I just finished writing up my assistive technology interview and as I sat and reflected on what I learned, I realized how truly amazing technology has become, if educators are willing to sometimes think outside the box. Some of the technologies used by the special education teacher I interviewed existed but had to be extremely modified in order for her students to use them. The story of Breanna, a little girl with no control of her trunk, head, and arms, who no one thought would be able to do anything at all, reminded me of how important educators are. Through Amy the special education teacher, Breanna's mom and the district assistive technology specialist connected. The three of them developed a switch that Breanna was able to hit with her leg that controlled things in the classroom such as the cd player and other devices. Once Breanna realized she controlled the switch, they were able to take it a step farther. Breanna was able to push the switch to 'read' the repeated phrase in a read-aloud book. Without Amy, Breanna's mother wouldn't have had those connections, and Breanna's potential may never have been discovered.
That is something we as educators sometimes forget and take for granted. We have a big network - not just in the technology sense, but in the people sense as well. We have people who have all kinds of specialties who are there to help students. We need to remember that parents aren't always aware of the resources that are available, and we need to be the 'conduit' that makes those connections.
Knowing what technologies are available and how to use them is an important start for those of us in the educational technology field. Knowing who to go to in order to get the answers and help we need is an important second step if we are going to provide opportunities for all students.
Those are my two cents for the day :-)
Wow! I completely agree. Often, as teachers are so inundated with making lessons and grading papers that we neglect to meet and inform parents as often as possible new ways to assist their students. If Amy had not stepped up, Breanna's mothers may have continued to struggle with trying to accommodate her daughter's needs. These assistive technologies that are becoming more prevalent are critical to the education of special need's students, but are also useful in on-level classes as well. It is our job to find ways to make every technology a learning experience for our students, our community, and ourselves.
ReplyDeleteAfter I completed the interview and the case study, I became very enthused about seeking out any and all available technology to make my classroom more efficient and my teaching more effective.
It is amazing. Just what is available now-a-days. The availability to teachers, students and classrooms is wonderful. I don't think it should be solely up to the teachers to identify much less supply some of the technologies. Guardians should be responsible for most of it. Sure, the teachers can let parents know what they see in the classroom. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteYour post resonated with me. As parents of a child on an IEP we recognized the warnings signs that something wasn't quite right when it came to our daughter's reading. Yet we didn't want to be "those" parents with a Chicken Little attitude crying "fowl" (lol) the moment something goes astray with our Childs education. Yet we soon realized that it is our duty to be our child's number 1 advocate. We had our daughter tested independently which confirmed that she was dyslexic. The school tested her as well and confirmed the independent testing. After that, we were most appreciative to the response of her learning team and the recommended course of action we could take to aid and complement their work with our daughter at school. One of the things they told us we could do is to read books or difficult passages into a portable recorder and play them back for our daughter. It was also recommended that we allow her to complete her writing assignments on a computer using simple word processing software. By completing these assignments with Microsoft Word, our daughter was now able to actively engage and participate in an activity that caused her great stress, writing. By not worrying about spelling errors, our daughter’s level of writing and confidence was increased ten fold. For this reason alone, I hold a special place in my heart for the most ubiquitous of software programs: Microsoft Word.
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