Inclusive Technology

With the advances in technology, almost nothing in education is impossible. Most classrooms are equipped with numerous different kinds of technology designed to assist students in need of extra assistance. Therefore, there is no excuse for any student to be overlooked. Numerous students benefit from inclusive technology, regardless of if they are a student with learning challenges or gifted students.

One way that students can benefit from technology is through very expensive technology, such as Tango. Tango is a product that is able to provide speech to the students that are unable to speak or are just not willing to do so. This allows students to be able to have a voice so that they can get their point across and work in groups alongside all other students.

Another great way to get students more active is to do more activities on the computer. It is quite simple; however, kids enjoy working on computers and really have a great time doing it. There can be some difficulties with this, but technology has even more solutions! For younger students with smaller hands, a mouse may be difficult to manipulate, but they can use a big mouse that is controlled by a large ball and requires a lot less use of the whole hand. For the same challenge, only with keyboards, teachers can get keyboards with large buttons. These keyboards come in either the traditional way to assist with typing, or you can get one that is in alphabetical order to help them learn the alphabet. These technologies can be very useful in the classroom!

There are low levels of technology that are very helpful as well. Some activities that one may not even think are technology are actually quite helpful. Flash cards with sayings on them are a less expensive way for children that can not speak to get their voice heard. Books on tape are another great way for children to learn and get all of the information that they need. Children, who are possibly having a harder time learning to read and are embarrassed about it, are still able to take part in class discussion without feeling inadequate and being ashamed. This is also a great fun activity for the other children who are not having trouble. They are able to take part in the discussion and feel like they’re getting off easy without having to actually read.

Technology is just great. Students can always use a bit of extra help and the way that they can get that help is through technology. Not only are they learning, they are having a great time! If they are able to go online and do some lessons or use a big keyboard that lets them feel like they are successful, they are going to have a great time while learning, and that, as educators, is our ultimate goal.