However, I also believe that technology is a very crucial aid for teachers and that it can enhance children's learning greatly. Beauchamp (2013) states that ICT can be useful especially when considering the inclusion of pupils, in particularly pupils with SEN.
Batten (2005) describes how teachers in primary schools have very little training based on working with children who has SEN. Using technology could be a great way for pupils to be able to gain extra support within the class and during tasks, this could be in the form of downloadable apps.
Reference:
Batten, Amanda. (2005). Inclusion and the Autism Spectrum. Improving Schools,8(1), 93-96.
Beauchamp, G. (2013). ICT in the Primary School From Pedagogy to Practice. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Evidence to support Cai's comments are made by Wilson (2003) who says mobile technology allows children with SEN to bridge any gaps they have in their learning experiences. For example, a child with Dyslexia is able to use a software that reads their work back to them so they can check for mistakes (Reid, Strnadova and Cumming, 2013). Here, the gap being bridged is their ability to proof-read their work.
ReplyDeleteReid, G. Strnadova, I. Cumming, T. (2013) 'Expanding Horizons for Students with Dyslexia in the 21st Century: Universal Design and Mobile Technology', Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 13(3), pp.175-181.
Wilson, R.A. (2003) 'Special Educational Needs in the Early Years'. London: RouteledgeFalmer.
Following on from what you said about mobile applications, these are beneficial to teachers and students as they are efficient, allow fast access to an abundance of information and can provide easy platforms for communication and organization (Hogan and Kerin, 2012). These apps could help pupils collaborate with each other outside of school, allowing them to continue their development and learning at home, potentially further motivating students to work (Rau, Gao, and Wu, 2008).
ReplyDeleteI had the chance to use an app Bethany mentioned in her post; Google Slides, and this was a great help for the group I was working with as we were able to continue work from our own homes while communicating with each other and I believe this should be used more frequently moving forward in education.
References
Hogan, N.M., and Kerin, M.J. (2012) ‘Smart phone apps: Smart patients, steer clear’, Patient Education and Counseling, 89(2), pp. 360-361.
Rau, P.L.P., Gao, Q., & Wu, L.M. (2008) ‘Using mobile communication technology in high school education: Motivation, pressure, and learning performance’, Computers & Education, 50(1), pp. 1-22.
On the topic of mobile technology and SEN students, Rivera et al. (2015) discuss how mobile technology can be used to implement praise to autistic students who are not achieving as well as others. This is a clever and helpful way teachers can be aided by mobile technology and despite the results not being clear when looking at academic results after the praise, this shows the possibilities of mobile technology being used for different sets of students.
ReplyDeleteReference
Rivera, C., Mason, L., Jabeen, I., & Johnson, J. (2015) ‘Increasing Teacher Praise and on Task Behavior for Students With Autism Using Mobile Technology’, Journal of Special Education Technology, 30(2), pp. 101-111.