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I am an early-childhood educator and K-12 learning specialist. My 30 years of teaching experience range from classroom teaching in London to resource room development and tutoring in Harlem. I have been in private practice on New York¹s Upper West Side since 1986 as an early learning therapist also specializing in educational software that enhances instruction. I design and customized programs for those seeking to utilize the computer as a teaching and learning tool. I seek to match individual learning styles and to include school and family in my effort to provide support and motivate students. I promote software that puts the learner in control.
My computer knowledge has grown through practical application. I have researched and adapted business world software programs that are suitable for study or information management. Likewise I customize and integrate educational software for effective learning.
The focus of my work has been guided by the needs of students who benefit most from using the computer as a scaffold‹for improving student¹s communication skill and overcoming spelling difficulty and poor handwriting. I also use the computer as a therapeutic tool to engage students lacking in confidence and as an electronic metaphor for mental processing‹all the more appealing because the computer is non-human. Becoming confident and competent at using these computer skills builds self-esteem. It also aids organization and work study skills, as the computer permits verbal and linear information to be displayed in graphic mode which is suitable for those students with non-verbal and visual-spatial learning strengths.
I integrate the computer with tried-and-true traditional teaching practice, using it as a way to research fresh approaches to learning. I emphasize teacher training for personal productivity as key to making computers a successful part of school curriculum. Whenever appropriate, I encourage parents to learn alongside their children.
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© Elspeth Sladden 1997