The Beginning

I wish to write about a lot of "beginnings" in this blog today. First and foremost, this is the beginning of my reflective thoughts specifically aimed towards assistive technology in the classroom. Keep in consideration that I am a student studying Early Childhood Education; so some (but not all) of my blogs will be geared towards the specific age range associated with ECE.  Throughout this blog, I will reflect on what I have been learning through my assistive technology class and also useful or insightful articles I stumble upon.

On a twitter that I am following, Karen Janowski posts a very compelling video on "The Case Against Assitive Technology."  I suggest you watch this video for it is truly one that makes you think.

The video basically sends you through a time line of how the thoughts of technology have progressed over the years. One quote I would like to discuss from the video is, "Until technology is reliable and cheaper, teachers should stick to paper assignments and the classroom should not spill over onto computers," from a High School Journalism Class. What year was this quoted? 2008. Two years ago. If people were thinking this only two years ago, where is our future for technology headed? Within the past two years, I feel as a student that I have seen a boost of technology use in the classroom. Although, one complaint I still hear by fellow students is the unreliability of technology. I somewhat agree that it can become frustrating when technology crashes on us (especially when we become so reliant on it). How can we shape this thought?

There is an assumption that technology is cheating which I have never been able to comprehend. Take for example two children, one who is dyslexic and one who is not, that are clearly reading at different levels. The child who is not dyslexic reads through the book in a breeze and thoroughly gets the full enjoyment factor out of the book. The child who is dyslexic reads through the book in a struggle, becomes frustrated, and ultimately finds no enjoyment in reading. So the teacher allows for the child to listen to a recording of the book where the child can still see the pictures of the book through a computer or just simply allow the child to flip the pages in the actual book. How is this cheating? If both students accomplish the task with enjoyment, then how is that "unfair?"If we were to ask the child who is dyslexic which method he enjoyed better, I think he would chose the one that caused him less frustration. Through technology, the students who are disengaged, from the struggle and lack of enjoyment, are suddenly engaged by a certain task. Isn't that what we want for our future classrooms? Why keep making excuses?

The video ends by asking,"what can you do to change this?" For me, I think I can use the knowledge that I gain through my college preparation and implement it into my own classroom. If there are ways that I can help my future students succeed, then I want to have a solid understanding of them. If that involves using technology to its advantages, then count me in.