3.4 Adaptive and Assistive Technology
Candidates facilitate the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to support individual student learning needs. (PSC 3.4/ISTE 3d)
Artifact: Adaptive Technology Implementation Guide
Reflection
For this artifact, I worked with a teacher of students with moderate intellectual abilities to implement the use of adaptive and assistive technology to work with the students on practicing their one-to-one correspondence with the numbers one through twenty.
I created a one-to-one correspondence PowerPoint to help students practice counting and recognize their numbers that would work with the students' interactive whiteboard. The technology will allow the teacher and paraprofessionals to reset and work with students individually or with whole groups. I used themes that would engage these students. The teacher currently had a pre-made program for one-to-one correspondence; however, it did not fully meet the needs of the students. With the PowerPoint created: students will be able to try again if they make a mistake, teacher can select which numbers the student needs to focus on instead of them appearing at random.
Through the experience, I personally realized that assistive technology is much broader than previously realized. Assistive technology is any resource that allows students to better communicate, perform academic tasks, participate in social and extracurricular activities, move or travel around the school, use proper seating and positioning, and/or access materials. Originally, I imagined assistive technology in the sense of how we think of technology today – computers and electronics; however, assistive technology can be something as simple as a pencil grip or Dycem to create a non-slip surface. Additional, assistive technology includes services which includes training the student and teachers how to properly use and implement any devices. Through my field experience of working alongside of a teacher of a self-contained classroom, I was exposed to a wealth of various assistive technologies used by those students. Some of the more interesting ones that I was unaware of include Velcro on chairs in order to prevent slipping, Dycem under food plates in order to help students with mobility and coordination issues eat like other students, and specialized playground pieces. I also learned that some students have the use of iPads or communication devices provided by the school to use at home and school as part of their IEP. Having a much broader understanding of assistive technology allows teachers and schools to better support students in need of those devices or services. Teachers must also be familiar with the IEP or 504 process in order to fully evaluate students in their need and follow up with implementation of any assistive technology. Because this was not in my school building, I was not able to observe the PowerPoint I created in action with the interactive board. The teacher did provide feedback, but I would like to see how the tool worked and see it in action.
The students in this class were able to practice one-to-one correspondence skills with the technology. The classroom teacher and paraprofessionals take daily data on the students’ ability and skills in meeting targets as outlined by the students’ IEP.
For this artifact, I worked with a teacher of students with moderate intellectual abilities to implement the use of adaptive and assistive technology to work with the students on practicing their one-to-one correspondence with the numbers one through twenty.
I created a one-to-one correspondence PowerPoint to help students practice counting and recognize their numbers that would work with the students' interactive whiteboard. The technology will allow the teacher and paraprofessionals to reset and work with students individually or with whole groups. I used themes that would engage these students. The teacher currently had a pre-made program for one-to-one correspondence; however, it did not fully meet the needs of the students. With the PowerPoint created: students will be able to try again if they make a mistake, teacher can select which numbers the student needs to focus on instead of them appearing at random.
Through the experience, I personally realized that assistive technology is much broader than previously realized. Assistive technology is any resource that allows students to better communicate, perform academic tasks, participate in social and extracurricular activities, move or travel around the school, use proper seating and positioning, and/or access materials. Originally, I imagined assistive technology in the sense of how we think of technology today – computers and electronics; however, assistive technology can be something as simple as a pencil grip or Dycem to create a non-slip surface. Additional, assistive technology includes services which includes training the student and teachers how to properly use and implement any devices. Through my field experience of working alongside of a teacher of a self-contained classroom, I was exposed to a wealth of various assistive technologies used by those students. Some of the more interesting ones that I was unaware of include Velcro on chairs in order to prevent slipping, Dycem under food plates in order to help students with mobility and coordination issues eat like other students, and specialized playground pieces. I also learned that some students have the use of iPads or communication devices provided by the school to use at home and school as part of their IEP. Having a much broader understanding of assistive technology allows teachers and schools to better support students in need of those devices or services. Teachers must also be familiar with the IEP or 504 process in order to fully evaluate students in their need and follow up with implementation of any assistive technology. Because this was not in my school building, I was not able to observe the PowerPoint I created in action with the interactive board. The teacher did provide feedback, but I would like to see how the tool worked and see it in action.
The students in this class were able to practice one-to-one correspondence skills with the technology. The classroom teacher and paraprofessionals take daily data on the students’ ability and skills in meeting targets as outlined by the students’ IEP.