BACK TO SCHOOL Arizona Autism Charter expands to meet growing need for online classes wranglernews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wranglernews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Students at Gowan Science Academy in Yuma, Arizona, could soon have an outdoor classroom where they can socially distance, work on messy projects and enjoy the sunshine.
The outdoor learning hub will be an asset for the public school’s buddy program, where sixth graders work with kindergarteners on projects a practice that could expand now that the school has the extra space.
In previous years, students have worked together to create alphabet books while “randomly sitting in the grass,” said principal Jamie Haines. With the outdoor classroom, they’ll have whiteboards, tables, Wi-Fi and electricity to work outside while taking advantage of living in the “Sunniest City on Earth.”
Can Ed Tech Make Learning More Accessible?
Ed tech experts say simple digital tools can help make learning more accessible if utilized correctly. Arizona educators set out to do just that for students with autism. Arizona Autism Charter Schools students have been using Lego robotics kits provided through Intel.
Long before K-12 schools moved to online remote learning last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, education policy advocates were clamoring for ways to improve education for neurodiverse students. Concerns ranged from lack of appropriate state and federal school funding to curriculum design and everything in between.
Much of the recent discourse about ed tech has revolved around accessibility, mainly in terms of device availability and Internet connectivity. But this still leaves another obstacle making the learning itself more accessible.