Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Learners are Amazing

You've heard this issue before. A parent is frantically trying to help their child receive the assistive (inclusive) technologies they need to independently access content or demonstrate their learning. But there is pushback....

I won't bore you with the details of the denial of the tools or the pushback.  Instead, let me share with you how resourceful and resilient the student was. 

The student needed access to an accessible version of the book the class was reading to bypass her reading decoding and fluency challenges. She searched on her own and found the book on YouTube with human narration and discovered Closed Captioning on her own to follow along with the audio supports! 

She was thrilled to share this discovery with her mother who shared the strategy with me, an excellent approach that allowed her to participate in class discussions and have independent access to the book. 

I've written about turning on closed captioning in videos in a previous blog post. How fantastic when a learner discovers that strategy on their own and uses it to bypass their learning challenges! What an incredibly resourceful learner whose initiative should be applauded and encouraged! 

Example of customized Closed Captioning

Check out how to turn on and customize closed caption/subtitles in YouTube.

Do you have stories to share about learners who thrill you with their creativity and ingenuity despite the presence of obstacles and learner variabilities? Please share in the comments. 


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