Journal 10

"Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged" by Diane Curtis
Edutopia.org, February, 2005

This article discusses how disabled students who may not have full mobility can still participate in school functions and classroom activities with the use of assistive technology. Some examples of assistive technology mentioned are electronic tools such as a joystick to aid a student in playing a musical instrument, a headband with the ability to sense eyebrow movement, and a computer with the ability to generate speech based on a student’s cheek movement. Renewed efforts by parents, teachers, and students along with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and public and private programs such as DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology program at the University of Washington, and a school district program called TACLE (Technology and Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement), have made it possible for students with limited mobility to have access to assistive technology.

Advocates of assistive technology emphasize that just because people cannot walk or speak does not mean that they cannot communicate, i.e. write or speak, with the assistance of computers and other electronic devices. They clarify that having physical limitations does not mean that there is a lack of enthusiasm or unwillingness to try. For one student, who was highlighted in the article, it took three years of persistence, commitment, and dedication by all involved to find a place on his body that could be used in conjunction with a computer to communicate. Another student was happy and willing to simply play a single note in a musical score on his instrument until a caring school employee recruited the help of a musical-instrument inventor to design an electronic joystick, allowing the student to play other notes. The article points out that assistive technology is growing at the same rate as other technologies used in the classroom today. And just as some rely on cell phones and computers to communicate at school, in business, and for personal use, likewise, the physically challenged rely on similar gadgets, albeit specially made or tailored, for the very same purposes.

How can teachers generate excitement and interest in her/his school district about assistive technology?

Teachers who possess an ‘ethic of caring’ “can step out of his or her own perspective and consider not only the perspective of others…but also the other person’s needs, motivations, and expectations,” (Grant, C. and Gillette, M., Learning to Teach Everyone’s Children, 2006). A teacher who operates from an ethic of caring would look at how we are already trying to integrate children with disabilities into the mainstream classroom and embrace technology as a way of becoming inclusive of these students. We should refer to the various people interviewed and portrayed in this article and be advocates for these children, and look for opportunities in technology to assist all of our students.

How can a school afford to invest in assistive technology?

In much the same way that schools can acquire technology for teaching and learning in general, similarly, a school can look for possibilities to aid students with disabilities. Schools should assess common and specific needs of students and look to federal, state, and private grants for funding. In many cases, such as with the musical-instrument inventor in the article, there are community members with talents and connections who can provide technological resources and services for the school for minimal costs. A school can also weigh the costs and limitations of full-time aide, and although personal assistance from an aide can be invaluable, the school should consider technology as a way to possibly give physically challenged students more freedom and independence.

Journal 9

"Kidspiration" Software review, Atomic Learning tutorial review, and the Assignment



















Kidspiration Software is a K-5 learning software program by Inspiration Software, Inc. The templates included in the package range from simple to complex and are designed for different subject areas - reading, writing, social studies, science, and math. Simple templates, (as seen in my example), allow students to display a few, short details on one page, whereas a complex template allows for more sophisticated outlining and organizing topics, sub-topics, and supportive details as one would use in writing an essay or story. Students can draw or fill in linear or non-linear diagrams, using the templates provided or ones designed by the teacher. With respect to uses in liberal arts, it is designed to develop critical thinking, strengthen word recognition, and build comprehension, and written expression. For math, it provides visual math tools, builds reasoning and problem solving skills, as well as conceptual understanding. Although it mainly uses visual tools, the software is also geared to other learning styles - kinesthetic learners, as it requires the use of a mouse and keyboard, and auditory, if the software is set up to speak the text for learners with this need. Besides outlining essays and stories, and organizing life cycles, food chains, and family trees, Kidspiration software also provides fun and educational activities for the different subject areas mentioned previously.

Atomic Learning tutorial

Using the Atomic Learning tutorial to understand how to use Kidspiration software made learning fun and easy. Even without sound (my speakers are shot), I was able to quickly figure out how to put a diagram together. The Kidspiration software itself is designed to be fun and easy for use by younger learners, which made the task even easier, but I was definitely encouraged and more confident after watching the tutorial and would definitely use Atomic Learning tutorials for other software in the future.

The Assignment

In the example above, I have created an artifact as a 3rd grade student would, using Kidspiration, as if he/she were summarizing or assessing information learned during Red Ribbon Week at school. It was easy to change the ribbons around if I wanted to put them in another spot, simple to change the verbiage, and fun to have all the different choices of templates, pictures, and other visual tools with which to teach, learn, and play!

Journal 8

"Technology Immersion Turns Around Texas Middle School"
by Linda L. Briggs
T-H-E Journal, March 2008

Marvin Baker Middle School of Corpus Christi, Texas, with a diverse student population ranging from a majority with low socio-economic backgrounds to over thirty percent who are gifted and talented, has experienced successful results by both students and staff after participating in a statewide initiative called the Texas Technology Immersion Project. The program, with the acronym TIP, is based on a partnership between the Texas Education Agency and various vendors including Apple, Microsoft, and Dell, and is designed to offer faculty and students increased technology and professional skills. Funding for TIP is available and provided by grants, and the program is now being used widely by Texas school districts and middle schools.

Baker became a part of TIP only three years ago and with intense staff development and the provision of laptops for all teachers and students, the school has made great strides in both acquiring technology skills and increasing performance scores by students each year. Staff development included workshops which concentrated on addressing technology skills ranging from using notebook computers and e-mail to using online instructional resources, assessment and productivity tools, and academic search engines. Eventually, teachers started to use these new technology skills and tools in their daily teachings, to post homework assignments, notes, projects and on-line resources, up-coming events, and to communicate with other teachers, staff, and parents. While access to the latest technology tools has given the school and students an academic boost, the teacher training and professional development is credited as a critical element of the programs’ success.

How can teachers assist in launching a program such as the one at this Texas Middle School?

So often we see negative news about educational programs, but this article shows how we can close the gap on the ‘digital divide,’ providing access to learning about and from technology regardless of the socio-economic status of the student. As teachers we can certainly seek out grant money and appeal to the school, county, and state administrators to initiate a pilot program such as the one at Baker.

What evidence would be most supportive in convincing a district or school administration of the priority and importance of such a program?

Although the article does not address exactly how student performance scores rose each year, these statistics are tangible and obtainable evidence of success. Showing any significant improvement in the required knowledge and skills defined by the state and evaluated by the standards tests will get the administrators’ attention, and with evidence such as that at Baker, they might consider a program such as Texas' TIP.

Journal 7

"Envisioning the Future of Education" by Mark van ‘t Hooft
Learning & Leading with Technology, March/April 2008

The author of this article features the idea of ‘learning while mobile’ in a world that is increasingly complex and ever changing, where with each passing day we find it more and more challenging to function without access to the Internet and tools such as mobile phones, media players, and wireless computers. With respect to education, ‘learning while mobile’ which he defines as “learning with a mobile device such as a handheld computer or a mobile phone,” means that learning opportunities, possibilities, and experiences are more numerous, personal, and more often collaborative, portable, and available; providing “a bridge between formal and informal learning,” (p. 13). He points out two critical facets of ‘learning while mobile’ as ‘conversation,’ referring to the ability to discuss and share understanding of one’s knowledge and ‘context,’ referring to temporary or rapidly changing locations (e.g. classroom or museum) where knowledge and resources are acquired and exchanged.

To demonstrate his point, van ‘t Hooft cites three examples in MyArtSpace, a service that allows students to exchange learning between the museum and classroom with each other, Frequency 1550, an interactive digitally-guided ‘treasure hunt’ in 16th century Amsterdam, using cell-phones with GPS and multimedia tools to exchange clues, collect multimedia artifacts and collaborate, and a context-aware guiding system in the Taiwanese National Museum of Natural Science that recognizes a visitor’s location and automatically downloads content relating to the exhibit to their mobile device.

The author explains the challenges in terms of policy and pedagogical needs to deal with what he calls the “participation gap,” or the lack of access to skills, knowledge, and experiences that actually teach our youth how to use digital technology for learning (as opposed to entertainment purposes), the “transparency problem,” or the difficulty that students might experience in recognizing how ads and news media shape their opinions and beliefs, the “ethics challenge,” or the collapse of the formal preparation that once taught our youth how to act as ethical members of the community, and “fear factor,” or concern by adults about the possible, unpredictable misuse by youth of current and future technological advancements. He makes recommendations and offers a list of resources to encourage students and schools “to learn how to navigate their world…in safe, ethical, and productive ways,” (p.16).

To a future educator, what are the foreseeable drawback(s) of ‘learning while mobile’?

While I can appreciate the author’s enthusiasm about the unstoppable progress occurring in ‘learning while mobile,’ I worry about what our students and society are losing by using all these wireless devices and digital options available nowadays. I wonder what we lose by not having face to face socialization, by not writing as much print or longhand, but rather typing and texting instead. I wonder what we will loose by no longer relying as much on memorization. And I think that it is ironic that the author uses the words ‘learning while mobile,’ yet so much of the actual use of the wireless and digital devices mentioned require that you stand still rather than using large sweeping motions of gesturing in conversation with others, or as in performing old-fashioned research. Finally, to expand on the author’s ‘transparency problem,’ I am concerned about the desensitizing of our youth due to uncensored exposure to aggressive behaviors shown in the media and accessible with any portable multimedia device.

How can we avoid widening the achievement gap while using mobile and wireless technologies?

While the technology is available everywhere, the devices with which to access it may be available to some only through the school or institution being visited. Besides heeding the advice in the author’s recommendations, we must also consider the socioeconomic background of our students and make certain that access to digital tools is equitable to all students.