Students Bringing their Own Devices

A couple months ago I had my students watch a video debate from the Student Member of the Board in Montgomery County Maryland. One of the debate topics my sixth grade students identified with was Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies which would allow students to use cell phones, tablets and laptops for educational purposes. Call me old school, but these policies worry me. Would this create an interactive learning environment or would it create an easier way for students to play online games instead of learning. Right now I'm leaning toward the latter.

I have decided to challenge my views. I will be writing a research paper on BYOD policies which will hopefully gain more of an educated understanding of BYOD policies. I want to see if the benefits outweigh the challenges by looking at the effects in education and even business.

What is BYOD?

BYOD in Business

BYOD from the NEA

Assistive Technology for Students with Special Needs

One of the biggest challenges in education is meeting the needs of ALL students. This week I have been researching how to best help students with disabilities using assistive technologies. I have found that there are many resources that outline how to help students with disabilities. These resources describe the disabilities and give ideas for how to help students using assistive technology. I feel this knowledge will be able to help me be the best I can be in the future.

My one concern with the use of assistive technology comes with the funding. I have noticed that assistive technology can help students who do not have disabilities as well. The problem is that school systems may not be able to afford and offer all students assistive technology. In the future, I hope we can find a way to make assistive technology more accesible for more students.

Please check out the following links to learn how to use assistive technology in your classrooms!

http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/strategies-for-learning-disabilities/assistive-technology-devices/

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx

The beginning of endless possibilities

Wow! Starting a blog was much easier than I thought it would be. Although I still have plenty to learn, I know that creating a blog can potentially change education as we know it. Giving students a chance to communicate, make judgements and solve problems online can enhance "homework" to make a more meaningful experience. I know as a students, if I skipped a homework assignments it was because I did not think it helped me. It will be a fun experiment to create a classroom portal that will be easier for students to use than the current system we have with Edline. What worries me truly is my students without computers. I'm not sure blogging is equitable for students that lack the technology. To me, this is the biggest issue in technology. It is great for all the students who have it, but how do we get technology to more students? Are there way to let students borrow technology for their educational use? When those questions are answered, we will be well on on our way to using technology successfully in the classroom.In the end, I look forward to exploring the potential of blogs to help my students in the future.