Week 10

    As this is my final blog post, I will use this space to reflect on my final thoughts on the course, as well as some of the favourite things I have been able to take away from the lessons. My main goal, when the course first began, was to learn something that I would be able to bring with me into my workspace and use in my practice. Although I haven't had the chance to work in a classroom yet, there have been many things I was able to learn throughout this course that I will take with me, and that have taught me important things I need to keep in mind when working with students. 

The underlying idea is that I can now better identify different learning disabilities students may have, as well as many different technologies that could support these. Some students may struggle with reading or comprehension disabilities, so I may offer them a program such as Raz-Kids or Google Read & Write. With programs like these, they are able to get sentences read out loud to them, are provided with comprehension practice quizzes, or can read a definition of a word they may not understand. They may also struggle with things like auditory or verbal disabilities, where there are apps that can generate text-to-speech, or vice versa. Or even math disabilities, where there is a program by the name of ModMath that can help students form equations through a simple photo, as well as provide them with an online keyboard for easy access. 

Assistive technologies can range from low to high. Low assistive technologies can be as simple as something like a pencil grip, to support students with writing who may struggle with something such as a graphomotor problem. Or, assistive technologies can be on a larger scale, and may be something like a VR headset, to help a student who may not be able to have fluid mobility and cannot travel with their classmates on field trips. Assistive technology can provide so much support to students who truly need it, and can even make things which originally may not have been possible possible with the help of technology. It is such a wonderful solution, or tool to put in our educator toolkit, as all of this technology is judgment-free, so students are able to practice as much as they want, and not feel like they are falling behind their classmates.

In conclusion,  I am grateful that we are at a point as a society where students have this opportunity and can feel as though they are included and a part of the classroom. I can't imagine how frustrating it may be to have one of the disabilities, or even just learn differently than the "norm", and not be able to have access to any form of support, or even just understanding from your educators. This class provided me with great insight into making our students feel as they are supported and ready to face any challenge and tackle any subject.