Diversity
Student population in today’s classrooms is becoming more diverse as it has become easier for people to move around in search of job opportunities, favorable weather conditions, and for some other reasons that may be social or political in nature. As people settle in their new societies, there is always the need to educate themselves and their children so that they can better understand the traditions and values that they will be part of. The motivation to learn and to prepare one’s self for job has made education programs being taken by people irrespective of their gender. Individuals with special needs, including those with disabilities and the gifted, sit in the same classrooms and try to educate themselves. The individual differences found in the classrooms demand that educators prepare themselves well enough to help every student achieve his or learning goals.
Technology can help the classroom teacher promote the diverse needs of all students. For example, students of different ethnic backgrounds who attempt to learn the same content in the same classroom may pose problems that are related to collaboration, cultural understanding, and language for instruction. The teacher needs to provide different options for the students to access the content and to express the knowledge they have acquired. Translation software applications often help teachers and students to translate content from one language to another. The use of multimedia in teaching and learning often allows students to express themselves in different forms. To help students understand and collaborate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, many teachers often use videoconferencing to connect their students with others around the world. There are assistive technologies that allow teachers to help individual with disabilities to pursue education without hindrance. It is the duty of the teacher to integrate these technologies in every lesson to allow all individuals fully participate in the classroom activities to help them achieve the goals that they have set for themselves.
Below are some of the activities I have completed to demonstrate my ability to successfully address diversity in today’s schools:
· Assistive Technology Field Experience
· Multimedia Design Project
· Equitable Access Blog Post
· Engaged Learning Project
· The presentation of the Data Overview to help the school better understand and provide for the needs of all students.