It may be the end of this course, but it is just the beginning of how my own daily practice will now include more assistive technology. In fact I find myself questioning everything in regards to "is it accessible?". An example of this goes along with the very popular Pokemon Go, which is a new interactive game that has individuals chasing down (literally) Pokemon creatures. I myself have no idea what a Pokemon is nor do I care to hunt them down, however it is eating up my newsfeed on Facebook and has been all over the news so of course I find myself interested in whats happening. As I learned more about what this game is all about the more I think about how inaccessible it really is for individuals with needs. One example of this is the game will buzz when you are close to a Pokemon and will provide a map (via Google) of the location to lead you to your treasure (without audio), but what about those who are blind, how do they access this? Also, the locations are not always the most accessible, they may be public locations but that doesn't mean anything even in todays world. Please listen to this Podcast to further explore the ways in which Pokemon Go is inaccessible.
The Dollarstore activity was one that will stay with me forever, in fact I don't think that I can walk into one of these stores and not think about accessibility. I had no idea that so many "everyday" items could be beneficial to those with needs. A duster for instance can have multiple purposes other than dusting your furniture. Who knew a container of soap could be so beneficial in the bathroom when it comes to accessing toilet paper. The ideas are endless and knowing this will help me better support my staff and students. I now have practical ideas to share with staff when we meet as a team to discuss our students needs. We do not always have access to an AT specialist so having options while we wait will make a big difference in a students life.
I thought I knew accessibility options on technology, boy was I wrong! I did not know that the technology we already know and have access to can be so accessible directly from the box. Apple products are by far way ahead of the pack with respect to providing their products to ALL, because everyone has a right to communicate with others and access technology. Knowing that you can access voice over, change text size and brightness, add switch control and access hearing aids all front he palm of your hand with the flick of a button is incredible and has certainly changed the way I think about ways to support our students.
Finally a big take away for me was learning about Book Creator and seeing all the ways that it can be used in the field of education. I have so many ideas that I want to incorporate into my own practice and share with my staff. In fact, my intention is to use one half day of our PD days at the beginning of the year to teach/introduce my staff to this app. I know ways in which teachers in my building can use this app in their own teaching. I also feel this will be a great tool for Student Success Planning (SSP) or Continuous School Improvement (CSI), when we are working on developing our school goals.
I am so thankful for having the opportunity to take this class because in my opinion it has been the most practical class I have taken in my Masters. We face challenges everyday with meeting our students needs and the tools and applications we have learned in this class are invaluable. From simple devices to large scale tools all our students have the ability to learn, communicate and grow!
Here is access to our final class video about 5173 Take Aways! Thank-you, congrats to all who are finished their masters and enjoy your summer!
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