Saturday, October 29, 2011

Assistive Technology--Helping My Kids

Assistive Technology: What are the major issues and opportunities in your area for improving access to assistive technology?

Well, of course, as in everything in education, one of the major issues is money. Does the budget even permit us to purchase the technologies that would help our students? Still, there does seem to be a great deal of free technology available and I intend to explore it all. (well, maybe not all...)

Until this year, when half the students in one of my classes are identified as special ed, I have probably only taught 10 sped students in 10 years. My career has been mostly directed toward GT students and I have worked extensively with them. (They may need assistive technology to meet their needs as well, but that is not the main topic of this post). Therefore, I have not really given much thought to the ways that technology might help students who have learning difficulties and disabilities. However, after reading the chapters on using technology in English Language Arts and technology in special education, I have several ideas for specific students and some thoughts on what might help everyone.

I have a few students who struggle greatly in writing. Their oral communication skills are good, but they cannot seem to write down much of anything. This is a tremendous problem in an English class. To help them, I would like to find dictation software that would allow them to talk into a microphone and then it would "translate" their spoken words into written sentences and paragraphs.

I also have many students who speak English as a second language. More use of visuals would be good for them, but sometimes I struggle to find the time to download appropriate images and put them into a useful presentation. I need to find more ways to incorporate visuals, but they need to be ways that don't take immense amounts of time.

I am working on a class website, and I know that this technology will benefit all of my students. In fact, to help those who struggle with writing, we may do some podcast assignments, so that they can demonstrate their knowledge in a non-written form. We will also post visual presentations, such as powerpoint or Animoto creations.

Our website will also include blogs. All of my students will benefit from this, but especially the AP Language students who are studying rhetoric and argumentation. I am going to have them respond weekly to a political column (preferably one that creates controversy) and analyze the rhetorical strategies used by the author.

My reluctant writers might also benefit from electronic penpals--with a regular assignment to write, and someone interesting to correspond with, they might become more enthusiastic writers.

In addition to everything else, I want to encourage our ELA department to establish a creative writing journal. It would have to be online at a free hosting location (budget constraints again), but I would love for us to have a place to publish the best original writing (and perhaps art and music) created by students in our school. Once established, this could become something of pride and interest for years into the future.

The more I learn about technology and all that it has to offer my students, the more enthusiastic I am about incorporating it into my classroom as a way to truly benefit my students.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Research and Trends: Using Technology in the Classroom

An article in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy has made me re-evaluate how I use technology in the classroom. In this study, a teacher in an urban, mostly minority, mostly low-socio-economic school (very much like mine), moved her English instruction from a teacher-led, book-based curriculum, to a constructivist, project-based, digital learning environment. Students continued to learn and master the curricular requirements for English Language Arts, but in a whole new way.

Groups of students worked together throughout a semester to create a documentary film about a subject of their own choice. They did all of the background research, all of the script writing, all of the acting, directing, camera-work, behind-the-scenes production work--everything that goes into making a real film. And, because it was a creation of their own choosing, they were totally invested and engaged in the work.

At the end of the semester, the students held a film festival, to which they invited their parents, family and friends, as well as the entire faculty. Bringing in a real audience gave the students an authentic experience and provided an opportunity to share their work with a much wider audience. Plus, knowing that the films would be seen by a large and diverse group played an important role in their mindsets while making the films.

I am very interested in adapting at least some of this idea for use in my AP English Language and Composition class. This course focuses on argumentation and the use of rhetoric in argument and persuasive writing. I plan to have my students create their own film as the culminating activity during the second semester of the course. It will not be a 20 minute, full-fledged documentary like those in this article, but rather a 5 to 10 minute film that uses satire to address a real problem. Students will work in groups, select their topic, create their films, and present them in a film festival similar to the one referenced in the article.


Dockter, J., Haug, D., & Lewis, C. (2010). Redefining Rigor: Critical Engagement, Digital Media, and the New English/Language Arts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 418-420. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.