Brianna Ocegueda

02/26/2021
Professor Dr. Dale B.Warby
EDU 203

Class Activity and Discussion for Ch. 5 and 6

1A. Having read the chapters and study materials of this week I learned what IEP is and how it
determines if technology is actually beneficial for students with various disabilities. IEP has
teams of people with access to the assistive technology that take note if student's educational
goals being met or not with the help of the device or service. If and IEP device has been written
to a certain student then it is the school's responsibility to pay for the costs. I found this
interesting to read because it clarified how serious and beneficial technology can be for students
yet expensive for schools since there is a whole detailed system to make sure the devices and
services are showing real progress in students' education. Another interesting thing that I learned
is how many medical concepts and conditions there is to learn about. A quote from the chapter
that stood out to me was "all children are capable of learning when presented with the
appropriate circumstances" and I truly believe that as a future educator there is no excuse as to
why students shouldn’t learn and get the most out of their learning experience even though they
may have a disability.
B. I acknowledged that I have reviewed the rubric for last week's activity assignment and any
announcements that have been posted in the past week
2. Theoretically I am a general or a special education teacher teaching in an inclusive
English/Language arts classroom, that is concerned with my students reading comprehension.
Considering no to low levels of technology I would love to include lots of colors, pens, sticky
notes, stickers, learning websites, highlighters, reading pen etc for my students. The reason I feel
like this will help my students is because I used those and still do in school. I find that those tools
can be very helpful to remember important information and also notice what are the things or
words that I would tend to struggle on. Mid to high tech technology, such as what Damian used
in the "Damian's Inclusion Project" seemed to be very helpful and educational so I would love to
use learning devices in my classroom as well if needed.
3. Tay-Sachs is a disease that progressively kills nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Some
symptoms include seizures, difficulty or unable to focus, see, hear, or/and more. It is a rare
inherited disease that occurs with infants 3 months to 4 years old. A genetic mutation in the Hexa
gene is what is inherited as the Tay-Sachs disease. The Hexa gene is what signals the brain to
break down toxic substances. There is no cure for this disease, but some treatments that can help
like, anti-seizure medications, feeding tubes, physical therapy, and even enzyme replacement
therapy. As for education implications may vary depending on the symptoms each individual
has. Most children unfortunately won't make it past the age of 4.
4A. After watching how assistive technology has had such a positive impact on students with
disabilities, how do you think their life would be if they didn't have the assistive technology that
we all have today? What would be another helpful way to teach students if technology was not in
the picture? Do you think it would be as successful?
B. A question that I still have about this week's content that has really stuck with me is what do
students do when they are no longer in school and don't have access to the assistive technology
because it belongs to the school? What if the assistive technology is too expensive for them to
purchase and own?
5. These chapters were very eye opening to me because I realize how many different assistive
technologies there really is. When I think of assistive technology I automatically think of iPads,
computers, and cell phones. When learning about technology like the reading pen and the device
that Elle uses, etc. I know now how every device is very different and specific to every
individual who needs them. When I was in elementary school, I remember seeing some
classmates use assistive technology and its very amazing to learn and see how it has shaped lives
for the better. It makes me happy knowing that there are people creating these assistive
technologies for students.