Using Technology to Support Success in Education

Randy K. Young, M.S. Ed.Randy K. Young Consulting Services, Inc.

rkyoung2012@gmail.com

Crisis in New York Education• “The children who most depend on the public schools for any chance

in life are concentrated in schools struggling with all the dimensions of family and neighborhood poverty and isolation.”– http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/opinion/the-central-crisis-in-new-

york-education.html?_r=0

• “But the fact that the funding is unequal, and the education performance is also unequal, doesn’t necessarily mean that the funding is the cause of the achievement gap, or that more money would result in higher performance…. That’s probably a more important thing to worry about here: the neighborhood poverty and isolation. America already spends far more money on public education than other industrialized nations, and we have lower performance. American education performance is low not because we have bad schools; it’s low because we have a lot of poor people. We should work on fixing that problem.”– http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/

the_new_york_times_on_whats_wr.php

Educational Technology• Technology provides effective opportunities for engaging students in

authentic learning, targeting multiple intelligences and accommodating different learning styles of individual students.

• “Technology can reduce the educational disparities caused by race, income, and region; and accommodate differences in learning (Imel, 1999).” http://calpro-online.org/eric/textonly/docgen.asp?tbl=pab&ID=92

• “Students who are unsuccessful in traditional learning situations can find ways to be successful using diverse technologies” (Wesely, 2004) Educational technology: Why and how it counts for students at risk. In F. P. Schargel & J. Smink (Eds), Helping students graduate: A strategic approach to dropout prevention (pp. 186-194). Larchmont

• Technology is identified as one of the Fifteen Effective Strategies for Improving Student Attendance and Truancy Prevention: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED485683.pdf

Education and Income Potential

Tables are from http://www.education-online-search.com/articles/special_topics/education_and_income sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings, US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2002

Using Technology to Support At-Risk Student’s LearningLinda Darling-Hammond, Molly B. Zielezinski, and Shelley Goldman

• Effective Technology Use for At-Risk High School Students– interactive learning– use of technology to explore and create rather than to “drill

and kill”– the right blend of teachers and technology

• Through the use of technology, students see content in many forms as it comes alive with maps, videos, hyperlinks to definitions, additional content, and more.

• https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/scope-pub-using-technology-report.pdf

Universal Design for LearningIs

what?A scientifically valid framework

that

Provides multiple means of access, assessment, and engagement and

removes barriers in instruction Does what?

toachieve academic and

behavioral successfor all

For what?

sped.dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/.../udl-access-assess-engage.ppt/

The way we learn is as unique as our fingerprints

sped.dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/.../udl-access-assess-engage.ppt

Curb Cuts and Closed Captioning

Brain Imaging Showing Individual Differences

3 different people learning the same finger tapping task

http://old.cast.org/tesmm/example2_3/brain.htm

• Reduces barriers

• Meets the wide range of needs of all learners

• One size fits all approach is not effective

• Inspired from universal design in architecture

Universal Design for Learning

sped.dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/.../udl-access-assess-engage.ppt

ACCESS ASSESSMENT ENGAGEMENT

Adapted from CAST http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html

Three Principles of UDL

• 1. Access: provide multiple means of representation.

• 2. Assessment: provide multiple means of action and expression.

• 3. Engagement: provide multiple means of motivating learners.

http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/114/817002/UDL_Placemat_of_Core_iPad_Apps.pdf

http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/114/817002/UDL_Placemat_of_Core_iPad_Apps.pdf

http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/114/817002/UDL_Placemat_of_Core_iPad_Apps.pdf

Center on Technology and Disability

• http://ctdinstitute.org/• Funded through OSEP to support professionals and

families on advocacy for assistive and instructional technology to help students improve access education with the goal of improving outcomes.

• Website offers a Library of multilingual resources, Café for webinars with follow-up discussions and Learning Center for personal and professional development.

Online Learning for At-Risk and Credit Recovery Students

• At-risk student: “academic failure during the transition to high school is directly linked to the probability of dropping out.” http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/school-dropouts/easing-the-transition-to-high-school-an-investigation-of-reform-practices-to-promote-ninth-grade-success/legters-easing-transition-2001.pdf

• Research shows that the flexibility and individualistic nature of online learning motivates learners who have failed in traditional settings.

• Online programs also provide valuable technology skills to this group of students who traditionally have less than interaction in this area compared to their peers who are not at-risk. http://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NACOL_CreditRecovery_PromisingPractices.pdf

Resources• Center for Applied Special Technology

– http://www.cast.org/• National Center on Universal Design for Learning

– http://www.udlcenter.org/“The Future is in the Margins”http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/Meyer-Rose_FutureisintheMargins_2.pdf

• New York State Education Department– http://www.nysed.gov/

• New York City Department of Education– http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm– http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/27BF85

58-B895-407A-8F3F-78B1B69F030A/0/AcpolicyHighSchoolAcademicPolicyReferenceGuide.pdf