In today’s society each and every individual has the ability to become equally successful. It was evident in the video, Enabling Dreams, that some individuals need the appropriate tools to help them seek those abilities. Technology has become extremely advanced, where anything is possible, even for a child with multiple disabilities. Moreover, for the majority of these children their disabilities do not exist to hinder them, but to enable them in seeing a brighter future. With the reality of assistive technology, teachers now have a better idea of how to successfully accommodate children with specific disabilities in the classroom.
Before creating a lesson plan a teacher must always take into consideration the abilities of the students rather than their disabilities. This may not always be an easy task, considering that the different accommodations may serve as an ongoing trial. Not all accommodations will work for the students and that is when assistive technology comes into the picture. Examples of ways teachers can implement assistive technology in the classroom are when reading a story, incorporate the usage of media to demonstrate pictures for students to use as a visual learning tool, which highlights Standard 1 under Educational Technology in Guam DOE’s Content Standards (GDOE, 2011). An example In the video was the band student who used assistive technology together with his trumpet to successfully participate in band performances and lessons in the classroom. This goes to show how assistive technology can truly bring out the creative side of each student with disabilities, which highlights one of the NET standards for students (NETS 2007).
During the process of creating a lesson plan with specific accommodations, a teacher must always involve the parents of the children. This is one of the steps needed in order to take on the responsibility of revising a lesson plan. The teacher must also do his or her own part in researching various accommodations for that child’s disability. For example, if a student has physical disabilities and he or she needs assistance making their way around the classroom, the teacher must take charge and find a means of providing the child with a wheel chair. If a child has a specific learning disability, the teacher can make accommodations by granting the child more time to complete the assignment or by allowing the usage of laptops in the classroom as writing tools.
Ways teachers can assess whether or not their accommodations are appropriate in the classroom is by observing through trials. Another way is by communicating with the principal of the school, who can also help to revise the lesson plan. All that should matter is if the child is benefiting from the accommodation and if the child is comfortable with those specific accommodations. These matters should guarantee learning success in the classroom for everyone and not just the children with disabilities.
Guam Department of Education, 2011
Net standards
Hi:
ReplyDeleteNicely written. You missed the opportunity to include hyperlinked text.
-j-