Independent Learning

Educators can use educational technology tools to foster or support goals of self-directedness and independent student learning. 

One tool I utilize in my classroom is the built-in Chromebook camera. Students are able to complete a page in their workbook, hold it up to the camera to get a picture, and then insert it into the Google Doc assignment page. This allows students to submit their work for teacher review right after they complete it. There are assignment steps on the Google Doc that remind the student when to take and insert a picture of their specific workbook page. This fosters independence because the student is able to take care of all their submissions, the teacher doesn’t need to remind them to tear a page out of their workbook, to put their name on it, and tell them where to hand it in. The students are also able to work at their own pace because they understand how to move through the independent work and they always know what to do next. 

Another tool I use in my classroom daily is Google Forms for assignments and assessments. A Google Form can be accessed by students easily and through a link on a digital assignment page, on a post or assignment in Google Classroom, on a blog post, on an email, etc. The students can work independently and access an assignment or assessment when they are ready. They can also see their score right after they finish, and information can be given to them for their next step. The forms can also provide feedback and hints if a wrong answer is given to help students self-correct and work through mistakes. 

Assistive technology can be used to meet individual student needs and learning in an educational setting.

A text to speech add-on can be added to any browser so that students who need to have text read to them can have this modification installed to aid in their independence. Students can highlight text with their curser and this tool will read the text out loud to them. The students can then complete learning tasks and activities that they otherwise couldn’t do on their own, or would need to wait for assistance to complete. 

Another assistive technology tool for the classroom is speech recognition software. This tool gives independence to students who need modifications or assistance in order to type or use a mouse. The software can transcribe speech into typed text, and understand voice commands for computer use. This tool can provide students with independence on a computer they may not otherwise have.