What I have learned from Blogging 101

When I started this class, I had no idea what blogging meant.  After taking this class, I feel as though I understand the basics of creating a blog.  I'm amazed that it is so easy to add educational videos, links, and 10 picture tours for people to enjoy.  I see myself continuing to use my new blog as a means to stay connected with students and caregivers.  I see myself encouraging students to access my blog and connect to speech and language links for carryover practice of target skills.

All About Responsibility Song

This is an engaging song to encourage students to be responsible at school!

10 Picture Tour

Avery Elementary School
Bellevue, NE

This is the front office at Avery Elementary School.

Our students and staff proudly say the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each school day.

Our health office has friendly and supportive staff to assist students in need.

This is one of our classrooms at Avery Elementary School. 

The playground at Avery Elementary School has fun equipment for all the students. 

This is our wonderful library!  With soaring ceilings, it is very spacious and beautiful.

This is the gym which also functions as our lunchroom.

We have a large computer lab at Avery Elementary School.

There are many famous quotes engraved on the upper and lower level walls at Avery.  This is one of my favorites!

Classroom Expectations

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

All students are expected to follow the school rules while coming to, leaving, and during Speech-Language Therapy sessions.   All rules are designed to acknowledge and reinforce positive behavior.  Speech Room Rules include: 1.  Walk in the hallways on the way to and from Speech; 2.  Use your manners (listen when someone else is talking, look at the person you are talking to, use an ‘inside voice’, take turns talking); and 3.  Try your best.  These rules are posted in the therapy room and are also included in each child’s speech therapy folder.

BEHAVIOR PLAN AND REWARD SYSTEMS

Stickers, stamps, or other motivational rewards, are used to encourage interaction and participation in Speech-Language Therapy class.  Following the rules each session earns the student a sticker or stamp for his or her folder.  At the end of the each month, a student who has earned all the appropriate stickers or stamps will earn the treat for the month.  Possible rewards at the end of the month include: party horns, bouncy balls, sidewalk chalk, pencils, rings, bubbles or, on occasion, candy.

Let's Talk Technology!

Caroline Petersen, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist

My life has been dedicated to helping children address speech and language challenges. Over the past 15 years, I have worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist. My career began at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, providing home-based and center-based services to children birth to age 5 in an Early Childhood Special Education program.  Since then, I have worked for the Bellevue Public Schools in Nebraska. Today, I work as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Avery Elementary School in Bellevue, Nebraska.  I am a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a member of the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association.  I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  

With technology becoming an integral part of the education process, I have taken strides to embrace the various functions and applications available to teachers, students and their parents in engaging multiple channels of learning in today’s classroom.  Continuing education courses offered through the Bellevue Public School System have provided a solid understanding of mainstream social media outlets such as Twitter, Edmodo, and Google Docs.  As these outlets become more popular within the school system, they will be incorporated routinely into learning programs with the school system.  In the interim, however, I have used the Internet to augment traditional learning channels such as text books.  The Internet has been useful in providing access to real life examples in the form of pictures and videos that area useful in emphasizing certain concepts. 

My use of technology has been platform agnostic.  I am proficient in the use of both Mac and PC based systems, which is helpful because some of the leading edge technologies such as the iPad are slowly making their way into the classroom, while school systems tend to rely on the PCs for basic communications.

This blog is intended to document my journey as I experiment with various new technologies and social media outlets in a classroom/school environment.  I hope to address both the challenges and the accomplishments associated with that activity, and am particularly interested in how these mediums impact my students and their parents.