Equal Access to the Digital World!

What does it mean to provide equal access to the digital world?  Students of varying needs and abilities show up on the doorstep of classrooms across the country every day.  Do teachers use the same methods for all students?  The short answer is "no".  Teachers have to design lessons around what each student needs.  Sometimes this is referred to as differentiation or Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for short.  When students are engaged and able to access the content being addressed, everyone wins.  The teacher accomplishes the goal of teaching an objective, and the student masters the objectives.  There are 3 main ways that a teacher can adapt a lesson to meet various needs:  

• Proving multiple means of representation:
• Some examples:
• Allowing students to listen to information and view it
• Enlarging text for visually impaired students
• Allowing students to use manipulatives 
• Chunk information into smaller units

• Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know:
• Some examples:
• allowing students to type rather than handwrite assignments
• use different forms of media to express learning: making videos, blog posts, etc.
• guide students in setting goals so that they can improve their expression of knowledge
• Stimulate interest and motivation for learning:
• Some examples:
• vary activities so that they are relevant to individuals
• vary demands based on student needs
• create cooperative learning groups 

When teachers are working with students, it should be a priority to consider these 3 main tenets of accessibility.  Teachers can make sure that their digital learning/teaching aligns with these 3 points by:

1. considering the types of technology that they use (how can I make this work for all kids?)
1. Choosing software that can be adapted to different levels and learning needs
2. Using SmartBoards and interactive whiteboards to teach
3. Adjusting contrast and text size for students who are visually impaired
2. determining if there is assistive technology that can be used by students with special needs 
1. calculators for students with math disabilities
2. speech-to-text software for typing to aid students with written expression and reading disabilities
3. text-to-speech readers like Learning Ally or Bookshare for kids who struggle to read
3. grouping students so that all kids can access the technology
1. Physically impaired students can be paired with able bodied individuals
2. Students with speech and language impairments can be paired with students without similar challenges to enhance communication during presentations
3. Grouping students who do not own technology with those who do

Good luck integrating UDL into your own classroom!

Resources:
Home | National Center On Universal Design for Learning. (2014, September 22). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://www.udlcenter.org/

Social Media and Disabilities

When you think Social Media, what do you think of? Do you think of Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Did you just open a Snapchat from your friend? If so, you're probably a pretty tech savvy person! Did you know that there are social media platforms that are perfect for schools? One of the platforms that we will be using is Edmodo. You should take this opportunity to sign up for Edmodo by using this link: Edmodo for Ms. Dow's Class. You can use this code to register: rjdeip. Go ahead and explore the page and vote on my polls!

Did you know that I also have a YouTube channel? It's true! You can visit my channel to view all different videos about what different disabilities are and how you can cope. Please feel free to leave a comment on my channel!

There is research that supports the use of Social Media in classrooms. One school, Byron High School (located in MN, USA), is trying out the idea of a "flipped classroom". A flipped classroom means that students watch a lesson at home or at the library as homework, and then they complete the "homework" at school where a teacher can monitor their successes and areas for improvement. This non-traditional approach allows teachers to spend more time focusing on student work than lecturing. When Byron High could not find a textbook that matched the standards that they needed to teach, teachers decided to ask their principal whether it would be okay to write their own curriculum. And you'd never guess, but it incorporated YouTube! Teachers decided to record lessons, and post them on their Moodle page (a social media platform for teachers).

At first, teachers faced problems with using YouTube. Fulton (2012), explains that this shift in teaching approaches required some adjustments before implementation: "Formerly, the district blocked YouTube from student use. Once we got permission to unblock it, this made all the difference. We could store recorded videos for free. YouTube is available on almost all student personal learningdevices. Teachers create their own YouTube channels and embed--not link--the videos into Moodle. This eliminates distractions and helps kids stay focused on the content." After implementing a flipped learning approach, teachers found that they were able to spend more time with students, and they found that teaching time was more flexible without the pressure of having to advance through a lesson at a certain pace. Students were ready for the lesson, as they had watched the lesson the night before. As a result, this school has even been awarded standing as a Blue Ribbon School, an honor amongst educators!

Though there are always challenges with using technology in the classroom, I know that using Social Media in our classroom will be a positive experience that we remember for years to come!

References

Fulton, K. (2012). The Flipped Classroom: Transforming Education at Byron High School. T H E Journal, 39(3), 18-20.

My Disability Webquest

Now that you have finished your WebQuest (congratulations!), you will be reflecting on what you learned!  Type up a reflection using Google Docs (so that you can check spelling!).  Then paste the response into the comments below so that we can all read what you learned!  If you choose to post anonymously, please share your response with me on Google Drive so that I know its yours!

Your response should include:  

• 2-3 things that you learned about your disability
• An explanation of how these 2-3 things affect your life (at school, at home, at clubs)
• 2 things that you are going to work on
• An explanation of why you want to work on these 2 things.