the Incredible Ipad: a Versatile Device for a Diverse Classroom

On any given day, in any given classroom, there is a lot happening.  From the first bell in the morning, to the final bell of the day, the school day moves at a hectic pace.  In the junior high setting in which I work, the bell sounds every 42 minutes, excusing one class of students and ushering in a new group.  Each new group that crosses the threshold of my classroom brings with them a varying mix of interests, needs and abilities.  

The video focused on the adaptability of a standard Ipad.  The video featured children ranging in age from toddlers to teenagers, with a wide variety of abilities and needs.  It demonstrated that in our classrooms, we do not necessarily need 25 different pieces of technology to meet 25 different students needs.  It can be as simple as offering one piece of technology that can be used in 25 different ways according to situation and need.  The portion of the video that spoke to direct selection showed this.  Tyler was a teenager shown in the video with gross motor impairment.  Despite the limitations of his physical abilities, he was able to access the same device that probably most other students in the classroom where using: an Ipad.  In place of a touch of a finger, Tyler employed the use of his tongue to select, swipe and type on an Ipad; this allowed him to surpass the obstacle of the inability to use his hands for typing or clicking.    

There are multiple apps available for the Ipad, as we saw in the video, that are designed to help students increase their written output.   The Keeble Keyboard app, and also the Clicker app we saw can help students who struggle with phonetics or matters of correctness, as well as students with LD maximize their ability to express themselves through writing without being bogged down with the mechanics of spelling out letter for letter the words for which they are searching and losing the momentum of their thoughts along the way.    

      

Of all of the exciting prospects posed by these Ipad apps, modes and options, eye gaze draws the most interest from me.  Although we had been previously introduced to eye gaze technology, watching it in action again still amazes me.  The possibilities it presents and the doors it opens for people with impaired use of their arms and hands are numerous.  Eye gaze creates a situation by which students with severe physical disabilities are empowered to communicate and express themselves, and develop a sense of independence and autonomy.  

When considering my practice as a languages teacher, the Siri speech to text piqued my interest.  I can see this feature being beneficial to my students on many levels.  Most of the courses I teach are designed for students to acquire French as an additional language.  This feature can help them connect letters to their phonetic sounds in French, as well as helping students move from oral proficiency to written proficiency.  In addition, the composition of my classes are becoming increasingly culturally diverse as well.  I currently teach many English as an Additional language students.  In the near future, there will be Syrian refugee students joining our school and  Siri speech to text can be a tool, when used in conjunction with translation apps, that could hopefully make their transition their transition into our classrooms less intimidating and more enjoyable.  

The Why of Technology

With technology evolving at its current rate, and entwining itself into our daily routines, habits and existence, it seems a natural progression that educators would seek out opportunity and occasion to integrated it whenever possible into classrooms and practices.  In fact, the phrases "have you seen this app" and " have you ever used this program" have become regular interjections in staff room conversation.  The multitude of opportunities that technology affords for our classroom experiences is both exciting and, at times, overwhelming.  And when I hear of an engaging, useful and enjoyable experience in a colleague's classroom with a particular technology, my thoughts immediately start churning out possible scenarios in which I could apply this technology for my students.  I am assuming that I am not alone in this.  With the all of the potential applications for technology, it is easy for our thoughts to be consumed with the "how" of technology.  How can I use this?  How can I apply this to my practice?  Less often do I stop to consider the more important "why" of technology.  Why am I using this technology?  Last class was centered on the questions of why.  In order for technology integration in the classroom to be truly meaningful, the why must become the most important question we ask of ourselves.

The video of Aidan and the demonstration of the eye gaze technology was a truly inspirational display of the importance of the why.  For students such as Aidan that have a high level of specific needs, finding and utilizing appropriate technology to meet certain needs is the necessary way to provide the opportunity to engage and learn in a school setting.  It is exciting to imagine how schooling experiences will grow and diversify as technology continues to shift shape and evolve.

http://jersey.isle-news.com/archives/the-zannah-trust-receives-12000-eye-gaze-system-thanks-to-the-barclays-wealth-community-awards/10029/

More about eye gaze technology:  http://www.eyegaze.com/eye-tracking-assistive-technology-device/

The evening's presentations had us further consider why we are implementing technology in our classrooms and for me, reflect on its effectiveness in helping students reach their learning goals.  Julia, Krista and Mairi shared an introduction to the SAMR model.  This model focused on the infusion of technology and the impact the technology has on the learning experience.  Their explanation of this model clearly demonstrates the importance of the why.  Sometimes, we are using technology just for the sake of using technology.  Often, this integration is viewed as substitution or augmentation on the SAMR ladder.  We should be examining a little closer the applications that propel us further up the ladder to the modification and redefinition rungs.  This is where technology allows students achieve new tasks, redefine a task and use technology as a means to accomplish learning goals.

https://sites.google.com/a/apaches.k12.in.us/apache-tech/samr-model

Gina, Mandy and Tanya introduced us to the Universal Design for Learning. UDL has us re-frame our approach to how we think about designing and delivering our lessons and curriculum so that we are providing opportunity for each student to learn and grow.  We don't expect our students to dress, act, think, or speak the same way, so how can we expect our students to all learn and be engaged in the same way? The recognition, strategic and affective networks are as unique to each human brain as finger prints are to a person.   Furthermore, to create an environment of true learning, we must be flexible in considering how we present material to our students, approach letting our students demonstrate their learning, and how we engage our students, based on their strengths, interests and abilities.  Technology allows for a greater range in this flexibility.  

More about UDL: http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html

As UDL focuses on providing multiple options and opportunities for learning for all, we were asked to consider the following question: Do you need technology to implement UDL?

In theory, technology is not necessarily required to implement UDL.  Providing options and opportunities for students does not necessarily mean that technology has to be included.  However, considering the context of a 21st century inclusive public school classroom, is it extremely difficult to imagine that UDL could be genuinely and effectively implemented without the use of digital technology in one form or another.  Our students are of the digital generation.  They have not known a world absent of digital technology.  It interests most of them, excites most of them and is certainly authentic and relevant to their lives.   The affective networks are stimulated for most students when technology in some form is used to capture and retain interest.  The possibilities for providing options for the strategic networks in representation and executive function are multiplied exponentially when considering what technology has to offer in the classroom.  And lastly, the inclusive nature of our classrooms hosts students with an extraordinarily diverse range of abilities, both cognitive and physical.  To truly meet the needs of this heterogeneous mix, in the 21st century, appropriate incorporation of technology is a must.  What that technology is, and how it is applied depends directly on the individuals of the specific classroom.  

  

Learning for All, The Journey Begins

New hair cuts, fresh school supplies, remnants of golden tans (or in my case, the fading aftermath of a sunburn) that hint at the adventures and care-free fun for which summer vacation is renowned.  The first day of school.  As students excitedly chat in the hallways while searching for their new homeroom for that year, as they filter one by one into classrooms, the myriad of emotions that go hand in hand with that first day are evident.  As an educator, I am certainly not exempt from that mix of nerves, butterflies and excitement each year.  I worry about starting the year off on the right foot with my students.  I worry about being able to impart all of the crucial first day information in the allotted period of time before they are scurrying back out the door to their next class.  But most of all, I am excited to meet the new group of young people with which I will be spending the next 195 school days.  Each first day of school brings me an ever diversifying group of students, all arriving with different talents, abilities, weaknesses and interests.  It is my responsibility for those 195 days to provide each of those individuals with the opportunity to grow and learn.

The business of learning and growing is far from a "one size fits all" process.  Ergo, the business of teaching cannot be a "one size fits all" process.  This point was at the heart of our exploration of Todd Rose's The Myth of the Average.  As our students arrive year after year, with an increasingly variable range of abilities, backgrounds and experiences, it is paramount that we diversify our methods of engagement and instruction if we are to truly provide a genuine learning experience for all in our classrooms. As Todd Rose explained in great detail, we can no longer afford not to do this: we are currently losing too many of our bright and creative minds; the stakes are too high.    

Todd Rose at TEDx Sonoma County

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eBmyttcfU4

Through researching the Universal Design for Learning this week, I was further reminded of the importance of continuing to find fresh, new ways to approach eliciting the interest and excitement for learning in my students.  There is a certain comfort in broaching subjects from familiar angles, and in familiar ways.  But how effective or relevant is it to continue down the same path in the same topics year after year?  How many students are lost along the way because this particular path is too arduous to traverse?  How many are lost because they find this particular path to be too well-beaten and venture off-course?  How many never commence the journey as the proposition of the trek was unappealing?  It seems as though the solution to having all arrive at the destination is to provide multiple choices so that  the students can select the route that best suits their travelling ability and preference.  Stimulating the desire to start that journey does not always have to be a complicated matter.  Our introduction to Chomp was a great demonstration of a simple solution to capturing attention and peaking interest in a fun and engaging way.  It not only incorporated a playful element, but also showed just how easy it can be to integrate technology to hook our tech- savvy 21st century students.

More about UDL:  http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.VwxIZZwrKt8













As we progress into the 21st century, the role of technology is becoming increasingly prominent in all aspects of life.  Education is not an exception to this progression.  With its lightning-paced evolution, keeping current on technology can be an overwhelming prospect for educators.  Finding simple ways to incorporate effective technology into our daily working routines is of the utmost importance.  Showbie is an example of how technology can function to benefit educators by providing a space to organize and track information and assignments while eliminating the perpetual problem of lost papers and hauling around stacks of assignments to mark.  After all, isn't that the ultimate goal of technology: to fill a need, save time or make a process easier?  As a self-professed mid-adopter of technology, I have, to date, merely begun wandering down the vast network of  paths that technology can provide in my practice and classroom: my journey into 21st century learning has only recently commenced.  But I am excited to see what lies further ahead.