This week's class was spent preparing for next week's presentation. I was tasked with searching for articles dealing with the use of assistive technology by emergent learners. It was a bit of a challenge as all of my experience has come at the high school level and it can be difficult to imagine working with students who are just starting school and who also require the use of assistive technology.
Any students I have worked with who make use of assistive technology have been at an age where they are already comfortable with the devices/software. Even when making use of something new they typically have the ability to catch on quickly and to figure things out with only minor assistance. I admire the early elementary teachers and education assistants who manage to help young children learn how to use the technology prior to making use of it to learn the course material.
I am an early elementary school teacher and what amazes me is how quickly my students catch on when it comes to using technology. What is even more amazing is how much these students already know coming into school. I recently showed my class how to use ComicLife and within minutes, they were copying pictures from Google Images and pasting them into their poster. I recently got an iPad and my Grade One students are often showing me an app that they have discovered!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed with how capable my students are with technology. Each year students come to me, a middle school teacher, with more skills and technology know-how. I also find that more and more students have access to techology at home. I do worry for those students without access to technology that they are not disadvantaged due to having less experience. It will be interesting to see how soon students will be allowed to use personal technology devices at school. I don't think it will be far off!
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