Enabling Dreams

Enabling dreams is a truly heartwarming video of how assistive technology has improved handicapped students’ lives. It’s an important video because it shows what handicapped students can accomplish with assistive technology. It also raises the question of revising lesson plans to include handicapped students. The biggest difference I see in a revised lesson plan is to ensure active participation of the handicapped student. The objectives should be the same. But, the delivery should take into consideration the physical limitations of the handicapped student. In my ASSURE lesson plan, I had students record the number of times they can bounce a tennis ball every ten seconds for two minutes. If the handicapped student could not use their hands, I would have him/her record the results or count out the ten second intervals. Another idea is to add an objective to show how the handicapped student was involved in the activity by creating a video. Assistive technology can help handicapped students overcome their disabilities. And, with revised lesson plans, can help narrow the gap between handicapped students and physically able students. It can also help physically able students better appreciate the struggles handicapped people have to overcome on a daily basis.