Most teachers who assist or deal with students with
disabilities know little of assistive technologies that could help their
students enhance their education and be more prepared on the content area. In
this video, technology plays an essential role to these students’ participation
and success story. Achievements are possible for these students with the help
of technology such as Lukas Bratcher, who sets a great example of determination
without letting his disability degrade him for the goals he wants to reach. “Assistive
technology is the major foundation of my life.” (Sweeney-Martini) Susanna made
it through life and education with the help of technology. Mobility, completing
tasks, and communication are all dependents of technology in Susanna’s case. Susanna
uses voice activated software to complete written assignments.
Having a student who has a disability brings you to revising
and bending the lesson for everyone to participate in. Creating a lesson plan
for a diverse classroom takes creativity, passion, and always having the proper
technology present in order for the lesson plan to be successful. After
completing your lesson plan, you should have colleagues or professionals of
your content area review and critique what you have provided. Teachers can assess if the student’s needs
have been met and completed successfully in order to see if a lesson plan is being effective.
I have a cousin who’s
partially blind and technology plays a big role in her life because she uses a
device called VisionBook that helps zoom in on documents for her to easily read
without straining her eyes. This helps her complete class assignments and
homework within the time period given for the assignment.
Therefore, assistive technology opens up a
gateway of connection to a world of information that may have remained in
silence. On the other hand, if teachers don’t have assistive technology within their class activities or lesson plan, students with
disabilities may have troubles learning, feel isolated from the class, and fail
academically. As an educator, it is important that our classroom structure, lesson
plans, and activities meet the necessities of our students, whether disabled or
not to guarantee that every student is participating and has their needs
provided for.
References
The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2005, February 02).
Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video
