AGUILA, Mariquit Evangeline G.

BEED Special Education

Extract No.3 EDUC 190

Despite the overwhelming pile of tasks this semester has been giving me, I think I managed to redeem myself in the few remaining requirements of the EDUC 190 course. I think my groupmates and I did the best we could during the webinar session that we have conducted. All of us had different assignments to be done but we still found a way to become well-versed in the seemingly complicated platform we had to use. It was a new and interesting experience for all of us.

Another new experience would be ushering at the Y4IT conference. The conference gathered thousands of delegates from different schools and being part of the registration committee, I would have to attest that the thousands description was true. It was all really enjoyable because we got to attend to some parts of the talks and programs even though the committees we joined into did not always get a break time. My classmates and I also got the chance to visit the exhibit, wherein booths were present to explain to the participants the latest innovations in the world of information technology.

I have never heard of most of the applications and websites discussed during the Technology in Math and Science report. I have never been a fan of Physics, and I honestly am not sure how I managed to pass the exams given to me during my years in my previous course. I regret not knowing about these sites, because I might have been able to better understand Physics then. The websites given made everything seem easier and more clarified. Surely, this kind of technology must be known by the new breed of teachers our country is producing.

Another topic of discussion we had in class was the use of technology in PE and Health. I can still remember that day. We were asked to wear comfortable clothes, the reason of which I did not know. I was expecting that since most of our topics have been about using technology in various fields, we would just sit in front of our computers and look into different software and sites that concern the said topic. We exerted much physical effort that day, but I admit that it was fun! Competing with others can be motivating, but experiences that made us compete with ourselves were much more memorable. I can say that the activities given that day provided both. At the same time, I realized that we should treat each day, with class meeting or without,

as a competition against ourselves. We must aim to beat the best that we know we already are. In this way, we can be shining, improved and brand new as we grow.

It would be extremely unjust if we were not able to discuss technology in Special Education. Good thing we did. :) Somehow I was already familiar with some of the presented technology during the report, like the JAWS program for the Deaf. I learned some new stuff, but the thing most striking for me was that even though some of the reporters were already SPED majors themselves, they failed to use correctly the terms that were taught to us. I dont know what other people think about SPED majors being touchy about calling persons with disabilities DISABLED or SPECIAL But really, it is not right to call people with their conditions by their conditions. It might be hard to empathize with them especially coming from a regular person perspective, but the least they can do is respect them and call them for what they ARE not for what they HAVE. It is equally saddening to know that some people think that exceptionalities are conditions that are similar to a disease or sickness. Its good that some specialists try and find ways to help people avoid having such exceptionalities, but the way they talk about it is just not ethical for me. This knowledge just made me more aware of the effort that I have to give in order to help them understand simple things about persons with special needs. Even though technological innovations are fast developing in our time, peoples knowledge about special education is still left behind.

Alongside the discussion of tech in SPED was tech in Social Studies. What first occurred to me was how most students who were required to attend field trips complained about the expenses that they are about to experience. Because of the level of technology we have today, its almost possible to have a field trip online! This can be a much more affordable way of going to other places and knowing about their culture. However, we cannot ignore the obvious disadvantage of this: they cannot actually experience the destination because everything is virtual. I believe in the capacity of human intelligence though. Give them 20, 50 years or so Humans can possibly find ways to make use of technology to give students an almost perfect experience of a field trip.

I am excited for the would-be students of EDUC 190 next semester. I am sure that there would be lots of technological developments by that time and that they would be able to discuss it and its importance to the field of education. I hope that they would top my awesome experiences in this class.