Enabling Dreams

After viewing the video of Edutopia's Enabling Dreams (http://www.edutopia.org), I have learned that anything is possible for students with disabilities with the aid of assistive technology. By adapting to their specific needs, students are able to learn, communicate, interact, and contribute in their own way.

As a future educator, I need to take into consideration that there will always be at least one student with a disability who will be included in a typical classroom and will be needing assistance in their learning. Changes in a lesson plan should be carefully considered and modified to ensure the learning is conducive to all students and by observing what the student with disability is able to do.

Observing how the student is able to work in groups, how the student is able to work alone, move around, write, read, listen, and see are some factors to bear in mind. For example, if the lesson is a discussion and requires oral participation by raising hands to answer, the student might use a buzzer as a indication that the student would like to answer the question.

The video has encouraged me to think differently about assistive technology by providing me awareness that there are solutions for students with disabilities. In cases when parents lose hope in their children, teachers can provide support by working with them, and find ways to make the student's learning more achievable.

Battling with ideas

Creating a lesson plan and integrating it with technology use was difficult for me. It was mind-bursting! However, thanks to the NETS*S standards I had some direction.
The NETS*T standards that I used to help me formulate my lesson plan with the use of technology are (http://www.iste.org/):

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources
to promote student learning and creativity.

c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.


d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

These standards apply towards my lesson plan because the students will be able to use and explore the computer system using a software. The students will gain experience and some knowledge that a computer has other uses besides accessing the Internet.

As I continue to think about ideas for my lesson plan, I have learned to always bear in mind the different types of learners in the classroom, especially for students with disabilities. Accommodating all types of learners will be challenging, but one of my goals are for students to participate in a lesson that requires a lot of interaction. This will help in the development of student's social skills. Because students who are well developed personally and socially achieve higher and enjoy school more than their less well-developed peers. (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007, p. 65)

Since I am fairly new to the world of technology, I used an unfamiliar search engine tool called Ujiko to optimized my search for the NETS*T standards for teachers and gain some ideas for my lesson plan as well as using my bookmarks from my delicious list. However, I would like to be less dependent on the Internet. I wanted the idea to come from my thinking. So I used another useful tool to help me list my ideas without having to use paper. It is called mind mapping which can be accessed through http://bubble.us. In the end I was able to create a lesson plan in which I labeled as "Plant Growth: Using Distilled, Mineral, and Purified water".

Going through the process of creating this lesson plan was challenging. Sometimes I would doubt myself, my thinking capabilities, and my sense of judgement. I had anxieties and excitements in making sure the use of the digital spreadsheet was workable for the students. I hope my lesson plan will serve its purpose. If it doesn't, then modifications need to be made. After all, there is always room for improvement.




References:

The ISTE National Education Technology Standards (NETS*T) and Performance Indicators
for Teachers. (2008). Retrieved September 18, 2009, from the ISTE:
Official Site Web site: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers
/2008Standards/NETSTStandardsFinal.pdf


Eggen, P. & Kauchak, D. (2007). Chapter 3: Personal, Social, and Emotional
Development. In Educational Psychology, Windows on Classroom
7th Edition (p. 65). New Jersey: Pearson.