Educational technology and mobile learning is advancing at a lightening-fast pace and this is reflected in Ontario classrooms; however, research to support these new technologies is not keeping pace or has not yet taken place. How can we, as teachers, hope to keep up with technology while ensuring that we use tools that are proven [...]
The advent of assistive technologies opens up new possibilities for both learning and teaching. Assistive technology (AT) enables students with special needs to overcome obstacles and perform complex tasks. The research can help us to understand and identify what a project to introduce AT for high school students entails.
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Essentially, AT compensates for a student's skills deficits, needs and/or area(s) of disability. The key to effective assistive technology is finding the right match between the AT tool, the learning disability (or disabilities) and the task. Finding the right tool may not be an easy task and may require a trial and error approach. Students with learning disabilities will most often require AT that assists with reading, language, organizational skills and processing information.
Developed by the Special Education and Support Services Department, this chart illustrates the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to technology where these supports are necessary for some, but good for all. Click here to access the PDF: Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities Through a Universal Design for Learning Approach to [...]
Assistive technology helps in two ways: it can help the student learn how to complete the task and it can help to bypass an area of difficulty.
by Michael Kerr, Educator, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board Introduction The power of our technology is increasing exponentially as it shrinks in size. The interesting part about this shift is that a fundamental change takes place when powerful technology becomes mobile. It becomes personal. Personalized technology changes how we work because it becomes a [...]
by Michael Kerr, Instructional Leadership Consultant, Special Education, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board Mobile devices by nature of their design are for personal use. We store personal information on them, we carry them with us, we use them dozens of times a day. Some of these devices even recognize our faces, fingerprints and [...]
CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This website provides information on UDL, current research into best practice and free learning tools for parents and educators. Visit the CAST website
The Reading Rockets library "provides teachers with effective, research-based classroom strategies to help build and strengthen literacy skills in print awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing." View the Guide
