The task analysis of the writing process proved to be just as in-depth as the reading process, and I am really going to have to take the time to digest the slides that Barb has e-mailed to us...ironically enough, I couldn't write fast enough to keep up in class this afternoon (wink)!
In relation to the assistive technology for the writing process, I am already familiar with co-writer. However, clearly there are many cool features that I need to learn about the program. I loved the ability to select themed dictionaries (e.g. dinosaurs), and see this as a real practical application for students. It is indeed unfortunate that Kurzweil hasn't included this in their software, as I think it would be nice for students to use one form of software as frequently as possible. I'm also looking forward to working with Clicker 5. I had a few minutes to play around with it during class, and I'm assuming that this may be a good program for students who work well when given visual clues. At the same time, if this is indeed the case, I'm not sure how comfortable a middle or high school student would be using this program within their classroom. Looking forward to getting to know the program more, for sure.
Of particular interest today was the discussion, and task analysis, related to scribing. WOW, what an eye opener! During the task analysis, I observed the dynamics between the "student" and "scribe", and observations of the student lead to an overall passive description of learning. For the majority of the time, the "student" wasn't even looking at the page as the scribe was writing, which really highlights the lack of interaction with the text on the student's part. The individual who was truly engaged in the learning activity was the scribe, when in fact, it is the student who should be engaged. Instead, the student appeared quite passive and disinterested in the work. An activity that certainly emphasized the need for assistive technology in allowing a student to access learning, as opposed to the use of a scribe.
At the same time, I did connect with Eva's frustrations in relation to technology within our schools. In my classroom, for example, I have 5 desktop computers in which 4 are not working, and the remaining computer needs to be turned on at least three times in order for the computer to boot up properly (and yes, I have been fighting for these issues to be addressed). I am in full support of assistive technology for our students, however, first and foremost, the fucntioning of your schools' technological equipment needs to be addressed.
