How Can Technology Remove Barriers to Learning?

By Removing the Barrier of Geography
Thanks to the Internet, students everywhere now have access to the world. Sixth-graders at the Tikigaq School in Point Hope, Alaska, used the e-mail–based KIDLINK project to correspond with peers around the globe. Even though these children of fishermen were puzzled by strange–sounding careers like “orthodontist” and “seismologist” and had to describe what it meant to slice muktuk with an ulu, they discovered, as one said, “when you look at people, they look real different, but when you look at their words, you realize we’re alike on the inside.” A student surrounded by the brick canyons of inner–city Chicago or by the sandstone canyons of New Mexico can view the American Memory materials at the Library of Congress Web site as easily as she or he can view interactive science exhibits at San Francisco’s Exploratorium Web site. Distance learning, brought to the classroom via the Internet, satellite video, fiber optic, or even cable, also allows students to complete college courses, get AP credits, take classes where no certified teacher is available locally, or even complete a high school degree at home.

By Removing the Barrier of Economic Status
When financial constraints mean that the library has no budget for purchases, it is difficult to understand the joys of research. But a networked classroom computer can access the Internet and bring a library and more to the classroom, even allowing students to download the texts of books that their library does not own. While it is not without a cost of its own, technology permits more students to gain access to resources, more efficiently, than traditional means. Students in the rust–belt communities of the Midwest can take virtual field trips to study ocean sites they could never afford to visit, participating as easily — and as equally — as those in the wealthier suburbs of Chicago. The scientists with whom they communicate online do not know the kinds of cars they drive or the size of their homes.

By Removing the Barrier of Individual Learning Styles
Not everyone learns in the same way, and even though it is important to be able to process written information from the printed page, sometimes visual images provide the missing clues. For some students the interactivity of the computer and the use of a mouse to “touch” the materials will improve learning. For other students repetition is necessary to get the big ideas, and CD–ROMs and videodisks not only allow learners to view a film–clip of a heart–muscle contracting but allow them to see it over and over till the message sinks home. The ability to organize information in different ways will capture the attention of some students, while others will benefit from seeing the power and beauty of mathematical formulae graphed on the screen and redrawn as the variables change, just as they do on a spreadsheet. Both research studies and teachers’ reactions note the value of technology for meeting the learning needs of all students.

By Minimizing the Barrier of Special Needs
Adaptive technologies lessen physical challenges and enable everyday tasks. The speech–impaired can “talk” as voice–synthesizing software converts their typed words into speech and conversely those who cannot type can speak their words as speech–to–text translation software places them on the screen. The hearing–impaired need only see the screen to learn; there are Braille keyboards and printers for the visually–impaired; and many more adaptive devices exist and can be acquired for the range of physical limitations present in schools. Moreover, with the infinite patience of the computer, learning–impaired students are able to repeat problems until they master them.