UDL and Promoting Computer Access

Students in schools today use computers, laptops and tablets more than ever. With several assessments engrained in the necessity of computer literacy and use, it is only fair to wonder, "What about the students that cannot access this technology and use it proficiently and efficiently?"

I worked in a Neurological Impairments primary classroom for the bulk of the 203-2014 school year. As the children were 6 and 7 years old, their regular ed classmates had fine motor skill issues that are appropriate for their developmental age. But pairing this with a slew of various disabilities that effect fine and gross motor skills gave us a challenge when it came time to utilizing many kinds of materials, let alone computers.

Our students had a range of abilities on what we referred to as our, "technology use continuum". Students in our class used an enlarged mouse, touch screen monitors, and monitors that were linked to a teacher computer screen. Using these highly assistive features allowed them to experience success among their classmates in a modified way.

By marrying your experiences with your increasing knowledge base, teachers can accommodate and enhance learning for their students. 

Thus, by using my experiences and pairing it with my knowledge of UDL I am growing as an educator. It is important to understand the following principles of UDL when trying to modify experiences for your students in the classroom. 

A guideline principle for UDL, flexbility in use, has been incorporated into both the MAC and Windows operating systems. What this means is that users have the ability to tailor and personalize how their technology operates. Essentially, the computer allow users to choose how they would like to use it. Different features would be to modify the speed the mouse moves, increasing the size of the icons on the screen, providing text-to-speech support, etc. 

 

 

Reference:
 Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
              Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.