As
a former special education instructor, I have seen the benefits of
using technology in the classroom. During the years I was an
instructor, I taught students with minimal special needs who were
determined to be a few years academically behind their peers to students
with severe disabilities and profound special needs. Assistive technology has continuously advanced to provide students with special
needs tools to help them function on a more equal footing with their
peers. According to Zorigian, “Technology can be the great equalizer in
a classroom with diverse learners.” We must remember that according to
Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of technology is “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes,
methods, or knowledge.” Technology can be as simple as using a pen to
take notes to a very elaborate assistive technology adaptation which
enables a student without the use of his/her arms to speak commands into
a computer to accomplish their tasks. There was a very interesting
article posted in Educational Technology (Oct 2012) that discusses how
technology has not forgotten the education system. The advancement of
technology for everyday uses has placed these advantages at the
doorsteps of our educational instructors. Classroom instructors can
find various programs and applications that can help them run their
classrooms more effectively, there are technological units available to
meet practically every student’s need, from full desktop computers to
IPADs and tablets with Apple and Android operating systems which allow
for the downloading of a multitude of applications to aid both the
instructor and student in accomplishing their tasks. As I did the
research for this essay, the underlying message about the availability
of technology is to remember that even with all the advancements
available, we, as instructors must remember to do the research about
what we are allowing our students to use and understand how it can help
them and us, as instructors, as well as understanding its limitations.
This is an interesting video about
Assistive Technology in the classroom:
This is a slide presentation about Technology in the 21st Century Classroom:
Technology in the 21st Century Classroom from johntryk
References
5 Ways to Use Technology in the Special Education Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/tech-ed/5-ways-to-use-technology-in-the-special-education-classroom/
Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology
Zorigian,
K., & Job, J. (n.d.). How do special education students benefit
from technology? Retrieved September 03, 2014, from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6917?ref=search 
I completely agree that assistive technology can provide tools needed by students with special needs. I had a paraplegic student in my kindergarten classroom. He had limited use of his hands, but could move his arms. Our assistive technology team was able to create a device that attached to his hand like a glove and held a pencil for him. It truly made me smile to see that something so simple could be so powerful. As the years went by, they tweaked and added to the device until they were able to make the student first a writer of his name and eventually a writer with endless possibilities. They were able to modify his tests using classroom response systems instead of the usual scantrons. He also used a MOBI tablet that allowed his teacher to interact and respond to his questions while still walking around the classroom helping other students. Technology is so amazing, especially when it is used as "the great equalizer" for those who are often viewed as so different.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing. I would have loved to have seen the technology at work. Your statement: " Technology is so amazing, especially when it is used as "the great equalizer" for those who are often viewed as so different." is so perfect for explaining what technology can accomplish.
ReplyDelete