Food for Thought and a Thoughtful Disclaimer...
As our world evolves into one that is more technologically advanced, I often reflect on my own childhood. One that was filled with playing outside, getting dirty, and exploring the world around me. Afternoon fun also included watching television, playing video games, listening to records, taking pictures on film, and watching movies on our Beta and then VHS tape player. Technology offers exciting opportunities, but like all things there is always a balance to be found. Research continues to improve our understanding of how we receive, interpret, respond, and interact with media. While enjoying these new advances, we should also be mindful of how they influence the ways in which we interact and learn within our environment.
This blog is my own professional creation. It is designed to share information about emerging technology usage in effort to foster deeper contemplation and conversation. Because I am a Speech-language pathologist (SLP), information gained from on-line sources, such as this, are never a substitute for informed, individualized, clinicial assessment and treatment offered by a certified SLP or other professional in a clinical, educational, or medical setting. No part of this website is designed to offer assessment and treatment advice and app-along.com and the writer of this site are not responsible for any actions you may subsequently take. If you are concerned about the development or skill level of a child or individual, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides information about communication development and resources for locating a SLP in your area. www.asha.org
Communicating Around the Technology in our Lives
As a reader, you are responsible for your own conclusions and actions. At the end of the day, you must decide what is right for yourself, your children, and/or professionally, the services you provide. An app or other technological component will never replace human thought and interaction. As a professional, technology within the educational landscape offers unlimited opportunities; however, it is only an adjunctive tool to what a more component individual can offer another. Technology has it's place; however, just where that place is, is still being researched and investigated. Therefore, you should be an iSLP, iParent, iEducator, etc. who questions technology in an effort to better answer this question, building upon the research and knowledge gained in the past. The purpose of this site is to encourage quality interactions around the technology in our lives, not technology replacing the roles, knowledge, and experience of parents, caregivers, educators, skilled speech-language pathologists, and other professionals. Like a sing-along or read-along, an app-along strives to foster interaction around a digital medium.
Information presented on this site consists of my own opinions, ideas, and technological musings and do not represent positions held by my current or former employers, colleges or universities I have attended, or organizations of which I am a member of or volunteer.
Copyright
All photos, ideas and materials published on this site are the sole property of Willow Sauermilch and are protected by My Free Copyright. Every attempt is made to verify that information from outside sources is accurate and cited correctly. As a photographer, the creative right of photos is taken very seriously. Any photos, not credited on this site, were taken by me and are rights protected. You are not permitted to use photos from this site without my expressed written permission. Photographs that do not belong to me are credited, linked to their outside sources, and are believed to be in the public domain and readily available on the Internet (published according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act, title 17, U.S. Code).
Blog posts may share information about products and services available to the general product via independent businesses and organizations. Review and educational ideas concerning these products are independent and do not constitute an endorsement of those products or services. No financial or non-financial compensation is received from businesses or organizations providing these products or services, nor do they formally endorse the viewpoint expressed on this site. This site does not accept sponsorship or paid topic discussion. If a situation so otherwise arises deviating from this policy, it will be clearly stated.
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The information, photos, and ideas published on this site are available for your personal use. By using this site, you agree to be a good steward and abide by the terms and conditions outlined under this disclaimer. I reserve the right to remove, replace, reorganize, and update any content without prior notice. You are welcome to share ideas presented here by printing or linking information from this site. By sharing information, you are directing users back to this site and are not permitted to claim ownership of copyrighted material. This includes featuring free or paid materials on your own site without expressed written permission. You are not permitted to sell ideas, photos and materials from this site as your own, either by reduplicating information or taking copyrighted works and altering the content. In summary, duplication of text is strictly prohibited without expressed written permission, even if cited. When in doubt, provide a link to the original material.
Comments and discussion of ideas are always welcome. However, the constructive exchange of ideas and viewpoints is severely limited when comments are hurtful and attack the viewpoint of others. I reserve the right to monitor, edit and/or delete comments that are deemed inappropriate at any time. What is an inappropriate comment? It is one that appears malicious, spam oriented, excessively offensive, or distracts from the purpose of this site and will be deleted. Comments are manually approved for publication; therefore, your comment may not be immediately visible.