Blog #9

Blog #9

Assistive & Adaptive Technologies

Assistive and adaptive technologies have only recently begun to expand in types of day-to-day tasks they can assist with. They have created monumental changes for people with disabilities, especially in the classroom. Because they technologies are so new, they might create challenges for the teachers and peers. The teacher would need to educate themselves on these assistive technologies that way if he/she were to have a student with one they would know the correct procedures. Peers might even be afraid to help or be unsure of what they are seeing. The teacher needs to set up a positive and helpful environment in their classroom to ensure proper integration of this technological devices. I have seen technologies such as these in person and honestly, they are fascinating. It makes me very hopeful that one day students with disabilities won’t have to jump through many hoops in order to receive the education they deserve.

Universal Design

Honestly, this is the first time I have ever heard of the Universal Design. So, I do not know much other than a few paragraphs that I have read. From what I have gathering it was created so products and communications can be more usable to all consumers. These were designed in order to improve existing products, and to design even more efficient ones. These key principles allow things to become as flawless as possible. Perfection doesn’t exist, but it can come close especially when designing a product. These principles were created in order to help things become more flexible and easier to use to all consumers.

Academic Software

The first software that came to my head were any type of academic game. As a young student, when my teachers put lessons into games it helped me understand and memorize it better. This is something I would definitely want to implement into my future classroom in order to help reach those students that might need more than just a textbook. This could be something like JumpStart. Another example is Accelerated Reader and Math. This is an educational software that I used pretty much all of elementary school. It helps students with their reading and math on a very individual level and goes at the pace they need. This is definitely something I would hope my school’s county would want us to use.

Blogging Experience

Blogging has been a lot different than I expected. I thought it was going to be very hard to come up with things to talk about and discuss. But overall it has been a very easy and positive experience. I have learned a lot about myself and the information I am able to retain. It goes to show just how much you have actually learned when you type it out and explain it to other people.

Peer’s Post

            I commented on Alina's blog (3/4) and Hayley's blog (3/4).