Sally's Blog: Educational Impact

I think technology can be effective in education if integrated and applied properly. Socioeconomic disparity affects students’ access to technology and their technology competence. Computer skills are now a requirement for any college student. Minorities or students from low-income families may not be able to enter college with insufficient technology background. Even students who can get accepted to college may not be able to finish due to a lack of computer skills. The lack of a college degree will result in more inequality issues in the country. It is important to ensure that students with low socioeconomic status have equal access to utilize technology in their early stage. New instructional methods could help to mediate some of these obstacles for students behind the learning curve. Funding needs to be equally distributed across all states and areas within the state to ensure that students from all incomes, races, and geographic areas get the same funding.

For example, recently iPads became introduced to the education world, which is analyzed in an article by Tech&Learning. One effective use of these high tech tools is using them for students with special learning needs. The iPad can be used to promote literary fluency, communication skills, and engage students with autism. An application called TapToTalk uses symbols to help students form sentences. It helps students with verbal issues communicate with their teacher or peers. This free application has phrases such as “I feel happy” or “I am hungry” so students with communication deficits can use everyday statements catered to their needs. I have had experience with an autistic student using this kind of technology when I was a Teacher’s Aid in the Special Education room at my high school. He used a Vanguard touch box tool to touch symbols/pictures to form sentences and communicate. This is an example of how technology can be successfully used in education. I think the students that I worked with who had special learning needs would have a much difference and less successful learning experience without these tools.

The report “Learning: Is there an app for that?” is an interesting and interactive presentation of an overview of educational applications and their effect on children.

The research found that most parents let their children use their mobile devices, especially in the car which is called the “pass back effect”. Of the top 100 best selling apps, 60% targeted toddler and preschool aged children. The evidence found that children have the potential actually learn from these apps, including vocabulary comprehension, letter identification and rhyming. The successful apps have appropriate content, fresh content, minimize wait time, use humor, and provide incentives. Another interesting finding is that almost all children used the app between 5-19 minutes, showing that children have very short attention spans and they expect a lot to continue to be entertained. Also, the children played more at the beginning of the study, also showing that interest can be short term and hard to sustain. This study is a good example of how technology can be successful for learning but also shows some challenges. The challenges include sustaining child’s interest in the tool, keeping the activity on the tool educational, and leveling the playing field for children who do not have those resources at home. Please see the Solutions page to see models, proposed reforms, and my opinions of solutions to the problems that have been identified in this blog related to accessibility in technology.

Resources:
Tech&Learning - Article about the integration of iPad into classrooms. Examples of how these high tech tools can help students with special learning needs such as autism and other communication disorders.
“Learning: Is there an app for that?” is an interesting and interactive presentation of an overview of educational applications and their effect on children.

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