Equal Opportunities for Everyone

 All around the world Education is available for everyone, from K to 12 a public school system is provided. A total of 13 percent from the public school population are students with disabilities (NCES, 2018). Many kids with disabilities have fought all their life to fulfill a dream or to be treated as one. As we progress and develop our technology, students live a more interesting and easier life than usual. In the "Enabling Dreams" video, by engaging to these kind of program students were given the opportunity to become an advocate for themselves (The DOIT Center, 2015). 

Growing up in the Philippines, we were not exposed or given any opportunities to learn about assistive technology. The school that I came from barely had any students with disabilities. It was only when I moved here on Island that I was able to interact with other students with disabilities. John F. Kennedy High School offers such assistance, for example the school provides hearing aid for those who applies and prove that they need and/or can utilize such a device. 

In the Video: STEM and People with Disabilities, shows that students who are exposed to science and math are more engaged and are more likely to become successful. This program allows students with disabilities to become independent and to experience working with other students. One of the students that got my attention was Alex Mckenzie, knowing that she is partially blind and was still able to create DNA libraries. It was an eye opening video, it showcase that most of the time students with disabilities are more capable of doing some activities or task that others could not with enough resources and help from teachers.

As future Educators, we can format our lesson plan based on ASSURE to be more creative for students with disabilities to participate in our class. We must be knowledgeable of what equipments are available and how we can utilize them to create a better life for our students. At the University of Guam, there are several assistive technology available that is found in the Science Building. I had the opportunity to be inside the facility, the amount of equipments available for elementary, high school, and college students with disabilities was overwhelming. 
 When inside the classroom a Test-to-Speech, a technology designed for students who are having difficulty reading standard print. "The technology works by scanning the words and then reading it out loud in a synthesized voice. TTS technology is more accurate and lifelike than ever (Neese, 2015)."

As a future educator, I am engaged to create a better educational system and experience for these children and young adults. After watching this video it gave me an opportunity to become a better person, this video does not only apply to those college students and high schoolers. I believe that introducing STEM to younger population will encourage them to learn more and to become active in school. STEM helps students to become a more successful citizen, to experience life, to get hands on experience that most schools are unable to provide.

 References:

Neese, B. (2015). Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7720. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720. 5 Assistive Technology That Are Making a Difference. 

T. (2015, April 20). STEM and People with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIogBga8zgc