Sunday, February 6, 2011
Equal Access for All Learners
It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide equal access to the digital world to all learners in the classroom. In an "integrated" (students with exceptional educational needs and students with out such requirements) classroom, however, this may prove to be difficult. One may be tempted to go to the "lowest common denominator" method so that all students in the classroom will be able to individually perform the tasks required of them using digital tools. I think it makes more sense to use more of a self-paced, graduated method in which the tasks which are taught to the students (and for which they will be held responsible) start out at a more simple level and get more complex with each level. Students must show that they are competent in each level before being taught the next level. This way each child can progress at their own rate, and their level of educational exceptionality would not be a hindrance. The advanced students could even be used as mentors to the weaker students.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I couldn't agree more! I think given all the students the same opportunities and letting them learn/progress at their own rate is very important! I work with a special education student and I love that he has the same opportunites with technology as his classmates. He does the best he can and he has come a long way since September!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Having the technology would enable students to self-pace themselves. Also, it would enable teachers to teach diversified classrooms more efficiently. As the post above referenced the special needs student having the same opportunity, I think that is a positive experience for him.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas, I never thought of the self paced aspect of equal access. Students are always at different levels in a classroom and I think each child should have the opportunity to start at the right level and improve gradually at their own pace.
ReplyDeleteThis is the way of the future!!! We're even talking about using books, programs and an iPad to home-school our kids with! Of course we'll be doing our fair share of instruction and Q&A, but the interactive nature of the software/hardware is key to keeping the kids involved and participating at the pace they are comfortable with! PLUS, each child using the software, progressing after mastery of the previous level, will be able to retain more of what they have learned simply because it kept their attention! Your son did a Public Speaking presentation on this and can give you some wonderful resources on this!
ReplyDeleteHere's Apple's take on it:
http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/
Now, there are a WHOLE LOT of FREE education .pdf's out there, including TEXT BOOKS!!
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Imagine the savings to the education system if they only had to purchase an iPad or equivalent for each student in lieu of new books each year!!!
Here are some more resources for you!
ReplyDeletehttp://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
http://www.opensourcetext.org/