https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337 collaboration in the technology era en-us 2017-04-28 16:36:48 UTC 2025-11-13 17:07:58 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Planets.png shanks_c https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168930704 Mike DeVitis Special Education]]> 2017-04-28 16:47:45 UTC https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168930704 shanks_c https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168931447 Parent
Collaboration is people working together to achieve a goal. I was the home and school parent at St. Josephs in Downingtown for three years. It is very important to delegate, communicate and compromise to coordinate major school projects such as the annual school fair. I have made many friends in this position with teachers, parents and administrators. Sometimes I encountered difficult parents or personnel. I had to be flexible and open-minded in this position. I also had to be extremely organized, motivated and driven. I have been in a managerial position most of my working career. I am good at delegating and overseeing people to meet deadlines. The people involved must have respect and trust. I am no longer the home and school president, but collaboration is an important part of school and family life. ]]> 2017-04-28 16:50:36 UTC https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168931447 shanks_c https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168936793 Parent and Teacher
My daughter was born in 1990 with Down Syndrome. Collaboration has played a huge role during her 27 year life. She started receiving support from early intervention at 6 weeks. I was on the phone constantly until I secured county services for her special needs. Her preschool was Ken Crest which schooled both special needs and regular ed children. She entered Kindergarten with an IEP and an aide. The IEP was collaboration at it's finest for my daughter. In Elementary School, for each grade, a teacher would volunteer to have Allie in her class. At the beginning of the year, every teacher that had contact with Allie during the school day would have a meeting to plan and establish goals. The collaborative team consisted of: a parent, regular ed teacher, classroom aide, guidance people, district personnel and any other teacher that would interact with Allie throughout the school day. This sums up the saying, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The characteristics of those involved included: flexibility, empathy, caring, patience, compromise and open-mindedness. Thoughout her 12 years of school and 3 years of post high school programs, we only encountered one rigid person. Some people are not open to working with special needs. When I see that in teachers, students or parents, the majority of the time it is caused by ignorance. People often times shy away from something they don't understand. A friend had a son with terminal brain cancer and told me some of the students (elementary age) asked if they could catch it (was it contagious?). Most schools now include programs that are very extensive programsconcerning special needs and diversity.  I firmly believe in learning until I drop. I learn from anyone and everyone including very young children and much older adults. GMU has prepared me for collaboration, understanding the importance of collaboration, and forced me to vastly improve my technology skills. ]]> 2017-04-28 17:09:43 UTC https://padlet.com/shanks_c/5y9b87yj9337/wish/168936793