In class this week, we discussed assessments, and the challenge of selecting and creating appropriate assessments that are fair and meet the needs of all students. Assessments are always a "hot topic" in education, especially because of legislative demands that every single student receive state assessments or alternative assessments to demonstrate progress. We discussed the challenges of assessments for students with special education, and that adaptations that we make for these students. One issue that I find very frustrating is that if we, as educators, believe that every single student learns in a unique  way, how is it responsible and reflective of their actual learning for us to assess their knowledge through a single assessment? 


As a volunteer at a classroom for students with multiple disabilities and health impairments, I have watched a teacher design a different "alternative assessment" for each of her six students that are tailored to their needs and abilities, thus and accurately assess their learning. Clearly, it is impractical for a school district with hundreds of students to have hundreds of personal assessments, and to ask a teacher to individualize assessments for her class of 30 students, but perhaps their is a "happy medium"  that is possible? Could we create a state assessment that could come in multiple versions that can be accessed through various modalities, and allow teachers to give students the tests that play to their strengths and thus accurately reveal what they have learned? 


While teachers always complain about having to "teach to the test", I personally feel that the requirement to assess every student a tremendous benefit to the world of special education, because it holds special education teachers accountable, and requires them to adapt the curriculum and teach the grade-level curriculum to their student, rather than just preparing special education students to work in sheltered work shops. I think it benefits all students to access the curriculum for their grade in some adapted manner, and for their teachers to be held to a high standard. National and state assessments hold special education teachers to a high standard, and while clearly their are tremendous problems with teaching to the test and with state assessments, I believe they have a benefit, too. 

Class Reflection

In looking back on this class, I  was exposed to many new technologies, and I learned much about myself as a user of technology. I did not expect that I would have such difficulty learning through trial-and-error, and that I would instead learn through online  video tutorials. I had assumed that I would learn tools through "playing" and experimenting with them, because I think of myself as an experiential learner. However, I realized that when it comes to learning technology, perhaps because of my own anxieties surrounding technology, I learn best through something approximating "direct instruction," where I would search Youtube for tutorial videos and then ask friends and classmates to help walk me through the technology. This was an interesting lesson for me, as my students who have autism often learn best through direct instruction and not through "trial and error." I felt that I gained insight into their learning style through this.

I am very excited about several of these technologies, and am already starting to apply them in my own classroom. For example, I thought Boardmaker was only to make PECS, but I know use the templates to make all sorts of games, visual aids, and schedules. I also had only used my SmartBoard like a dry erase board, but now use all sorts of interactive lessons that I design at home, and they gain my students rapt attention. I also use Prezi instead of Powerpoint with my students, and the novelty still hasn't worn off-they are glued to the Prezi's! I love using Kurzweil to record my voice for my students, because they really attend to directions delivered through the computer in a way that they might not attend to my actual voice! Its exciting to have new tools to engage my students, because motivation is so often one of the biggest issues when teaching students with intellectual disabilities.

I think I benefited a lot from the discussions about when to use technology, and when not to use it. I also had never thought about how some students have a right to technology, because it enables them to access information, and thus technology is their gateway to their "right to learn." I now think of access to technology as a student right. This was certainly something I did not expect.

Another thing I did not expect was that I now understand that technology can be used for a much broader spectrum of students than I previously understood. I did not previously think that certain technologies would be appropriate for students as "low functioning" as my population, and this opened my eyes to how technologies not designed for populations with special needs can be adapted to meet their needs and support their learning.

I think that I probably took a more back-seat role in this class than I typically do,because I was feeling very shy about what I perceived as my relative lack of competence with the technology. I still feel a little insecure in my abilities with these technologies, but have enjoyed practicing them and teaching them to myself at home. I think that I am slowly gaining confidence, and if this were a year long course, I think that I would become increasingly confident.

I never thought I would actively seek out new technologies for my classroom, because I think of myself as something of a Luddite, or at least someone who is inept with new technologies. I now am searching for new technologies to maintain the attention and motivation of my students, and I think that I am a much better teacher because of it. I think my students certainly enjoy learning with me more now that I am incorporating all of these new technologies into my class.

Digital Minds

This discussion was very interesting, because it is so relevant to the real world. I was blown away by the statistics of the video that we saw in class about how the growth and sophistication  of technology has just exploded in recent years, and how it has changed our society and even our minds. It is amazing to think of how seamlessly we integrate new technology into our lives, and how in just one generation we have become so dependent on computers and the internet. I have only worked in special education classrooms for five years, but have already seen many of them transform due to new innovations in AAC devices and the spread of the touch-screen and Ipad. I literally cannot imagine what technological advances for students with exceptionalities are just around the corner, or what types of technology I will be using in my own classroom ten years from now.

One of the things that I took away from the class discussion was a desire for a happy medium of technology in our lives: a balance of embracing and exploring new technology, while not ignoring low-tech and no-tech tried-and-true teaching methods. I think it is important to recognize the value of new technology, and to find innovative and creative methods to incorporate technology into our teaching, while simultaneously "not fixing what ain't broke" and understanding that technology can actually take away from an educational experience in some circumstances. It can be difficult to step back from shiny new technology and remember that a no-tech, very inexpensive device can function just as well, or even better, than a high-tech device. As an example, I love Ipads, but some of my students communicate much better with PECS than  they do with ProLoQuo2Go.

As with any investment, when you purchase a new piece of technology, it is important to weigh its pros and cons, and to keep an open mind to all possible alternatives to meet the desired function. Too much technology can be distracting to students, can make them dependent on devices that they may not always have access to, and can place an incredible financial burden on families. I think its important to keep all options, high, low, or no tech, in mind.

Augmentative Communication

As a student in TC's Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Masters Program, augmentative and alternative communication is the technology I was most eager to learn about in this course, as many of my future students will be nonverbal. I have already had students who communicate with the high-tech devices Dynavox, Tango, ProLoQuo2Go, and with the low-tech Picture Exchange Communication. I am always fascinated by watching my students learn to use these devices, and love to sit on speech and language therapy sessions to see how the SLP's program the devices.

It has been my personal experience that once a child masters an AAC system, the quality of life and happiness of that child improves drastically, and the child's aggressive or noncompliant behaviors are dramatically reduced. It is such a joy to watch a child gain the ability to communicate, and the use of an AAC system can actually also lead to a child gaining more vocal verbal  skills as well. I hope to learn more about how we, as teachers, can support the work of our SLP's in helping our students use their AAC systems and devices in all settings throughout the day in order to help their communication skills generalize and to improve their quality of life.

Planning with Technology

After watching the in-class presentation, Planning with Technology, I was struck by one slide in particular, "Eyes." The bullet points in the slide included:

Driven by understanding of student

• Adjust vision of what is possible

• Revise understanding of student capability and engagement with learning

• Use new possibilities to refine or create new goals and objectives

I think the reason that this slide spoke to me was because it emphasized viewing your students and the available technology through fresh eyes. A mentoring teacher told me last year, "Students with disabilities are limited by the imaginations of their teachers, don't be their limiting factor." I think that the keys to being a good special education teacher are having having high expectations for all students, using all of your creative resources to ensure your students' learning, and keeping constantly updated on new technologies, new educational methods, and new ideas to help your student. 

The one concept that I have been exposed to at TC which has had the greatest impact on me as a teacher is Universal Design for Learning, and using technology to make UDL a reality in my classroom. I think it is important to see your students and  rather than thinking "this is what they can't do," but rather to view them through UDL eyes and think, "this is what they can do, and this is what I can do as their  teacher to enable them to reach their fullest potential through my creativity, knowledge, and utilization of technology and resources." 

On this same note, I was also struck by the slide titled "Flexibility." This slide states that a UDL lesson should focus on:

• Interactivity (gateways & feedback---access to choice)

• Recreate activities (modify them to meet student needs) 

• You are limited by your own imagination & innovation 

• Try a technology adaptation and explore it, not just to solve a problem, but to explore possibilities and opportunities that are off your radar screen...

I think the main message of this slide is to view teaching as a fluid, flexible process where you are constantly adjusting your lessons based upon the feedback you receive from  interactions with your students. I think it also emphasizes creativity and exploration of new technological possibilities, and I think this creativity is what makes a true UDL classroom possible.

Kids Who Use Assistive Technology in Our Classrooms.

I am really excited by the topic, especially because I will potentially be doing my student teaching at the John A Coleman School in this upcoming semester, where all  of the students use wheelchairs and  many of the students use AAC devices. I really enjoyed watching the video and reading the article about TACLE and DO-IT, and learning about all of the adaptations that have enabled these individuals with exceptionalities to achieve independence and pursue their interests. I enjoyed putting names and faces to the concepts that we study about and hearing the stories of Susannah and  Lukas. 

Relating this information to the sample learning profiles, assistive technology, like Cochlear Implants for Rebecca and the Smart-scan 32 and power wheelchair for Sarah, enables these students to participate in every day activities. I believe strongly that it is our responsibility as society as a whole, and personally  as their teachers to utilize technology to make our classrooms work for them, rather than forcing these students to adapt to our world or sit on the sidelines. I think that Dr. Richard Keller, here at TC, would support my argument that it is the responsibility of society to adapt to meet the needs of these individuals through technology. In his interview, he stated "the disability studies paradigm, or the disability rights movement paradigm and the shift there is of course to locating the source of the disability, not within the person... it's more an attribute that comes about by the decisions that the dominate culture makes and how they impact on my ability to do things in the environment that they create."

Watching the video Adapting Classrooms for AT users,  I found it disheartening to hear how students with physical disabilities in public schools, like Steven, were included in academic subjects, but excluded in those socially crucial activities like gym. These students felt so out of place that they sought out the Henry Viscardi school, a more restrictive option than a local public school, because their public schools were not making the simple accommodations that would have let them "fit in. " I think its important to realize that students who use AT, like Stephen from the video and  Lukas in the short video and article,  need their teachers to not only make adaptions that enable them to access the curriculum, but adaptations to enable them to participate in extracurricular and social activities like band and gym. 

Kurzweil

I am pretty excited about learning how to use Kurzweil, because it seems like it has a lot of applications for the various populations of students that I have worked with, from children who have ASD, children with intellectual disabilities,  children with learning disabilities, to children who have hearing impairments. All of the populations of students I have worked with want to be learning the same things their "typical" peers are learning, and technology like Kurzweil is one of the tools that will enable children who are unable to access  information from unaltered print to learn grade-level information.

Kurzweil is a text-to-speech software that enables teachers to upload texts to be read out loud to their students, at various speeds, and teachers can also supplement this text with bubble notes, footnotes, highlighting,  magnified text, directions, and teacher-recorded voice-notes. Students can also alter the text, by highlighting in different colors to enhance their comprehension and take notes in the document. Although it primarily reads documents out loud for students, it can also be used for children who a are hard of hearing because of the ability of a teacher to highlight and annotate and add bubble notes to text. Additionally, students can use Kurzweil to  type  their papers using word-prediction technology so that the actual task of writing is not so laborious that the children focus more on the production of the words, and not on the meaning of what they are writing. Also, Kurzweil will read back to students what they have written.

I think Kurzweil has potential for Jack, because of his limited working memory and fine motor difficulties. Jack can use Kurzweil to compose papers if typing papers is difficult for him, because of the word prediction function, and the bubblenotes, spoken note recording, and footnotes can help him organize his thoughts. Also, teachers can alter the text for it to be more comprehensible for Jack and they can help him interpret the material by adding notes and highlights to the text to help him isolate main ideas. Kurzweil can also be useful for Rebecca, because she reads far below grade level and can be aided by visual cues in her reading. Rebecca can have grade-level text read to her, and teachers can include definitions embedded in the text for words that she is unlikely to know. Also, Rebecca needs help comprehending what is being read to her, so Kurzweil notes can help her access teh meaning of the material, and predictive words and a word bank will help her compose papers, Kurzweil is also useful for Luke because he has dsylexia, and if his assignments are read to him, he can focus on the meaning and not expanding all of his energy on trying to access the written words.

I think Kurzweil could be great to use in one of the current classrooms that I am volunteering in, a room for students who have very limited mobility. Many of the students are quadriplegics, so a technology that could read the words to them, without them having to turn cumbersome pages, could be very useful