Month: August 2021

Categories
Ideas to Share News

Site Accessibility Issues

Hello, I just went through comments that people made this summer and found three comments about accessibility and phone issues. I will begin changing to a new format later in the year (2021). I apologize for all problems that people are having. I began this WordPress site before smartphones were used by most people. I also had not yet been trained in how to make sites work with screen readers, open/closed captioning, and other accessibility features. The entire change, including adding closed captioning to my videos, will take a long time, but you will start to see the changes before the year’s end.

Another change that I am planning to make is with my papers. Instead of quoting the questions directly (copy and paste from my assignments), I will paraphrase as necessary or just omit the questions. This should make the papers flow more evenly. Speaking of my papers, I will switch to a standard heading system that screen readers and other text-to-speech software pick up. Sometimes, accessibility features get omitted when I convert to PDFs for publication, but I will try my best. Unfortunately, all of these changes will not happen quickly.

Along the way, I will double-check my pages for spelling and grammar mistakes. Sometimes, the mistakes are in quoted material, but I will fix anything of my own that I notice. This will also aid accessibility software to properly read my material.

Again, I apologize to everyone who is having difficulty accessing this site.

Categories
News

Retirement, part two

I am officially a retired special education technology teacher. It feels incredibly strange, and I already miss everyone in my school, but retiring early was the correct decision for me to make. I was put back into the classroom after twenty-four years as a technology teacher, after the computer lab was closed because of social distancing and deep cleaning rules. It was a real struggle being back in the classroom after running the computer lab for so many years. So much has changed since I was a classroom teacher twenty-five years ago. I loved my students, but I never felt completely comfortable in my new role. I have no idea what the next phase of my career will be, but I am ready to explore new options.

I have been offered the opportunity to return to my school once or twice a week as a substitute teacher. I told my principal that I will start once a week and see how things go. I really disliked being a substitute when I was in my twenties, but after teaching full time for thirty-one and a half years, I may find that substituting is easier that it used to be.

Another possibility is part time work that uses more of my instructional technology skills. I have a master’s degree from New York Institute of Technology (my second master’s degree) and a doctorate from Blue Marble University in instructional technology. I may find a part time job that allows me to utilize these skills and knowledge.

Whatever the future brings, I am ready to greet it. I loved being a full time teacher, especially when I was a special education technology teacher, and now I am ready to pursue a part time opportunity. When one door closes, another opens. I wonder what I will find as I step through these new doors.