How can we justify spending a lot of money to buy assistive technologies that might only be used by a small number of people?
According to an overview by the department of education on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), approximately 1 million children with disabilities were shut out of schools and hundreds of thousands more were denied appropriate services prior to 1975. Current statistics have shown that since then many of these students have achieved levels thought impossible. Many are graduating from high school, going to college and getting jobs in the workforce. Unparalleled numbers have become productive citizens whereas before they were sent off and housed in state institutions (Overview IDEA'97, 2003). According to the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus website, it costs $219,000 per year to institutionalize one child. This money comes from tax payers like you and me.
I believe the question isn't whether we spend money or not, we spend money either way, but how we spend that money and which path will give both the individual and society the greatest return on that investment. History has given us many examples of individuals with disabilities that contributed greatly to society. Steven Hawking, Franklin D Roosevelt, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Charles Dickens are just a few that come to mind. I don't believe we can afford to let potential physicists, leaders, composers, and writers be locked away in an institution, never to see what could have been, all the while paying for that incarceration. Making the investment up front could very well save money and have a much greater positive impact on society in the long run.
With educational budget cuts in the range of ten percent at local state universities, cuts in local K-12 school districts and budget cuts in education across the country, we will be faced with many challenges. Addressing these issues upfront will not be the easy road but a road that will take us to a better place that has more to offer all of us.
References: IDEA'97 . Overview. 2003. 30 Jan. 2009 http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/overview.html.
Senate Republican Caucus. 2008. 30 Jan. 2009 http://www.senaterepublicans.wa.gov/news/2008/delvin/011608ARCReceptionSB6448.htm.
Idaho Statesman. 2009. 30 Jan. 2009 http://www.idahostatesman.com/education/story/632730.html.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Why Technology Skills
Why Technology skills are needed in the classroom
As a parent of a high school age daughter and a middle school age son I have a little different perspective to this question compared to the majority of college students. As a parent I'm immersed in the policy issues, funding issues, standardized testing concerns, technology issues, and the list goes on. Furthermore, having worked several years for a large corporation has exposed me to the changes, and challenges that technology has put on the workplace and the skills needed to succeed.
So why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a parent I think one thing rises to the top of the list. Having the skills to use technology for active engaged communication between educators, students, parents, and administrators is one of the most important reasons why technology skills are needed. Having these skills is not a luxury in today's environment but a necessity. According to the EdTech Action Network, technology engages students in learning, improves attendance, reduces dropout rates while increasing graduation rates and facilitates parent involvement. A website like PowerSchool that parents and students can log into and review grades, attendance, grade history, teacher comments, school bulletins, and calendars is one example of this communication. Others forms of communication such as email, text messages, blogs, and video conferences via web cams can also be used to facilitate communication. This immediate engaged communication can help all of us, recognize issues before they become problems, see strengths and capitalize on those strengths, and make informed decisions based on current information.
So again why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a professional in a large corporation, I lived the transition from typed memos in your inbox to emails, from booking a flight to attend a meeting to sitting at my desk video conferencing, from transparent sheets on a projector to PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Access databases, and Excel Spreadsheets. All of these technologies are not just in large corporations but in all business. For tomorrows professional to succeed they will need to be masters of these technologies. These skills will need to be second nature just to compete. The more exposure we can give to these technologies in the classroom, the better prepared the student will be to take on this challenge. According to the EdTech Action Network, today’s students must learn more than the basics to be prepared for life. They go on to say that Students who use technology develop the skills, academic knowledge and work habits that are necessary for success in the workplace.
Why are technology skills needed in the classroom? No matter what perspective you look from, you will see the same landscape. The world is changing and for us as students, parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens we will need many tools in our tool bag in order to succeed. Technology is one of the tools which will be vital to that success no matter what your definition of success is.
References
EdTech Action Network. (n.d.). ETAN. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from Children + Technology = America's Future: http://www.edtechactionnetwork.org/technology_schools.html
Pearson Education, Inc. . (2007). PowerSchool. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from PowerSchool: https://ps.meridianschools.org/public/
As a parent of a high school age daughter and a middle school age son I have a little different perspective to this question compared to the majority of college students. As a parent I'm immersed in the policy issues, funding issues, standardized testing concerns, technology issues, and the list goes on. Furthermore, having worked several years for a large corporation has exposed me to the changes, and challenges that technology has put on the workplace and the skills needed to succeed.
So why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a parent I think one thing rises to the top of the list. Having the skills to use technology for active engaged communication between educators, students, parents, and administrators is one of the most important reasons why technology skills are needed. Having these skills is not a luxury in today's environment but a necessity. According to the EdTech Action Network, technology engages students in learning, improves attendance, reduces dropout rates while increasing graduation rates and facilitates parent involvement. A website like PowerSchool that parents and students can log into and review grades, attendance, grade history, teacher comments, school bulletins, and calendars is one example of this communication. Others forms of communication such as email, text messages, blogs, and video conferences via web cams can also be used to facilitate communication. This immediate engaged communication can help all of us, recognize issues before they become problems, see strengths and capitalize on those strengths, and make informed decisions based on current information.
So again why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a professional in a large corporation, I lived the transition from typed memos in your inbox to emails, from booking a flight to attend a meeting to sitting at my desk video conferencing, from transparent sheets on a projector to PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Access databases, and Excel Spreadsheets. All of these technologies are not just in large corporations but in all business. For tomorrows professional to succeed they will need to be masters of these technologies. These skills will need to be second nature just to compete. The more exposure we can give to these technologies in the classroom, the better prepared the student will be to take on this challenge. According to the EdTech Action Network, today’s students must learn more than the basics to be prepared for life. They go on to say that Students who use technology develop the skills, academic knowledge and work habits that are necessary for success in the workplace.
Why are technology skills needed in the classroom? No matter what perspective you look from, you will see the same landscape. The world is changing and for us as students, parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens we will need many tools in our tool bag in order to succeed. Technology is one of the tools which will be vital to that success no matter what your definition of success is.
References
EdTech Action Network. (n.d.). ETAN. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from Children + Technology = America's Future: http://www.edtechactionnetwork.org/technology_schools.html
Pearson Education, Inc. . (2007). PowerSchool. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from PowerSchool: https://ps.meridianschools.org/public/
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