Technology and Early Childhood learning have been so inspiring to me. Working in Pre-Kindergarten and having the luxury of iPad's in the room, I have been able to watch just how beneficial technology is in early education. So much so, that it was the main driving force behind why I decided I wanted to get my Master's in Educational Technology.
The main thing that I have found is exactly what most of the readings talked about.That using technology appropriately in the classroom can help to expand, enrich, individualize and differentiate curriculum. Adding technology to curriculum rather than replacing curriculum with technology is essential. The hesitancy to use technology is that people are worrisome it is being used not to enrich learning but rather to replace it. I have had many parents concerned that if we used certain technologies that they would act as a babysitter for the child. Rather than having the iPad's just sitting at a table and having children engorged in them, I have discovered that the best way to use the iPad's educationally rather than recreationally was to incorporate them into our different centers, scattering them all around the room.
Using Guided Access on these devices has been critical for me as well. This allows the screen the teacher decides to be locked so that the app chosen is the only one the child has access to. I have seen substantial growth for many learners but incorporating just this one specific form of technology. It has excited my class to learn in a unique way, and given them a sense of pride and exploration when they are free to use them at their centers.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Technology and Emotional Behavioral Disorders
When beginning to read about students with emotional and behavioral disorders, immediately I remembered certain students that I have had in the past. Some had been diagnosed with one of these disorders, and others had not been diagnosed though I wonder if they were dealing with some of these difficulties. The definition being: the inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors. This is so broad it could be argued that most people suffer from some form of disorder. You can see where it might get tricky to classify some of these students, especially younger children where some of these behaviors are considered developmentally appropriate.
What began to spark my interest was delving into the different actions of these behaviors. Some people respond externally (arguing, hyperactive, etc.) and others deal with their issues internally (depression, anxiety, withdrawn, etc.)I had considered that people have different outlets to control these disorders but I had never tried to categorize them in this way. I found it hard to believe that these people are "accommodated" but do not qualify for special education services. Special education services were but into place to make learning a fair and equal right for all people, and personally I feel that if you are suffering from an emotional or behavioral disorder you are not given an equal chance. I can also see why more teachers are able to reference external behaviors rather than internal. For one, external behaviors stand out faster and can be seen as a "disruption" to some teachers, therefore they may take action sooner to handle these students. Secondly, internal behaviors are harder to spot unless the student really lets you in and trusts you enough to talk to you about accommodations they may need. Reading that there is only a 1% classification rate for EBD's was astounding. I would bet that most of these people "classified" have external reactions.
After detecting these students, next is figuring out the best way to help them individually without drawing attention to them or making it stand out to the rest of the class. Assistive technology is a great tool to be used as an intervention to reduce potential triggers or to redirect the student into a positive direction. I plan to use technology to help guide these students into a positive learning direction. By giving these students the tools they need to feel successful, we may be able to change the failure rate for students suffering these disorders by giving them a fair chance to learn in their own way.
What began to spark my interest was delving into the different actions of these behaviors. Some people respond externally (arguing, hyperactive, etc.) and others deal with their issues internally (depression, anxiety, withdrawn, etc.)I had considered that people have different outlets to control these disorders but I had never tried to categorize them in this way. I found it hard to believe that these people are "accommodated" but do not qualify for special education services. Special education services were but into place to make learning a fair and equal right for all people, and personally I feel that if you are suffering from an emotional or behavioral disorder you are not given an equal chance. I can also see why more teachers are able to reference external behaviors rather than internal. For one, external behaviors stand out faster and can be seen as a "disruption" to some teachers, therefore they may take action sooner to handle these students. Secondly, internal behaviors are harder to spot unless the student really lets you in and trusts you enough to talk to you about accommodations they may need. Reading that there is only a 1% classification rate for EBD's was astounding. I would bet that most of these people "classified" have external reactions.
After detecting these students, next is figuring out the best way to help them individually without drawing attention to them or making it stand out to the rest of the class. Assistive technology is a great tool to be used as an intervention to reduce potential triggers or to redirect the student into a positive direction. I plan to use technology to help guide these students into a positive learning direction. By giving these students the tools they need to feel successful, we may be able to change the failure rate for students suffering these disorders by giving them a fair chance to learn in their own way.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Technology and Funding
When reading up on the different funding issues for Assistive Technology Devices, it quickly became clear that this is a system that needs to be simplified. As the National Council on Disability said, "For Americans without disabilities, technology makes things easy. For
Americans with disabilities, technology makes things possible."Making educators and families jump through so many hurdles to acquire assistive technology that is necessary for the student is unfair. It should be a process that is inviting and as helpful as these tools were set out to be.
The previous issues we faced revolved around the lack of technology. Now, we have multiple forms of assistive technology, but no money to give them to those in need of these devices. Funding to allow putting these devices into the school is just one part of the problem. Once the student or school receives the ATD (Assistive Technology Device), they are pressed with the issue of training not only the child but also the staff on how to use the device. Most of the funding for assistive technology comes from Medicaid (about 60%), where the rest comes from a private insurance. Coming up with the money in and of itself is a huge process. Not only do you have to consider where you are going to come up with this money from, but also how you are going be to granted this money. Time is another issue that needs to be addressed. Time, the only thing that teachers don't have to waste in such a short period of time with their students. Yet, it takes 15-20 hours of work to solely request a grant to receive a assistive technology for the student, most of which are denied the first time they are requested? For every minute wasted on writing these tedious requests, a student is losing their chance at a fair education, and falling more and more behind.
The Federal government uses entitlements to ensure that students are provided with ATD's under the IDEA. If a device is requested in an IEP, the student is granted the device, putting even more pressure on those responsible for making the IEP's. Under IDEA, the student is made sure to be "provided" with technology, meaning it can be borrowed, rented, or even funded from a third party, not just simply given to the student. Bringing us back to where we started, Universal Design and Assistive Technology were created to make life and education possible for students with disabilities, yet as a country we are still using these devices to make our lives easier. We have it backwards. Technology should be provided to those who need it first, then to those who want it for an "easier" life. Coming up with a system to open up funding and allowing it to be possible for more schools and students to receive these technologies more quickly is essential to the foundation of these students learning.
The previous issues we faced revolved around the lack of technology. Now, we have multiple forms of assistive technology, but no money to give them to those in need of these devices. Funding to allow putting these devices into the school is just one part of the problem. Once the student or school receives the ATD (Assistive Technology Device), they are pressed with the issue of training not only the child but also the staff on how to use the device. Most of the funding for assistive technology comes from Medicaid (about 60%), where the rest comes from a private insurance. Coming up with the money in and of itself is a huge process. Not only do you have to consider where you are going to come up with this money from, but also how you are going be to granted this money. Time is another issue that needs to be addressed. Time, the only thing that teachers don't have to waste in such a short period of time with their students. Yet, it takes 15-20 hours of work to solely request a grant to receive a assistive technology for the student, most of which are denied the first time they are requested? For every minute wasted on writing these tedious requests, a student is losing their chance at a fair education, and falling more and more behind.
The Federal government uses entitlements to ensure that students are provided with ATD's under the IDEA. If a device is requested in an IEP, the student is granted the device, putting even more pressure on those responsible for making the IEP's. Under IDEA, the student is made sure to be "provided" with technology, meaning it can be borrowed, rented, or even funded from a third party, not just simply given to the student. Bringing us back to where we started, Universal Design and Assistive Technology were created to make life and education possible for students with disabilities, yet as a country we are still using these devices to make our lives easier. We have it backwards. Technology should be provided to those who need it first, then to those who want it for an "easier" life. Coming up with a system to open up funding and allowing it to be possible for more schools and students to receive these technologies more quickly is essential to the foundation of these students learning.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Technology and the Law
There are many laws today that are in place to benefit students with disabilities. These laws are meant to regulate education. It wasn't until 1975 that The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed to provide all students with a free, appropriate public
education. Since then there have been multiple laws to help continue to help students with disabilities have a fair chance at success. As noted by The Family Center on Technology and Disability some of these laws include:
The American Disabilities Association (ADA): this law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.
As previously mentioned, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): otherwise known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act guaranteed that eligible children and youth with disabilities would have a free and appropriate public education available to them, and was designed to help meet their educational needs.
The Rehabilitation Act (Section 508): requires that all electronic and information technologies developed and used by any Federal government agency must be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites, video and audio tapes, electronic books, televised programs, and other such media.
Assistive Technology Act (1998): also known as the “Tech Act” provides funds to states to support three types of programs:
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act Amendments(1998): Schools are required to integrate academic, vocational and technical training, increase the use of technology, provide professional development opportunities to staff, develop and implement evaluations of program quality, expand and modernize quality programs, and link secondary and post-secondary vocational education.
The act regarding the impact of funding for Assistive Technology Devices (Tech Act) has provided tools for students with disabilities access to services that "level the playing field" in terms of learning that up until 1998 were not existent.
According to Assistive Technology Training Online, the "Tech Act" provided federal funds to states to develop training and delivery systems for assistive technology devices and services. It required states and territories to develop statewide, consumer-responsive programs of technology-related services for individuals with disabilities of all ages. This act first defined Assistive Technology Devices and Services and promoted the availability and quality of AT devices and services to all individuals, including children.This amendment affirms that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of Americans with disabilities. It extends the funding of the 50 states and six territories to develop permanent, comprehensive, statewide programs of technology-related assistance.
There are many activities that are accessible to provide technology solutions to assist students with disabilities. As mentioned in previous weeks, there are devices such as the Dynovox to help students with communication disabilities as well as communication boards. There is voice activated software for students with visual impairments. Tools such as zoom in and magnification can impact positive learning for these students as well. Technology allows students with Autism a diverse landscape for lessons to help modify their learning to meet their individual needs. Differentiation can be used effectively for all students with or without disabilities when is it used with technology. These laws help fund these technology solutions that are beneficial to all learners, but most importantly give students with disabilities a fair chance at education.
The American Disabilities Association (ADA): this law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.
As previously mentioned, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): otherwise known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act guaranteed that eligible children and youth with disabilities would have a free and appropriate public education available to them, and was designed to help meet their educational needs.
The Rehabilitation Act (Section 508): requires that all electronic and information technologies developed and used by any Federal government agency must be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites, video and audio tapes, electronic books, televised programs, and other such media.
Assistive Technology Act (1998): also known as the “Tech Act” provides funds to states to support three types of programs:
- the establishment of assistive technology (AT) demonstration centers, information centers, equipment loan facilities, referral services, and other consumer-oriented programs;
- protection and advocacy services to help people with disabilities and their families, as they attempt to access the services for which they are eligible;
- Federal/state programs to provide low interest loans and other alternative financing options to help people with disabilities purchase needed assistive technology.
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act Amendments(1998): Schools are required to integrate academic, vocational and technical training, increase the use of technology, provide professional development opportunities to staff, develop and implement evaluations of program quality, expand and modernize quality programs, and link secondary and post-secondary vocational education.
The act regarding the impact of funding for Assistive Technology Devices (Tech Act) has provided tools for students with disabilities access to services that "level the playing field" in terms of learning that up until 1998 were not existent.
According to Assistive Technology Training Online, the "Tech Act" provided federal funds to states to develop training and delivery systems for assistive technology devices and services. It required states and territories to develop statewide, consumer-responsive programs of technology-related services for individuals with disabilities of all ages. This act first defined Assistive Technology Devices and Services and promoted the availability and quality of AT devices and services to all individuals, including children.This amendment affirms that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of Americans with disabilities. It extends the funding of the 50 states and six territories to develop permanent, comprehensive, statewide programs of technology-related assistance.
There are many activities that are accessible to provide technology solutions to assist students with disabilities. As mentioned in previous weeks, there are devices such as the Dynovox to help students with communication disabilities as well as communication boards. There is voice activated software for students with visual impairments. Tools such as zoom in and magnification can impact positive learning for these students as well. Technology allows students with Autism a diverse landscape for lessons to help modify their learning to meet their individual needs. Differentiation can be used effectively for all students with or without disabilities when is it used with technology. These laws help fund these technology solutions that are beneficial to all learners, but most importantly give students with disabilities a fair chance at education.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Technology for Sensory Impairments (Visual)
Reading the Microsoft Accesibility article titled Guide for Individuals with Vision Impairments was personally the most useful to me. When thinking of strategies to implement into the classroom, this article gave many examples of resources available that I was unaware of.
For example, when accommodating a student who has low-vision, there are many tools that can be altered to benefit this particular students. First off, if you go into 'Settings' on Microsoft you can change the size of the text to help the student read it more easily. You can also change the contrast of the colors on the page, which is beneficial to all visual impairment students whether high and low because each color combination can be unique to the learner. Not all visual impairment learners are the same, like many disabilities there are different levels of impairment and therefore there is no universal tool, but rather different settings and options to mess around with until it suits the need of each individual. Being able to magnify text is also beneficial if you do not want to change the size of the text on the page in its entirety. You can also zoom in and out on particular webpages to view text easier. Changing the contrast of the page can also help functionality for learners who are colorblind. Lastly, for learners with low visual impairments using "Read Mode" can take away all of the distracting text around an article you are reading. This tool I believe is helpful for everyone, much like other Universal Design, because it takes away distractions and allows your eyes to focus only on what you are trying to read.
For students who are completely blind, there are also many tools that allow technology to be accessible. Options such as sound and touch allow a blind student to hear and interact with what is on the screen. Tools like speech recognition are also extremely important for a blind student because it allows the student to be able to type with their voices rather than having to see the keyboard. This allows a whole different sense of freedom and interaction with technology that before was not possible.
Overall, technology has continued to benefit all types of learners whether fully visually impaired or with a low visual impairment. Universal Design has continued to benefit learners of all needs and even learners without impairments. Assistive technology may not be able to remove the impairment but it helps allow full functionality of technology use to these learners.
For example, when accommodating a student who has low-vision, there are many tools that can be altered to benefit this particular students. First off, if you go into 'Settings' on Microsoft you can change the size of the text to help the student read it more easily. You can also change the contrast of the colors on the page, which is beneficial to all visual impairment students whether high and low because each color combination can be unique to the learner. Not all visual impairment learners are the same, like many disabilities there are different levels of impairment and therefore there is no universal tool, but rather different settings and options to mess around with until it suits the need of each individual. Being able to magnify text is also beneficial if you do not want to change the size of the text on the page in its entirety. You can also zoom in and out on particular webpages to view text easier. Changing the contrast of the page can also help functionality for learners who are colorblind. Lastly, for learners with low visual impairments using "Read Mode" can take away all of the distracting text around an article you are reading. This tool I believe is helpful for everyone, much like other Universal Design, because it takes away distractions and allows your eyes to focus only on what you are trying to read.
For students who are completely blind, there are also many tools that allow technology to be accessible. Options such as sound and touch allow a blind student to hear and interact with what is on the screen. Tools like speech recognition are also extremely important for a blind student because it allows the student to be able to type with their voices rather than having to see the keyboard. This allows a whole different sense of freedom and interaction with technology that before was not possible.
Overall, technology has continued to benefit all types of learners whether fully visually impaired or with a low visual impairment. Universal Design has continued to benefit learners of all needs and even learners without impairments. Assistive technology may not be able to remove the impairment but it helps allow full functionality of technology use to these learners.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Gifted and Talented Learners
There are multiple characteristics to help classify a student as a gifted and talented learner with or without a disability. For example, a gifted students without a disability would have the ability to learn basic skills quickly and easily and retain information with less repetition. A gifted student with a disability however would struggle to learn basic skills due to cognitive processing difficulties; need to learn compensatory strategies in order to acquire basic skills and information. Here are some other examples of characteristics of gifted learners. Being able to identify the process will allow the instructor to be able to demonstrate appropriate instruction. Some other strategies to implement for students with special learning disabilities (SLD's) with difficulty in for example composition, oral/written expression and/or a hearing or visual loss could include: using voice-recognition software, spell check, or reteaching these strategies for students who have not yet mastered the editing process.
Schools today have a hard time funding programs for gifted and talented learners in specific, so most of the time the teacher in a general education classroom must learn how to accommodate these learners and best fit their needs in the classroom. There are multiple learning activities to help provide technology solutions to these types of learners.
Having a virtual learning environment (VLE) available to your students is essential in helping to differentiate lessons and curriculum to each individual learners, gifted, learning impaired, or not. By using a VLE the teacher can create creative lesson plans and develop or modify these lessons to fit the needs and interests of the students. Integrating technology into the classroom is important to help implement challenging curriculum content effectively. By having an technology outlet (VLE's) you can ensure that each individual will be allowed an enriched learning experience and advanced study for learners at any level.
Schools today have a hard time funding programs for gifted and talented learners in specific, so most of the time the teacher in a general education classroom must learn how to accommodate these learners and best fit their needs in the classroom. There are multiple learning activities to help provide technology solutions to these types of learners.
Having a virtual learning environment (VLE) available to your students is essential in helping to differentiate lessons and curriculum to each individual learners, gifted, learning impaired, or not. By using a VLE the teacher can create creative lesson plans and develop or modify these lessons to fit the needs and interests of the students. Integrating technology into the classroom is important to help implement challenging curriculum content effectively. By having an technology outlet (VLE's) you can ensure that each individual will be allowed an enriched learning experience and advanced study for learners at any level.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Technology and Communication Impairments
The assistive technology made for hearing and communication disorders today is outstanding. When thinking of the strategies I was going to use for students with receptive language difficulties, I began to realize that I didn't know much about the options for technology aids out there for students with these needs. However, upon reading the articles I realized that there are all types of assistive technology ranging from people with severe needs or simple impairments.
I found it interesting to read about HATS (Hearing Assistive Technology Systems); that they could be used for people without hearing aids or cochlear implants. This opened my mind to realize that hearing impairments aren't always so extreme but that they can be minor and are still just as important and impairing. HATS help with students who have trouble hearing from a distance, which most people have trouble hearing from far away anyways let alone a student with hearing loss. Also, background noise was another interesting perspective. Turning up the sound system to a particular decible to help the signal-to-noise ratio seems like a simple and extremely helpful use of technology. Lastly, the acoustics of the room. I had never considered how the sound echoed and bounced of the walls of different surfaces or how that would affect the way that I heard and understood it, but of course that is relevant and alters the way a person with an impairment hears what is being said.
On the other side, are devices that are created for people with hearing, speech, and language disorders. There are ALD's (Assistive Learning Devices), to help people with hearing aids and cochlear implants to amplify the sounds that they want to hear and drown out background noise. There are also AAC's (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices, which help people who have speech impairments to be able to facilitate a conversation through a computer program or picture board.
All of these devices should be used in a classroom where there is a student with needs,whether it be minor or more extreme. Using and incorporating this technology is the only fair way to ensure every student is being given an equal chance at success.
I found it interesting to read about HATS (Hearing Assistive Technology Systems); that they could be used for people without hearing aids or cochlear implants. This opened my mind to realize that hearing impairments aren't always so extreme but that they can be minor and are still just as important and impairing. HATS help with students who have trouble hearing from a distance, which most people have trouble hearing from far away anyways let alone a student with hearing loss. Also, background noise was another interesting perspective. Turning up the sound system to a particular decible to help the signal-to-noise ratio seems like a simple and extremely helpful use of technology. Lastly, the acoustics of the room. I had never considered how the sound echoed and bounced of the walls of different surfaces or how that would affect the way that I heard and understood it, but of course that is relevant and alters the way a person with an impairment hears what is being said.
On the other side, are devices that are created for people with hearing, speech, and language disorders. There are ALD's (Assistive Learning Devices), to help people with hearing aids and cochlear implants to amplify the sounds that they want to hear and drown out background noise. There are also AAC's (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices, which help people who have speech impairments to be able to facilitate a conversation through a computer program or picture board.
All of these devices should be used in a classroom where there is a student with needs,whether it be minor or more extreme. Using and incorporating this technology is the only fair way to ensure every student is being given an equal chance at success.
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