http://teachersol.blogspot.com/
This blog caught my attention because it is written by a special education teacher who writes about news, strategies, and some happenings of her classroom and others.  I read the blog entitled "A Couple of PD Tips for SPED Teachers #spedchat."  I read this blog because I was curious to know about the tips this teacher provided and was hoping to learn more about some of the strategies she has learned to use in her classroom. I thought that she might be able to offer ideas that I may be able to use in a classroom some day.  I really liked this blog because in the beginning she wrote about her desire to meet her students' needs and that she does that by constantly researching what strategies and resources she can use in the classroom.  I really appreciated this because as I wrote in the previous blogs, the needs of our students should be our first priority, and to meet these needs, our classroom must constantly be modified.  This blogger wrote about using your resources and collaborating ideas.  I think this was a great suggestion because learning from the feedback of others can help you determine what resources and materials are successful, so you can weed out implementing strategies that will not help the classroom.  She also suggested reading the book Classroom Instruction that Works because it will help you modify your classroom.  Because of this blog, I am now interested in finding out more about the content of this book.

Technology in Education

As we draw closer and closer to practicing full inclusion in all schools, it is completely vital that classrooms remain current in their use of technology.  As a future special education teacher, I have become much more aware of the vast majority of assistive technology equipment and tools that are available today.  If it is truly a hope to be able to benefit and provide an education for all students, up-to-date technology should be absolutely vital.  As technology advances constantly in society, the classroom should be as well.  Our future students will be growing up completely surrounded by technology, which will have a huge impact on how they are able to learn.  As educators we should be keeping the needs of the students first, and because of this, I think current technology will be a need for the students in the classroom, if not now, in the very near future.

http://www.salisburypost.com/News/031512-edu-Teachers-see-future-of-technology-qcd

I read a news article entitled "Educators learn about the latest classroom technology" because the title seemed like it would go best with my preconceived ideas and thoughts.  I found this quote in the article to be most interesting, "It's important that we're continually looking for both hardware and software that can strengthen the teaching and learning in the schools and in the classrooms.  Technology never comes to an end. It's an ongoing thing, we're constantly looking at the next best way to improve learning.  As students change, so should the classroom, and technology can play a very helpful role in changing and modifying a classroom.

Teaching Philosophy

My greatest goal as a future educator is to encourage learning.  I want to create a learning environment that involves activities and learning that my students will want to be involved in.  I want to use positive energy to create an optimal classroom.  As I pursue a degree in special education, I am constantly learning and being reminded that every student learns differently.  Because of this, as an educator my hope is to teach a variety of lessons with a number of different activities so that every student will have the opportunity to participate, be involved, stay engaged, and leave my classroom enriched with pieces of knowledge they were previously unaware of.  No child will be left in the cracks in my classroom.  Through kindness and a passion for teaching and students, I want to be a positive and creative teacher that my students look forward to learning with every day. 

Autobiography

My name is Brienne and I am pursuing a dual degree in Early Childhood and Special Education at UW Oshkosh.  I am currently at a junior status and will be graduating in Spring 2014.  At UW Oshkosh I am involved in a Student Council for Exceptional Children and a student ministry called Converge.  With SCEC I am involved in a number of volunteer opportunities that involve disability awareness.  As a student leader of Converge I lead a girls’ bible study in a dorm with my roommates.  Through Converge I have also been given the opportunity to travel to Thessaloniki and Philippi, Greece over Spring break for a mission’s trip.  Besides my involvement in student organizations and time I must put forth in my classes, I also have two jobs.  All day on Mondays and Wednesdays I work with one year old toddlers at the Y childcare center.  On weekends I also work at the Gap Outlet as a sales associate.  My hope is to soon have a job involving work with adults with disabilities.