Anticipating Experience with Adaptive Technology

            My background with special education and STEM are very limited in both areas. Until my enrollment at the University of Guam, I have seen but yet to be in a classroom where an aid or technology equipment was used to assist a student. Additionally, STEM was not developed until long after I graduated from high school, and I am learning on the fly as my children have assignments fostering those subjects.

            Participation is crucial for any students’ success, which makes it even more important that students with disabilities are acknowledged and included. Both videos, How Assistive Technology Enables Dreams and STEM and People with Disabilities, reiterate this idea. The devices shown during the videos prove adaptive technology does not always need bulky, specialized equipment. The technology already accessible on mobile devices and tablets are easily available to both students and teachers. Hayes (2013) states points out that devices have minimized in size and are more efficient for students with disabilities. The Enabling Dreams video mostly displayed students with an array of disabilities using a device that was comparably the size of a tablet, which boosted student to teacher interaction. With the availability of smart devices, there is no excuse to not have any assistive tools or applications present at any time. 

            In my future classes, I hope to meet with my special education students and parents to better understand their needs and assess what technology devices would work best to encourage interaction with everyone in the class. There is a wealth of knowledge found on teachers’ blogs, specifically special education, and I look forward to gaining more experience with adaptive technologies. With my very limited experience in special education, I would try to take advantage of staff development and hearing what works for seasoned teachers. Another resonating piece of advice taken from both videos is to give students the opportunity to teach. Minero (2017) suggests surveying students to see what they would like to learn, as well as changing their learning space by providing time for individual and group work. Offering students this change of routine would be beneficial for all students’ participation and gives me an idea of the efficacy of my lesson. 

            My goal is to teach elementary school children, and I think there are a variety of modifications available to meet the needs of my students to get the point of any lesson. For students with physical disabilities, any outside activity would be assessed and revised as needed. I would hope to include a lot of show and tell with items that meet different sensory needs. I have high hopes that I am able to gain more about the needs of different learners and a network of professionals or resources that would help me perform to the best of my abilities. 

           My disabled family members range from severely mentally disabled to deaf. I have been able to communicate with my deaf relatives via basic sign language or by visual cues because of the limited knowledge, there is so much to learn and look forward to learning. Although I am far behind, I think I have enough knowledge and motivation to adapt to any technology, especially if it will benefit anyone under my guidance.

           

Hayes, Heather. (2013 March 28). How technology is helping special-needs students excel. EdTech. Retrieved from https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/03/how-technology-helping-special-needs-students-excel

Minero, Emelina. (2017, Feb 14). The optimal seating plan? Letting yoru students choose. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/optimal-seating-plan-letting-your-students-choose-emelina-minero