EDTECH 541: Accessibility Features on My Computer

Overview

Many of us use technology on a daily basis, unaware of the variety of assistive technologies that are available for users that struggle with disabilities that can hinder their access or use of the technology we may take for granted. Assistive technologies can be a beneficial tool for individuals with cognitive or physical impairments. As defined by Raskind (2012) assistive technology is any device, piece of equipment or system that helps bypass, work around or compensate for an individual's specific learning deficits. These types of technology can improve the access and use of technology to help individuals overcome their specific learning disabilities. Technology in general and technology in conjunction with specific assistive technologies have given students greater opportunities for educational equity that may not have existed previously.    I was unaware of the many accessibility features that my own operating system included before researching the topic for this discussion. The operating system that I currently use is Microsoft Windows 8. Windows 8 provides a variety of different accessibility features that can be considered assistive technology.

Accessibility Features

Microsoft Accessibility (2014) provides a great overview of their specific assistive technology features.

Feature Description Ease of Access Center Provides a centralized location where you can adjust accessibility settings and programs. You can also get recommendations for settings to make your PC easier to see, hear, and use. Magnifier Magnifies the screen or a portion of the screen to make text, images, and objects easier to see. On-Screen Keyboard A visual, on-screen keyboard with all the standard keys that you can use instead of a physical keyboard. On-Screen Keyboard also lets you type and enter data with a mouse or other pointing device. Narrator Reads aloud on-screen text and describes some events that occur, or error messages that appear, while you're using the computer. Speech Recognition Enables you to interact with your computer using only your voice while maintaining, or even increasing, your productivity. Change text size Lets you make text and objects larger and easier to see without losing graphics quality. Touch If you've got a touch-screen monitor, you can just touch your computer screen for a more direct and natural way to work. Use your fingers to scroll, resize windows, play media, and pan and zoom. Keyboard shortcuts Keyboard combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort. Sticky Keys Instead of having to press three keys at once (such as when you must press the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys simultaneously to log on to Windows), you can press one key at a time when Sticky Keys is turned on Mousekeys Instead of using the mouse, you can use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad to move the pointer. Visual Notifications Replace system sounds with visual cues, such as a flash on the screen, so system alerts are announced with visual notifications instead of sounds. Each one of these features can be valuable in supporting different learning disabilities and providing greater access to educational content while using a computer.

Cognitive Disabilities

The website te@thought (2012) in an article titled The Role of Assistive Technology In Supporting Disabled Learners defines “Students with cognitive disabilities can be all over the map in terms of intelligence, but may suffer from difficulties with memory, self-expression, information processing, and other learning disabilities that prevent them from performing their academic tasks in the same manner as other students.”

The narrator feature can help students with cognitive disabilities when they struggle with reading by reading on screen text. The speech recognition feature can help students in in their writing by using their voice to be more productive that writing with the keyboard. The touch screen feature allows for student to interact with the computer content in a more intuitive and friendly manner that can help student that may be more adapted to kinesthetic learning. .

Physical Disabilities

The website te@thought (2012) in an article titled The Role of Assistive Technology In Supporting Disabled Learners defines  “Students with physical disabilities may require the use of braces, a cane or a wheelchair, may use prosthetic limbs, or may be dealing with muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or many other conditions, all of which can present accessibility challenges.”

Some of the same features that can be beneficial for cognitive disabilities will also allow access for those with physical disabilities. The speech recognition will allow those with physical disabilities to interact with the computer using their voice if they are physically unable to to use a mouse or keyboard. The touch screen feature may also allow for easier access to the controls and applications available on the computer. The sticky keys  could be useful if using multiple keys is a challenge. The on screen keyboard may provide allow for keyboard use by only using the mouse.

Sensory Disabilities

The website te@thought (2012) in an article titled The Role of Assistive Technology In Supporting Disabled Learners defines “Sensory disabilities include visual impairment and blindness, deafness and hard-of-hearing conditions can prevent students from utilizing traditional classroom materials and tools.”

There are also many features that can improve the sensory output of the operating system. The Ease of Access center can do a number of things for sensory disabilities. It can change the contrast and color schemes of the operating system to make it easier for people with visual disabilities to see. You can change the size of the windows text and cursor. There is a magnifier feature that enlargers part of or the entire screen for better viewing.

These features along with many more were interesting to explore and use for the first time. It is nice to know about these features and possibly utilize them in my classroom for students that may have these types of learning disabilities.

References

Microsoft Accessibility. (2014). Accessibility in Windows 8. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from, http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windows8/

Raskind, M (2012). Assistive technology for kids with LD: An overview. Great Schools. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from, http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs?page=all

Roblyer, M. D.,Doering A.H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching

(6th Edition).Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

 

te@chthought. (2012, December 18). The Role of Assistive Technology In Supporting Disabled Learners. te@chthought. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from, http://www.teachthought.com/technology/the-role-of-assitive-technology-in-supporting-disabled-learners/

EDTECH 503: Module 07 Reflection

Formative and Summative Evaluation of Instructional Design

Overview of Learning

Formative and summative evaluation are an important component of the instructional design process. The formative evaluation allows you to asses the effectiveness of your instructional design plan through three stages of evaluation. During each one of these stages of evaluation the opportunity to revise and improve the instructional design allows for a thorough evaluation of the instructional materials. The stages of formative evaluation are one to one, small group, and field trials. Each stage has specific guiding questions that can help the instructional designer in their evaluation of the instructional design plan. Smith and Ragan (2005) provide some very useful questions for each stage of this evaluation. Here are a few examples of those questions.

One to One:

Do the learners understand the instruction?

Can the learners interpret graphics in the text?

Can the learners read all the textual information?

Small Group:

Do the learners have the anticipated entry level skills?

How long does it take for the learners to complete the instruction?

What revisions are necessary to improve attitudes towards the instruction?

Field Trials:

Can the instruction be implemented as it was designed?

How do the teachers feel about the instruction?

Do the teachers and learners implement the instruction as designed?

After the completion of these stages and appropriate revision have been made then the instructional design plan should be submitted to an subject matter expert for summative evaluation. This person should provide feedback giving their expert opinion to the overall effectiveness of instruction in meeting the desired needs and learning objectives of the instructional design plan.

Reflection

While participating in the module discussion it was easy to see how students incorporated the structure provided by the class text. There was a lot of similarities between each post regarding the the types of questions that best fit each stage of evaluation. It was really interesting to see the resources that everyone had in regards to an SME. We are all very fortunate to be surrounded by supportive community.

I think the stages of formative evaluation would be very time consuming for me as a teacher, but  possible for someone whose primary role is an instructional designer. The role of instructional designer seems to fall squarely on the shoulders of teachers in my school where specific instructional designers do not exist. I know I have delivered many lessons to students without a formal evaluation process and have received a lot of the same feedback organically through my delivery. I do think that the practice of summative evaluation is present through the practice of collaboration with colleagues when developing lessons and lesson planning. I think the example questions stated earlier in this discussion will be valuable for me to help focus the evaluation of my lessons during instruction.   

References:

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2005). Instructional design 3rd ed. New York, NY: Wiley.

EDTECH 541: Obstacles for Science Content Technology Integration

Overview

There are many challenges related to the integration of technology within the different educational content areas. Each of them having their individual and unique obstacles of implementation. One common theme between all them is the accountability for academic standards. A primary question of concern is how technology can be integrated in each content area while not only meeting, but improving standards based educational practices. Many of the new and current academic standards  now address the importance of technology and its role in the development of 21st century skills that help prepare students for success in a digital society. Thoughtful planning and development of technology based instruction in each of the content areas can meet the high stake academic standards and promote the development of these 21st century skills.  For this discussion I will focus on the obstacles of technology integration for science instruction.

Obstacles and Solutions

One of the main focuses of science standards is student learning through inquiry based instruction. Providing students the opportunity to develop and construct their own learning through critical thinking and problem solving. “Inquiry-related teaching is effective in developing scientific literacy and the understanding of science processes, vocabulary knowledge, conceptual understanding, critical thinking, positive attitudes toward science, and construction of logico-mathematical knowledge” (Roblyer & Doering, 2012). Technology can help meet these inquiry based standards by providing the tools and resources for in-depth investigations, collaboration, and communication of real world science learning applications. As stated by Spektor-Lew, Sonnenschein and Zion 2005, the role of science technology in the classroom can include:

-A tool to address science inquiry outcomes with students.

-A tool to simulate, animate, and visualize data, phenomenon, models and systems.

-A new way to perform traditional tasks.

These ideas help students to effectively achieve the science standards. I refered to examples of specific tools and resources in a previous blog entry. Technology is an integral  part of modern science education because it is essential to the field itself (Roblyer & Doering, 2012).  

There is also the need for an increase of student interest towards the science and technology field, as well as a need for increased scientific literacy. “America’s economic and environmental progress depends on the character and quality of the science education that the nation’s schools provide” (Roblyer & Doering, 2012). The integration of technology in science instruction can be beneficial in overcoming these stated gaps. Students can learn to use technology to find, research, and evaluate scientific information through the application of the scientific process. As students are being brought up in a more technological society, science instruction can help develop the ways in which students can learn to apply technology to solve problems and come up with real world solutions. Programs such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs primary mission is to close this achievement gap in our country. “The central mission of the STEM Education Coalition is to inform federal and state policymakers on the critical role that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education plays in U.S. competitiveness and future economic prosperity (STEM, 2014). These programs can help to increase student motivation in science topics through the intentional application of technology.

References:

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th
ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Spektor-Lew, O. R. N. I. T., Sonnenschein M., & Zion, M. (2005). Technology integration in science studies: Obstacles and incentives.

Stem Education Coalition (2014). Mission Statement. Retrieved on April 18th, 2014 from http://www.stemedcoalition.org/

EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology Into the Content Areas

Overview

There are many advantages for the integration of technology in classroom instruction. You can do a quick search on the internet and find an abundant amount of resources available that can help enhance student learning. With so many of these resources available, it is important to know which resources are appropriate for the different curricular content areas. When selecting resources the focus of all technology in different content areas should be centered around engaging, relevant, and authentic learning experiences. For this blog I will discuss the content area of Science and Math.

Research

It is easy to see the connection between science, mathematics, and technology, based on their relationship with each other. “Technology supports science and science makes new technology possible. Technologies are an integral  part of modern mathematics education and science education because they are essential to the fields themselves (Roblyer & Doering, 2012).

Technology based instruction  in science and mathematics can facilitate learning experiences that extend beyond traditional lecture and text based instruction. “Learning research has shown that students learn best by actively constructing knowledge from a combination of experience, interpretation and structured interactions with peers and teachers (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin & Means, 2000). Technology integration in the science and mathematics content area  provides many opportunities for students to build and construct knowledge in the science and mathematics curriculum.

Engaging, Relevant, and Authentic

Technology can be naturally engaging for many students as it is the common language in which they communicate. Through text, twitter, Facebook, games and many other forms of technology media, students are naturally drawn to technology applications. The challenge for instructors is to make their specific content engaging through the use of technology. Virtual labs, virtual manipulatives, simulations, graphing tools, and games can all enhance student engagement by providing interactive visual representations that may not otherwise be possible without the use of technology based instruction. These highly engaging forms of technology also need to be relevant to the student audience.

Technology is the vehicle for the future skills students will need, making it genuinely relevant. These future skills as stated by Roblyer and Doering (2012) include technological literacy, information literacy, and visual literacy. As young students are exposed to an ever increasing amount of these forms of literacy through technology, it will be essential for them to learn and apply them. In science and math these forms of literacy are essential in analyzing and producing a variety of information.  For example, software can be used to easily generate concept maps, graphs, and diagrams to help students understand fundamental concepts (CTTE, 2005). The connection between digital literacy and the development of technology through science and math is also a very relevant topic for student interpretation and application of content. The digital skills students learn through science and math instruction can also have authentic applications.

As stated by Roblyer and Doering (2012), “Authentic science not only involves having students “do” science, it also includes connecting science to students lives and life experiences.” This idea is an important transference piece that students need to be exposed to. Students should conduct scientific investigations that incorporate mathematics skills in a relevant and applicable manner. The Globe program is an excellent example of this kind of relevant project. Students can take real world measurements and analysis techniques for a variety of current and relevant science topics. This authentic learning incorporates a variety of math skills naturally through their relationships with each other.    

Roblyer and Doering (2012) provide excellent summaries for the integration strategies for science and mathematics instructions.

Science: Involving students in scientific inquiry through authentic online projects, support for specific processes in scientific inquiry, supporting science skills and concept learning, engaging students in engineering topics through robotics, and accessing science information and tools.

Mathematics: Bridging the gap between abstract and concrete with virtual manipulatives, allowing representation of mathematical principles, supporting mathematical problem solving, implementing data-driven curricula, supporting math related communications, and motivating skill building and practice.

References:

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th
ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Roschelle, J. M., Pea, R. D., Hoadley, C. M., Gordin, D. N., & Means, B. M. (2000). Changing how and what children learn in school with computer-based technologies. The future of children, 76-101.

Center for Technology and Teacher Education (CTTE). (2005) Content Areas. Retrived on  April 9, 2014 from http://www.teacherlink.org/content/

EDTECH 503: Module 06 Reflection

One of the most challenging aspects of instruction of young students is keeping them continually motivated during a learning activity. During this module that main concept focused on developing motivational strategies using the ARCS model and then developing your instructional guide for implementing those strategies. After completion of this module I have found this to be an essential step in a well developed instructional design plan and plan to also implement the ideas into my daily instruction as a teacher.

Instructors are always trying to come up with engaging lessons for their audience. These lesson can include all the bells and whistles, and the latest and greatest in technology resources. After learning about the ARCS model, I have decided that being intentional about how you motivate students rather than what may be new and exciting for students is a more valuable and applicable process for lesson development. Even a traditional lesson that lacks the new and exciting engagement resources can be successfully delivered if the proper motivational strategies are used. The steps of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction allow for a detailed analysis of how to properly motivate students throughout a lesson.

During the module discussion it was interesting to see the different perspectives of how the ARCS model can be implemented for each different instructional design project. Overall the desired motivational outcomes were met, and it was nice to gain different ideas on how to arouse and keep your instructional audience motivated. I will definitely use some of these ideas in my future planning.  

The completion of creating my ARCS model for my instructional design project has allowed for concrete reflection in how I can improve my instruction through the process of motivational strategies. I have always focused my anticipatory set as the primary motivational strategy for a lesson. It is also important to think about how motivation strategies can be used throughout the entire lesson from start to finish. Motivation needs to be stimulated throughout the learning process to provide an effective and authentic learning experience.