Reflective Enrty 1

 Using assistive technology to help students with neurodevelopmental disorders access the curriculum and work collaboratively with their peers


All of the students I work with have Neurodevelopmental disorders, some of whom have

complex communication needs and/or relatively limited experiences of generating

language, literacy and more so writing presents many challenges. 

I work across a range of schools. Their aim is to increase their literacy targets.
During the lockdown, It made me realise how little support my students were able
to receive from their classroom teachers. This was mainly because they were not
able to access the curriculum like their peers and the work was not differentiated
for them. This is where I did step in but also realised that the digital systems were
not in place for me to support them as well. That really made me think about what
I can do to help?
Teachers want to assist the students that I work with, but due to their lack of
knowledge about special Ed, and assistive technology, most are unable to do this
successfully, As a specialist teacher, my aim is to upskill staff in the mainstream
school by providing them with special education pedagogy. Digital literacy and
collaboration is an area they find difficulties in.
My students require lots of one on one support to access the curriculum. They want
to share their work with their classmates, but due to their communication and fine
motor difficulties, they shy away from doing so. They often find tasks like writing
really challenging and would prefer to not do anything than get the work wrong.
They want to work with their bubbies, but have difficulties in communication and
managing themselves.
´Their Whanau indicated that they would love to see their child’s work published
on the class blog. They often tell us that their child  knows what they want to write
about, but needs to find the correct ‘writing tool.’ During the lockdown, this was
also an eye-opener for whanau, as they realised how much lower their child was
working at compared to their peers and how little they were involved in the class
programme. They wanted to know ‘why isn’t my child doing what the others are
doing’. (At their level)

So what can I do to help

I want my students to:

  • Improve their ICT literacy skills and feel confident in using technology,

  • more so assistive technology to access the curriculum.

  • Use The Key competencies and work collaboratively, by participating,

  • contributing and managing themselves.

  • Communicate in socially appropriate ways.

  • Take the initiative to complete tasks and

  • Feel proud of what they have accomplished

  • Be more engaged and motivated in their learning.

  • Feel confident in sharing their ideas and their work with their peers and whanau

  • Communicate with their peers using suitable ICT.

  • To have a positive learning experience at school and want to come to school.

  • Make gains in all areas of literacy especially their writing.

Hasselbring and Glaser (2000) provide an overview of the role computer

technology can play in promoting the education of children with special needs

within the regular classroom. Although computer technology has the potential

to act as an equalizer by freeing many students from their disabilities, the

barriers of inadequate training and cost must first be overcome before

more widespread use can become a reality.

There is definitely a place for assistive technology in the inclusive classroom.

´

There are many benefits of Assistive technology for my students. It can :

  • Influence student’s functional ability to participate, collaborate and learn, and this impacts

  • on their overall wellbeing. 

  • AT increases students' independence, builds their self-esteem and enhances their

  • motivation to actively participate in the academic study improving their educational

  • achievements. 

  • It can help students develop independent work strategies and organisational skills, giving

  • them life-long learning skills. 

  • AT can be used in schools to support students in several ways, at a:  functional level

  • (to access content),  participatory level (to interact and engage with other students and

  • teaching approaches) or pedagogical level (to grow as self-directed learners). 

  • Schools with inclusive school environments where all students are supported to learn

  • together, build in the use of assistive technologies to:  support students to participate in

  • all aspects of school life  improve students’ access to learning  enhance student

  • engagement, independence and agency 

  • Incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a way to connect every student to

  • the learning experience, and at looking at learning that is inclusive and promotes success

  • for all students, regardless of ability. 

Assistive technology is important for students with disabilities, but some say the system as a whole should be supported for all students, and this system or framework is referred to as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (Wehmeyer, 2006).

´Also, the challenge that students with disabilities face in the context of inclusive education is the single-faceted presentation of the general education curriculum, which leads us again to think of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a solution to meet this challenge (Ludlow & Fosha, 2007)


Universal Design for Learning can help us realise the vision of The New Zealand Curriculum.

It supports us to design respectful, inclusive environments where everyone is learning

and achieving and diversity is seen as a source of strength.

Source: Ministry of Education


Today as teachers we are tasked with meeting the needs of students who have a diverse
range of abilities and learning styles, as well as differing levels of prior knowledge in specific
content areas. Students who have learning differences face even more challenges than their
peers in accessing the general education curriculum. Fortunately, as teachers, we have the
opportunity to use technology to inspire and ignite students’ interest in learning before these
challenges become true roadblocks to academic success.

In my next blog post, I will inquire into how I can best support my students.


References:

Hasselbring, T. S., & Williams Glaser, C.,H. (2000). Use of computer technology to help students

with special needs. The Future of Children, 10(2), 102-22

Ludlow, B. L., & Fosha, J. D. (2007). Critical technology issues for school leaders/the universally

designed classroom: Accessible curriculum and digital technologies. Journal of Special Education Technology, 22, 60-62.      

Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Smith, S. J., Davies, D. K., & Stock, S. (2008). The efficacy of

technology use by people with intellectual disability: A single-subject design meta-analysis.

Journal of Special Education Technology, 23, 21-30. 





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