Technology has become synonymous with modern education. It has made several seemingly impossible tasks possible, heightening the learning outcomes for students and empowering educators and parents to impart education in an impactful way. On occasion of Autism Awareness Day celebrated on 2nd April every year, through this post, we want to shed light on one of the biggest benefits of technology-driven learning.
Inclusivity and Accessibility.
For the longest time, we’ve had a universal uniform classroom structure accompanied with the similar pedagogical techniques for every child in the world. Irrespective of their learning styles, preferences or performance. No one is to be blamed for this. It was practically impossible for teachers to understand what specifically works for each of their students. In many cases, the students wouldn’t be able to articulate their learning styles or learning preferences themselves. So, how could we meet the learning needs of every child when we didn’t know what they were. This resulted in a biased system where students that were more inclined to a classroom type visual and auditory learning environment performed better than the rest of the students, whom the education system couldn’t engage. Technology is changing this dynamics drastically. Through data-driven learning engines, it’s possible for us to thoroughly gauge what kind of learning works for every child, and engage them in the way that maximizes their learning outcomes.
Technology – the Game Changer in Making Learning Equitable
According to a 2020 UNESCO report, only 61% of children with disabilities in the age group of 5 to 19 years took formal education in India or went to an educational institute. The total percentage of children that have attended an educational institute in the country is 71%. Moreover, the percentage of special or differently-abled children attending school dropped even further with each successive year. Technology is the strongest weapon at our disposal to make education reach every kind of learner. Slow learners. Fast learners. Learners with learning disability. Learners that are differently abled. Learners with special needs. Each one of them. Technology helps us mitigate the challenges that each learner faces as they adapt to meet the specific learning needs. How does it do that? Let’s find out.
Personalized Learning
The speed of learning varies from student to student. The variation is even higher with students with learning or other kinds of disabilities. How would a teacher keep up with the varying learning speeds of students in her class? Learning platforms such as Deetya offer personalized learning solutions by creating unique learning paths for each student depending on their speed of learning, responsiveness and receptiveness to different types of content, exercises and activities, time considerations, engagement levels, understanding levels and so on.
Established Studying Patterns
Certain special cases such as learners with varying degrees of Autism respond better to familiar patterns and routines. Digital platforms make this task easy for teachers and parents, as the learners follow a fixed pattern to access learning content, take assessments, submit assignments or perform any learning activity. This eliminates elements of surprises or shocks creating a seamless learning experience for all, including those with special learning needs.
Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology or AT offers diverse solutions to cater to those with learning or attention difficulties. These are a collection of tools that play to the strengths of an individual learner while working around their challenges, making the process of learning more comfortable and convenient for them. The AT tools are generally selected using the SETT (Student, Environment, Task, Tool) framework to match the needs of a student with the right AT options. Here are a few ways how AT helps different learning needs:
- Reading
- Writing
- Text-to-Speech Conversion
- Speech-to-Text Conversion
- Screen readers
- Accessible books such as audio books, highlighted text, braille, large font and other formats
Remote Learning
Students that cannot travel to an institute and require to learn from their homes can benefit from the remote learning facility that video conferencing tools have to offer. Technology can transform any classroom into a fully accessible digital classroom where learners can participate in all classroom activities including discussions, quizzes, polls, presentations and more, from anywhere as long as they have an internet connected device.
EdTech Leading the Way
As far as education is concerned, technology is leading the way. And we can already see the dynamics changing. The enrollment rates are slowly gaining velocity with technology offering more flexible learning options while having made learning more accessible and inclusive. Accessible and inclusive learning platforms would ensure learners with different kinds of learning challenges or difficulties don’t discontinue learning or fall behind in their learning journeys. Each of the above factors including personalized learning, assistive technology, remote learning options and a stable and predictive technology platform work coherently to create a fulfilling learning experience for every learner. We at Deetya aim at igniting the joy of learning in every learner and are eagerly looking towards new developments in technology that would create a level playing field for every learner in our society.
Deetya is a light and intuitive learning platform that enables educators, students, parents and institutes work together to achieve powerful learning outcomes and maximise learning impact. If you are interested in knowing more about how Deetya is transforming education, click here.
