Technology is Opening Doors for LSEM Students

LSEM > stories > LSEM News > Technology is Opening Doors for LSEM Students

Technology is Opening Doors for LSEM Students

No Comments

LSEM is the recipient of several grants recently, one of which was a grant from the Northern Illinois District LWML to purchase technology that would support local classrooms. The following story was written by Arlene Lapsansky, one of the teachers whose students directly benefited from the funding.

— written by Arlene Lapsansky, LSEM teacher —

Reflecting back over the course of a school year these are the changes I have seen using technology in my LSEM classroom. While using the Chromebook with three eight grade students with various levels of writing abilities, they shared their research paper with me, the LSEM teacher, to help them edit it. Each student wrote their paper following a rubric and then I could assist the student in editing their essay before they submitted their paper to their English teacher. Using the chrome book made a huge difference to the students in terms of their stress level and improvement in their overall writing.

In addition, the Read and Write feature in Chromebook allowed a junior high student to use his vocabulary words in a sentence. He was able to say his sentence in a microphone and the program typed it. Following, the student e-mailed his assignment to his reading teacher. In the past it would have taken him much longer to write his sentences and to look up the words in the dictionary which he could not spell. This would have been a tedious assignment for this student with a learning disability. It is important not to forget that a student diagnosed with a learning disability as a second grader continues to have challenges as the demands of the classroom change. Technology has made it easier.

This year several new students entering Trinity Lutheran School in Tinley Park, IL will benefit from using the Lexia reading program and the Moby Max program to improve their reading and math skills. The students can access these programs on the iPad in the LSEM classroom and can also log in to the programs at home. With the Moby Max program, once students master a set of math facts, they can design and print out their certificate of achievement. There are also badges students can print after they have completed skills in phonics. The new printer in the LSEM classroom allows these features to help motivate students.

I requested an additional iPad and a keyboard this year. A middle grade student with handwriting difficulty is now able to use the SnapTypePro program within his classroom. Here’s how it works. The teacher assigns a worksheet. The student takes a picture of the worksheet and can type his answers and or mark his answers on the iPad. He then e-mails his assignment to his teacher. The benefit is the iPad can be used in the classroom where instruction is taking place plus it alleviates the need to write. Another middle grade student uses SnapType Pro on his iPad to complete math problems. This app is very motivating for him.

As a teacher of students with learning abilities and disabilities I see the great benefits that technology can offer to students. I can’t wait to see what apps I can purchase next!