Last weeks reading informed me of how to support students using technology in the classroom. It is very important for teachers to plan their instruction, but planning becomes that more much more important when technology is involved. When planning you have to examine your resources, design student guidelines, think about the tasks students will compete before, during, and after the assignment, and have a backup plan incase of a technological mishap. When giving students assignments using technology it is important to guide them through the assignment. Giving students step-by-step guidelines will minimize confusion and ensure that students are on the right track while completing the assignment. It is important that students know what is expected of them before completing the assignment so it is important that the teacher clearly communicates expectations to the students before they begin the assignment. These are the steps that I take daily with assignments that do not involve technology. It is important to kick it up a notch when involving technology so that students understand what they are doing and that they stay on task.
I previous took a class that taught me about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a theory that teachers can remove barriers to learning by providing flexibility in terms of options for materials, methods, and assessments. I not thought about how technology tied into the theory. By using UDL you can tie digital media, audio¸ and video into the format. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer state that UDL framework is based on the multifaceted nature of the brain, specifically the recognition, strategic, and affective networks (141). This is all new to me! There are three networks that influence learning: recognition networks- we rely on this network to recognize letters, words, people, sound, and smell, strategic networks- we rely on this network to follow a plan, execute, and monitor your actions, affective networks- relate to feelings and emotions and can influence ones motivation for engagement with a particular goal, method, medium, or an assessment. I was not familiar with these networks but now that I am it will help me better understand how my students learn and how to affectively plan their instruction. I am a special education teacher and some of my students have specific learning disabilities. Learning about the three networks is important because some of my students may struggle with applying all three networks and by knowing their area of need/difficulty I will know how to plan effective individual instruction.
There are numerous sources of technology that can be used in the classroom. For special education students who have verbal and physical limitations assistive technology is very important. Some of the assistive technology used by students with special needs includes mobility and positioning aids, sensory tools, daily living tools, environmental tools, instructional tools, computer access, communication tools, and motivational tools. These tools are very important in assisting students with special needs in their everyday lives. I use minimal assistive technology in my classroom but none of my students require it. I previous worked with students with autism who were non-verbal. Some of them used the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and others used telecommunication devices. It is important to keep the use of assistive technology in mind when working with students who have special needs.
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