For decades, student with conditions that hindered their education, such as ADD or those with Spectrum Disorders, suffered through traditional teaching methods only to become withdrawn and embarrassed when it became evident that knowledge transfer was not taking place. Now, Disabilities and e-Learning Development in USA is making it possible for these kinds of students to enjoy learning and feel the satisfaction of gaining new skills.
When Traditional Classrooms Don’t Work
For those with learning disabilities that make it difficult to learn when sights and sounds are constantly distracting the student from what is going on in the learning environment, something as simple as a whisper between two students can derail any efforts to pay attention to what is being demonstrated by the teacher.
Students who face these dilemmas often try to deal with these issues by avoiding questions by the teacher and suffer embarrassment when picked on to give a response and none can be given.
When this kind of scenario goes on too long, the student can act out emotionally or defy efforts to engage them in learning all together. With the assimilation of technology into the lives of Americans on a daily basis, there is way to combine what we know about these disabilities and e-Learning Development in USA to create online tools and virtual classrooms to meet the special needs of these students.
More Than Just A Website
New developments offer more than text on a webpage. What was once a read and answer multiple choice questions format has now been integrated with welcome additions such as, interactive videos and gaming technologies. Children are readily engaged with video games and interactive websites. Introducing them to this kind of technology for learning is having an enormous impact knowledge transfer for school-aged students.
Students with atypical neurological patterns such as Spectrum Disorders, need more in order to hold their attention. More often than not, something other than what is offered in a classroom is required for learning retention. If a student is not able to read a book and answer questions in a traditional sense, then putting it in digital format on a website and asking them to answer questions is not going to work either.
The EdTech space is booming in places like Cambridge, Massachusetts where universities such as MIT are leading the charge in the advancement of disabilities and e-Learning Development in USA. The National Science Foundation is also offering start-up companies in the United States the opportunity to receive funding for the development of technology to aid in the learning environment.
Still, more is needed. There are many learning disabilities and other cognitive development issues that students face in the American educational system that current e-learning technologies fall short in helping with. The advancements to date are exceptional and promising there are still gaps that go unfilled.
With continued study of use and gains in knowledge transfer with e-learning technologies, we have hope that more online and digital learning tools will be made available for the student who has difficulties in the traditional learning environment. If technology is truly the future, then education technology will only be more widely used to help students succeed in the learning environments that are best suited for them.
