I liked this chapter of the book because it touched on the importance of multicultural education and diversity. I feel very strongly about teaching children at an early age about other peoples cultures and backgrounds so they can grow up to be informed, tolerant and respectful citizens. The section that talks about connecting classrooms with communities and cultures is spot on. Schools, without intending to do so, become separated from the broader society around them. They celebrate other cultures but only on certain occasions (i.e.; Black History Month.) It is important to connect children to the idea of other cultures and traditions on a broader sense. Technology helps them do this through access to endless information including newspapers, translators, personal testimonies... the list can go on and on. Every students culture, language and background can become integrated into the curriculum and better understood throughout the year.
This chapter also touched on how to teach children with disabilities. I had never heard of a concept known at Universal Design for Learning until I read this text. The UDL is the application of universal design principles to educational setting. In architecture one must make accommodations for those in wheelchairs when designing a building. This same concept can be brought to the classroom. For example a teacher can use Powerpoint to display her vocabulary words to the class to help better accommodate a hearing impaired child while the class discusses the terms. Another example could be using Podcasts in lessons to help accommodate vision impaired children. I think this is a really important concept because all children deserve the same education no matter who they are or what disabilities they may possess.
Other tools that can help with the education process are assitive technologies. These are technologies that are designed for those with varying disabilities. Some examples of these technologies include computers with lard keypads for those with reduced hand functions and also computers that will read out text for those who cannot see. Assitive technology makes it possible for those with hearing, sight, mobility, or cognitive challenges the ability to translate text and understand spoken words. With the advancements available today thanks to technology it is a lot less of a challenge for these individuals to get the same experience as those students without disabilities. I think this is wonderful because nothing is more important than establishing a childs self esteem early on so it can translate into their adult life.
from: Youtube
I would like to conclude this blog with a picture I found that I fell in love with. I think that this saying should be universally adapted and hopefully we as educators can help create a generation without hatred.
from: Youtube
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| Credit to: esetherease from Flickr |
Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Side note: I don't know what happened to my text in this blog, it got a little whacky after I uploaded my Padlet... I could not get it to all be the same size.. I tries highlighting it all and pressing Normal but nothing was working. Sorry.
RE: Text - the formatting in some of these free blog/wiki tools can get a bit wonky sometimes - it's ok! :)
ReplyDeleteYour belief in the individual person for who and what they are is inspiring - it is difficult to imagine there is still such hatred in the world, but the push to include more truly multicultural focus in the classroom is important to try to lay the groundwork for a more peaceful global society. Recognizing differences and accepting them as ok is critical for developing tolerance. I like the idea of connecting classrooms through some of the now widely available technologies as the more personal a connection can be, the more 'real' and thus, more difficult to disrespect it.
Like your Padlet, too! Just think, you could do a collaborative project on global warming (or some such content) with a classroom in Africa, for example, using Padlet as the bulletin board for sharing information! :)