3.4 Adaptive and Assistive Technology
Candidates facilitate the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to support individual student learning needs. (PSC 3.4/ISTE 3d)
Artifact: Assistive Technology Implementation Plan
Reflection:
In this learning experience, I had the opportunity to teach a student who was hearing impaired and had recently gotten cochlear implants. Shortly after the beginning of the year, the student pulled me aside at the end of class to let me know that she was having difficulty with a series of lab safety videos we were watching and asked if there was a possibility that I could turn on the closed captioning for her. The student had been provided a script (as directed in her IEP) but she found that looking from the script on her desk to the video at the front of the room was difficult to accomplish quickly and the images were important for concept mastery. It was at this time that I contacted the system Hearing Impaired Specialist, the system Assistive Technology Specialist, our on-site Information Technology Specialist, and her case worker to see if there was a solution to the problem that would better suit the needs of the student.
Standard 3.4, Adaptive and Assistive Technology, asks the candidates show that they are able to “facilitate the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to support individual student learning needs” (PSC 3.4/ISTE 3d). According to this student’s IEP, teachers were only required to supply written summaries of any audio clips used in class. I facilitated the use of adaptive and assistive technology by working with the Hearing Impaired Specialist and Information Technology Specialist to learn how to adjust the settings on the computer and iPad to include closed captioning on those types of devices and did so on my computer, a specific computer that she would be able to use in my classroom, and my school-issued iPad. I further facilitated the use of adaptive and assistive technology by working with her other teachers to have their settings adjusted as well.
This learning experience was a valuable one for me. Not only was I able to solve a problem and better meet the needs of a student in my own classroom but I was able to facilitate changes to meet her needs in other classrooms as well. Though it didn’t work perfectly, as some videos were not compatible and often the visual words didn’t match the audio exactly, it did give the student more confidence in watching and listening to videos.
The impact on student learning can be assessed by analyzing whether or not this student met her learning goals in her IEP at the end of the school year, in this case “understanding of proper sentence structure and dialect” (stated in student’s IEP and in the Assistive Technology Implementation Plan). This can also be assessed by examining the student’s assessment goal, which was an “80% combination listening/reading comprehension on video clips” (stated in student’s IEP and in the Assistive Technology Implementation Plan). The impact on faculty development and school improvement can be assessed by ensuring that the software and settings are updated on all teacher devices and appropriate student devices.
In this learning experience, I had the opportunity to teach a student who was hearing impaired and had recently gotten cochlear implants. Shortly after the beginning of the year, the student pulled me aside at the end of class to let me know that she was having difficulty with a series of lab safety videos we were watching and asked if there was a possibility that I could turn on the closed captioning for her. The student had been provided a script (as directed in her IEP) but she found that looking from the script on her desk to the video at the front of the room was difficult to accomplish quickly and the images were important for concept mastery. It was at this time that I contacted the system Hearing Impaired Specialist, the system Assistive Technology Specialist, our on-site Information Technology Specialist, and her case worker to see if there was a solution to the problem that would better suit the needs of the student.
Standard 3.4, Adaptive and Assistive Technology, asks the candidates show that they are able to “facilitate the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to support individual student learning needs” (PSC 3.4/ISTE 3d). According to this student’s IEP, teachers were only required to supply written summaries of any audio clips used in class. I facilitated the use of adaptive and assistive technology by working with the Hearing Impaired Specialist and Information Technology Specialist to learn how to adjust the settings on the computer and iPad to include closed captioning on those types of devices and did so on my computer, a specific computer that she would be able to use in my classroom, and my school-issued iPad. I further facilitated the use of adaptive and assistive technology by working with her other teachers to have their settings adjusted as well.
This learning experience was a valuable one for me. Not only was I able to solve a problem and better meet the needs of a student in my own classroom but I was able to facilitate changes to meet her needs in other classrooms as well. Though it didn’t work perfectly, as some videos were not compatible and often the visual words didn’t match the audio exactly, it did give the student more confidence in watching and listening to videos.
The impact on student learning can be assessed by analyzing whether or not this student met her learning goals in her IEP at the end of the school year, in this case “understanding of proper sentence structure and dialect” (stated in student’s IEP and in the Assistive Technology Implementation Plan). This can also be assessed by examining the student’s assessment goal, which was an “80% combination listening/reading comprehension on video clips” (stated in student’s IEP and in the Assistive Technology Implementation Plan). The impact on faculty development and school improvement can be assessed by ensuring that the software and settings are updated on all teacher devices and appropriate student devices.