Reflections From The Past Week

I have spent a considerable amount of time really thinking about what I do for the students I work with, assess, provide support through academic, behavior and social-emotional programming, etc.  I had the opportunity to spend some good quality time with our unit Assistive Technologist Specialist for the first time ever.  It was a great conversation around technology, apps available, what resources we have, and how I can "share the wealth" of information with others in my role.  The more time I spend with my iPad and really get acquainted with some of the apps we have been learning about and getting to use, the more I am in awe of what technology means - the whole concept of UDL makes so much more sense to me.  Again, I think it is because I have been blessed to have found apps that have made a significant change in how I do my work, in being more productive, and manage to get much more done (both at work and in studies).  This video I have included from You Tube was quite powerful for me - it reflects what we are currently learning, where our students, our children and grand children, and yes, us as well, are progressing in this fast-paced world of ever changing digital technology.  Curriculum is changing, the look of how we present information, learn information, and move forward in this world is through the lens of technology.  Although technology continues to change everyday, we can continue to learn and move with that change in a more positive way when we receive the right information.  The video above referred to some of the bigger changes we have witnessed over the past decades, and we felt the same way with technology, and some continue to be 'skeptical' of the whole 21st century innovative skill building curriculum shift/concept.  This is changing as well.

I have been using the Pages app and ClaroPDF for not only work but school as well.  Reading has become such an easier task for me, and Claro has not only allowed me to have downloaded PDF's read to me, but the highlighting feature has also helped with attention to spoken text, and in helping support my comprehension of text.  I can go back and listen to text over again, stop and pause when I need to, and get through so much more information more quickly and retain information so much better since using this one app.  It was like receiving the best Christmas gift ever.  Could I have used this in university?  You bet I could have. And learning would have been so much easier, more easily accessible, and more pleasurable.  The Pages app has allowed me to dictate reports with great accuracy and ease, and the ability to create files and send them wherever I need them to go is a virtual dream (literally).  Just these two apps alone have changed how I read and write (or dictate).  Reading has become so much more pleasurable for me.... amazing!

These apps makes have made a huge difference in my life in such a short time.  So what assistive technology can do for all students is clearly life-saving for many of our students, especially students with specific learning challenges and disabilities.  Assitive technology is not cheating, it is not a means for 'taking the easy way out', but a way for all students to demonstrate active, engaged learning in a way that they can get the information out, and how they process information, develop critical thinking skills, and develop remedial or compensatory strategies that will enable students to become the best that they can be, to be successful in life, be as independent in life, feel growth, happiness, success, self-worth, and feel they are contributing to others, society, and lead a fulfilling life.  The way in which we program for and assess children is beginning to change, but we have a bit of a battle to fight yet.  Assessment has to change at the provincial level, and our means of supporting a technological learning community has to be reflected in how we assess students as well.  I hope I will get to witness this 'turning of the tides' before I retire.  I am hopeful.