9/27/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
John LaSpina
|
I had a student in the past year who was visually impaired. We were using the Lenovo laptops to read articles about our music activity. She complained that she could not see the tiny, tiny print on the screen even when we enlarged it on the screen. So, I found a very large extended screen and mirrored her laptop using an HDMI cable. I sat her at a larger desk to accommodate this extra equipment and placed the large screen in front of her so she could see it clearly as she was reading and typing responses. I even enlarged the font on that screen, and that did the trick. This student was able to continue her work and keep up with the rest of the class and not fall behind. It only took a small piece of peripheral equipment to make the playing field even for her. |
9/28/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
John LaSpina
|
I have had many students with 504 plans for ADD or ADHD. These students have difficulty focusing and staying focused on one concept of learning for an extended period of time. They are often distracted and try to distract the students around them. One student in particular was asked to perform the national anthem in front of a green screen while being videotaped with a singing microphone after much practice. This student was ready and prepared but was distracted by any little thing, and he could not get through the song. So, I "chunked" the song for him and used the editing program to blend it together seamlessly. The student observed himself singing the whole song when it was edited and built up confidence! The student sang the National Anthem in 5 separate parts taking breaks in between. It worked, and I must say with amazing results. After, the student wanted to try to sing the song combining the 5 parts singing it in 3 parts then in two parts and eventually all at once. It was a great way to show the student that he could do it by breaking a seemingly impossible task into chunks. He built up confidence and actually tried to overcome his disability by focusing when he "knew" his distractions were coming on. I know he walked away with a skill that he could use on his own, and I was excited that it worked and could now use this chunking skill with others. |