I am taking a technology class for graduate school. The reason I started this Blog is because of
that technology class. Over the course
of the previous weeks we were required to do certain assignments using certain
social media or web resources. We
learned about Facebook, Twitter, Social Bookmarking sites like Delicious and
Diigo and how to Blog. I was amazed at
how much technology and web 2.0 has taken over our every day lives. There is so much you can do and it is
literally at your fingertips thanks to smartphones J As I explored these
resources, I often thought about how they could and would benefit the lives of
my ADHD students.
ADHD students have a lack of organizational skills, often not completing homework because it gets lost somewhere between school and home. A Blog or classroom website would be a perfect place for the assignments to be posted in a centralized location that cannot be misplaced. Also, for the ADHD student who lacks focus and concentration, having their classroom lesson posted on a Blog would allow them the opportunity to re-visit the concepts discussed multiple times. This is great because ADHD students are not good note takes so the Blog or website could serve as an online study guide.
Some students
would also benefit from the iPad and all the apps that are offered. This is
something I am striving to have in my class. I feel interactive devices like
iPads capture and hold an ADHD child’s attention longer. Not only will the student have access to the
web where ever they go, all their assignments would be with them. With the use
of apps, students would become more organized and feel more prepared. Due to
the mobility, students could work on an assignment almost anywhere.
Below are two links that are resources for ADHD apps:
There are
tons of other valuable resources that can benefit these students like
incorporating Wikis into their daily instruction. Teachers can make assignments
to meet a child’s individual needs and the child can work at his or her own
pace.
There are
so many technology resources available that I never new existed. The sad thing is I may have never known they
existed if I hadn’t taken this class.
The fact that I was required to complete certain assignments caused me
to inquire more about what I was doing. There is tons of ways to incorporate
technology into our student’s lives, we just have to challenge ourselves to do
so.
Hi Leah,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about not knowing that there were tons of technology that would benefit special education students, if we had not taken this technology course. I have learned so much about Social Media, new technology devices such as iPad, iPhone, FaceBook, Wikis, Blogs and Twitter. If every teacher in the state took this course, can you imagine what great lesson plans they could teach their students. The students would be more motivated to learn and want to participate in class activities.
I will be using my Delicious links in the future for research for my students. I like the idea of setting up a class blog for students to add their comments. Wikis would be a great resource for students to interact with other students and the teacher could follow every post.
Leah, it is funny how ADHD students and technology seem to go hand in hand. It is one way to get them completely engaged and focused. I am so glad you have been able to find new resources that you can use...especially to help these students. I too was "forced" to do these assignments but did learn a lot from them.
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