Week Two: Topic (Educational Technology), Module (Priority: Technology and Inclusion) – Clip 11: An Adaptive Keyboard

The adaptive keyboard may be used to assist instruction, especially with students that have physical disability or special needs. For instance, limited mobility students may have great difficulty using a typically configured keyboard. In order to help these students overcome these barriers, an adaptive keyboard can be a solution. These students are able to type their responses and the computer would read it aloud. In cases where students are not able to literally touch the keyboard with their fingers, there are wands and other devices that would allow them to key in their responses.

After watching the video, my view of the role of technology for students with special needs really did not change. As a teacher, I worked with special needs students on a daily basis. Therefore, I witnessed the struggles that students had to encounter when learning new concepts.

I believe that such type of technologies could be used by other types of students, who are not special needs, especially the adaptive device that actually read aloud what is being entered into the computer. Additionally, I believe that this may help students to become better writers.

Regarding older individuals, I believe that such types of technologies could be used to help improve their mobility on the computers. Many of the typically configured keyboards have keys that may be too small to read or too small to touch. In order to rectify this dilemma, older individuals may be more effective using special adaptive keyboards that are larger.

Week Two: Topic (Educational Technology), Module (Planning Technology) - Clip 2: Learning the Rules for Computer Use

The root of many problems that are so prevalent in public education usually deals with funding issues. After viewing this video, I noticed that as the teachers were planning for a lesson incorporating technology, they were faced with a couple of dilemmas. The two problems that the teachers identified as they prepared to use the computers were insufficient number of computers and seating arrangements. The teachers had a total of 20 students in the class with only had 14 computers, which led to the next problem. Initially, they were uncertain how they were going to place 20 students in front of 14 computers. One teacher stated that she usually place students into pairs. As a result, there would have been a total of eight students working alone and six pairs of students cooperatively learning.

In order to overcome these challenges, one teacher suggested that she would assign each student a card. Students who received a card with the same color or number would carry their chairs to the computer station. Therefore, this eliminated the confusion of all 20 students having to move their chairs.

Two activities (not educational in nature) that I have not been successful due to lack of proper planning were taking a trip to Grenada and facilitating a board meeting. In the first case regarding the vacation, I was not as prepared as I wanted to be when I visited Grenada in August 2000. Prior to visiting this island, I did not know much about the West Indies and how I was going to adapt to my living conditions for two weeks. Anyway, since I did not invest a lot of time on the front end towards planning, it was miserable sleeping in the evening without an air conditioner and only a fan circulating hot air. To make matters worse, I had to fight off the mosquito because the windows were always opened.

The second activity was when I had to facilitate a board meeting in the absence of the board chair. As one of the youngest person and the vice chair, I was somewhat intimidated of the fear that I perceived that I was not adequately prepared or properly trained to facilitate a board meeting. It did not take me long to overcome my fear because I learned that generally people around me may not be as critical on me as I am on myself.