Chapter 8 (Week 9)

The section of this chapter that especially struck was the one about uses of technology in Special Education. I have never worked with any students with the sorts of physical impairments that would require the adaptations they discuss in this section, but I have worked with plenty of students with learning disabilities and I'm interested finding ways that technology can assist them (and me). That said, I also have some reservations about the long-term usefulness of some of the adaptations made for students with learning disabilities.

I have a student right now who can read, but not well. Her biggest problem is she cannot (or will not) focus. Most of the time she refuses to read, but does not want to listen to explanations or discuss the topics. The subject is Economics, which even I do not find all that interesting. I have been searching for games and interactive resources for teaching economics but everything I find is either intended for grade school or is too advanced. I have considered trying to make my own content, using audio and maybe some combination of homemade videos and voki to explain the content and present questions, but this would be a lot of work for me.

Besides the time that such and endeavor would take for me, I also have to ask myself what the student is taking away from such an experience. It's great if she could actually learn about Economics, but wouldn't it be more beneficial for her to learn how to obtain information on her own. She isn't going to have someone to spend hours modifying sources of information into her preferred medium all the time. She needs to be able to read and listen.

A third option which I'm sure many of you have already considered is having her create the content. The trouble there is that she needs to obtain the information first in order to do so. Sure, an interesting project might motivate her and this probably is how I will try to get her to do at least a little reading, but I have tried this approach in the past and had little success. Often, when I try to get my students to create anything, they lack the motivation and focus to accomplish anything.

I have strayed slightly from the main topic. Technology can provide valuable accommodations learners with special needs, but it should not replace more traditional ways of doing things. Students need to be able to listen to other people in order to perform well in the workplace. They need to be able to read in order to take control of their own learning. Otherwise, they will only have access to the limited content in other forms of media, which is extensive for sure, but will never surpass written expression.