Reflections

As I reflect on everything we have covered thus far, with apps, to blogging, and reflecting on the articles and research information we have been reading throughout the course so far, it amazes me how far we all have come in such a short time.  My sense of "awareness" with respects to UDL and schools, mass technology, students learning in general, but more specifically, individual students and how best to support and enhance learning through assistive technology, has been challenged, and has forced me to look at assistive technology in a different light - that ALL students learning can be enhanced and supported through assistive technology, that we can use so many of these tools for remediation, and should be doing just that.  When we think about 21st century learning frameworks with respect to making the shift to having all students learn curriculum through the use of technology, how we facilitate that should be in keeping with All students, regardless of ability level, difficulties, disabilities, and other areas of challenge that can impact on a student being successful, happy, engaged in the learning process, being productive, and preparing them to be as independent and productive in their lives beyond the classroom.  Our beliefs and assumptions are going to be challenged as we make the mindshift from traditional to progressive and more current, moving away from the more standardized ways of instruction and assessment.  As I work my way through two books I am currently reading, one which is addressing the questions around the significance and importance of having emotional intelligence versus the traditional standardized IQ measures and why it can matter more that IQ, and the other is about teaching with poverty in mind and what schools can do to support both poverty and "feeding the brain", assistive technology is screaming at me.  Although we continue to teach to the test, we need to continue to challenge and have opportunities to have good conversation around what we need to do to address assitive technology use in everything we are doing to support curriculum and how we contiue to assess students knowledge and skill set.  Students need to be "ready" for life.  The way we were taught has long since changed.  Although there is still the need to strike the balance between teaching the foundations to reading, writing, and math, we have missed so many students in our attempts to meet each and every need through the traditional, "standardized" means.  We have seen teaching through the paper-pencil method certainly has not bode well for many students, and we have witnessed the fall out because of this.  If there is a way in which we can truly make changes to enhance the curriculum through the use of assitive technologies right from the beginning of school entry and remediate early on for our students at risk, maybe we will see more success and happier learning students in the process, and happier classrooms and class climate.  This probably sounds very 'flowery' but its the process that I am slowly picking away at for my own learning, in making the necessary mindshift I have to make in my practise as a school psychologist and how I can support students throughout their learning process, and how my recommendations can be designed to address each student's learning need in looking at more innovative, exciting and supportive ways that will truly be more successful and positive for the student in the long run.

This is an interesting video clip around IQ, traditonal versus a 'newer way' of higher order problem-solving, thinking, innovation, etc.  Let me know what your thoughts are around this topic :)  Thanks everyone!