ISTE Standard 4b

Communication Board

       One assignment that really impacted me as a learner was the Communication Board project, assigned in EDTS 650, Access and Diverse Learners, during the spring semester of 2015. For this assignment we were asked to create a communication board for personal use, and to use this board to communicate for a full hour. I chose to use this board during a dinner at The Melting Pot with my husband, infant daughter, and friends. The goal of this assignment was twofold; first and foremost it was designed to help promote empathy for our students, and a better understanding of the frustrations that may result from a lack of tools to assist with communicating, the other purpose of the assignment was to teach us a new way to meet the needs of the diverse learners that we are likely to encounter. This project met ISTE Standard 4b (Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility), which states; "teachers will address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources." I was able to meet this learner standard by discovering a new way to address the diverse communication needs of my students for more equitable access to a quality education through the use of digital learning tools including picture symbols and Boardmaker. I also discovered that the use of communication tools such as communication boards makes learning more student-centered, taking the guesswork away from the teacher, and empowering the student to take a more active role in his or her life and education.