Inclusive Classrooms and Technology

            Technology is tool that can be used to benefit teachers and students in the classroom.   Teachers can use these tools to help students who are at the proper level, generally struggling, have disabilities or that are looking to be more challenged.  In 1998 Congress made this possible for many suffering students by amending the Rehabilitation Act so that Federal agencies would have to make technologies accessible to individuals who need them (www.section508.gov). This can be found in Section 508, which was primarily written to eliminate the barriers that were stopping people with disabilities to be able to enhance their lives.  It allows them to reach for higher goals using new technology (www.section 508.gov).  Imagine how this affected classrooms nationally.  They became and are still becoming a whole new world, where new more useful technology comes out ever day.

 Technologies don’t have to be these large, plug in, battery using devices, although many beneficial technologies do have those qualities.  Technologies can be virtually anything.  In classrooms teachers are now supplied (when needed) with tools like special large gripped scissors to help with fine motor skills.  They are given items like USB keyboards to help students learn to type.  Electronic items like Tango are extremely beneficial to students who have trouble expressing them selves.  It allows them with the push of a button to express themselves properly to teachers, and other classmates.  In many cases this keeps them out of trouble, and allows them to connect better socially.  There are so many ways technology like those can benefit schools.  This way all students can receive the proper challenging and education they deserve.  After all no education is given equally, however, every child should receive an equal opportunity to learn. 

Today we use technology for most everything we do in classrooms.  On a daily basis teachers use projectors, whiteboards, televisions, and computers to teach.  All of these can be used to inform groups of students at a time.  Involving them in class discussions about what they are learning will help them learn to communicate in new ways.  Computer programs can allow them to healthily compete against each other, work together or work individually on their own level.  

As a future teacher I plan on embracing all of this.  Every extra tool I can use to teach my students is a step forward in helping them create something better for their own tomorrow.  Engaging them in the technology will help them learn to communicate with it.  With a better understanding they will be able to use it all to their advantage, especially for those who need to learn even the basics of school activities.   

 

Works Cited

Section 508: 508 Law. Last Updated 4/ 30/ 2008. http://section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=3

What does it mean to be an educator in the 21st century?

  Long ago in the age of memorization and constant repetition, dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Today we live in a new age where technology has taken over the lives of educators and our students.  Why? How did this happen? Is it bad, dangerous, or will this help us improve as a society?  There are many varying opinions on this, but lets begin with question one: What does it mean to be an educator in the 21st Century?

            Educators are motivators, teachers, professionals, they are meant to be informative, resourceful, and responsible.  That is a timeless definition.  In today’s society they have more resources than ever, they have the Internet, smart-boards, and computer programs.  These types of resources, when used effectively, can greatly improve the quality of learning going on in a classroom. 

John David Son says “Technology has the power to capture our students attention by making learning interactive and fun. (Learning & Leading with Technologies pg. 8)” At Thornwood Public school students used the computer to translate bilingual students stories to English, to help them learn English literacy more efficiently.  (Dual Language Bookmaking). 

Technology is for more than just fun though.  College students featured the video Visions of Students Today say that technology allows them to multitask in a way that allows them to get all their work done and learn more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o).  This is effective for them, when time management means more than it ever has before.  It means their future.

            Of course though with every positive there is a noted negative.  Technology is useful when used correctly.  David M Marcovitz says “Our scientific stimulation allow students to explore rich worlds, growing generations of plants, and animals in an instant, watching them die, changing the parameters and then doing it all over again.  The upside is tremendous, but don’t forget about the downside: attention. After seeing the flower bloom who has the patience to wait for it to bloom in real time? (Learning & Leading with Technology pg. 9).”  He makes a solid point, who does spend their time like that.  It is a fair time to ask oneself if you would endure that, would someone 100 years ago wait to watch that happen?  Then again with technology, is it fair to make someone put that much time and effort into waiting to learn something?  It is a goal to learn as much as possible in as little time as possible in today’s society.

            For teachers and students technology is a very effective tool to use to educate, interest, and build into children.  They do need to learn its uses to survive in our world.  It may or may not cause a short attention span, but when that attention span isn’t necessary in today’s society why worry about keeping it.  The order of values is always going to change, and if it truly is a completely necessary quality it will come back and thrive in future students lives.  In the mean time technology in today’s school systems is only improving education as we know it.

 

Works Cited

Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans? Learning & Leading Technology. August 2008.  (pg. 8-9)

Dual Language Learning FROM: Cummins, J.,Brown, K., Sayers, D. (2007) Literacy Technology, and Diversity: Teaching for Success in Changing Times. Boston: Pearson

Mwesch. A Vision of Students Today. Kansas State University. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o).

My Introduction

This is my first (for real) blog. Of course I've blogged here or there before online but I've never really been one of those hardcore bloggers. Perks of the internet right? I'm a college student, and right now I am taking my Practicum for Elem. Edu. One of my classes is Computers in the Classroom.. so i hope that this is going to help me figure out how to make it more useful. ANYWAY I am very excited about this semester. THE END (for now.) -Nicole