In this Educational Leadership article, California fifth-grade teacher Kyle Redford says many digital games and apps have been “disappointing, distracting, or time-wasters.” But there’s one area of technology that she believes has fulfilled its promise: “Probably more than anything else in my 30 years as a teacher, assistive technology has changed my instruction.” Redford appreciates the way it supports students with disabilities and differences and increases all students’ access to high-level learning that would be impossible without technology. Several key areas:
•
Reading – Audio versions of classroom
books and digital books that highlight the words being read on the screen are
powerful tools (Bookshare https://www.bookshare.org/cms/
is a free service available to anyone with a known print disability). “With
decoding support in place, many dyslexic students become leaders in book
discussions,” says Redford. “After they discover that reading involves more
than sounding out words, many find they are skilled at making connections,
drawing inferences, and making predictions.”
•
Writing – Dictation apps, available
now on all devices including cell phones, convert students’ speech into written
text and work wonders on their confidence as writers. “Once they get
comfortable with dictating what they want to say into a dictation app and
editing the text produced,” says Redford, “students who previously turned in
minimalistic, poorly composed written work now regularly surprise me with more
volume, detail, and depth of thought.” Dictation apps aren’t for everyone, she
says; an alternative is a predictive spelling app that gives lots of support to
students who are having difficulty with mechanical skills. “Student output
often increases once these students are allowed to focus on their ideas,” says Redford, “instead of being
distracted by spelling and handwriting snags.”
•
Behavior – When struggling students
are engaged and successful, they are much less likely to act out, improving
classroom culture and enabling the teacher to focus on instruction rather than
discipline.
Why
aren’t assistive technologies more widely used? One misconception is that they
give unfair advantages to some students, creating divisions in classrooms. The
opposite is true, says Redford: “Assistive technologies help offset inequities
by providing students who have learning differences with better access to
learning opportunities.” Another myth is that technology keeps students from
acquiring key skills. Not true, says Redford; assistive tools help students
work around their disabilities and become skilled, confident, and included by
classmates. A third worry is that students will become dependent on technology.
“But one of the most compelling attributes of assistive technology,” says
Redford, “is the sense of independent confidence it provides for students with
learning disabilities (or differences)… Down the road, they will require much
less adult support to keep pace with academic expectations.”
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