The program included Google Certified Educator Level 1 training for all teachers to help them adopt best practices for using technology in lessons.įlexon took part in the first Chromebook and Google Workspace rollouts for 3rd and 4th grade classes. The 3rd and 4th grade classes received Chromebooks first, to allow learners to grow with the devices 5th and 6th graders received Chromebooks the following year, followed by 2nd graders. In 2013, the school district began rollout of a 1:1 Chromebook program, along with Google Workspace for Education and Google Classroom-one grade level at a time over a three-year period. Teachers had to schedule access to the labs they also had to ensure that students with disabilities could access devices with speech-recognition software or magnified screens. Harrison Township schools had desktop computer labs and a small number of netbooks for students to use in class. The lack of classroom technology also complicated the task of outfitting students with tools for enhancing learning. To adapt lessons to students’ needs, each special education teacher had to exchange paper-based lesson plans with the inclusive classroom teachers-a slow process.
“It took a lot of work to manage inclusive classrooms, and it was time-consuming,” says Chad Flexon, Harrison Township’s Supervisor of Instruction, who taught math and language arts in an inclusive classroom for two years. Even students with more pronounced physical or communication disabilities who typically work in much smaller classes of their own share some classes with non-disabled students.įor teachers working with students with disabilities across multiple classrooms, coordinating lesson plans and equipping students with the right learning tools wasn’t easy.
Each grade from kindergarten through 6th has two inclusive classrooms where students with disabilities work alongside their non-disabled peers. In Harrison Township’s two schools, inclusivity is the standard.
0 kommentar(er)
