Apply and Discover 9.1

What does it mean to provide equal access to the digital world in the classroom?

Teachers must ensure that we are helping all students learn.  With that goal in mind, technology is one important tool to assist students and meet individual needs.   Yesterday, my school hosted Jodi O'Meara, author of RTI with Differentiated Instruction, at our professional in-service day.  She began her presentation by pointing out that schools have been so focused on proficiency (thanks to standardized testing), that we often forget to look at students' growth.  Shifting our focus to growth will help us ensure that we are meeting the needs of students of all abilities, including those in both the highest and lowest percentiles.  Providing equal access to the digital world helps us to do that because technology can help us tailor instruction to the needs of individuals.

As most educators know, special education students are entitled to learning in the least restrictive environment under IDEA.  The mobile nature of technology has given teachers the ability to provide most students with the accommodations they need within the confines of the regular classroom setting.  We no longer need to send students to a resource room to access special programs on the computer; now the computer can come to them.  Laptops and iPads can be used for programs and applications that provide the assistive technology necessary.  Discrete earbuds allow students to listen to audio recordings as opposed to reading text; zooming in makes it easy for students to adjust text size to fit their needs; the vast number of videos available online provide teachers with a plethora of audio/visual resources as alternatives to traditional text-based information.   Learning to navigate and control the features of technological devices also encourages independence and allows students to take a more active role in their education.

The increase in using technology for all students limits the ways in which special education students stand out from students without IEP's.  Gone are the days when an outsider could walk into a room and easily identify assistive technology because in most cases all students are using the same devices.  While the differences among students are minimized in appearance thanks to these devices, it is easier than ever to individualize instruction to each student's unique needs and abilities.

Using technology as a tool helps all students move forward in their learning, regardless of their starting points when they come into our classrooms.  By providing equal access to technology, we can maximize each student's growth.