Well, our selected topics course,
Assistive Technology, has come to an end, so this is the final post I am
obligated to make; however, I will likely continue to add to this blog as I
find other resources I want to keep track of.
The posts may not be as regularly scheduled though! For our final post, we were asked to reflect
on the course, synthesize our learning, and discuss how we may use our recent
learning. Here goes:
When I began this course, I knew
next to nothing about assistive technology.
I thought it would be an interesting course to take because I sometimes
take additional jobs on campus, and one job that interests me is working with
students through what is now called the Centre for Accessible Learning
(formerly called the Tramble Rooms). The centre provides services for students with disabilities. I
did not see how I could greatly apply what I would learn in our course to my regular
contracts, wherein I teach academic skills to first-year science students,
writing skills to students in any year of study, and English to foreign
language learners. Occasionally, I will
have a student in one of those courses who self-identifies as having a
disability, but the frequency of this is low; nevertheless, I felt the course
could benefit my interactions with those students too.
As we progressed through our AT
course, I often found myself seeing purpose in a number of the ideas we
discussed – for a number of people with and without disabilities. When we looked at UDL, I realized that it,
for me, seemed to embody what I would think was the original intention of
inclusion. Rather than “retro-fitting”
our schools and seeing disability as being the problem of a person, by applying
UDL principles, we consider how schools and the curriculum can be accessible
for everyone. [I do realize applying UDL can be difficult, as I must overcome
thinking in the way I have been taught to think – “retro-fitting” – but I think
unlearning what I did learn to benefit all students is worth the effort. I also think both my instructor and my
classmates allowed me to begin developing as a teacher who applies UDL
principles. In our course, we were
introduced to AT (and UDL…and sensory, physical, and learning disabilities…and the complexity of writing and reading tasks...etc.)
and scratched the surface of the knowledge to be gained - so I’m not prepared to
take over the job of an AT Specialist - but I am inspired to apply in
classes I teach and share with other educators that which I have learned. Truthfully, I've already passed along some information I've gained to other educators, but I will continue to do so with my new found confidence. I'm on the path!]
While I originally dreaded the idea
of blogging (putting my thoughts - out
there - in writing - for everyone to see), I’ve come to accept blogging as a useful
practice. The blog serves as a tool for
me – as a place to collect and reflect.
I will likely use my blogs as resources to teach colleagues and friends
about what I have learned. When they
need information, I’ll send along the URL(s) to them.
I began with a fear that I could
not work through the class without an iPad or iPod touch. Don’t get me wrong – iPads, iPods, and
iPhones are great devices and I still want an iPad (and have placed it on my wish list) – but owning one is not a
requirement for the class. Access to the
Internet will suffice to get students the information about those devices and
the mobile apps accessible through them.
Want: 
Have: 
Although
Barbara, our professor, does not know it, she taught me something she had not
likely set out to teach me. Through her modeling
of ways to engage students using Collaborate, I have been able to help a
colleague (who had complained about boring his online students) by telling him about
some of the activities we do in class. I
haven’t yet taught a class via Collaborate, but if I do, I will be searching my
blog for ideas about the kinds of activities we did in class.
As a result
of prior learning, I’ve been taught to always leave a teaching/learning event
with 3-5 pieces of feedback or learning in mind. (I do this sort of “summing up of main points”
regularly, especially when students are ready to leave my office to remind them
and me of what the highlights were.) Below
are my top 5 learnings from Education 569: Selected Topics in Assistive
Technology.
AT can be defined as any device or service that allows a
person with a disability to enhance his/her performance or engagement in a
task or activity.
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Although technology is increasingly incorporating
accessibility options, AT and general technology are not the same. AT is designed specifically to address
enhancing the performance of individuals with disabilities. The converging trend is a sign of universal
design.
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It is important that we remember that AT can be no tech,
low tech, or high tech. The AT
available to assist people with various disabilities is vast.
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Finding the best-fit in AT for an individual requires a
consideration of, at least, 1) the individual (strengths, weaknesses,
technology experiences, and preferences), 2) the task/activity (ex. writing
or reading – which requires analysis of the task), 3) the environment in
which the individual operates, 4) the technology, and 5) time.
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What may seem like a simple task is actually quite
complex. The number of processes
involved in reading and writing are phenomenal. Because of the complexity of the tasks we
request of students, we should apply principles of UDL when planning.
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