7A-Abigail Cook—Response to Tim Calhoun

Technology is so important in today’s age.  Children have constant access to technology, and they are very knowledgeable about different devices.

Assistive technology is very important for students with disabilities, especially for students with fine motor skill disabilities.  Students that have difficulties with grabbing or holding items in their hands can use alternative items for assistance.  For example, a computer mouse can come in the form of a joystick, or a large ball, or even a pressurized mechanism.  The same is true of motorized wheelchairs.  A joystick can be used to move the student’s wheelchair for those students that lack fine motor skills.

The interactive white board is another type of technology that is very helpful to students.  Students use a touch screen to help them learn.  This is helpful to students with disabilities that have trouble holding a mouse or a pen.  They can go up to the board and move items around based on the assigned task.  Not only is this beneficial for students with fine motor disabilities, but it also helps keep other students engaged and moving around.  This is helpful for both general education and special education students.

Interactive whiteboards and other technologies that provide immediate feedback to teachers are very beneficial in the classroom.  Being able to monitor student’s progress is a very effective practice in ensuring successful students.  If teachers are able to monitor their students, then they can change the way they teach based on the needs of the students.  If one educational practice is not working, then they teacher will get immediate feedback and can make alterations to their teaching methods to accommodate the students’ needs.  Progress monitoring is helpful in both general education and special education students.

Tim’s paper also touches on Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) in which students may bring their own technological devices to school.  It seems as though this practice would cause more problems than benefits.  All students should have equal access to technology.  If one student is unable to afford a device, then he or she may feel left out.  This feeling of inequality may cause trouble among classmates.

Along with the sense of feeling ostracized by classmates, technology can present other challenges, as explained in Tim’s paper.  Technology can be very expensive to schools.  Not only that, but technology is ever-changing.  Schools can spend a large amount on technological services only for them to change soon after implementation in the classrooms. 

Teachers need to be proficient in the uses of technology.  This can be difficult if teachers have trouble learning new technologies easily.  It can be challenging keeping teachers up-to-date on technological advancements.  Teachers need to know how to use the device or service in their classroom in order to be able to teach the students how to also use them.