What does it mean to "provide equal access to the digital world?"
I think that all can agree that technology has permeated education, society, and the working world. Businesses use social networking to gain a customer base, promote products, and network potential employees. Reading has been transformed by e-readers, music by ipods and mp3 players, and communication by smart phones and instant messaging. In education, technology allows teachers to differentiate education, explore lessons through the internet, and provide an interactive learning environment. Creating individualized lesson plans becomes easier through technology.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a different, student-centered way of learning. All students think differently, learn differently. UDL allows for each student to learn to the best of their ability, maximizing their opportunity for success. With this approach, students are presented content in different ways, students can express what they know differently, and teachers can stimulate interest and motivate learning. This approach applies to all students. Students who require special education should not be exempt from the benefits of individualized learning.
Technology can help students with special needs bridge the gaps created from communication and motor skill issues. Assisted Technology provides digital tools that aid special education. Examples of this technology are keyboards with buttons that can help complete phrases, videos for learning sign language, and keyboards that allow anyone to use a computer. These tools help students learn on the same footing as their classmates. UDL advocates for individualized learning, technology can make that a reality for all students, especially those in special education. For me, that is what it means to provide equal access to the digital world, since our world is so rapidly becoming digital.
