Vision of Technology Integration

Week 4                                                    April 21, 2014

Technology is such a prominent entity in the everyday lives of so many people today.  It is everywhere.  In my observations you cannot go anywhere anymore without seeing at least a handful of people around you staring down at their smartphones or a tablet of some sort.  Technology is everywhere and I feel it can be very distracting out in social situations, family gatherings and, in general, most public places.  An article I came across stated it perfectly, "Whenever we go anywhere, we are - and we want to be - somewhere else simultaneously." (Weeks, 2014)  Though I feel the use of all this technology can be a distraction out in public I do feel that within a classroom setting it can be a wonderful thing for the students.

My vision of technology in the classroom revolves around helping my students communicate more effectively and teaching them in a more interactive and interesting manner, as for many of them, learning through the use of paper and pencil or lecture does not hold their attention. 

First and foremost I would like to see all my students have an effective form of communication.  For some students this could be a high tech devise such as an iPad or device such as a Dynavox or it could be a low tech system such as picture exchange.  All these systems allow for a person to communicate through the use of pictures.  With this type of technology at their fingertips it would allow them to more effectively communicate with others as well as cut down on some of the behaviors and meltdowns because they would be able to learn to communicate their wants and needs.

Secondly, through the use of technology I am able to teach my students in a way that they learn best.  A lot of my students are very visual/tactile learners and highly enjoy the use of a computer.  If each child had some type of tablet available to them and the many different educational apps that go along with them they would all be able to learn in a way that is interesting to them.  I would not replace sitting with my students one on one with using a tablet but it is a great supplemental and independent learning tool for them.  At this time I have one iPad in my classroom which is used on a daily basis.  We use it to work on skills such as letter formation, spelling, reading, addition, colors and many more. 

For me, technology in the classroom is a great resource for my students to tap in to.  It is frustrating that the school I work in has not received much up to date technology which can cause some struggles because the educational programs we do have on disc do not always work.  My hope is that someday all my students will have access to the latest and greatest technology that will allow them to not only learn new skills but will allow them to communicate with others in their lives in an effective way.

Work Cited:

Weeks, Linton. "We Are Just Not Here Anymore."  NPR.  NPR, n.d. Web. April 22, 2014.  http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/02/11/268876281/we-are-just-not-here-anymore

"I Forgot My Phone."  YouTube.  YouTube, August 22, 2013. Web. April 22, 2014.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8

My Literature Review

Week 3 Literature Review                                             April 14, 2014

Learning Outcomes:

#1 - Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning.

#7 - Demonstrate an understanding of the use of adaptive technologies and other digital resources         to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every student.

Working with children on the Autism Spectrum is near and dear to me.  I go in to work, each day, wishing that I had more technology available to my students.  The computers I have been provided with are 10+ years old and on many occasions do not work.  Also, some of the computers are so old that I cannot get the educational programs I have to work on them.  It is very frustrating to say the least!  I do have one iPad in my classroom which was generously donated to my students.  This iPad is used on a daily basis and is an amazing supplemental teaching tool for my students, as with most of them it fully engages them in their learning.  An iPad or computer is not only useful to help teach children academics, they can also be used as a form of communication for children who are non verbal.  The following video is about 10 minutes long but well worth watching if you have the time.

Technology can be used in so many different capacities within special education and regular education classrooms. In doing research for this assignment I came across a great article written by the Economic and Social Research Council titled "Digital worlds can help autistic children to develop social skills". Teaching social skills to a child can bode to be a great challenge because, due to the nature of their disability, they do not always understand or enjoy social situations with others and can become resistant when put into social situations. The Echoes Project, created by researchers for the Economic and Social Research Council, "developed an interactive environment which uses multi-touch screen technology where virtual characters on the screen act to children's actions in real time." (2011)  The aim of this technology is not to replace the classroom and other real world social environments but to provide extra social skills support to children on the Autism Spectrum.

ECHOES Project

Through the use of this technology the children are able to interact with an avatar on the computer which provides them with no real world consequences allowing them to experiment with different social scenarios, feeling comfortable that there is no risk to them involved. (2011) It has been found that through the Economic and Social Research Council's research, children on the Autism Spectrum are very willing to interact with the avatar on the screen because of their interest in computers and different technologies. According to the ECHOES video, the technology will pick up on the child's frustrations, noises, facial expressions, etc and make adjustments as seen necessary. (http://echoes2.org/)  The hope is that the children will be able to translate the different social skills they learn, through the program, to real world situations in the future.

At this time the technology for the ECHOES Project is still being researched and improved and is not located in many schools.  Also, it was noted in the ECHOES video that this technology is expensive and may be tough for districts to afford at this time. (http://echoes2.org/) This is a technology that I would love to incorporate into my classroom.  Social skills is always one of the toughest things to work on with my students and I feel with a technology such as this we would be able to make some great gains.  At my school the highest form of technology we have to help teach the students social skills are video modeling DVDs that go through scenarios such as going shopping and having a play date.  Some of my students are very receptive to these videos and with a lot of them it does not hold their interest.  I feel that the DVDs do not hold their interest because they are not as interactive as the ECHOES Project is. 

A famous saying in the world of Autism is "Until all the pieces fit".  I feel that bringing technology into these children's lives is one of the pieces that will help them grow and succeed.

                    

References:

1. Economic and Social Research Council. (2011). Digital worlds can help autistic children to develop social skills [Press release]. Retrieved from

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/press-releases/17914/digital-worlds-can-help-autistic-children-to-develop-social-skills.aspx

2. ECHOES Project Video: http://echoes2.org/

3. Model Me DVDs Picture: http://sensorystorecanada.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/83034-2t.jpeg