Assistive Technology, as explained by Gayl Bowser in "Assistive Technology in the Digital Age", is 1) "any item or piece of technology, and 2) "AT increases the ability of a person with a disability to do something functional as read, write, or organize thoughts". As the technology in the modern era rises, our availability of assistive technology is on the rise.
Bowser explains the wonderful use of voice recognition technology in Shanon Henry's classrooms in Portland. The use of the voice recognition AT has made it easier for students to translate words from their mouths to a computer screen. This makes it easier for children who need assistance with writing, and using keyboards. While it brings the words to life on their computer screen, the technology also allows them easier access to contacting their teacher through e-mail, and sending assignments online. This is a wonderful new resource for our students to use, but Bowser explains that students aren't being acclimating to assisted technology because our teachers today themselves do not have enough knowledge about it themselves. This is something we need to bridge in the future.
Daniel Cochrane illustrates the gap between assistive technology and instructional technology, and how bridging the gap would be a benefit to our students in "Mind the AT-IT Overlap". Cochrane explains that AT are usually reserved for case-by-case to individual students, but explains that opening up access of ATs to all students would help motivate their learning. In his article, Cochrane addresses the negative stigma that ATs have to do with only being used by disabled children, but explains that the AT "doesn't change the person, it changes the person's learning environment". This is compelling evidence to open up all ATs as Instructional Technology to be used as open resources for all students to use to their educational advantage.
I find assistive technologies to be an incredible resource that we in these modern times have the ability to take advantage of. I'm surprised to find that not all teachers are well-versed in the areas of AT, because I think they serve a high utility value for our students, and will correlate highly in the success of the disabled students who use them, and I also believe that Cochrane (March/April 2013) places a compelling argument that ATs should be widely available to all students. If ATs can provide new learnable environments for our students, then I agree that we should make all ATs available for our students - I would definitely use them to enhance and encourage my own students learning in the future.
Bowser, Gayl "Assistive Technology in the Digital Age" (September/October 2013)
Cochrane, Daniel "Mind the AT-IT Overlap" (March/April 2013)
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Digital Storytelling
The past days of teaching an English/Language Arts class revolved around books, novels, and paper handouts. In these modern times, the medium of technology has brought an abundance of benefits that will affect our English classrooms. For example, Digital Storytelling is a new platform that teachers can use to illustrate stories to their students. Not only is this a new effective resource to explain stories, but the students achieve a new learning process in spelling, reading, and especially reading comprehension.
Regina Royer and Patricia Richards discussed the 16 important strategies for reading comprehension recommended by the National Reading Panel in "Digital Storytelling" (2008). The strategies involved "active listening", "cooperative learning", and "mental imagery". Royer and Richards explained that Digital Storytelling was a platform that allowed for the National Reading Panel's 16 strategies to be applied with. In terms of active listening, Royer & Richards explained that the educator should have their students actively listen to their partners tell the digital stories. In cooperative learning, students can work in groups to create digital stories while also being able to provide feedback to one another. Royer & Richards explained many utilities of Digital storytelling in regards to encouraging reading comprehension, and the evidence can be seen when applied to real world experiences.
Bernejean Porter, in "Digital Storytelling in Second Life", showed her real world experience of digital storytelling with her own students. In recreating the story "The Road Less Traveled" by Robert Frost, Porter had her students retell the story through their own digital stories. Interestingly, Porter had her students delve deep into their own interpreted meaning of the stories, so that they could each for their own unique media, text, and items for their individual stories. This challenged Porter's students to critically think of what they needed to do to illustrate and illuminate their own ideas of the poem, and also engaged them enough to comprehend the meaning of the actual poem.
Royer & Richards (2008) explained that Digital Storytelling motivated reading comprehension, and Porter's real world experience backs their claim up. As a teacher, I would definitely use Digital Storytelling in English/Language Arts lessons. Novels seem to bore students, but using the platform of digital storytelling may be able to engage the students more into the stories, and help them comprehend the real meanings. Maybe it will even illuminate the meanings even more, since it will be a new form of media the students will be able to see/read the stories through.
Porter, Bernejean, "Digital Storytelling in Second Life" (May 2010)
Richards, Patricia; Royer, Regina, "Digital Storytelling" (November 2008)
Regina Royer and Patricia Richards discussed the 16 important strategies for reading comprehension recommended by the National Reading Panel in "Digital Storytelling" (2008). The strategies involved "active listening", "cooperative learning", and "mental imagery". Royer and Richards explained that Digital Storytelling was a platform that allowed for the National Reading Panel's 16 strategies to be applied with. In terms of active listening, Royer & Richards explained that the educator should have their students actively listen to their partners tell the digital stories. In cooperative learning, students can work in groups to create digital stories while also being able to provide feedback to one another. Royer & Richards explained many utilities of Digital storytelling in regards to encouraging reading comprehension, and the evidence can be seen when applied to real world experiences.
Bernejean Porter, in "Digital Storytelling in Second Life", showed her real world experience of digital storytelling with her own students. In recreating the story "The Road Less Traveled" by Robert Frost, Porter had her students retell the story through their own digital stories. Interestingly, Porter had her students delve deep into their own interpreted meaning of the stories, so that they could each for their own unique media, text, and items for their individual stories. This challenged Porter's students to critically think of what they needed to do to illustrate and illuminate their own ideas of the poem, and also engaged them enough to comprehend the meaning of the actual poem.
Royer & Richards (2008) explained that Digital Storytelling motivated reading comprehension, and Porter's real world experience backs their claim up. As a teacher, I would definitely use Digital Storytelling in English/Language Arts lessons. Novels seem to bore students, but using the platform of digital storytelling may be able to engage the students more into the stories, and help them comprehend the real meanings. Maybe it will even illuminate the meanings even more, since it will be a new form of media the students will be able to see/read the stories through.
Porter, Bernejean, "Digital Storytelling in Second Life" (May 2010)
Richards, Patricia; Royer, Regina, "Digital Storytelling" (November 2008)
Sunday, April 3, 2016
PLN
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-sfzHa4OBGsyrTzI5-UMTZLuRa1unGeY8JDfeIWCUZ0/edit?usp=sharing
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