Enabling Dreams with Assistive Technology

        When people hear the word ‘technology’, they associate it with many different ideas or devices. For many of us, it can simply mean an easier way to communicate with someone across the world or simply a useful device that allows us to perform many of our daily tasks.  While for some, it holds great significance to them particularly for individuals with disabilities.  As we witnessed technology progress over the years, it has impacted our society tremendously.  We see it in the business world as well in education.   Many have become heavily dependent on technology that it has become a necessity that many cannot live without because it assists us in our daily lives.    

In the educational setting, technology has its positive effects in the classroom.  It can be used to supplement classroom learning or more importantly, it can help students with disabilities keep up with their peers including achieve what a normal person is capable of achieving.  They too, can be successful like everyone else.  In the video, assistive technology has been very helpful for college student, Susanna Martini.  Susanna stated “Assistive technology is the major foundation of my life.  Without it, I could not assist as I am today”.  (Ellis, 2005).  Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Susanna relies on assistive technology for mobility and a way to get her assignments done. 

As future teachers, it is important to keep in mind that lesson plans have to accommodate every single student sitting in our classroom.  Lesson plans should be modified when needed.  When modifications are done, this gives every diverse learner including those with disabilities a chance to be successful participants in the classroom.  They will all benefit as they will share the same opportunity to learn the lesson.    

         Teachers are also encouraged to keep up with the newest and most useful assistive technology available in the market.  Before any student with special needs can utilize any assistive technology, the teacher must be ready to take on extra tasks to ensure that all needs are met in their classroom.  According to Steele-Carlin (2011), “As with other technologies, training is essential to successful use”.  For the student to fully benefit from any assistive technological device, teachers must have the knowledge and ability to properly use the device before teaching their students to master that certain technology. 

           I feel that assistive technology is wonderful and it can bring out the best in individuals with disabilities.  As assistive technology slowly makes its way into the classroom, I feel that teachers have the power to help disabled students achieve their goals and dreams.  By altering lesson plans and including assistive technology to accommodate students with disabilities, learning is possible.  After watching this video, I now understand the importance of assistive technology.  Technology will continue to advance as the years go by and it will forever continue to make huge differences in our lives. 

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References

      Ellis, K. (Producer). (2005, February 02).  Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File].  Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

     Steele-Carlin, S. (2011, June 15).  Assistive Technology in the Classroom | Helping Challenged Kids Get the Most from Learning.  Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech086.shtml

Addition Attack Reflection (Online Educational Game)

Addition Attack is an online educational mathematical game that allows for anyone to build or sharpen their math skills.  We use math in our daily life and many people do not realize the importance of math.  Teaching math is essential in order to help our students build the necessary skills in order for them to succeed.  Since math can be taught across all content areas, we can supplement classroom learning with many resources.  One great resource is online educational games.   

Having students do online educational games is one great way to ensure that the learning does not stop.  They are great tools for building or strengthening the important skills that are needed in life.  Although online educational games may be a fun way to learn, it must be evaluated by the teacher to see if the game is appropriate for the students.  This class gave us a chance to work as a group to evaluate the game we chose. 

As a group, the biggest hurdle that we had to overcome was the construction of the rubric.  Rubrics are important tools for evaluating an activity or a student’s work, so we had to ensure that the criteria we choose are appropriate.  We wanted to create a rubric where the criteria are observable, measurable and straightforward.  We did not a want rubric that had too many criteria or a rubric that was lacking criteria.  Additionally, thinking of good descriptors for the criteria was also another task we found challenging.  We had a rough time deciding the right words to use to ensure that all the descriptors are parallel and consistent. 

Overall, this group project was a great experience for all of us.  It gave us the opportunity to not only learn how to create a rubric, but also a chance to evaluate the game we chose with the rubric that we created.