Artifact 8

This artifact was created to demonstrate my understanding that teachers need to respect individual learning differences in students (INTASC Standard 3). The artifact provides a list of information on ways to adapt classrooms to students with disabilities. The information can be used to make learning more meaningful for all diverse needs in the classroom.

Context:

This artifact provides a list of technologies available to children with special needs in the classroom.The technologies listed are provided to children with special needs to assist their classroom performance and perform operations identical to other students in the classroom.This artifact consists of print outs and descriptions of two different technologies available to assisting children with special needs in the classroom.

The first part of this artifact contains examples of material that can be found from the website www.Ldonline.org.The website is titled LD Online and contains a variety of information on ways to assist students with special needs in the classroom.The website has a part called “First Person”.This part of the site is a article written by an LD student, Allison Merriweather, about what it is like to grow up with a learning disability and informing others of how to deal with these special needs.She describes a time of growing up in public schools before learning disabilities were heard of and how teachers insisted that she was “stupid”.Reading the story about how hopeless everyone made her sound, you begin to see another side of working with LD students in the classroom.The website also contains a list of resources that children with special needs or teachers can get in North Carolina to assist learning within the classroom. The page also has a section that describes what learning disabilities are, how they are treated, and myths about each one.I thought that this site had some really need ways of getting the viewers interacted with what it feels like to have a learning disability.There is a place where you can go in and read a passage where the letters are all backwards so that you feel as though you are dyslexic.The website keeps people informed of ways to get help for learning disabled children, bulletin boards of upcoming conferences on assisting learning disabled.I think that this website is very helpful for teachers and parents who are uncertain about learning disabilities and was of assisting these needs in the classroom.

The second part of this artifact is a description of how to adjust school, or home, computer monitors to assist a student who has a learning disability.This description is of greatest help to students that have some sort of visual disability.To adjust the computer for students’ needs the teacher must first go to the “Start” button at the bottom of the screen.The go to Settings and click on the control panel.The teacher will then double click on the “Accessibility Options.”Click on the “Display” tab.Then click to turn on “High Contrast,” or any other assisting device.Once the teacher has chosen the device to be used they must click on “Apply” to activate the tools.Using the “High Contrast” device causes that words and options on the screen to become a bright color, like white, so that it is easier to see for those who have trouble making images clear to read.The screen background turns black so that everything else on the screen will stick out so they are easier to see.The “Vanish” option can be used to make the pointer go away will the student is typing.This is to stop the student from getting distracted by the pointer’s presence.The “Pointer Wrap” can be used to allow the pointer to jump to the other side of the screen when moved too far to the side.This is to assist students who have trouble focusing on the mouse and using coordination to keep the mouse in a desired place.The “Trail” can also be used to make the pointer have a trail of pointers that extends as the mouse in moved across the screen.This is to assist students with depth perception disorders and allows them to see the pointer as they work.Under this same panel the computer can be altered to assist students with audio disorders as well.

Impact:
I am receiving my licensure to teach K-6 and I am aware that I will work with numerous students that have some form of learning disability.I will use these technologies to assist learning for those who have trouble.I am excited about using these tools to make learning just as fun for students with disabilities as it is for those who do not have some form of learning disability. This artifact aligns with competency 13.2 because it describes various ways to use technology as a way of supporting learners with special needs. It provides descriptions of ways to modify the computer setting for diverse learners and tells about websites that teachers can use to learn to further learning possibilities for students with diverse needs.