Genius Hour 4-Elevator Pitch

June 24th, 2019


PART 1: MY ELEVATOR PITCH!

PART 2: This week I am exploring Tunity app on my Iphone. I cannot remember where I heard about it. I believe I heard about it from someone on Twitter. I never got around to it. I kept thinking maybe the app will not help. However, my genius hour and my hearing was important to me so I tried it and man I was like this WORKS! Since I am now off, I can watch my court shows during the day like Judge Marilyn, Hot Bench and Judge Judy! I tried the app while watching Judge Judy and my mind was blown. The sound from the TV came directly to my cochlear implant. I took the other one off. It was an eye opening experience. I found the captions were way behind. I can hear what Judge Judy was saying on time! It was SOOOO CLEAR! There were even commercials that had no captioning but I can hear it when sometimes I have a hard time hearing what is being said. I can fine tune the sounds via the app as well. I just turn on the tunity app and allow it camera access. You point the app toward the TV and it detects the channel you are on. It is a FREE app that lets you hear any live muted TV. It says I can save the channels without the need to rescan so I have to check that out! I will definitely be adding this to my routine. Why? This will help train my brain to hear !!

Genius Hour 3

Monday, June 17th, 2019

You might be wondering why I am naming my posts so suddenly as Genius Hour but I am taking a technology class via the University of St. Francis at Joliet. As part of this class, we are creating and focusing on a passion of ours that we would like to develop more. Since I was already blogging about my cochlear implant journey and it was a passion of mine ; I thought it would be a perfect genius hour topic!

As part of my genius hour project, we needed to think how can we make this a part of my routine? This took some thought because the only way to hear better and get the brain used to sounds is to consistently make the brain hear. I have been told that even 15-20 minutes practicing a day getting my new cochlear implant  is good practice! SO THIS IS WHAT MY ROUTINE IS! Every morning and every evening, my commute is an hour ride to school and home. So I turn on the radio to a channel I know will be easy to hear and have clear slow speakers like NPR. I can hear well with both cochlear implants when it is clear slow speakers but I must use only the cochlear implant on the left ear to train it to hear. I used to do this but now am back at it again.  I heard quite a bit and am shocked to know I heard somethings.I am so excited that I can hear the words.  I did not hear all the words but can get the basic drift. I was sooooooo tempted to put my other cochlear implant on but didn't. The radio was talking about how Texas is now one of the states to require insurance companies to go to arbitration when it cannot decide a price on payment of services. Many people were complaining how insurance companies would exploit patients by charging ridiculously high prices. Texas has now passed a law that shields patients from surprise medical bills. When I got home, I researched this topic to see if I heard right and I did!! Some parts I did not hear and then when I read about surprise medical bills, then I understood! I feel like I am not so afraid to try this exercise and will endeavor to stick to these routines!

Genius Hour 2

June 10th, 2019



What can I do that I couldn't do last week? This is a tricky question for me because you have to pay attention to your hearing. I was coming down the stairs last Friday from the library on my way to pick up my fifth grade class to bring them to computers. However, as I was on the stairs I heard a teacher saying to her class to be quiet in line. For someone who relies on reading lips, this was GREAT!!! I told the teacher I could hear you all the way from the second floor(where the library was located) and she understood why because she knew about my cochlear implant! 

I am going to try and be more reflective here. I have noticed in terms of my hearing journey that after dinner during the weekdays , I tend to take my cochlear implants off. I think it is because I am so bombarded with noises that my brain (the one with the  new cochlear implant) is overwhelmed. However, I feel like I should try to diminish the length of how long I keep them off. How? I am going to do what I have always loved to do even when I was a kid. READ!! I am going to continue reading my books on kindle online with just my left cochlear implant. I need to recognize that I have superpowers. Two of them! Two cochlear implants and realize that they both need practice hearing and to be patient. In addition, my superpowers allow me to talk with others about my experiences and to encourage them to explore their options. I just met with a friend of mine at a hearing loss conference who told me that she was considering getting a 2nd cochlear implant and she told me she was so happy to talk to me because she felt better knowing what the surgical process entailed. 


I didn't realize I haven't posted in a while! I have been so busy !!! What have I been busy doing? I am a teacher so I have ten more days left of school and it has been hectic trying to wrap up fourth quarter.

I have been busy trying to fundraise for our annual Chicago Walk4Hearing this coming September. If you have not attended, please do. I highly recommend it. It is so great to see so many wearing hearing aids and cochlear implants. It reminds me that I am not alone in my journey.

I also was invited to a meeting to meet those work for the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission based in Springfield. It was great to hear about them and what they do. It was also nice to meet new people of other organizations.

I went to Aldi the other day. I love ALDI! This guy came up to me and asked me about my cochlear implants! He introduced me to his wife. It was so funny having complete strangers talk to me about my cochlear implants but I would rather have people ask me questions about them than stare at me. It turned out he had a granddaughter who was 7 and had cochlear implants. We were talking about sign, lipreading, speech therapy and it was so great to be able to talk about my experience with them.

My kindergartners have been asking what are those things on my ears so I am going to bring in my children's book I made in college that talks about my cochlear implants. I will keep you posted.

'Til next time,
Deirdre                               Me at top of stairs near library hearing a P.E teacher

P.E. teacher was behind those doors talking to her students

Social Media in Schools

April 17th, 2019

Questions to answer for my class:

• What social networking and/or social media sites do you use in your role as a school leader?  Do you feel that this is beneficial?  In what ways? What positive and negative feedback have you received from students, families, and the community?

• What is your school’s policy on inappropriate technology use?  In what ways could your policy be adjusted or updated? How would your policies be expanded and improved with more student involvement in their creation?

• How can school leaders help their teachers recognize signs of cyberbullying? 

We are an elementary school so we do not really use social media with our students. I however am on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I also use Class Dojo with the primary grades and I use my library website. I love Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter because I can get so many teaching ideas from other teachers and can ask them for help too. They are great sounding boards and everyone  I have followed is so nice. I do post my student stories on class dojo and parents love that. I feel like I have not been using social media sites as a school leader. Part of the problem is that you do not want to post pictures of students unless you are sure you have permission to do so. I just found out about school tube and I am wondering if that is a good avenue to post student stories but then again do parents and the community know about school tube?What is funny is I did notice a middle schooler who found my blog on my website and was reading it so I was pretty happy to see that so maybe I need to use a blog and that might work. Parents seems to view our websites for information and to keep updated on what is going on in the school and classrooms.

CPS has an acceptable use policy and has updated their policies as well where it explains explicitly what you can and cannot do. You can get your technology privileges revoked if found in violation of CPS policies. Student involvement in the creation of policies is tough at the elementary level. We have student discussions about cyberbullying and have involved students in random acts of kindness throughout the whole school. They might not be involved with policies but they are involved in other ways. Students were involved in fundraising for an outdoor water fountain and a buddy bench for students who need a friend at recess. Our principal always has an open door and a listening voice. She listens to the concerns of students, parents , teachers and the surrounding community.

I think school leaders can show you tube videos about cyberbullying or bring in speakers about signs of cyberbullying because it is difficult to pin point when it starts. I think teachers need to create a culture of safe space within the school and culture of one where students feel that teachers are approachable and know they will take cyber bullying seriously. I think teachers need to be aware of what students are saying and pay attention and have conversations with students. Above all, we need to keep teaching digital citizenship to all students throughout the whole year.

EEND678Z2-Effective Technology Integration-ARTIFACT 1

July 23rd, 2018

    As part of my class, we are asked to share on our blog two artifacts we learned about. Artifact 1 is my PBL unit.   PBL is problem based learning. In this course, we learned what PBL was and what it looked like. In problem based learning, students are given a problem that they need to solve as a group. These are problems  happening in our lives today or will happen in the future. There can be more than one solution to the problem. Students learn higher order critical thinking skills , communication skills, and research skills. In our class, we had to come up with three problem based learning topics. Since this is called effective technology integration, we also had to incorporate at least five technology tools into our problem based learning units. We typed our problem based learning topics and our tech integration ideas into an outline. We then were asked to pick one problem based topic to focus on. We shared our problem based learning topics with our discussion groups online and explained why we picked that particular one. We also asked questions and concerns about  our topic from our colleagues. This discussion was so helpful because it helped me to hone my unit better and feel confident about implementing this unit. My topic was Library Design. My question : how would you redesign the library to help students learn? The following technology would be integrated effectively in my attached problem based learning unit:

1.google docs or google keep to keep track of research, interview, videos( use google doc comments as feedback)

2. google drawing to draw map and label your library

3.voice recorder: interview other librarians, teachers, students

4.google expeditions(visit other libraries)

5.you tube videos

My unit is ARTIFACT 1. Attached is my unit: keaneubd

My unit is based on the Understanding by Design Template and has students solve the problem of designing the library to enhance learning. I hope to expand on my other two problem based learning topics and create units for them this summer.

EEND-678Z2 -ARTIFACT 2

July 24th, 2018   

  As I reflect back on this course, I liked how we did the Tech Tool Hunt. Our teacher asked us to come up with three tools and not only tell what they are but how they would be implemented in the classroom. We also had to explain where on the SAMR model of teaching did that technology integration fall. SAMR means Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition.   We all typed our recommendations on a google doc. An example of substitution in the classroom would be having students type instead of write. Augmentation is anything that adds to what you are teaching. Perhaps, adding videos and links to supplement students reading. Students using google docs to not only type their work but to collaborate with one another by sharing their docs and commenting with feedback would fall on the modification aspect. Redefinition has students transforming their learning. For example, they might use flipgrid to showcase their videos of what they learned to the class and to the teacher. Students can also give each other feedback as well. 
      The tech tools I picked for this assignment was Kahoot, Google Expeditions and Code Studio. I have attached below my snapshot of how these tools I use in my classroom fall on the SAMR model. I liked this assignment because it made me rethink about my lessons and the tools I use. I want my students to be learning on the modification and redefinition stages in my classroom. It will be very helpful to refer to this google doc called Tech Tool Hunt because the other tools my colleagues recommended are on there and I can see where those tools fall on the SAMR model. I am so excited about exploring the other tools and planning lessons that will benefit my students' learning. 

Tech Tool Hunt

EEND-678Z2-REFLECTION

July 22nd, 2018

I feel like this course went by so fast! I cannot believe it is time to reflect on it. I have learned so much. One of the things I loved and made sure to save was the Tech Tool Hunt Assignment. We all had to write about three technology tools and state what they are and how they would be utilized in the classroom! In addition, we all had to type our responses on the same google doc. This is something that I can have my students do so that I do not receive thirty copies in my email. The Tech Tool Hunt was great because it is hard to remember all the great tools out there and now I have something I can refer to in the school year. It is nice when fellow colleagues recommend a tool and then tell you how they use it and how it has been beneficial in their classroom. I have learned about Snap and Read, Insert Learning, Quizalize and WebCreaza to name a few. One of the others things I liked was when our teacher would post Weekly Websites. She would post an interesting website for us to look at. I have bookmarked all of them. One of them was called Wizer and it was a tool to digitize your worksheets! I am definitely looking into this. The other thing I liked was our our teacher would also recommend people to follow on Twitter. I have followed them on twitter and this is one of the ways that helps me to continue my learning journey. I learn about the teaching tools others are using from Twitter. It is great to learn from fellow educators. I love learning about new things. I have definitely grown because I knew little of problem based learning and now I have a whole problem based learning unit to implement this year! I have learned so much from talking in discussions with my colleagues because it makes you feel like it is okay to make mistakes and we are all learning from each other. We learned about from each other on how we use assistive technology to managing tech devices. You learn best from each other. The fake news articles got me thinking about modifying and updating my media literacy units and am excited to teach students more about fake news this year. I wonder what I will learn in my next course: EEND-679: Assessing and Improving Student Achievement with Technology.