Assignment #2
Kappler Hewitt, K., & Weckstein, D. (2012). Differentiated instruction: begin with teachers! Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48, 35-40.
What stood out in the article was how differentiated instruction is implemented and monitored in the Oakwood City School District. In order to really get a grasp and understand a new initiative it is imperative that is done more than the standard one day PD session. Another point that was brought to light was those teachers who are going to be resistant to change. We all have one or two on staff that protest any new initiative that the school or district wants to implement, that's why it is important to have a well thought out plan and goals put in place before introducing to it to staff. Kappler and Weckstein touch on this in their article, they refer to it as "fire and light". The light metaphor refers to efforts put forth in trying to get teachers to change. The fire are the strategies that help a teacher who may be resistant to understand why change is being made and what the process, product and expectations will look like. Oakwood City School District developed a framework to ensure that differentiated instruction is implemented correctly and effectively. The framework helps support staff but it also keeps them accountable to ensure that differentiation is occurring in their classrooms. The school district created a differentiation rubric that is broken up into the pathways of differentiation; interest, readiness, strength (learning profile), content, process and product. This rubric is great, because it gives teachers a clear concise plan and checklist for differentiation. The Oakwood City District has been so successful with this initiative because they have broken the process up into phases and ensure that each teacher is ready to move on to the phase. I liked what was said in the conclusion of this paper, "complete buy-in from the staff cannot be expected prior to implementation of these expectations" (Kappler Hewitt & Weckstein, 2012). This is so true in my experiences when a new initiative is introduced to staff; until the expectations and process are clearly explained and a framework of how it will be done is presented, staff is hesitant to "buy in". In my opinion, differentiated instruction can support UDL because the core of it is responding effectively to individual differences, which goes hand in hand with differentiated instruction.
Messinger-William, J., & Marino, M.T., (2010). Universal design for learning and assistive technology: leadership considerations for promoting inclusive education in today's secondary schools. NASSP Bulletin, 94(1), 5-16.
This article was focused on students with learning disabilities (and other special needs) who are integrated in general education classes at the secondary level. This article is from the States and so there is a mandate that all IEP members must "consider AT for every student when developing IEP's" (Messinger-William & Marino, 2010) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There is a mandate that students with special needs must be integrated in the "regular" classroom as much as possible. This means that that the IEP team must make any accommodation's necessary to ensure success for individuals on an IEP. Assistive Technology must be considered for each student on an IEP to help them reach their goals. This article brought to light a very good point which is, "students with disabilities often struggle to make progress toward general education standards and their personal IEP goals" (Messinger-William & Marino, 2010). I can totally relate to this point; I teach a Special Education Class in a general school environment, because of this the students are expected to cover all curricular outcomes and still reach their goals on their Individualized Program Plans. For some students this is achievable but some it's not and in my opinion the goals on the Individualized Program Plan should be the priority. When UDL is implemented in the classroom it benefits ALL students because it uses different levels of technology that accommodate and meet learner needs. The problem that is identified in the article is that there is insufficient training and practice for teachers to implement AT effectively. This is what I presently see in my school. Many teachers are able to implement low tech AT and some high teach AT, but they don't have the training to use the iPad for example to utilize all the wonderful Apps that can be used for students who struggle to read for example. Edyburn developed four phases that can be used when implementing AT for students at the secondary level. The phases are; selection, acquisition, implementation and integration. These phases are to help educators choose the most appropriate AT for a particular student and how to follow through with the plan. When "teachers have the knowledge and skills to successfully integrate AT into their existing educational practices" (Messinger-William & Marion, 2010) they will create a learning environment that is inclusive to ALL learners.
Edyburn, D., (2003). Learning from Text. Special Education Technology Practice.
"Learning from the Text" focused on reading, specifically grade four and up. Most of the school day is saturated with print, for those who have difficulties with reading; it makes for a long and frustrating day. Edyburn stated that, "one of the leading reasons for referral to special education involves reading difficulties" (2003). In my experience teaching special education, most of the students have been diagnosed with a learning disability in reading writing. For some of the students, reading is a trigger for an emotional outburst. Edyburn mentions in the article that some critics have argued that using AT such as text to speech will not teach the user how to read. Taking a UDL approach to reading intervention benefits everyone. The "taxonomy of text modification strategies" table that Edyburn (2003) created is a great chart to refer to once the reading problem and functional difficulty has been identified; it gives ideas as to what AT could be implemented. This chart could be modified to include the most up to date AT for reading intervention. Reading intervention has come a long way since this article was written; the author suggests some good responses to intervention that were available at the time the article was written eleven years ago. Presently, there are so many software programs and Apps that can be used for reading intervention that it's almost overwhelming. I have seen the benefits of students improving their reading levels through intervention programs like Fountas & Pinnell (done with a teacher) as well as some of the software programs like Lexia. Students also benefit from some the Apps that are available like ABC mouse, Little Reader etc. There are also many text to speech Apps that are readily available that can be used in class on an iPad which eases frustration, anxiety and makes it a much more inclusive environment that supports UDL.
Rodriquez, C., Strnadova, l., & Cumming, T., (2013). Using iPads with students with disabilities: lessons learned from students, teachers, and parents. Intervention in School and Clinic, 49(4), 244-250.
This was a great article highlighting the benefits of the use of mobile devices in the classroom. Mobile devices are on the rise in the classroom, especially in the realm of special education. The benefits of mobile devices are that they are convenient, can be individualized, they are discreet, which makes it more inclusive. What I liked about this article was that they brought up students who are ELL and the benefits of using a mobile device. Devices like the iPad or iPod are so convenient that students who are ELL can use them, "as portable dictionaries to support their communication in a range of contexts across school and at home" (Draper Rodrigues et al., 2013). There are a lot of students in middle school and beyond that use mobile devices like an iPhone etc. students who are ELL wouldn't stand out when using a mobile device to help support their learning. Students with autism are able to use iPads and or iPods to help with transitions. There are apps that you can personalize like a "first and then" that will show what behaviours are expected during a particular transition. This is very convenient to use, especially in an inclusive setting.
The author's of this article conducted a study on teacher and parent's perceptions of using mobile devices in the classroom for students with special needs; the feedback was positive.
Implementation of mobile devices can be daunting. That is why teachers need to be trained through on-going professional development. Collaboration between home and school was mentioned in the article; this is a really good point. If students are using their own mobile devices, parents will need training on how to support their child(s) with apps that they are using to support their learning.
Mobile devices like the iPad have made such a big impact in education, especially those with special needs. The convenience, personalized learning and engagement is what stands out for me. Using iPads in my classroom really supports UDL and it has been a real positive experience for myself and students.
Peluso, D., (2012). The fast paced iPad revolution: can educators stay up to date and relevant abou these ubiquitous devices? British Journal of Educational Technology. 43(4).
This article took on a bit of a different perspective from the other articles thus far. The author discusses the reality of mobile devices in the classroom. Peluso states that, "resources are likely not school issued; rather they were brought by the young people themselves" (2012). In my experience, this is true; some students have been bringing mobile devices to school long before they started to become part of the classroom. Presently, students at my elementary school are asked to keep their mobile devices in their backpacks or locked in a bin that is locked in a drawer in the office. Many of the teacher's at my school are open to using the assigned technology, like the Chrome books and the few of us who have iPads. Peluso states that, "the role and the implementation of mobile devices, social media and video games in educational curriculum have many unanswered questions" (2012). I think this is one of the reasons why teachers are reluctant to have students use their devices in the classroom. The author acknowledges that there is more training for teachers in the area of technology but the real issue is how can they be implemented into the learning environment and how will they be evaluated. The other issue that was brought up was using the technology appropriately in the classroom and not just bringing it in for the sake of having it in the classroom. Teachers are not always given the proper training in order to utilize devices like the iPad appropriately or to their full potential in the classroom. The author suggested that teachers and students work together so that they can have, "critical discussions about how and what they may learn from certain apps" (Peluso, 2012). Peluso did bring up some valid points about how mobile devices, like the iPad, are integrated into the learning environment. In my personal experience as well as listening to other teacher's experiences integrating devices like the iPad are beneficial to all, as long as the proper training has been taken and that the technology is being used appropriately.
Bowser, G., & Zabala, J., (2012). AIM for digital equity. Learning & Leading with Technology. 16-19.
This article discussed the importance of UDL; that any AT or instructional material used in the classroom is designed for ALL students. This article was written in 2012 and it talked about digital content taking over the classroom, in fact Doug Levin predicts that in the next ten years, "school districts will be providing most textbooks and core instructional materials in electronic formats on mobile devices" (Bowser & Smiley Zabala, 2012). Some schools are already starting to go paperless and only use technology as their "print". There are many benefits of going paperless; one benefit is that those students that have difficulties with reading will be able to access the reading material digitally. Mobile devices like iPads have helped so many students already. When you have access to technology like iPads etc. the possibilities are endless. The author's discussed the importance of knowing what materials are accessible, I think that this is very important when implementing any kind of technology in the classroom. iPads have many apps that are excellent but there are a lot that are not as good; it takes time to sift through the apps to find the one's that are most suitable for each individual. Any piece of technology that has a text to speech option is so beneficial to have in all classrooms. The article mentioned a boy name Dylan who had difficulty reading, he did well in math, but had trouble reading the directions. I have seen that in the past when I didn't have access to devices like the iPad. Many of my students have difficulty with reading, but are strong in math. When it came to reading directions and word problems they would check out. With the accessibility and mobility of technology students are able to work with their needs met in the classroom. This is what AIM strives for, "students using AIM have access to exactly the same content as others in the class, but use different strategies for acquiring the information" (Bowser & Smiley Zabala, 2012). The article also mentioned collaborating with others; this would make the transition into the ever-evolving world of technology a much easier task.
All six articles gave different perspectives of UDL and AT. The findings in each article varied, but I found for the most part that a lot of them had the same message; technology is essential in the classroom in order to meet ALL learner needs. I have seen the improvements in my students goals and confidence by having access to devices like the iPad and through the AT that is offered in the physical environment of the classroom (Zuma rockers, Hockie stools etc.). Many of the articles mentioned the importance of training teachers so that they are well equipped when implementing technology like mobile devices in the classroom. In my experience training that occurs over a period of time is the best approach, so teachers feel like they have the skills and tools to implement and use technology effectively.
