Saturday, June 1, 2013

Equal Access to the Digital World!


 According to The Assistive Technology Act, The ADA; The NCLB Act; Section 504, Rehabilitation Act; and IDEA, teachers must use all tools necessary to assist every student’s unique learning style. The mission of today’s teacher – the guide on the side -includes the strengthening and reinforcement of 21st Century Learning Skills!

Technology is not only portable and highly accessible, but it is highly adaptable to meet the needs of every special student – exclusion simply does not exist! Students today begin their relationship with technology as young as 2 and 3 (i.e., baby I-pads at Target) and continues into college and throughout life. And there are technologies to meet every learner preference be it visual, auditory, tactile, etc. Our classrooms are student-centered and our curriculum plan can be adjusted to meet student needs with current Web 2.0 and 3.0 Tools now available to support inquiry- and project-based experiences!

"Change will only happen if it is placed in the context of whole-school reform” (Barber, ISTE, 2011). Today we all have a stake in the educational process!  For example, teachers, students, families, and friends can ALL benefit from a site called Atomic Learning.  This site offers more than 25,000 tutorials on more than 100 computer applications that students and teachers use every day. These are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from any internet-connected computer, with new tutorials reportedly added every 45 days. Go to: http://www.3com.com.

"It’s time to craft our vision for the future, instead of dwelling on the past!" (Pierce, CoSN, 2012).




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