Open Doors

It's easy to say that assistive technology is opening doors for everyone. Indeed people take advantage and under appreciate the things laptops and computers do for them. For people with disabilities, technology has provided lee way for pursuing their dreams. I've had personal experience with people with disabilities with the privilege of being able to oversee a special education class for ED192. I was able to learn about how to teach special education and saw the difficulty of having to go back and forth with the lesson because students aren't always on the same level of learning. I can definitely see how technology can play a major role in a student's education and for student's with disabilities, communication can be accomplished. During my observation of the special education class, and throughout my experience in public school, students with disabilities are given one-to-one aides. Those aides are there to of course, help the student. Now, because some students with disabilities are unable to write or draw or talk, we can't really tell if the student is learning or not. The aide would then do the work for them or hold their hand and move it for them. With the technology we have now, wouldn't it be nice to implement it into schools and further the learning process. If we can have the student progress academically and show their work, it would be a amazing improvement for them. I suppose, the next problem would be the cost of all these updates. As written in an online article, "schools are forever playing technological catch up as digital innovations emerge that require upgrading schools' technological infrastructure and building new professional development programs." I'm certain that the government would be able to see how well students do with the new technology and can't resist providing the funds needed for the equipment. If this is already being utilized in the states, I believe Guam needs to jump on that bandwagon and implement it in our public schools.

*This blog is in response to this video

Online sources:

(2011 September 1) Technology in Education edweek.org Retrieved 21 March 2014 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/

Photos:
Jordan, Brandi (2013 June 29) 11 Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom  [Graphic] Retrieved from http://blog.reallygoodstuff.com/11-ways-to-use-technology-in-the-classroom-infographic/

Johnson, Hans (n.d.) Technology is Awesome [graphic comic] Retrieved from http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=5131