Blog 8

Adaptive technologies are used in education to encourage learning in exceptional students, whether they are students with disabilities or those who are gifted. Some adaptive technologies include: word processors for students who have difficulty writing, text-to-speech processors for students with visual impairments or students who struggle with disorders like dyslexia. These kinds of students can also benefit from recorded books. Other technologies like alternative keyboards and alternative mouse devices are beneficial for students lacking motor skills. Students who are gifted may benefit from programs that are challenging and engaging. I cannot recall using any adaptive technology myself, but I have known people who use text-to-speech technologies and talking word processors. The biggest challenge I foresee with adaptive technologies in the classroom is the distraction it may cause to other students. However, I would try to use it as an opportunity to teach my students about inclusiveness and accepting people's differences.

The cognitive domain of Bloom's Taxonomy is broken down into six categories: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. PowerPoint can be used to support students learning at each level of the Taxonomy. First, remembering. This one is pretty simple. I could give students a lecture on basic ideas, terms, or principles that they should remember and store. To understand, students would definitely want to take notes on a PowerPoint so at the end, they could compare ideas, interpret and describe what they learned, and state main ideas. To apply their knowledge, I could give students a slide where they must take what they already know in order to identify connections and relationships to a certain idea or problem. A PowerPoint presentation could also be used to walk students through an analysis process, especially in a setting like English class where students will learn to deconstruct stories, essays, and poems. Students may also evaluate information by responding to specific points in the PowerPoint out loud, or by writing their thoughts and opinions on the information as a whole. And finally, students might create their own PowerPoint presentations to demonstrate their mastery of a subject and to solidify that mastery by having to teach it to their peers.

The official website for the U.S. Office of Education Technology provides many resources to teachers, students, and families on technology for education. There's a blog on their website concerning technology and you can browse through different stories about ed. tech. across many grade levels and communities. I also follow the Office of Ed. Tech. on Twitter. Here's the link to their site: https://tech.ed.gov/