So this week I had a training about an educational technology program that is web based for creating IEPs (individual education plan) for all the students. This is a great program because it is a state based program that allows all IEPs to be the same so if a student comes from another district it will be the same. This is wonderful because it creates continuity across all schools and makes it easier for all teachers to be able to read.
My main problem with this program is that if the server goes down either the school server or the server from the department of education you can run into a major problem that can creat a giant headache. When doing an IEP I have had the error message "Internet explorer cannot display the web page" and it is extremely frustrating! With having 12 students in my classroom the IEPs already take a lot of time to complete, time that follows through into my evenings and weekends. Now working with this technology the process has become even longer for me! Don't get me wrong I love the job and everything that I do; paperwork is a part of the game, something I must do.
I just wonder at what point does the technology begin to hinder us? When I have to take 4 hours of time to complete an IEP because I keep getting an error message, that is taking 4 hours away from planning for my students. So I love the use of educational technology but at what point does it hinder us more then it helps us?
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
HELLO? Can you hear me?
This past week I was fortunate enough to attend a training session for the benefit of several of my students. Being an exceptional student education (ESE) teacher I use many pieces of educational technology just to help my non-verbal students communicate effectively with myself, other staff members, and their peers. I have five students in my classroom that use an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device on a daily basis to help them communicate. Four of my students currently use the same device, which is what I went to a training on.
Communication devices have always fascinated me just because of their shear ability to help a non-verbal person connect to those around them. This particular device is actually a tablet with a communication board application on it. Can you believe how far we have come in our technology that we can now have a deceive that we not only can watch movies, connect to the WWW, get our email and communicate with others! During this training I was able to really see the full depth of the program. The memory on both the program and the device is unreal! You can program anything you would like into the AAC that will be helpful to the student. During the session we went through and personalized our students device. By personalizing I mean, adding their name, their age, their birthday and so on. You can add mom and dad, brother, sisters, other family members, family pets, pretty much anything imaginable.
While going through the program another really cool feature that I learned was the pronunciation menu. This was a place where you could actually program the device to say words and names in the correct form so they don't sound so computerized. Being able to work with this program gave me another jump start back into my love for educational technology, specifically AAC devices.
I also use many over AAC devices in my classroom such as an IPad, a big switch, and general picture cards with my students to help them begin to communicate their needs and wants to others without becoming to frustrated or overwhelmed. I also this is in important to get those kids who are non-verbal to begin starting their own conversations with others, which sans these devices would be impossible.
In an ESE classroom educational technology in the form of AAC devices are essential for the communication needs of the students as well as to be able to teach them to become independent and possibly participate in the general education classroom.
So I ask you this, have you ever had to use an AAC device in your classroom? If so did you find it difficult to incorporate into the routine? Why?
Communication devices have always fascinated me just because of their shear ability to help a non-verbal person connect to those around them. This particular device is actually a tablet with a communication board application on it. Can you believe how far we have come in our technology that we can now have a deceive that we not only can watch movies, connect to the WWW, get our email and communicate with others! During this training I was able to really see the full depth of the program. The memory on both the program and the device is unreal! You can program anything you would like into the AAC that will be helpful to the student. During the session we went through and personalized our students device. By personalizing I mean, adding their name, their age, their birthday and so on. You can add mom and dad, brother, sisters, other family members, family pets, pretty much anything imaginable.
While going through the program another really cool feature that I learned was the pronunciation menu. This was a place where you could actually program the device to say words and names in the correct form so they don't sound so computerized. Being able to work with this program gave me another jump start back into my love for educational technology, specifically AAC devices.
I also use many over AAC devices in my classroom such as an IPad, a big switch, and general picture cards with my students to help them begin to communicate their needs and wants to others without becoming to frustrated or overwhelmed. I also this is in important to get those kids who are non-verbal to begin starting their own conversations with others, which sans these devices would be impossible.
In an ESE classroom educational technology in the form of AAC devices are essential for the communication needs of the students as well as to be able to teach them to become independent and possibly participate in the general education classroom.
So I ask you this, have you ever had to use an AAC device in your classroom? If so did you find it difficult to incorporate into the routine? Why?
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