to demonstrate you know.

3. Answer specifically the question that was ASKED not provide general information about that topic.

4. Put forth a bit more effort than you have been

Hmmmmm - who has a longer list!

Let's talk about Acclerated Reader.....

I feel like throughout my time in school I've given AR a pretty fair chance. AR started at my school when I was in 3rd grade, and since then it's grown like a weed that you just can't kill. I feel like the program (or maybe it's the people who implement the program) actually discourages lots of kids from reading at all. The books I wanted to read seemed to never be on the list, so instead of reading something I wanted to read for pleasure I was forced to read something I hated, which in turn made me not want to read at all! I'd really like to hear the other side of the story though....anybody out there who thought AR was useful to them? Anyone who has used it in a classroom and thinks it works well? Complainers like me, I'd love to hear your AR horror stories too! :-)

tonights class

Hey guys! Hope everyone is having a better week then me. For some reason, instead of having one car problem, I have had one after another in a very short time and will not be able to make it to class tonight. Over spring break I had to replace my alternator, battery, and water pump. Driving home from Cincinnati from spring break, my belt fell tore off on the high way and I had it towed the rest of the way home. I just got it in to replace the belt Monday, but the people fixing the belt broke the spring loaded arm that puts the belt on. SOOO that means I have another part to buy and wait for. I am going to be completely broke after this! Anyways, I work full time as a nanny and the ride I found home from work cannot get me until 8 p.m. which would put me back in Richmond right as class was finishing. So, can someone PLEASE post on this blog the important points from class, any pages for me to focus on in the book, and anything else that you think I should know? THANK YOU THANK YOU! Mrs. White, I am sending my extra credit with a friend. Hope that is okay. Have a good class tonight. It sounded really interesting!

Paper in hand

Tomorrow night you will turn in your 10 point extra credit papers to me as you come into class, before class starts. I won't be taking them up at all after this. I found the feedback on the papers from Monday night's students to be very candid and useful. I look forward to reading yours.

My mom emailed me this and I thought it was cute so I wanted to share it.

IEPs by Dr. Seuss (Rhythm from Green Eggs & Ham) Do you like these IEPs?I do not like these IEPsI do not like them, Geez LouiseWe test, we checkWe plan, we meetBut nothing ever seems completeWould you, could you like the form?I do not like the form I seeNot page 1, not 2, not 3Another changeA brand new boxI think we allHave lost our rocksCould you all meet here or there?We could not all meet here or thereWe cannot all fit anywhere!Not in a roomNot in the hallThere seems to be no space at allWould you, could you meet again?I cannot meet again next weekNo lunch, no prepPlease hear me speakNo not at dusk. No not at dawnAt 4 p.m. I should be goneCould you hear while all speak out?Would you write the words they spout?I could not hear, I would not writeThis does not need to be a fightSign here, date thereMark this, check thatBeware the student's ad-vo-cat(e)You do not like themSo you sayTry again, try again!And you mayIf you will let me beI will try againYou'll seeSay!I almost like these IEPs!I think I'll write six thousand threeAnd I will practice day and nightUntil they say"You've got it right!"

Blindness

I loved last wednesdays class...I guess it really hit home for me. I was legally blind until the age of 15. I had actually forgotten about some of the things they had in my IEP to make learning easier for me. One of the things was the teachers were supposed to use an overhead projector rather than the chalkboard. I had a teacher in fifth grade who day after day refused to use the overhead...and I vividly remember my assistant for the blind chewing her out...hmmmm I think my mom did too hehehe. Of course she had to comply but it took her a long time. To this day she is the worst teacher I've ever had. She didnt care if I could see the material or not she had been teaching that way for a long time and she didnt want to change it just for me.

Yea for me (and I do not mean to brag but I am really surprised)!!!! I got a good grade on test 2. I am so excited!!! I am finally getting it. At first I was not quite understanding all the concepts we were learning in class, but now I am beginning to feel comfortable with it. Congratulations to all of you who also performed well. Finally understanding and succeeding is what makes it all worth it!!!!!!

Test Taking Skills - YOUR Answers to Test 2

I have taken sample answers from various student papers that received 4/4 or 6/6 etc. on each question and put together this sheet which we will use to address Test Taking Skills as well as other skills listed on page 312.

http://www.brandtnetwork.com/TestTakingSkills.htm

Wednesday Night Class Agenda Change

Agenda for Wednesday Night class has changed.

I welcome/encourage blogging on any of these ideas to help prepare us for class:

1. Deafness - specifically:

• how the degree of hearing loss impacts language development.
• factors which impact speech and language development
• factors to consider for appropriate educational placement
• instructional strategies
  

2. Chapter 14 - Enhancing Language and Communication - we will begin with the list on page 312 and apply it to our own classroom and recent test taking experience