top of page
#IWish
#IWishMyTeacherKnew

Using Technology to Include All Students

  • Giulia Lato
  • Mar 12, 2015
  • 4 min read

In my opinion, one of the most important issues in education that also connects with the use of technology is that of inclusion. In other words, I think technological tools and resources are great differentiation methods for teachers to use when they have diverse learners in their classrooms. Students may have different styles of learning (possibly because they demonstrate one of the eight types of intelligences established by Gardner), but some students have more serious disabilities that can restrict their participation in the classroom. Therefore, introducing technology is an effective way of differentiating instruction. The readings that I did on inclusion for my “Instruction in Inclusive Schools” class has taught me a lot about the issue. Tomlinson (2014) offers a really extensive overview of differentiation and how teachers should make inclusion a priority in their classrooms. In addition, the National Center on Response to Intervention (2010) explains the essential components of the Response to Intervention model, which is a multi-level prevention system that assesses needs and intervenes accordingly. Technology can either be used with the whole class to make content more accessible, or it can be offered to individual students to better suit their needs.

In the final project for my inclusive class, my group and I had to create a lesson plan binder with 10 individual lesson plans that range all 6 grade levels as well as subject areas. This was a really interesting project because it was one of the first times that I actually had to create realistic lessons for a classroom. One of the resources we used from LEARN Quebec was an interactive curriculum planner called Dot Plan. One of the lesson plans in particular had an interesting differentiation strategy through technology. This math lesson, which was intended for Grade 6 students and be found here, had students measuring the angles in snowflakes that they created. We included the use of spring-loaded scissors for students who had poor fine motor skills, and we thought that a drawing app on the iPad could help students draw their angles and practice measuring with a protractor. Free apps like Doodle Buddy for iPad or Draw Free for iPad could be useful here. I think it’s also important to remember the gifted students, because they can often go through elementary school feeling unchallenged and bored. I wrote an essay on the inclusion of gifted children, which was really eye-opening and made me realize that including these children is just as important as including those who struggle in school.

The work that I’ve done in inclusion and differentiation has helped me grow in relation to Professional Competency 7 because I’ve done quite a bit of research on it and even had the chance to write inclusive lesson plans. This competency requires teachers to adapt their methods to the diverse needs of their students, including those with learning difficulties and physical disabilities. Working and developing lesson plans that were designed to include all students and even offered extra differentiation strategies for specific learning disabilities really helped me grow in relation to this competency. It’s difficult to always ensure that each and every student can easily participating and learn something from the lesson, but I think technology can facilitate that process because it offers so many options. In addition, I’ve also developed skills with regards to Competency 10 because planning Individualized Education Plans (or IEPs) requires the collaboration of many people on the teaching team, including the teacher, the principal, and the resource teacher. Since parents should also be included in this process, I could also say that I am working on Competency 9, which looks at cooperation with the parents.

In the future, I see myself looking back to my research on inclusion if ever I get really stuck about how to help a specific student feel involved in my class. During my next three field experiences, I hope to gain more practice in differentiating instruction for all students. One of my goals is to be consistent with my lesson plans in my implementation of technology and in my consideration of inclusion. In other words, I will make the effort to include strategies for differentiation as well as implications of technology. If the two can be combined, then it will only make my lesson plan better! Nevertheless, the lesson plans I’ve developed so far have helped me work on Competency 3 because I had some practice in developing teaching/learning situations, while taking into account the students and the QEP competencies. In order to achieve my goal, it’s important to gain more knowledge about technology in the classroom as well as the ways in which teachers can include students who don’t fit in with the norm. However, I should also remember that perfect inclusion methods can’t always be carried out in classrooms because of the lack of resources, time, space, and extra aid. Therefore, I have to recognize that further adaptation will probably have to be made once I enter my own classroom in a specific school.

 
 
 

Comentarios


Giulia Lato

© 2015 Proudly created with Wix.com

  • LinkedIn Social Icon
bottom of page