Assisitive Technology is the Future!

          Assistive Technology

           Assistive technology is described in the videos as any tool that can make life easier or increase independence for people with disabilities.  This can vary from high school students as we see in the first video, to the elderly and children of the second video. I learned that there are many different ways that one can utilize assistive technology. For example, there was one boy who was not able to move any part of his body except for his eyebrow, so the school created a system where he would twitch his eyebrow to select from a series of columns and rows on a computer screen. I also found it interesting to learn about how it can not only assist kids needs in school and communication, but it can be used to help people with disabilities do what they love to do, such as the boy who plays the musical instrument created especially for him with a joystick by a mechanical engineer. It seems as though one of the biggest challenges with implementing assistive technology nation wide is the lack of awareness and knowledge about it. I would hope that as a teacher I could help my students in the best way for them.

            In the article, Build an Assistive Technology Toolkit, I learned that you could find free tools that will instill independence and confidence in students with special needs by searching from online libraries, concept maps, and spell checkers. If more enhanced and specialized programs are needed, you can work with your IT department in order to download the appropriate software.  The second video mentioned that there are many free online resources, especially for the younger ages, which are great assistive tools. It is exciting to think about the progress of technology and how it will keep getting better and helping more people with disabilities feel as normal and independent as everyone should feel. The second article, I Have Something to Say, features an app called the Proloquo2go for the iTouch, iPad, or iPhone.  This app could be extremely helpful if you have a student that isn’t able to speak because of disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, developmental disabilities, and apraxia of speech. This app gives students a voice and is customizable, allowing educators or parents to create a unique matrix or vocabulary set for each student. Because this app is customizable, it can meet the needs of varying levels of students. On the other hand, this app does come with a price tag of up to $499, which could present financial difficulties for many families.

            I especially liked this app because it reminds me of a student that went to my high school. He was ultimately featured on the MTV show, “True Life,” for his disability and use of assistive technology. He had a motorized scooter and some sort of computer program that allowed him to select buttons with a joystick in order to communicate. Not only did this allow him to participate in classes, but he was also then able to interact socially and communicate with others about his needs. Having this “entry level” understanding of assistive technology intrigues me about the subject and causes me to want to be very aware of the possibilities and benefits of assistive technology. I would hope that all other teachers do their best to not only help their students learn but to make them feel independent and secure about themselves.

References

Ahrens, K. (2011). Build an Assistive Technology Toolkit. Learning and Leading, 22-23. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201111?pg=24&search_term=assistive%20technology&doc_id=-1#pg24

Runyan, M. (2011). I Have Something to Say. Learning and Leading, 32-33. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201108?pg=35&search_term=assistive%20technology%20devices&doc_id=-1&search_term=assistive%20technology%20devices#pg35

The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning

In the article, "The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning", I learned that while it may be beneficial and useful to introduce technology into both teaching and learning, it might also present challenges.  Some of the positives about utilizing mobile technology in the classrooms are that there is learning across multiple contexts and that it allows for portability and versatility in learning. Technology also allows for more creative and new ways to teach and learn as well as transforming learning and teaching into a more meaningful and authentic experience. Some of the downsides to this approach are that many schools have major privacy concerns, have financial restraints, and that creating the new ways of teaching might be difficult to instill and learn. There is also the issue of accessibility, because there are many schools that may not have access to technology and mobile devices. The article, "There’s an app for that", features the perspective of a teacher and his use of iPod touches in his own classroom, and the benefits of following the Mobile Learning Assessment. I learned that there are many creative ways to use technology in a classroom because teachers are able to create surveys to evaluate the students, while the students can use the technology to access the Internet, stream videos, and download applications.

I see the potential integration of mobile technology into the classrooms a positive thing that may also come along with some hardships. It would be unfair for the better areas to have access to the best and newest technologies while children in lower-income areas have older technology or even none at all. I could see it being very challenging, the way that our government is set up now, to supply and coordinate the distribution and use of technology for students around the country. While I believe that it is very important and helpful for students to be introduced to technology at a young age so that they will be able to safely and productively navigate the internet speedway in hopes of bettering themselves and their studies, I also think that it may cause students to disassociate from their peers and rely on their technology for many things that they are fully capable of and should be doing themselves. Therefore, I think that the introduction and use of some technology in the classrooms could create a fun, creative, and new way to teach that will keep the students attention, but that there should be a limitation of how much it is used and that there remains some traditional ways of teaching and it becomes a blend of the two.

References

Crompton, H. (2013). The Benefits and Challenged of Mobile Learning. Learning & Leading Through Technology. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20130910?pg=40&search_term=mobile%20learning&doc_id=-1#pg40

Heisey, B. (2011). There's an app for this! Leading & Learning through Technology. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201102?pg=38&search_term=mobile%20learning&doc_id=-1#pg38