7. Respect diverse talents…

..

The seventh and final principle concerns Diverse talents and ways of learning. Learning styles, modality, cultural influence all play significant roles in the differences in students within a class.

One of the most exciting aspects of technology enhanced instruction is the ability to provide learning experiences that acknowledge and encourage this diversity, in ways that are not practical, or even possible, in traditional classroom teaching.

Introduction

Accommodating many different talents and ways of learning can benefit from the application of technology. Multimedia, self-paced work, repetition of practice quizzes are supported. Providing opportunities to see, hear and read course material is facilitated within a course management system.

We looked at learning styles and modality in earlier modules. Cultural influence is another factor in how students learn.
Students say…

  • I tried out the low vision simulation, which lets you experience a web page through various vision related disabilities, such as Macular degeneration, cataracts, and Glaucoma. The simulation definitely gave me a better understanding of the problems faced by computer users with vision disabilities. Web designers must consider who their audience are and accomodate to them because if they are trying to sell something, the audience must be able to read it or else they will give up and go to another website. The strategies for access friendly websites gives a different perspective of how you design the website. You need to consider where you put the information, how you put the information, and the colors you choose. It needs to be usable and readable.
  • After posting each other’s AIM screen names on the board, we mobilized and got to chat with each other pretty quickly in the chatroom, seeing that all of us are on AIM every time we are on the computer, and that makes talking to each other very convenient and easy. … Although it would have been more efficient and fun to speak to each other face-to-face, the fact that we had a chance to collaborate outside our individual spheres was effective.
  • Even though getting all the members to meet on AIM at the same time is hard, I personally think it is the best way to communicate, since the response time is instant, and ideas may flow more easily within the group.

Enhancing Instruction

One big advantage of using technology is instructional reproducibility – the delivery will be the same every time. Over time, the lessons, the activities, the media can be built and improved on. It is possible to offer the same material in multiple formats to capitalize on many ways of learning.

Adaptive Technology

DeAnza provides support to individuals with disabilities through a broad range to resources to help them through education and training. People with disabilities are able to participate more fully in work and careers through the use of Adaptive Technology. Here are some websites with good information on Adaptive Technology.

Chat

Students are likely more comfortable with Chat than instructors are. Encouraging students to use chat for collaboration gives them the opportunity to communicate quickly and resolve issues in real-time, without the delays that are introduced in the asynchronous discussions. If students use the Chat function within Catalyst, a record if kept. However, students use AIM for their personal communication and often conduct these discussions outside the Catalyst system.

Some students may not be available for the Chat time, so allowances must be made for this situation as well.

25 key FREE tools
http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/25Tools/Tools/about.html

Bring people together. For live broadcasts or meetings or for socialising, these 3 tools are key

Develop and manage courses. If you want to create and manage formal learning content (courses, programs etc), then these tools are important.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.