As technology continues to play a bigger role in the field of education, it is important that we are making sure that it is accessible by all. Accessibility and equality is something that I have always known is of great importance. However, I never had given much thought of relating it to technology.I did many of my student observation hours in a classroom where all books were downloaded onto an iPad, assignments were posted online, students could complete projects virtually, etc… However, I never considered how a student with a disability could potentially run into an issue with this.
Through Bowser and Zabala’s Aim For Digital Equity, I learned the true importance of accessible instructional materials (AIM). In this article we read about a student who was falling behind due to not knowing about the digital tools he could use to assist his learning. He spent multiple hours a day trying to get through readings and problems that took only 5 minutes for a program to read out loud to him. Overall this helped him become more confident as he was now able keep up with others as well as save time so he could focus on other studies. There are so many programs available for us to use today (textbooks converted to audio, Dragon, Google, etc…) that we should be able to make lessons and assignments equally beneficial for all students.
Online accessibility is so important to have in a classroom. All students should have the same opportunity to learn. Technology or instructional materials should not be a deciding factor of who gets to learn what. I believe it is important that we let students know the different tools available to help them. If something is not accessible, we should look for another tool similar that is or create it ourselves if that is what is needed to teach the lesson. But, I also believe that this is an area to be cautious towards. As we read, Doug Levin, CEO of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, predicts that mobile technology will soon replace all paper and textbook learning tools. Students should to be closely observed for who should be using these helpful tools. If we gave all students the access to listen to a book rather than read it themselves, they may never learn to read. It can be a dangerous path to go down if teachers are not sure how to determine and monitor the use of these assisting technology tools. As a future teacher, I will do my best to monitor and ensure equal accessibility for all of my students.
Through Bowser and Zabala’s Aim For Digital Equity, I learned the true importance of accessible instructional materials (AIM). In this article we read about a student who was falling behind due to not knowing about the digital tools he could use to assist his learning. He spent multiple hours a day trying to get through readings and problems that took only 5 minutes for a program to read out loud to him. Overall this helped him become more confident as he was now able keep up with others as well as save time so he could focus on other studies. There are so many programs available for us to use today (textbooks converted to audio, Dragon, Google, etc…) that we should be able to make lessons and assignments equally beneficial for all students.
Online accessibility is so important to have in a classroom. All students should have the same opportunity to learn. Technology or instructional materials should not be a deciding factor of who gets to learn what. I believe it is important that we let students know the different tools available to help them. If something is not accessible, we should look for another tool similar that is or create it ourselves if that is what is needed to teach the lesson. But, I also believe that this is an area to be cautious towards. As we read, Doug Levin, CEO of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, predicts that mobile technology will soon replace all paper and textbook learning tools. Students should to be closely observed for who should be using these helpful tools. If we gave all students the access to listen to a book rather than read it themselves, they may never learn to read. It can be a dangerous path to go down if teachers are not sure how to determine and monitor the use of these assisting technology tools. As a future teacher, I will do my best to monitor and ensure equal accessibility for all of my students.
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteInteresting you brought up the point about "if we gave all students the access to listen to a book rather than read it themselves". Immediately I thought about the students who have difficulty hearing or are deaf. They would always prefer to read over screen readers. There is always at least one student who needs another option other than just one way of learning. I think it is definitely best to monitor students to ensure they are still getting a well-rounded education, and to bring in different methods of learning because chances are your whole class isn't going to learn the best in the same ways.
Overall, I definitely agree with you. It is extremely important to ensure equal accessibility for all students.