Education Technology in the Inclusive Language Classroom

Integrating Technology into the Inclusive Classroom by using CRAM and CUBE CREATOR

Georgina Cioffi

Lesson Plan

School: Bilingual School

Class: 3rd Form

Subject: Language

Time allotted: One lesson (60 minutes)

Communicative Goal: Talking about ability

Grammar Focus (revision): S + CAN/CAN’T + verb

Vocabulary Focus (revision): fly - swim - sing - dance - jump - play football.

Warmer

T will stick pictures of different actions on the board and bring a hat with the words in it (fly, swim, sing, dance, etc.). Volunteers will come to the board, choose a slip of paper, read the action out loud and stick it below the corresponding picture.

Web

Students will be divided into groups of three. Each group will watch a dialogue on YouTube based on an invitation to a pool party and what each kid can or can't do to enjoy the celebration.

Then, each group will summarize the key elements in the dialogue including characters, their abilities, setting and conflict using the application Cube Creator (see Tutorial below).

Using technology in the inclusive language classroom for students with special educational needs (SEN) can offer several benefits tailored to their unique requirements.

According to Sneed (2016), by using Bloom's Digital Taxonomy (the adapted version of the well-known Bloom's Taxonomy) the focus is on how the technological tools can act as vehicles for transforming student thinking at different levels. In the activity using the app Cube Creator outlined before, students will be working at the UNDERSTANDING level, where they will be constructing meaning from graphics.

Sneed (2016) also points out that Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy helps us navigate through the myriad digital tools and make choices based on the kinds of learning experiences we want students to engage in. Multi-sensory learning experiences are present in this task, as both apps (YouTube and Cube Creator) engage multiple senses helping SEN students with various learning disabilities, such as such as dyslexia or ADHD, absorb and retain language content more effectively.

What's Next

Students will make flashcards illustrating different abilities and lack of abilities present in the story to share with the rest of the groups. In order to do this, they will use the application Cram.com (see Tutorial below). Each group will come up with different sentences using CAN - CAN'T based on the video presented in the Web section. The sets of flashcards will be shared in the Google Classroom of the class so that all students can have access to them and revise for future assessments.

The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) responds to the growing awareness among many European Member States that educators need a set of digital competences specific to their profession in order to be able to seize the potential of digital technologies for enhancing and innovating education (Redecker, 2017). In accordance with this framework, one of the main aims each educator should have is that of empowering learners by boosting their active involvement in the learning process and their ownership of it. This is exemplified in the What's Next task, where students will create flashcards to share with the rest of the class. In this way, accessibility to learning resources and activities is ensured for all learners, including those with special needs. Flashcards are a valuable tool for students with ADHD for instance, as they may provide a structured and visual way to present information. Flashcards can also be of great help to students with dyslexia, as they can be used to reinforce vocabulary skills.

👉 The lesson plan above includes references to two theoretical frameworks:

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.
The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu).

TUTORIALS for the apps used in the lesson plan

👉 To read more about my work, go to Georgi's ICT PLE

REFERENCES

Redecker, C. (2017) JRC SCIENCE FOR POLICY REPORT. European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators. DigCompEdu. In: https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcompedu_en
Sneed (2016) Integrating Technology with Bloom’s Taxonomy https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/

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