Writing his name… March 25, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Our Classroom, SMART Board, Special Education.Tags: SMART Board, Special Education
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The SMART Board has been like a key unlocking the educational treasures that have been unreachable within some of my students who have significant cognitive challenges. The interactive component allows my students to express and communicate their thoughts in ways that they never were able. I liken it to the Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” when Santa Claus, led by Rudolph, lands on the Land of the Misfits, rescuing all of toys and finding them homes. It’s Christmas every morning in our classroom when we turn on our SMART Board! The SMART Board has exposed my students to a whole new world of educational opportunities, in a sense rescuing them from a world where they couldn’t always demonstrate their true abilities. Today I want to share a success story that exemplifies the “power” of the SMART Board. One of my students who is16, and recently enrolled in my class, asked me why he was unable to write his name. After a brief discussion I told him that I would do all I could to help him achieve this goal. So in comes the SMART Board– I began by having him simply make straight lines on the board using his finger, progressing to drawing circles with his finger. After 2 weeks he began to put the two together to write his initials RB. The first time he completed his initials independently on the SMART Board he was so excited he went to 2 different classrooms to announce his accomplishment!!! It was AWESOME! Soon he was using the SMART pens to write his initials on the SMART Board and after several weeks of practicing this skill, he graduated to writing his initials using a pen and paper. It truly has been an amazing journey for this young man and once again confirmed by belief that given the right tools and a chance, we can all succeed and reach our goals. I have included a recording of RB writing his initials on the SMART Board for everyone to share in this wonderful accomplishment. I think this video says it all…
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