![]() C4.Q2. Students with special needs include both those who have disabilities and those who are gifted. Technology can provide solutions to help meet the unique needs of both groups. However, schools typically have limited budgets for technology. Considering that the needs of all students should be met, what do you think the best allocation of limited technology dollars should be to meet these students’ needs? Give examples to support your views. Initially, when considering how to spend money allocated for technology for special needs students, I thought the amount should be divided evenly. The goal when teaching a student with special needs or abilities is to help each child reach their full potential, regardless if the program is for disabled or gifted children. Two of my children are a part of the gifted program at the elementary school they attend. I would love to see my children use the most innovative technology available to them. However, after reading the chapter, I realized that, although the goals in teaching disabled and gifted are the same the methods and tools educators use to accomplish the goals are different. The disabled children need to have assistance that will allow them to perform at their potential level. The gifted children need to be kept engaged with material and master critical thinking skills. The chapter in the textbook clearly states how disabled children can be assisted through technology, however the textbook was not as clear on how technology can be used to help gifted children as much. I do not fault the authors for this. I believe that there are other, more traditional, avenues that can be taken to keep gifted students engaged with the material and to help them master critical thinking skills. For example, project based learning and introducing them to design thinking. As a result, I have changed my opinion on how money should be allocated to the special needs students. I believe that disabled students have more of a need for technology in the classroom than gifted students, therefore, more of the technology funds should be allocated to the disabled students. C5.Q3. What is the most significant opportunity presented by technology integration? What role does training play in effectively integrating computers in the classroom? Technology integration in the classroom has opened doors for communication like never before. I believe that this has been technology’s most significant contribution to the classroom. Both the instructors and the students benefit from these new routes of communication. Educators can discuss ideas and solutions to problems with other educators using discussion boards and list servs. Our professional organization has an educational branch called Clinical Laboratory Educator’s Conference. You can sign up to receive emails from their list serv. This is very useful because it connects you to hundreds of other educators that are facing the same issues in the classroom that you are on a daily basis. Instructors can also use technology to bring other subject-matter experts into the classroom via Skype, TEDtalks, and Youtube. When I was asked to teach a course on laboratory management, I knew that I lacked the expertise to teach with confidence certain areas of that course. I turned to TEDtalks to supplement my lectures on topics such as motivation and leadership. These examples benefit the students somewhat indirectly. However, the students benefit directly from this greater ability for the instructor to communicate by receiving quick answers to questions via email, immediate feedback on quizzes, via iClicker, and access to course materials in multiple formats via the school’s learning platform (Blackboard). The students are also able to communicate with each other more effectively. While working on projects students can jointly work on presentations and papers via programs such as GoogleDocs and EverNote. All of the programs and applications listed above will not be helpful in increasing communication unless the instructors and students understand how to utilize them correctly. This is where training, for both educator and student, is critical. The administration of school systems and universities should invest in this training. USM has made an effort in doing so. The Learning Enhancement Center offers courses in many of the programs necessary to successfully integrate technology into my classroom. C6.Q1. After considering the various types of digital technologies presented in this chapter, what three pieces of equipment do you think you would most want for your future or current classroom? Explain why you selected these three and how you would use them for teaching and learning. This chapter presented many different types of stand-alone digital technologies. I was surprised and pleased to see that I already had access to most of the technologies discussed. Of the technologies I currently use, I find that the overhead projector, the iClicker, and a digital camera are the most useful. I use the overhead projector on a daily basis. I build PowerPoints to direct my lecture. Embedded in these PowerPoints I usually have links to supplemental material, such as videos, that I can show to the class during lecture time. I also use the overhead project to utilize my other digital technology which is the iClicker. I give short review quizzes at the beginning of each class. The students can get immediate feedback as we go over the answers to each day’s quiz. The last item on my most useful list is the digital camera. Last fall, I was able to capture a video one of my white blood cells eating a yeast cell using a camera that fit into the ocular of a microscope. That has to be a personal favorite! This camera can also be used in other classes in our department because the subject matter of most of our classes are on a microscopic scale.
3 Comments
Demetric DyAnn Williams
6/19/2016 12:14:12 pm
Hi Mary:
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6/19/2016 01:07:49 pm
We answered the same questions so one of us is confused about the question assignment. We will have to work it out between now and our next reading reflection.
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Mary
6/25/2016 06:12:44 pm
I think an electronic whiteboard would be interesting, although the only advantage that I see is being able to save what you have written on the board. That would be nice, but I'm not sure if it is worth the cost of that technology.
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AuthorI'm Mary Warden, a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi. I am currently working on my PhD in Instructional Technology and Design. Please read my self introduction to learn a little more about me! BlogrollXavier Agee
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