ERIC Reflection

Being that I was only in class for my presenation and the Assistive Tech presentation, this is what I will be commenting on. I know that through doing research for our presenation, I learned a lot about how technology can be "bad" in elementary classrooms and how technology can be "good." However, I feel like it all seems to lie within how the teacher implements certain activities that partner with technology. If the teacher doesn't think carefully about how to make sure kids are getting what they need to out of an activity that's maybe done on a computer, then of course the kids will be distracted and off-task. If a purpose is set and goals are stated and known to both the students and teacher, technology can only enhance the learning experience for young students. As far as the Assistive Tech presentation, I found it to be very interesting, especially the legal parts. For example, the district MUST provide the resources for ANY child who needs them. I feel like this is great for me because other people should be taking care of the resources and needs for my students and it should all be paid for. I also enjoyed this presentation because it showed how much is really out there for students with special needs and how we should take advantage of this. Overall, what I saw was very helpful and I feel more prepared to use technology in my future classroom.