Technology and Special Children!

The school I am currently working in, is  undergoing a technology overhaul.  Frankly we are about to be pulled in to the 21st Century, although not kicking and screaming, the majority of us have been asking for this for along, long time.  We currently have a high percentage of children on individual learning plans who would benefit greatly from the implementation of technologies that would facilitate and enhance their learning.

Our school needs to embrace technology and educate teachers to have the capability to apply their new found knowledge to the students.  I can follow identify that technology facilitates students with special needs and can be a great equaliser.  We have a number of Autistic children within our school.  One of the children refuses to hold a pencil, he holds it, as if their is 2 stone bearing down on his little hand.  However he will write on the ipad, he loves the app. Hairy letters, he will form his letters correctly and enjoys the funny animations.  He will write his name on the ipad notebook.  The ipad has enabled us diagnose that it is definitely the pencil that is the problem and that he is able to write.  The question is, will he only write on his terms or is their a problem with the pencil.  He is unable to verbalise his reasons for disliking the pencil. although we do know that it is not the case that he is touch sensitive, as he will mark make in foam and sand.  On discussion with staff members and a search on the internet, we are attempting to remedy the problem, we have purchased pens that you can record your voice on to and pens that vibrate.  These aren't particularly expensive items of technology and if they work?  I will let you know.

On reading the article presented to us by our lecturer last month, (Use of Technology to help students with special needs, by Ted S. Hasselbring and Candyce H. Williams Glaser).  Vol. 10 No.2 - Fall/Winter 2000.  I found this article very interesting considering it was scripted in the year 2000, and although it is in reference to technology and special needs, it fundamental message crosses over to mainstream.  Teachers need to be fully trained and their training needs to be kept up to date, in order to implement technology appropriately in the classroom.

Hasselbring & Williams consider the lack of adequate teacher training has an especially strong impact on students with disabilities because technology is often a critical component in planning and implementing. 

I believe that adequate training preservice and inservice is critical for all teachers, teaching special needs or mainstream learners.  We have just received an impressive amount of ipads in school, with the promise of training.  The ipads have been in school for over a month and teachers are welcome to take them home and have a play.  We can down load applications,  if the application is not applicable we are unable to delete them, due to security.  I have images of over 20 ipads being filled with rubbish.  Ultimately it is frustrating, if we had been trained to begin with and applications were recommended and demonstrated, we could of used the ipads straight away in the classroom.  I borrowed one the other day and it had a Tesco application on it! 

Three of my own children are Dyslexic, they are all on Individual Learning Plans, they have support in school and extra time in exams. Recently I received a letter from one of my daughters teachers in Secondary school, explaining that the exam criteria for GCSE's are changing.  The criteria is called QWC (communication of written writing) in English this will be 50% of their mark, the examiner will look for accuracy, punctuation, grammar and spelling.  I am an advocate for all these, although I am poor at three of them. 
Michael Gove the Education Secretary and Leighton Andrews the Welsh Education Minister are the people responsible for this new criteria.  Not long ago Leighton Andrews was singing on high the importance of PSE in schools,  I have lost faith in all this, no matter how much they say they care about our child's well being, they  want academic results and slowly, slowly, between A levels becoming increasingly difficult, university fees, they are slowly dividing the wheat from the chaff.  I am not sure where technology and levelling the playing fields play their part in exams.

My daughters work ethic is creditable and she is working incredibly hard to overcome her disorder, although spelling will always remain a challenge for the rest of her life.   Legally the school have everything in place for her, however when it comes down to measuring her achievements, apart from extra time and notation if her writing is difficult to understand, technology will play no part in helping her with her exam.  On a recent assessment she was asked to write a story using paper and pen and managed 250 words witin the time scale.  When the task was repeated, only this time she could use a computer and word processing document she managed 540 words in the same timescale with little spelling mistakes.  However as much as all these technologies can be used and embraced  by schools during term time, when it comes to external examations they count for nothing.

Schools are doing their best for children, with the training and money provided.  We do think out of the box and come up with ideas that will help children ,that do not cost the earth.  However we do need guidance and support from Local Authorities and Government.