For some reason, we still feel we have to teach kids how to use all the technology. We feel that technology is very special and sacred, and that we need experts who are trained in it to work with the students, and to teach them all of the nuts and bolts of every program. When you learned Microsoft Word, I bet you didn’t learn how to use all 125 features that Microsoft Word probably has in it. So when we teach a student how to use a text-to-speech software program, why are we teaching them how to use all 84 of the pieces in it? Students usually need just one or two specific pieces of a program. So let’s focus on those one or two pieces. Once we do that, a lot of students will figure it out for themselves. And if not, we can teach them, and then the students are good to go.

Topic
Learning Disabilities, Special Education, Technology