Personal Learning Devices

• Is this instructional technology, adaptive technology, or both? What is important to consider when using it initially, in class, and for the longterm? What are the goals of using this technology?

Personal Learning Devices are both instructional technology and adaptive technology. It can be used to run programs in ABA classrooms, help students practice math/literacy skills through games, provide basic fact-check apps for young students/low-functioning students, etc. As for iPads being used for adaptive purposes, apps like proloquo2go can become a voice for students who are nonverbal.

However much potential personal learning devices hold for students, especially students with disabilities, it is important to receive the proper training and to give the proper training to students to use for educational purposes. Initially, it is important to set up the proper guidelines on how and when these devices are to be used. Too many times have I seen iPad used solely for games during social centers. Although these games may provide the platform for reinforcement for good work or for social skills training, it is hard to see the benefits of one child hovering over a game while the other waits aimlessly. Thus, setting up these goals and guidelines to match the child's needs are necessary to use iPads to their maximum potential.

• What did you think? What were potential accessibility issues? How would you change it?

Overall, I think iPads can be important devices in supporting student learning. They have high reinforcing value and technological advantages that could be an added benefit in the classroom. Additionally, as much as the iPad does well to account for all kinds of users, it may be difficult for some with motor coordination, and the voice accessibility option for users that are deaf/hard of hearing is quite difficult to use after switching from the general option.

Charming and Aesthetically Pleasing...

Charming and aesthetically pleasing
are brownstones and pre-war buildings,
but to make them flexible and fair,
one mainly feels dread and despair,
for it requires gutting out and rebuilding.

Yes, that (limerick) happened. I tried and it's not good, at all, but it happened. Mainly, I feel that to adhere to the UD principles as outlined below...

Seven Universal Design Principles:
1. Equitable Use
2. Flexibility In Use
3. Simple And Intuitive
4. Perceptible Information
5. Tolerance For Error
6. Low Physical Effort
7. Size And Space For Approach And Use

it'll take the building's management company and owner to expensively and extensively renovate the building, on top of figuring out how to do this without violating the renters' contracts. More than that, for a lot of these buildings, the inside will need to be torn down and entirely rebuilt to make the space equitable for all, which is something owners/companies are most likely not willing to do.

There are options like stair lifts and ramps, which are popular and sensible. Also, the stair lift/ramp option adhere to No. 1, 2, 3, and definitely 6 of the UD principles. However, it a stair lift breaks down mid-ride (No. 5), not only is it dangerous for the person seated, but also for others as it and the person himself now becomes a fire hazard. Also, a stair lift/ramp in this building is not the best option for its narrow stairways (No. 7), as persons going in the opposite direction of the rider will have to wait until the rider fully ascends/descends the stairs. But until we find better options/can afford ideal solutions, it is the most Universally Designed solution for those who are unable to take the stairs. Meanwhile, those of us who are lazy and out of shape may just benefit from cardio.

As for the dank smell of LES creatures, well, keeping the windows open is a start, but perhaps a small investment in a window fan will help circulate some air around the building.

Diverse Students, Disabled Curriculum

"...a re-centering of the core agenda of schools on learning instead of content."

In my senior year at Middlebury, I was part of a research team studying middle- and high-school students' development of epistemological understanding - namely, how did these teens view knowledge and learning? It was interesting, especially in the age of Wikipedia, how easily they trusted information from various sources; what they viewed as reliable and as fact. But I had also shared this track of thinking in my school experience up until this one class I had (AP U.S. History) in junior year, where I was pushed to actively think about knowledge and learning. What constituted a "fact"? Where/who were my sources of information? What led me to trust this information over another, to see this source as valid and reliable? Until that class, and to some extent afterwards, all my information came from the textbook and my teacher, and all this information was held true in my head. Little did I know that the meta-cognitive skills I was practicing was enabling me to think beyond the text, to dissect and analyze, then piece together information - all skills that are needed in and beyond college, including our everyday lives. And so I asked myself, why hadn't I thought about this before -  about learning how to learn? Was I lucky to have come across a teacher who changed my own understanding about school and education? It was all so very abstract and meta.

Reading Meyer and Rose's article led to me rethink, what are the goals of education? As they point out, mastery of content is becoming more and more accessible (thank you, Wikipedia and Google) and so as the advances of new technology shift educational goals from content to learning - our students should learn how to learn. All students, regardless of ability, are capable of this, but it is the traditional curriculum that inhibits some learners over others. So in order for all our students to become expert learners, we need to align the three principles of Universal Design for Learning (multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement) with new research on learning differences (activation of recognition networks, strategic networks, and affective networks) to create a dynamic, individualized curriculum. In this way, we can provide to all students the opportunities to "...overcome their weaknesses and extend their strengths..." (Meyer and Rose, 2005)

Now, I understand and appreciate the value of standardized assessments, especially for those students who have difficulty functioning alongside their peers. These tools helps us work towards set goals to give those students tools to use when working with a set of people different from themselves. So I can't help wondering how standardization fits into the model of UDL, where the goals, method of instruction, and assessments are all tailored to the student's needs. Or is there no room for standardized assessments, no need for measuring how one student stands compared to the developmental norm. Also, where can we provide the benefit of being outside of their own comfort zone - places that build "character", so to speak. We would have to find a balance of working off a student's strength and working on a student's weakness in school, so that in life the student will have the tools to work through a situation of discomfort.

In the end, if in the near future my classroom can look like this:
 

if I can use technology to be a very "nutritious, differentiated, engaging, and democratized" tool, then students of all abilities will be able to participate and engage in learning. (Meyer and Rose, 2005) I would have given them the proper tools to adapt in a dynamic world.

But I still look forward to the maybe-not-so-near future (but still within the span of my career) when my classroom would look like this:

I have a feeling that my students and I would be excited at the forward step in either scenario.

References and Additional Links: 
Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/.

Meyer, A. and Rose, D. H. (2005). The Future is in the Margins: the Role of Technology and Disability in Educational Reform. In Meyer, A. and Rose, D. H., Hitchcock, C. (Eds.), The Universally Designed Classroom and Digital Technologies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Only for the Fit, Patient, and/or Desperate Denizens of the LES

I am not an (entirely) unhealthy person. At times I may stray from the doctor's recommended course of good diet and exercise, but who doesn't? Recently, however, I have come into conflict with my (un)healthy choices because of the subject seen in the above photograph. Four flights of stairs in a pre-war building in the LES. Like most buildings in this area, the apartments are narrow, tall, and long. Now, you may say that four flights are nothing, but I am the type of person where stairs are considered only in the case of emergencies (e.g., fire) or the nonexistence of an elevator/escalator. But I tolerate the climb because a) I've been working out my legs climbing another set of four flights multiple times a day in my school, and b) I care enough about the person living on the 5th floor to sweat through my shirt and breathe in the muggy, confined air of an old building.

However, Audience, if you do not share my tolerances, then this may not be the space for you. The narrow stairs are fine, single file, at a very slow pace. You need to go single file unless you somehow fit like a puzzle piece with the person you're walking with.  You also need to ascend/descend slowly, as the steps are VERY slippery, which both my friend and I learned the painful way. Additionally, the trash rooms are located right across the stairs on every floor, and the open windows of the stairway are two feet from the brick wall of another building, so there is often a lingering smell of 40+ inhabitants combined with the unique smell of St. Marks Place. Really, this location is suitable for those who are physically able, can manage their time wisely, as to not rush up or down the stairs, and have little to no sensitivity to pungent aromas. For all else who do not fit into this group or do not have dear ones occupying such spaces, then I would reconsider a trip into this building.

Introduction: Reflections about myself, technology, and problem-solving

Tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course.

My name is Judy Park. I am a masters student at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, in the Intellectual Disabilities/Autism Dual Certification Program for grades 1-6.  This is my last semester, and it is shaping up to be the most exciting one. I have heard great things about this course, and what I am most eager to learn is how to take better advantage of the up and coming educational technology (e.g., SMART Board, Boardmaker) to add to my pedagogical toolbox.

What experience and background do you bring to the class? Perhaps you'd like to include a favorite quote.

Prior to TC, I graduated from Middlebury College as a psychology major and with minors in elementary education and Japanese. As I had been educated in the NYC public system from K-12, I am deeply committed to joining the ranks of the amazing teacher’s I’ve had while growing up. Hopefully, I will end up teaching in the district that served me so well. As for my teaching experiences, I have had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of students – urban, rural, low SES, general education, special education, dual language learners – and I’ve grown to hold a very special place in my life for people with disabilities, especially in the recent years.

My favorite quote is from the short story Typhoon, by Joseph Conrad. In this story, a captain and his crew sail into a destructive typhoon, and the quote captures the sentiment of Jukes, the first mate, who is distressed during the storm:

"The long, long stress of a gale does it; the suspense of the interminably culminating catastrophe; and there is a bodily fatigue in the mere holding on to existence within the excessive tumult; a searching and insidious fatigue that penetrates deep into a man's breast to cast down and sadden his heart, which is incorrigible, and of all the gifts of the earth—even before life itself—aspires to peace." 

Like Jukes, sometimes when I encounter a problem that is so distressing and disheartening, I feel that all I can do is to surrender to it without hoping for anything else but for the weight to lift. However, I keep pushing on, trying different tactics, so that when I do find a solution, I can learn from its journey.

What role does technology play in your life? What has been your experience learning technology in the past? How comfortable are you with new technology? How would you describe your technological learning style? What do you think people need in order to learn technology well?

Growing up with an older brother who was always building computers, I always considered myself able to handle technological burps, at least the minor ones. Besides, I have always thought that if all possible options are exhausted, there’s always Google to help me solve the issue. In the end, technology makes up my day-to-day life – literally, it wakes me up to start the day, provides me my work schedule and various due dates, guides me to my classes, puts me in contact with friends, family, peers, and coworkers throughout the day, I can go on and on, but I am sure many of you share my reliance on technology. I actively incorporate technology into my life, partly due to vanity and partly to keep me on my toes. As technology exponentially upgrades, I feel it gets harder to catch up (taking my parents as an example – teaching my father to write an email took several hours over several days) the longer we take in learning to work with it. I am very comfortable with new technology for this very reason – the more I try to figure out technology, the more I will understand. Which leads me to my next point: anyone can learn anything they want to learn about technology, as long as they put in the effort and the practice. If I can teach my parents to email, then to create word documents and excel sheets, and (most recently) to use Netflix, well, I’d say anything is possible.

What reflections, insights, or connections did you think about as a result of reading our thoughts and Martinez's essay on problem-solving?

Martinez’s point that our attitudes towards errors greatly inhibit a valuable learning opportunity was the most poignant in his essay on problem-solving. This is the attitude that stops us and our students from actively pursuing a solution after making an error, and instead we just seek an answer from a peer or the teacher. I grew up with this mindset, and only when my favorite high school teacher began opening up the class to discussion and collaborative work did I feel that errors were necessary in the learning process. Our students need and are required to have the benefit of accepting errors and uncertainty if they are to succeed in life after school. Fluid intelligence and adaptability are two skills that children should have the opportunity to learn and sustain early in their education, as they will encounter more abstract concepts and difficult problems in the higher grades.