One must have their head buried quite far beneath the sand to not recognize the revolutionary impact that technology is currently having on the field of education. This revolution is affecting every student, instructor and educational institution on the planet. Every new technological advancement comes with new ideas and ways to apply the technology to unique situations, environments and users. One of the most exciting areas for technological growth and creativity is at the intersection of education and disability as demonstrate by a recent, small scale quantitative study (Hughes, Herrington, McDonald, & Rhodes, 2011).
Technology has long helped to 'level the playing field' for people with disabilities. When applied to education, technology can enable people with visual impairments to access text, people with written output disorders to convey their thoughts in writing, people with learning disabilities to accurately organize and summarize their thoughts, people with high level paralysis to write, speak and operate a computer. The list goes on. A technological solution can be applied to almost any disability-related barrier to higher education. The ubiquity of social networking, the blended classroom and other forms of user networking is giving rise to new applications for technology that allow persons with disabilities to not only learn and compete on a level playing field, but also to fully maximize their unique learning potential and style.
The study by Hughes et al. (2011), highlights how new technology is coalescing with the concurrent trends of increased personalization and, what they refer to as, "inclusive managerialism" to create a perfect storm of potential for students with dyslexia. The authors looked at the use of 'e-portfolio' systems used by two education students with dyslexia. They define e-portfolio not as an "assessed product" but rather as Cambridge does, "a genre and a set of practices supported by a set of technologies for collecting evidence in authentic activity, reflecting upon that evidence and interacting with feedback, re-contextualizing and reassembling this within an interpretive framework" (as cited in Hughes et al., 2011). Clearly then, we are to view the e-portfolio as a tool for learning.
I found four distinct take away lessons about the the emerging trends of personalization, inclusive managerialism and technology:
*Works cited in this blog entry are fully referenced HERE - and many are available in full text.
Technology has long helped to 'level the playing field' for people with disabilities. When applied to education, technology can enable people with visual impairments to access text, people with written output disorders to convey their thoughts in writing, people with learning disabilities to accurately organize and summarize their thoughts, people with high level paralysis to write, speak and operate a computer. The list goes on. A technological solution can be applied to almost any disability-related barrier to higher education. The ubiquity of social networking, the blended classroom and other forms of user networking is giving rise to new applications for technology that allow persons with disabilities to not only learn and compete on a level playing field, but also to fully maximize their unique learning potential and style.
The study by Hughes et al. (2011), highlights how new technology is coalescing with the concurrent trends of increased personalization and, what they refer to as, "inclusive managerialism" to create a perfect storm of potential for students with dyslexia. The authors looked at the use of 'e-portfolio' systems used by two education students with dyslexia. They define e-portfolio not as an "assessed product" but rather as Cambridge does, "a genre and a set of practices supported by a set of technologies for collecting evidence in authentic activity, reflecting upon that evidence and interacting with feedback, re-contextualizing and reassembling this within an interpretive framework" (as cited in Hughes et al., 2011). Clearly then, we are to view the e-portfolio as a tool for learning.
I found four distinct take away lessons about the the emerging trends of personalization, inclusive managerialism and technology:
- Rather than being a phenomenon of independence and a high degree of individualizations, personalization is much more about the interdependent between students, instructors, curriculum and the very technology that mediates it. To be beneficial and and meaningful for students, there must be particular interdependence and alignment between pedagogy and technology.
- This alignment between pedagogy and technology is especially important due to the potential for technology to "push aside the so called deficits which underlie medical models of dyslexia" and enable students to "reframe past oppression" by "construct[ing] ability" that draws on the strengths and assets of dyslexic learning (Hughes et al., 2011). A critical orientation to adult education lends itself to maximizing the potential of this kind of technology for students with disabilities.
- This type of technology represents the cutting edge of the blended classroom experience. Inherent with any emerging technology are training and professional development considerations. In this case there are training implications for instructors and students. For example, Hughes et al. (2011) identified that approximately 40% of students in this group didn't find the e-portfolio technology equally helpful. Adequate pedagogical awareness and time spent trying the technology in situ will help with successful implementation. As an educator, I must be ready and willing to take risks and experiment with new technology and ideas.
- I would expect the trend of inclusive managerialism to progress in lockstep with the advent of new technology-based learning tools like e-portfolios. The authors describe inclusive managerialism as "creating mainstream, inclusive curricula for all" (Hughes et al., 2011). One might use the term Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to describe the same thing. I have the opportunity to foster a culture of UDL where I work so that the institution can be fertile ground for applying and extending advances in educational technology.
*Works cited in this blog entry are fully referenced HERE - and many are available in full text.