Week
3 Literature Review April 14, 2014
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.
ECHOES Project
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.
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.
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
I found your review very interesting. I think the ECHOES Project sounds like it is and will continue to de amazing things for children with autism. I think that it is great that they get to create an avatar and be able to explore different situations like that. I am sure they feel like its a shield and they are protected. Its unfortunate that great programs like this are to expensive for schools to implement. Hopefully in the future they can find away to make this more affordable, so more students with autism can benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your literature review. I had the privilege of working with some students on the spectrum and interacting with some non-verbal students with autism last year as a special education teacher. I have seen first hand how iPad can be used effectively, how communications devices are an essential for non-verbal students, and how lacking in social skills some students on the spectrum are. We wrote a grant and were able to buy the modeling DVDs you spoke of and also a learn to play series. Unfortunately I changed positions this year so I'm not sure how successful they found the modeling DVDs, but I know the step-by-step play series was very helpful. We also collaborate with the speech pathologist to come up with activities that could help engage role model students and students with special needs in interactive play. Your job is challenging, but must be so rewarding!
ReplyDelete