Reflections - Assignment #6 - 4/18/2012
The discussion about AT and IEP's continue. The authors’ point about poor AT training for special education teachers is a good one. The authors point out that AT training is limited and when special education teachers are trained to use technology, it is usually focused on using a particular program or device, not how to strategically use AT to foster learning.
I wasn't aware that school districts could pay for student technology from their technology budgets. I assumed that it had to paid for from special education funds. I wonder if school district spending in technology is trending up and if so, to what do they attribute the growth?
I need to learn more about the ways in which Medicaid can pay for “medically necessary” assistive technology. What constitutes medically necessary? Who deems it so? Could that be a funding option for children in foster care or kinship care to receive individualized services? IDEA still governs this so does that mean students have to be designated as special needs students? I think IDEA also covers 504 plans. The challenge with this line of thinking is that the school districts are still responsible for providing free services to families, so they will continue to be the gatekeepers. But for kids in foster care or kinship care who are receiving Medi-Cal, could we ask the school to provide the technological supports that would typically be provided in a 504 and have Medi-Cal provide pay for software and related specialized services like educational therapy????
The information about emergent literacy and online safety/security is helpful also. School districts have created protected spaces for students' online activities. What options are available for an educational therapist? Perhaps it would be helpful to review internet and social media usage policies for community-based after school programs.
Reflections - Assignment #5 3/28/2012
What strikes me most about the assigned readings are: (1) The "human issues" related to assistive techonology. With the plethora of tools available to a student, it still seems like students’ success or lack thereof with AT is most dramatically affected by teachers' and administrators' familiarity and comfort with technology and their ability to think outside the box. Budget constraints are a reality too, of course, but there are lower cost options available that are not included in IEPs simply because teachers and specialists are unfamiliar with them.
(2) The SETT framework was very informative and the format provided in the textbook is something I could use for kids at the Kinship Center. We are often asked to sit in on IEP meetings and preparing a simple document like this for a student's caregiver (who is often in the dark about these things) would help the caregiver advocate for services.
(3) The discussions about the classrooms of the future were interesting. Learning will change with technology as evidenced by the efforts already underway to change the textbook market with digital textbooks. And, what about the idea of teachers being able to create their own textbooks? Fascinating! Who are the leaders in re-training teachers to teach in this new technological environment?
Reflections - Assignment #4 3/13/2012
Two things I found really intriguing: (1) Using web 2.0 tools for assessments and (2) Webquests.
I had not considered Using web 2.0 tools for assessments before this class. The chart on page 172 was helpful in describing the difference between using portfolios to assess learning and those used to foster learning. I also looked up Helen Barrett who is credited with helping educators use ePortfolios. I found a wealth of information available about eportfolios. Here’s a useful link to ePortfolio Mash Up with Google Apps: http://electronicportfolios.com/google/index.html.
I was also intrigued by the idea of providing rubrics to students before lessons to ensure they know what success looks like. (It forces me to know also). The work of ETs is typically tied to specific outcomes that are easily measured. And, our work is fairly linear and well-defined. Nonetheless, I have always been interested in inquiry-based learning and look forward to incorporating it into my practice. Webquests are less linear and I can definitely see how it is necessary to think through appropriate rubrics. These are three resources that I have found helpful:
To explore or develop rubrics for web lessons: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm
To create rubrics for webquests: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric.html
And, most exciting, is a webquest “taskonomy” (a taxonomy of tasks): http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
Reflections - Assignment #3 2/29/2012
Reflections - Assignment #2 2/14/2012
Reflections from readings - Assignment #1
Additional reflections:
The discussion about AT and IEP's continue. The authors’ point about poor AT training for special education teachers is a good one. The authors point out that AT training is limited and when special education teachers are trained to use technology, it is usually focused on using a particular program or device, not how to strategically use AT to foster learning.
I wasn't aware that school districts could pay for student technology from their technology budgets. I assumed that it had to paid for from special education funds. I wonder if school district spending in technology is trending up and if so, to what do they attribute the growth?
I need to learn more about the ways in which Medicaid can pay for “medically necessary” assistive technology. What constitutes medically necessary? Who deems it so? Could that be a funding option for children in foster care or kinship care to receive individualized services? IDEA still governs this so does that mean students have to be designated as special needs students? I think IDEA also covers 504 plans. The challenge with this line of thinking is that the school districts are still responsible for providing free services to families, so they will continue to be the gatekeepers. But for kids in foster care or kinship care who are receiving Medi-Cal, could we ask the school to provide the technological supports that would typically be provided in a 504 and have Medi-Cal provide pay for software and related specialized services like educational therapy????
The information about emergent literacy and online safety/security is helpful also. School districts have created protected spaces for students' online activities. What options are available for an educational therapist? Perhaps it would be helpful to review internet and social media usage policies for community-based after school programs.
Reflections - Assignment #5 3/28/2012
What strikes me most about the assigned readings are: (1) The "human issues" related to assistive techonology. With the plethora of tools available to a student, it still seems like students’ success or lack thereof with AT is most dramatically affected by teachers' and administrators' familiarity and comfort with technology and their ability to think outside the box. Budget constraints are a reality too, of course, but there are lower cost options available that are not included in IEPs simply because teachers and specialists are unfamiliar with them.
(2) The SETT framework was very informative and the format provided in the textbook is something I could use for kids at the Kinship Center. We are often asked to sit in on IEP meetings and preparing a simple document like this for a student's caregiver (who is often in the dark about these things) would help the caregiver advocate for services.
(3) The discussions about the classrooms of the future were interesting. Learning will change with technology as evidenced by the efforts already underway to change the textbook market with digital textbooks. And, what about the idea of teachers being able to create their own textbooks? Fascinating! Who are the leaders in re-training teachers to teach in this new technological environment?
Reflections - Assignment #4 3/13/2012
Two things I found really intriguing: (1) Using web 2.0 tools for assessments and (2) Webquests.
I had not considered Using web 2.0 tools for assessments before this class. The chart on page 172 was helpful in describing the difference between using portfolios to assess learning and those used to foster learning. I also looked up Helen Barrett who is credited with helping educators use ePortfolios. I found a wealth of information available about eportfolios. Here’s a useful link to ePortfolio Mash Up with Google Apps: http://electronicportfolios.com/google/index.html.
I was also intrigued by the idea of providing rubrics to students before lessons to ensure they know what success looks like. (It forces me to know also). The work of ETs is typically tied to specific outcomes that are easily measured. And, our work is fairly linear and well-defined. Nonetheless, I have always been interested in inquiry-based learning and look forward to incorporating it into my practice. Webquests are less linear and I can definitely see how it is necessary to think through appropriate rubrics. These are three resources that I have found helpful:
To explore or develop rubrics for web lessons: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm
To create rubrics for webquests: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric.html
And, most exciting, is a webquest “taskonomy” (a taxonomy of tasks): http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
Reflections - Assignment #3 2/29/2012
- The discoveries continue! There are way too many options for using technology. I appreciate the rubric provided in the book to determine the best fit for a student. I continue to be impressed by good teaching principles and am beginning to think through my own decision making process about which technology to use for which students. In addition to determining the learning goals, I need to consider the child's personality and the level of supervision that will be available to the student while they are using the technology. I also want to ensure that the child can get right to the work and not be distracted or overwhelmed by his/her senses or by the steps needed to complete a task. And because I am thinking a lot about the use of technology to support executive functioning, I find myself looking for built-in organizing tools that a student can use to complete a task or assignment.
- I find myself exploring many of the websites presented in the reading and quite honestly, I am becoming overwhelmed by the many choices. I think I will rely more on the kool places section of this website to note places of interest and limit my class and reading notes to those that I think I may use immediately. I am not sure how others organize their information. BTW, I just started using Drop Box, but even that needs some type of organizing.
- I remember seeing a TV special about Larry Byrd, the basketball player. The narrator talked about how people often underestimated his intelligence because of the way he spoke and he said, "Syntax does not determine intelligence." Isn't that the truth?! Our reading assignments underscore this sentiment. "Unfortunately, many people in our society -- including education professionals -- tend to equate an inability to speak with an inability to think" (Williams, 2000). What a disservice to our students. This helps me frame my purpose for using technology as an educational tool - - to allow students to demonstrate to themselves and to others just how smart they are :)! Simple...but I like it.
- Lastly, the New Tools in Schools chapter offered lots of good ideas. I am now wondering how to engage my son and others. Because my aunt's 85th birthday party is just around the corner, I think I will have him collaborate with his cousins or his sister to do one of the following: (1) create a digital story about what life might be like for them 85 years from now; (2) create an online poster for her wishing her a happy birthday or (3) create oral histories of our family that will be captured on a blog or in a video. Also, I wonder how digital storytelling can be used for social-emotional work with kinship, foster and adopted children? Can they be used instead of life books?
- I can't wait to check out Thinkquest.org! And I found a few parent resources this week. Check out the kool places page.
Reflections - Assignment #2 2/14/2012
- I watched several UDL videos by CAST to better understand how to incorporate these principles into instruction. I understand better each of the principles and what that means on a practical level. I was struck by how much UDL-friendly teachers provide scaffolds for executive functioning. One classroom teacher in particular did an excellent job of helping students locate themselves in the process (self-monitoring). He helped them identify resources that were available to them and reminded them how to use them for the tasks at hand. He gave them lots of choices about where to start assignments and how they wanted to report out to groups. It was very encouraging to see it in action. The videos also gave me language that I can use to express what I have been noticing; which is that children who are easily frustrated and stressed by learning (like my son) need support in these areas. Because they are often lack cognitive flexibility and struggle with self-regulation, they need to (1) clarify the goal (what am I being asked to do); (2) be reminded of what they already know (activate background knowledge and use their resources); (3) identify the steps needed to accomplish the goal or finish the assignment (and I mean identify the steps and write them down so they can refer to it ALL the time); and then (4) monitor their progress. They also need things like animation, video, prezi's and I believe, the experience of DOING to stay engaged and on task.
- I love the idea that the function of the web is to "harness collective intelligence."
- New information for me includes (1) Ajax programming and the fact that it sits between the user and server. This explains why updating web pages is faster today than in prior years. (2) Open source means more than "free." It is actually a source of evolving software and really epitomizes the concept of online collaborations. (3) There is an abundance of assistive technology available for computer access including voice recognition software and tools that allow users access via their voice, eyes and head. Of particular note are Zoom Text and refreshable Braille. I think I might participate in the visual impairment simulation at some point, too (page 207). (4) Wiki is a web page with many authors - like a blog of sorts.
- There are a TON of new technologies that I want to look into for my use. Check out my kool places page!
Reflections from readings - Assignment #1
- It is clear that technology must be explicitly linked to teaching strategies - which should in turn be informed by a child's learning needs. Throwing technology at a problem without good instructional pedagogy will not get the job done. So me having a good grounding in remediation and learning strategies is paramount.
- The discussion about when to move from remediation to compensation is a good one and not as easily answered in educational therapy as it might be in occupational therapy. For example, if a child is struggling with reading comprehension, providing adapted books or other technological supports makes sense. It seems that it would also be important to equip the student with learning strategies, (i.e.,SIMS paraphrasing strategies.) I think it's not an "either-or" proposition, but one of continual exploration.
- How accessible is this technology to parents? Which are affordable and which are cost-prohibitive?
- I agree and am very excited about the idea that Web 2.0 provides opportunities to develop new workplace skills, namely (1) collaboration; (2) the ability synthesize information; and (3) the ability to make connections between ideas, fields and concepts - even those seemingly unrelated.
Additional reflections:
- Technology and social media in some ways makes" informal learning" just as important as classroom learning. Thus parents have a tremendous opportunity to harness the power of the internet to educate their children.
- People who understand how students learn, how to teach students, and how to make learning meaningful to students will never be out of work because just like in the music industry, quality will rise to the top. Having a drum machine, does not make one a musician.
- I can't believe it! I just learned that the term "in the cloud" refers to web-based programs that can be accessed from any computer. I laugh because one agency I worked for converted their system by putting everything "in the cloud." When the tech people presented the new system to the senior management team, we all left scratching our heads because we didn't get it (me included!) Mind you, I have been using a web based email program for years because I couldn't risk computer crashes, so I understood the concept of storing information on a website and being able to access it from anywhere. Despite this, I could not make head or tails of the concept of storing things "in the clouds".
- This class is very timely, as there is a lot happening in this arena. For example, in late October, 2011 the University of Kansas' Center for Research on Learning announced that it received a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to find out whether online learning is working for students with disabilities and to develop new methods of using technology to improve learning. Researchers will conduct research on new e-learning instructional designs based on prior research on learning processes. Particular attention will be given to the learning attributes of students with disabilities. More information can be found on their webite: http://www.kucrl.org/news/kucrl-to-study-online-education-for-students-with-disabilities/.
- I also discovered and have subscribed to KQED's Mindshift, a blog that focuses on technology and education. Mindshift has a number of great articles and radio broadcasts.
- Besides reading the assignments, I went to the CAST website to learn more about Universal Design for Learning Guidelines (UDL). I haven't watched the videos yet, but plan to do so at a later date.
- I am having fun with this website!
- Does AET have a policy or standards regarding the use of assistive technology (AT) in educational therapy practices?