Monday, April 13, 2015

The Importance of Teaching Students to Use their Personal Devices as Assistive Technology in the Classroom


Prior to coming to Sagonaska Demonstration School all students must provide an independent writing sample.  Here are two of Ryan's writing samples.  The first is from before attending Sagonaska and the second is from October of her second year at Sagonaska. Both samples were done totally independently. 

The difference between the two samples is some very explicit teachings about how to harness the power of a personal device as a learning tool. Prior to writing the second sample, Ryan was explicitly taught how to use her personal device to help her overcome to her LD.

When you watch the video, you will very clearly see that Ryan's true cognitive ability was masked by her LD. Now that she knows how to use her device to help her learn, and express her knowledge, we see how personal technology can help illustrate student understanding.



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