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.