Critical Issue: Enhancing System Change and Academic Success Through Assistive Technologies K-12 For Students With Special Needs
By Penny Reed, Ph.D. Policy Issues Regarding IDEA and NCLB This portion of the article focuses on aligning IDEA and NCLB and creating them equal. This creates the standard for all students to meet high standards in education. Federal funding, prevention, early intervention, learning goals, quality teachers, and ongoing professional development are something that all children, especially those with disabilities, should have access to in accordance with the two programs. These programs also must show an improvement with AYP tests so that they have proof of the programs’ effectiveness overall. The four main points and goals for aligning the program are as following:
(1) stronger and increased accountability for results
(2) simplified paperwork for states and communities and increased flexibility for all
(3) doing what works and decreased misidentification of children as disabled
(4) increased choices and meaningful involvement for parents in determining their children’s educational needs
It may not be shocking to discover that the main problem with this is the large amount of funding schools require to reach these high standards for technology programs for all levels of learners. Stephanie Conley
Gahala, Jan. "Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools." NCREL. Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. <www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm>. When I started this assignment, I just chose a website and decided to look for an article that caught my eye. The article I chose to review was called “Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools.” I thought that it was pretty interesting, but really long. It went over information like how computers were being placed in places so that everyone could access them, providing support, and determining goals for the technology. It also went over how there were new roles for teachers in the classroom regarding technology and how to get teachers to use that technology. All in all, the article would be good for someone who does not know a lot about how modern technology used in the classroom. On the other hand, if someone is familiar with technology use in the classroom, then this article is just a repeat of what they have already heard. Allison Ryan The part of the article that I chose was why technology is important in the classroom. The article talked about how the world is vast and everchaning. The world is growing and changing at such a fast pace that the only way teachers can seem to keep up is through the use of technology. The article talked about activities that teachers can do to incorporate technology into their classroom. I personally think that this article was a little bit of a repeat of things that I already knew about technology. I really enjoyed reading the article and thought that sevearl of the ideas within the article were helpful but for the most part I already knew the information in the article.
Loni SalleeGahala, Jan. "Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools" "NCREL Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2010. www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/te200.htm. Inclusion: Reaching All Students One of the concerns with technology is how to make sure to be able to include students that may not have access to technology and even to those who are unable to use technology. It was interesting to see the percentage of teachers that use technology such as the internet during class. It stated that 53 percent use technology regulary in the classroom in schools that have a lower socioecomomic. 61 percent of all classroom teachers use technology in the classroom in higher economic status schools. Students that have a disability may not be able to use technology in the same way that other students do and they may require more equipment or different from other students with disabilities. Some ways to approach this is to present information in multiple formats and media. Rachel Bartholmy http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm
While looking through these articles the one that caught my eye was “Critical Issues: Promoting Technology in the classrooms”. This article focuses on the different was to go about accessing more technology in the classrooms and the challenges that we might face while going through the process of adding more technology. This article explains the different levels that will need to be taught to the teachers adding the more advanced technology, determining effective and realistic goals for the teachers, providing ongoing learning opportunities to keep the teachers updated, offering incentives to the teachers that are using the newest technology, choosing the appropriate software, and obtaining and keeping the adequate funding for the technology. The ultimate goal of this article is to inform the teachers of how to get started using these different and useful technology options to enhance the learning of the students. I thought that this article was very insightful and could be put to great use to teachers who want to learn more about furthering the technology in their classroom.
Kayla Thompson Gahala, J. (Oct. 2001). Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools. NCREL. Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm.
I chose this article because I thought it would have a lot of basic information that I might be able to apply in my classroom someday. Some of the information that I found particularly relavent was technical support in the classroom, providing time for professional development, and obtaining and sustaining funding. These areas are interesting to me because they are probably the hardest to achieve in a school. The article addresses the issue of technical support by saying the best option is to have a technical support staff. Unfortunately, this is not always practical. One tip that the article provides about funding is to reconsider what funding should go to textbooks and what should go to technology. I though this was a very unique idea for funding, but I am not sure funds from textbooks would be enough for technology. The main reason for this is that many schools keep the same textbooks for up to seven years. This is not practical for technology because so much of it changes drastically from year to year. Updating every year could become a funding problem. Providing time for pressional development is extremely imporant because teacher's need to know how to use technology appropriately in order to maximize it's benefits. Some of the ideas in the article to enhance professional development are good in theory, but rarely occur within a school. For example, it recommends restructuring the day so teachers have time to attend professional development classes. This would never happen in any of the schools I am familiar with. Another suggestion it makes is for teachers to take classes during the summer. This would be a good option, except many teachers these days have second jobs during the summer. This article has some good ideas, but it will take some work to make the suggestions applicable.
NCREL http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/te0cont.htm is a website that has many resources. If you choose this site, sign up below (6 people maximum).
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Carly Camas
Stephanie Conley
Kayla Thompson
Allison Ryan
Rachel Bartholmy
Loni S
Heather Goble
Person 8
By Penny Reed, Ph.D.
Policy Issues Regarding IDEA and NCLB
This portion of the article focuses on aligning IDEA and NCLB and creating them equal. This creates the standard for all students to meet high standards in education. Federal funding, prevention, early intervention, learning goals, quality teachers, and ongoing professional development are something that all children, especially those with disabilities, should have access to in accordance with the two programs. These programs also must show an improvement with AYP tests so that they have proof of the programs’ effectiveness overall. The four main points and goals for aligning the program are as following:
(1) stronger and increased accountability for results
(2) simplified paperwork for states and communities and increased flexibility for all
(3) doing what works and decreased misidentification of children as disabled
(4) increased choices and meaningful involvement for parents in determining their children’s educational needs
It may not be shocking to discover that the main problem with this is the large amount of funding schools require to reach these high standards for technology programs for all levels of learners.
Stephanie Conley
Gahala, Jan. "Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools." NCREL. Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. <www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm>.
When I started this assignment, I just chose a website and decided to look for an article that caught my eye. The article I chose to review was called “Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools.” I thought that it was pretty interesting, but really long. It went over information like how computers were being placed in places so that everyone could access them, providing support, and determining goals for the technology. It also went over how there were new roles for teachers in the classroom regarding technology and how to get teachers to use that technology. All in all, the article would be good for someone who does not know a lot about how modern technology used in the classroom. On the other hand, if someone is familiar with technology use in the classroom, then this article is just a repeat of what they have already heard.
Allison Ryan
The part of the article that I chose was why technology is important in the classroom. The article talked about how the world is vast and everchaning. The world is growing and changing at such a fast pace that the only way teachers can seem to keep up is through the use of technology. The article talked about activities that teachers can do to incorporate technology into their classroom. I personally think that this article was a little bit of a repeat of things that I already knew about technology. I really enjoyed reading the article and thought that sevearl of the ideas within the article were helpful but for the most part I already knew the information in the article.
Loni SalleeGahala, Jan. "Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools" "NCREL Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2010. www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/te200.htm. Inclusion: Reaching All Students One of the concerns with technology is how to make sure to be able to include students that may not have access to technology and even to those who are unable to use technology. It was interesting to see the percentage of teachers that use technology such as the internet during class. It stated that 53 percent use technology regulary in the classroom in schools that have a lower socioecomomic. 61 percent of all classroom teachers use technology in the classroom in higher economic status schools. Students that have a disability may not be able to use technology in the same way that other students do and they may require more equipment or different from other students with disabilities. Some ways to approach this is to present information in multiple formats and media. Rachel Bartholmy
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm
While looking through these articles the one that caught my eye was “Critical Issues: Promoting Technology in the classrooms”. This article focuses on the different was to go about accessing more technology in the classrooms and the challenges that we might face while going through the process of adding more technology. This article explains the different levels that will need to be taught to the teachers adding the more advanced technology, determining effective and realistic goals for the teachers, providing ongoing learning opportunities to keep the teachers updated, offering incentives to the teachers that are using the newest technology, choosing the appropriate software, and obtaining and keeping the adequate funding for the technology. The ultimate goal of this article is to inform the teachers of how to get started using these different and useful technology options to enhance the learning of the students. I thought that this article was very insightful and could be put to great use to teachers who want to learn more about furthering the technology in their classroom.
Kayla Thompson
Gahala, J. (Oct. 2001). Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use in Schools. NCREL. Learning Point Associates, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm.
I chose this article because I thought it would have a lot of basic information that I might be able to apply in my classroom someday. Some of the information that I found particularly relavent was technical support in the classroom, providing time for professional development, and obtaining and sustaining funding. These areas are interesting to me because they are probably the hardest to achieve in a school. The article addresses the issue of technical support by saying the best option is to have a technical support staff. Unfortunately, this is not always practical. One tip that the article provides about funding is to reconsider what funding should go to textbooks and what should go to technology. I though this was a very unique idea for funding, but I am not sure funds from textbooks would be enough for technology. The main reason for this is that many schools keep the same textbooks for up to seven years. This is not practical for technology because so much of it changes drastically from year to year. Updating every year could become a funding problem. Providing time for pressional development is extremely imporant because teacher's need to know how to use technology appropriately in order to maximize it's benefits. Some of the ideas in the article to enhance professional development are good in theory, but rarely occur within a school. For example, it recommends restructuring the day so teachers have time to attend professional development classes. This would never happen in any of the schools I am familiar with. Another suggestion it makes is for teachers to take classes during the summer. This would be a good option, except many teachers these days have second jobs during the summer. This article has some good ideas, but it will take some work to make the suggestions applicable.
Heather Goble