"Can I get my red thing?" my student asks when it is time for Reading Workshop. Today, our learners read nonfiction texts, mining them for main ideas and supporting details. Some will write these ideas in the form of boxes and bullets in their precious Reader Response notebooks, and others will type them into Google docs designed for immediate feedback with Literacy and Library/Technology teachers. Nothing about this technology is groundbreaking, except everything about it evens the playing field and helps everyone lift the level of their learning.
A few years ago, a learning specialist I worked with asked me if I knew much about Dragon Software. It was new, it would help some of our students with writing because the handwriting was so laborious for them. We tried it; it truly did feel like a disruptive innovation since one of my young friends couldn't resist shouting into it during Writing Workshop. At the time, I was very new to teaching, working in an independent school. I felt scrutiny burn hot on my neck when this student's parent seemed still dissatisfied with the writing her child was producing. I abandoned the technology after one trimester, citing that it seemed too cumbersome and frustrated the student. Truthfully (and regrettably) I was frustrated. I couldn't find the bright spot that another student had been, using the software to write a beautiful letter to her grandmother for Grandparents' Day. I couldn't examine why it worked so well there because I could only see the dark spot where it hadn't worked as well.
Flash forward a few years and at the behest of a highly engaged parent, a colleague and I went to an Assistive Technology training and learned about simple tools such as the bone conductive headphones with built in microphone (the "red thing" aforementioned). Along with the Google Read& Write plug-in, this student would be able to access high quality written articles at grade level and beyond, and communicate his comprehension and connections with the text through speaking. Of course, the first day of implementation my supervisor came in for an observation. Again, I felt that uncomfortable feeling of being judged but this time, the joy that erupted over the student's face completely shut out any trepidation I might have felt. He was reading. He looked as though he could fly. As he saw his own words light up on the page, I realized how powerful and necessary this technology would be for students like him. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Of course, this is an obvious bright spot. I can see it now. As I grow in my profession and as a human being, I will try to be the kind of person who will choose to see the bright spots and study them. I know there are incredible educators who put themselves out there, trying new technology win or lose. I know that the willingness to innovate far outweighs any negative outcome. I hope to join those leagues of unabashed professionals who know that the "best practice" has to be blended with the ever-changing "next practice" that is yet to be tried. Our children deserve it.
Rachael, I have used Dragon Software and I agree that it can be transformative for students who really struggle with the actual mechanical motions involved in writing. It can also be a really helpful tool at our grade-level because students aren't speedy enough with word-processing for writing to be a fluent process. As a newer teacher myself, I can see your struggle between appearing to have good control over your students and classroom and allowing a little more constructive chaos. I'm glad that you see the value in the latter. Differentiating activities can appear a little chaotic to outsiders, but it is so important and allows all students to engage with the content.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes is the one that goes something like this "For some kids, technology makes things easier, for some kids technology makes things possible".
ReplyDeleteYour story reminds me of an adult I know who recently retired and is doing some great writing. He mentioned to me that before spell check, he thought "he sucked at writing' and it was not until spell check came along that he saw his words as 'writing' and became inspired. Today many of us take spell check for granted, and I think the time approaching that we are going to take 'speech to text' for granted - but you will always remember this bright spot when it made all the difference to your student.