Overall this has been a very interesting and informative
course. I had zero previous experience
with blogging and had never even really looked at others' blogs. I think that the blog itself as an
educational tool could prove to be quite valuable. I do not have a website and any other type of
online sharing has always seemed time consuming to me. I think that running a blog would be an easy
way to continuously provide my students with extra resources for the courses I
teach. It would also be a good way to
provide students with copies of notes from class. Those students who miss class would be able
to quickly access notes from classes they missed.
Next year I will have a student who is visually impaired in
one of my grade ten classes. In the
past, teachers and EA’s have had to make enlarged copies of handouts as well as
tests and quizzes. It would be great if
he were able to have access to an iPad in order to make use of magnification
apps to save on paper and allow him to receive the same material as his classmates
(lessen the divide a bit).
In working with my students who make use of assistive
technology another thing I will remember is the importance of regularly
reviewing the technology and assessing its’ effectiveness. This can also be extended to other types of
interventions such as adaptations I make for individual students. All too often something will be put in place
and then never reviewed. Even something
that is very effective to begin with needs to be assessed over time to make
sure it is still appropriate and effective for the given student.
Something that really stood out to me from an earlier class
was the point made about assistive technology being more than a toy. I would compare this to the use of
manipulatives during math class. Often
times when I get them out students will play with the blocks and try to build
things with that are unrelated to the course material. In a similar way, it is important to ensure
that students who make use of assistive technology do so in a way that aides
them in their learning.
The importance of assistive technology was emphasized when
we saw the videos featuring some students who struggled with learning
disabilities. We saw students who
because disengaged with school and who eventually gave up after years of doing
poorly in school. This lead to all sorts
of other problems as the students often got involved in drugs and other harmful
activities.
As a whole I enjoyed reading others’ blogs and hearing in
class about how successful students are able to be through the use of assistive
technology. In general, I believe that
more students are getting the chance to have success and build confidence than
in the past. Hopefully this will only
continue as time goes by.
