Ed Tech Blog
Teachers are often tasked with the challenging job of working in classrooms with large class sizes and difficult compositions. Teachers are masters at catering their lessons to their students. You may wonder, what do you do when there is such a large range of needs amongst students in one classroom? Assistive technology can be a way to aid in leveling the playing field for our students who have diverse learning needs.
Assistive technology (AT) is defined as any product, piece of equipment or system that enhances learning, working, and daily living for persons with disabilities. AT can be high-tech and expensive, such as reading software like Kurzweil or Dragon Naturally Speaking, or it can be low-tech and budget friendly such as pencil grips for students who have dysgraphia.
Some teachers shy away from the use of assistive technology because they believe that it requires additional specialized staff training, it’s expensive, it’s difficult to integrate into their lesson plans or they are concerned about technical difficulties. Hopefully this article will highlight how this is untrue.
Who Benefits from Assistive Technology?
In classrooms, AT will likely be implemented to support the following students:
1. Students with dyscalculia (deficit in understanding and learning numbers and math).
2. Students with dysgraphia (deficit with handwriting and fine motor skills).
3. Students with dyslexia (deficit with reading and language processing skills).
4. Students with nonverbal learning disabilities (deficits related to interpreting facial expression or body language).
5. Students with Oral/written language disorder and specific reading comprehension deficit (deficits in reading comprehension or spoken language).
6. Students with dyspraxia (a deficit in muscle control).
Students who have ADHD, executive functioning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and students with physical disabilities may also benefit from AT.
Although AT is often created and implemented to support people who have disabilities, AT is beneficial...
Read more: Integrating Assistive Technology into the Classroom
Introduction
How are you? cómo estás? Habari yako? These are just but some of the ways you can ask someone how they are doing in different languages. Trying to learn a new language or improve on the vocabulary of your language? Then consider using a language learning app. This can be very effective for students, whether they are beginners or are at an intermediate level.
An additional language is a key opportunity to interact with the world from an informed opinion and a different lens. However, learning a new language requires a lot of practice and dedication. That is why online language learning platforms like Duolingo have been gaining popularity over time.
Duolingo is a great platform because it can be seamlessly integrated into a classroom setting to teach native and foreign languages. The platform makes it easier to learn grammar and vocabulary and has an amazing feature that allows one to translate articles from the web.
In particular, Duolingo for schools is a great tool for teachers and students that makes learning fun and interactive with the different visual and audio cues.
As a teacher, here are some creative ways to use Duolingo in the classroom
Progress...
Podcasts are now more popular than ever. If you look closely at the raging trend, you’ll find a podcast on every other topic. These podcasts not only engage and entertain the audience but also help in providing an optimum teaching experience. The shift from text-based learning to audio-based learning has proved valuable for students.
Many schools have already adopted this growing trend to offer students a fun learning experience. It is also an ideal way to teach students who don’t have English as their first language. While listening to a podcast, they can follow along by reading the transcript.
There is immense diversity in the podcast industry, which can help provide an ideal learning experience to students. Podcasts can help students learn about unique topics that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
Ways to Prepare Students for Podcast Sessions
Before a teacher adopts this practice, they need to ensure that all students are ready for podcast classes. They need to ensure that they have all the resources to conduct a podcast session with students.
Here are a few ways teachers can prepare students:
- Give Access to the Supplies
One of the things that teachers need to ensure is that the classroom has...
Have you ever dreamt of imagining something into existence? If so, then 3D printing is just the technology for you and your classroom. Students of all ages love the technology of 3D printing because it feeds into a basic instinct of creativity that all of us have. Learning and teaching how a 3D printer works has never been easier, and the prices of good models have been dropping ever since they first started making them for the masses. In this post, we will investigate different ways a printer can be used in the classroom, which are firstly, what we call "concept printing", secondly, printing models for a classroom, and finally, printing your imagination. We will also go through some things to look out for when you buy a printer for the classroom.
The world around us is changing every single day. Why should our classrooms be stuck in the 20th century? That is why we should always investigate ways to bring what makes the outside world interesting, into our classrooms. That may include laptops, phones, the internet, and now you can include a 3D printer in that list. Introducing a 3D printer into the classroom will give the students to...
Introduction
Wi-Fi on school buses might sound like just a fancy idea but in reality, it is a trend that is already shaping up across different school districts.
Some people might argue that school buses are for relaxing or bonding between students, but have you thought about the students who come from marginalized areas characterized by limited broadband connection or no access at all?
In fact, a report by the Federal Communications Commission indicates that almost 19 million Americans don’t have access to fixed broadband service that meets the threshold speeds. The situation is also evident in rural areas, where approximately 14.5 million people don’t have access to this valuable resource.
Wi-Fi on school buses presents a huge opportunity to bridge this gap by helping students from marginalized areas stay connected even after school.
Here are some reasons why schools should embrace the idea of having Wi-Fi-enabled buses.
Equal Learning Opportunity
Lack of access to the internet is a huge stumbling block for some students because it means falling behind on assignments and access to other digital resources beyond the classroom.
While some kids find the school buses to be a perfect place for a nap or chit chat with...
Read more: How Wi-Fi on School Buses is Bridging the Digital Divide and Improving Productivity
Artificial Intelligence is a term that is thrown around a lot. It is one of those buzz words that immediately captures the attention of people and kids alike. Although you might imagine A.I. as humanoid robots that take over the world by developing intelligence, the reality of it is very different. A.I. algorithms are computer programs that assist human beings in whatever they are trying to do. Just like how an Alexa made ordering things online much easier, A.I. algorithms in the classroom can make learning that much easier for students. We will go through all the different ways that an A.I. software in a classroom might be the teaching assistant that every teacher is looking for.
There is an argument to be made that the best way to improve the learning experience of students is to make sure that their teachers are only focused on teaching them. Bogging down teachers with tasks that are not related to teaching is a sure-fire way to decrease the quality of education. A.I. applications have progressed enough that they can check the attendance of the classroom with computer vision, they can also grade multiple-choice tests easily and accurately. A.I. applications can make sure...
Read more: Using Machine Learning to Build the Classroom of the Future