Reflection of Technology Practices for Instructional Improvement course

 

As I look back on my experience in this course, Technology Practices for Instructional Improvement, I have learned a great deal of information in regard to technology in the classroom; however, that does not come without challenges.  I have been out of the classroom for several years now, as I hold a different position.  The world of gaming was brand new to me.  I never really used gaming in my special education adaptive curriculum classroom. It was eye opening to me to see the advantages of what gaming can bring to a classroom.  I learned many lessons within this course but there are a couple that I will take with me in the future.  Data collection was an important discussion in the course and a nice reminder to me the importance it holds for me as a special education educator.  Data collection is what drives a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  Data collection is what is studied when determining the next steps for a student with special needs and without it I do not feel you can adequately plan a student’s future.  Also, Assistive Technology was an important lesson for me in this course.  I have always used assistive technology within my classrooms, but I was reminded how important it is for students to help get them to a level playing field when accessing the curriculum and instruction within a class. Through this course I also learned about many new assistive technology devices through my peers that I was not aware of beforehand.  One of my peers in this course discussed using a FM transmitter for a student with a hearing impairment.  The biggest takeaway for me from this course was that I realized that technology in the classroom goes beyond just a computer, and technology in the classroom provides students with a positive learning environment that helps engage them in the curriculum as well help them learn content in a fun and meaningful way.

Infographic - Assistive Technology

 

 

Much like an accommodation in a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP), that helps brings students to a level playing field to access curriculum, assistive technology serves the same purpose.  When I was teaching, I had students in my class with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.  Roblyer and Hughes (2019) mention that students with mild and moderate disabilities do not necessarily have issues with physically accessing technology rather they struggle with their ability to read, write, or retain information.  Several assistive technology devices were used in my classroom.  Taylor et al. (2020) explain that assistive technology is one support that must always be considered for a student with a disability and often included in many IEPs.  In my classroom, GoTalks were often used for students who had communication needs and could not communicate their wants and needs or answer questions on their own verbally.  GoTalk was an AT device that we would preprogram with different words and the students would press buttons on the GoTalk to communicate with me, their peers, parents, or different people within the school building.  This provided the students with the capability to communicate and be a part of the classroom.  My students also used the Text-to-Speech AT device on their Chromebooks.  This allowed students to highlight certain areas or passages on their computer and the computer would read it for them out loud.  This was beneficial for students who had a reading deficit, but it allowed them to access the curriculum in real time as their peers in the classroom.  I also have had students use screen magnifiers if they had a visual impairment that would enlarge the screen or fonts on the screen to allow them to be able to read it at a much larger scale that what was provided on the computer.  Assistive technology was a beneficial tool used in the classroom that provided student an opportunity to access the curriculum as well as be an integral part of the classroom.

References

Roblyer, M. & Hughes, J. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching (8th ed.), Pearson.

Taylor, M. S., Lohmann, M. J., & Kappel, A. (2020). Using assistive technology to support

science instruction in the inclusive elementary classroom. Journal of Special Education

Technology. https://doi.org/10.1177/01626434209947826