Today, I was awakened by the alarm on my cell phone. Then after wiping the crustfrom my eyes, I checked my phone to see whether I received any text messages during
the night. Soon after eating breakfast and rushing to school with a fuel-efficient car, I
opened my laptop in order to take notes in class. During the break between my classes,
I decided to continue writing an important essay that was soon due. I researched via
Google and the periodical hosts online, then typed my research faster than if I wrote
them by hand.
To many of us, technology is very much integrated in our lives, and for schoolwork,
it is an indispensable tool. While technology is a very important part of how we learn
and how we do our work for school, for many other people, technology is the only way
they could really work and function well in life. These types of technology that help
people with disabilities are known as assistive technology, which are "...products,
devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that
are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals
with disabilities" (Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, 1998).
it is an indispensable tool. While technology is a very important part of how we learn
and how we do our work for school, for many other people, technology is the only way
they could really work and function well in life. These types of technology that help
people with disabilities are known as assistive technology, which are "...products,
devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that
are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals
with disabilities" (Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, 1998).
With the recent years, we are seeing more and more how assistive technology is
changing lives and making possibilities into realities in the classrooms, which used
to be unimaginable a few decades earlier. But the beauty of such technology is that
not only are students with disabilities enabled to learn and participate in class, but
teachers are also given the opportunity to diversify their instruction and be
empowered to reach out to these kinds of learners.
changing lives and making possibilities into realities in the classrooms, which used
to be unimaginable a few decades earlier. But the beauty of such technology is that
not only are students with disabilities enabled to learn and participate in class, but
teachers are also given the opportunity to diversify their instruction and be
empowered to reach out to these kinds of learners.
Therefore, if lesson plans could include the use of technology such as online games
to reinforce a topic, provide opportunities for students to use VoiceThread to turn in
homework rather than the usual paper-pencil method, or using talking word
processors, then students with disabilities are not only given the opportunity to learn
and be included in the lesson, but even students who do not particularly have the
disability are encouraged to explore these types of technology and appreciate their use
and importance to the classroom learning of all students.
to reinforce a topic, provide opportunities for students to use VoiceThread to turn in
homework rather than the usual paper-pencil method, or using talking word
processors, then students with disabilities are not only given the opportunity to learn
and be included in the lesson, but even students who do not particularly have the
disability are encouraged to explore these types of technology and appreciate their use
and importance to the classroom learning of all students.
As educators who will face a great variety of learners, it is important that they should
know and understand the use of assistive technology in the classroom. Educators
should be given the chance to train on the types and purposes of these tools, and they
can research on their own and explore how they can use such technologies in lesson
plans (Family Center on Technology and Disability, 2005).
know and understand the use of assistive technology in the classroom. Educators
should be given the chance to train on the types and purposes of these tools, and they
can research on their own and explore how they can use such technologies in lesson
plans (Family Center on Technology and Disability, 2005).
"Why must lesson plans be revised to include disabled students?" In 2001,
President Bush signed for an education reform known as the No Child Left Behind Act.
Whether this act was a success or not, that matter will not be discussed here, however,
the very message in its name and what it stood for is the point I am striving to make. It
is important for the educational system to fulfill its duties to all students, to include all
students in the classroom learning, and to provide them with the tools and resources
for them to attain their goals. When it was nearly impossible to do such a feat in the past,
but with the gigantic strides in technology that now have, it has become possible to cater
to all learners. And who knows, by empowering them with knowledge accessed by
technology, who will become the next great persons of our future? Who will become the
Helen Keller, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or even Beethoven of tomorrow?
President Bush signed for an education reform known as the No Child Left Behind Act.
Whether this act was a success or not, that matter will not be discussed here, however,
the very message in its name and what it stood for is the point I am striving to make. It
is important for the educational system to fulfill its duties to all students, to include all
students in the classroom learning, and to provide them with the tools and resources
for them to attain their goals. When it was nearly impossible to do such a feat in the past,
but with the gigantic strides in technology that now have, it has become possible to cater
to all learners. And who knows, by empowering them with knowledge accessed by
technology, who will become the next great persons of our future? Who will become the
Helen Keller, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or even Beethoven of tomorrow?
References:
Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs. (1998). Assistive Technology Act of 1998. Retrieved from http://www.ataporg.org/atap/legislative.php.
Family Center on Technology and Disability. (2005). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.fctd.info/assets/ppts/1/Assisstive_Technology_in_the_Classroom.ppt?
1237563981.
Image:
Baby Boomer Care. Retrieved from http://www.babyboomercaretaker.com/assistive-technology/.
Hi:
ReplyDeleteWonderful essay! Ask me and I will show you how to get rid of the line breaks in your essay.
-j-