Assistive Technology Video Project

ePortfolios Thought provoking question

What would be a down side to using ePortfolios in an Elementary classroom?

ePortfolios

In the article by Wil Meeus, Frederik Questier and Thea Derks, you can information on the “history” of portfolios, what exactly they are, and how they are used in education. The article talks about how portfolios are student centered. This allows the students to be the main controller of their portfolios. This gives students the freedom to decide what they would like to put into their portfolios. The article talks about how the portfolios show the students competence. The article also gives some steps into setting up a portfolio. The article closes with what portfolios will be like in the future in Higher Education.
This article was a little disorganized for me. It was hard for me to really get into the details although I like portfolios. I as a student love portfolios. I feel that portfolios are a good way to evaluate students who may not like to speak in class or present in front of a class. I feel it’s a good way to have your students involved in the learning process while doing something fun. Portfolios are not the norm yet, so student will like the change to something new.




This video gives a quick guide on the steps to building an eportfolios online. Although it is based on another University's quidelines, it gives a great example of a "how-to".

Ethics

I read the article “Professional Ethics: On the Responsible Use of Communication Media for Learning” by Andrew Yeaman. The article talks about how professionals should take the incisive to guide learners how the ways to use technology for learning and social purposes in a responsible way. It continues to talk about a scenario where a student post a copy of their textbook to the internet to share with other students in the class who were not able to obtain a textbook at the time due to the bookstore selling out. Yeaman states that it is the professor or teacher’s role to take action against the student for not abiding to the copyright laws. The author goes on to say that some teacher’s may not take this stand due to the lack of teacher recommendation from their students. The author continues to say that no matter what, it is the job of the professional to handle this matter in a professional way. He also states that the professional themselves should have support from their peers for handling a delicate matter.

I thought this article was very enlightening. I know of the copyright laws and not to plagiarize. It has never occurred to me not to the photocopy pages from book. Many times I have had to share a book with a friend because I wasn’t able to afford a book or I could not locate one in time and I would just make a copy to get by. I know now that as a professional that I am not to do this and that I must teach my learners to respect the ALL the copyright laws as well.

Though provoking question:
As an educator, there are many times the school system cannot afford enough copies of books for each student. Is there any way to go around the copyright laws so that each student has the oppuritunity to read the required material?




I loved this video. I love how the maker of this video used thier options of people who they considered that were ethical and those they thought were not. The video explains what ethics is and the ways technology may make someone become unethical.

Thought provoking queston

What type of assistive technology would I use for a computer if I have a child who has no physical movement?

"Enabling An Accessible Web 2.0"

In the article “Enabling an Accessible Web 2.0” author Becky Gibson has given the scoop on how new technology such as Web 2.0 that can enhance interactions for all people. Gibson gives a small introduction on how the web started and what it has transformed into today and how it is accessible to everyone. Gibson proceeds to explain that Web 2.0 is not just a function to accumulate data but also a collaboration of interactions. Web 2.0 offers many updated technologies such as scripting and CSS, which gives web pages a more user friendly and interactive. With Web 2.0 more web sites are embedding videos and auto clips to enhance their appearance.
Although Web 2.0 has an abundance of new benefits, it still may not be 100% accessible to individuals that rely on assistive technologies. Many Web 2.0 applications are used by the use of a physical interaction such as using a mouse. It also causes a problem when the page is updated in real-time and the assistive technology becomes too overloaded. Gibson continues to explain that Web 2.0 has much work to still do in order for assistive technologies to be used properly and efficiently.
I thought that this article was very insightful. I liked how the author broke down the steps that the web has taken in order to form what it is today. I like how Gibson pointed out the “flaws” of the current Web 2.0 and how it is not yet accessible to people who may use assistive technologies. Just like anything else, there are still kinks to be worked out so that Web 2.0 can really be accessible to any and everyone.

I thought this article was very insightful. I like the way the author broke down all the information by subjects. This made the article easy to read and follow. The information at hand was very useful to all people who are interested in how Web 2.0 was transformed into what it is today. It is also useful for teachers who have students who use assistive technology in their classrooms.



The purpose of the video is to inform viewers of the many types of technologies that are used on a daily purpose to aid students with disabilities. This video on Assistive Technology gives us an insight to what exactly assistive technology is. You will notice that is contains multiple pictures to show examples of types of assistive technologies that are used.