Sunday, November 21, 2010
Diversity
The issue of diversity should be addressed in every part of a school system. I think the easiest area to address diversity is the media center. The technology of a media center is a treasure chest of opportunities to handle diversity in all areas. Some examples I have witnessed in my field experience involve the interactive board in the media center. The special needs kids from moderate to severe all participated in creating a class “story” the media specialist let the students who could physically hold a camera take pictures of their classmates and places around the school. She then up loaded them to display on the SMART board. As they inserted pictures together, students could come up and add sounds or animations to the story. Some students told the media specialist what to write as the caption. The students then watched their story unfold with a 2nd grade class. These students struggle and relearn to tie their shoes, feed themselves, etc. They were all excited to see and participate in a “big screen” production. I have also witnessed diversity with learners and reading levels. The media center has many resources that will students can click an icon to have it read aloud to them. Everyone wears headphones, so the students who may be embarrassed about having a passage read aloud doesn’t stick out. Our media specialist has also used symbols/pictures in the news show for the weather or lunch menu for students who cannot read the words or who struggle with fluency. We have diversity for language with materials presented in other languages besides English. We have diversity for gender by making sure there are materials and websites that are gender neutral or equally represent both boys and girls. We also have resources that address and honor different races, traditions, and cultures. As I said earlier, the media center in a school system is the best conductor and producer of diversity. The materials, resources, and opportunities for diversity found in the media center will foster diversity to spread to other parts and people in the school system.
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Heather, I really like your suggestiosn for ways to include students with special needs. A majority of my daily students are students with special needs and in many ways the library is one of the few places tehy feel like they fit in. I think its great to provide multiple opportunities for these students to be included in these multimedia lessons.
ReplyDeleteHeather, you listed some great ideas and ways that students can use technology in the media center. My media specialist devotes a lot of her time to the students in our school with disabilities. She collaborates with the teachers and staff to come up with exciting ways to help them understand the standards they are working on using the technology provided. Like your school students are using digital cameras. The students with vision disabilities also have technology avaliable to them to allow them to read books found in our library. Students are also allowed to use a computer to read where the text can be enlarged to help the students feel more comfortable.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first hear the word "diversity" used in an educational context, I immediately assume it is in reference to diversity among races, religions, and cultures. I guess my assumptions come from many of my undergrad courses where this was a popular topic. We were frequently reminded to be sensitive and mindful of all cultures. Your posting is helpful in that it reminds us that diversity isn't just an issue of race or religion, but also an issue of variety among learners. Technology is an excellent way to provide differentiated instruction that reaches out to all types of learners. The Smartboard activity and the read-aloud application you mentioned were excellent examples of the modified instruction that technology can provide.
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