"Value Added" For the Uses of Technology
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1. What is the "value added" for the uses of technology we have been discussing in class this semester?
The "value added" for the uses of technology we have been discussing this semester can only happen when there is a high level of support within in a school for the use of technology. Support has to come from the administrators
The use of technology in the classroom makes it more responsive to students' interests, or providing additional resources of information. For information, added value might mean that the technology supports students learning-by-doing or making meaning, by structuring their thinking. It can add value to a student's ability to show to others what they've learned.
We talked about how using technology in a classroom can add value to teaching and
learning, by adding, extending, or changing what teachers or students do. Using educational technology in a classroom to add value to teaching and learning, by adding, extending, or changing what teachers or students do, inherently increases the effectiveness of technology.
2. How do they (or don't they) fit with UDL?
Technology fits with UDL and there is "value added" in that it provides an alternative for students with different learning styles, abilities, and disabilities. Technology just like universal design for learning supports not only improved access to information within classrooms, but also improved access to learning. The books in the WiggleWorks curriculum are a great example of using technology (electronic version of novels) as an alternative to the traditional paper novel. Their use is "value added" to the students with with disabilities or poor handwriting and spelling. Students with physical disabilities can turn pages and access controls with the touch of a key or a switch attached to the computer.
However, because technology allows information to be accessed easier, this can actually undermine learning, because it sometimes requires reducing or eliminating the challenge or resistance that is essential to learning. Therefore it lessens the value of the learning. We want students to have a greater access to learning rather than a greater access to information. I can the analogy of the professional mover and the wrestler from "Chapter 4: What is Universal Design for Learning?" on www.cast.org. The professional mover is interested in getting the sofa from point A to point B as quickly as possible and with the least wear and tear on his muscles. Therefore, he uses tools such as a dolly, a hydraulic lift, and a truck to help him do the job. These tools reduce the challenge of the work—a goal that suits the mover very well. The body builder has a different goal: increasing muscle. He seeks opportunities to lift weights, undertaking long workouts and increasing the weight as his strength improves. He uses tools that selectively support the muscles not being trained and increase resistance for those that are.
By providing full access to the World Wide Web could lessen the value of research of teaching research skills. It can be distracting a student's learning rather than enhancing it. In a UDL world, teachers might present information in a dozen different ways and offer students an equal number of options for expressing knowledge through technology. This would add value to they way students show how they understand the subject.
The UDL framework makes us more aware of learner differences. It challenges us to rethink our curriculum and the ways in which we teach. Technology offers that "value added" option to enhance and extend lessons. and they should support teachers training in and use of technology in the classroom. Also, in order for this "value added" to succeed, teachers need to be clear about their learning outcomes first before planning to use it in their curriculum.
Last Updated: 12/15/07
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