Robert Blackman EDU620: Meeting Individual Student Needs With Technology Dr. Patricia Neely

 The Tech Act is intended to promote people’s awareness of, and access to, assistive technology (AT) devices and services. The Act seeks to provide AT to persons with disabilities, so they can more fully participate in education, employment, and daily activities on a level playing field with other members of their communities. The Act covers people with disabilities of all ages, all disabilities, in all environments (early intervention, K-12, post-secondary, vocational rehabilitation, community living, aging services, etc.). (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2009)

 An AT device is any device that helps maintain and assist in the improvement of function capabilities of individuals with disabilities

Examples of AT Devices are:  power and manual wheelchairs, scooters, canes, walkers, and standing devices  augmentative communication devices (speech generating devices), voice amplifiers, and speech recognition devices  durable medical equipment and medical supplies, such as patient lifts and incontinence supplies (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2009)

 These devices are categorized in three categories:  Low Tech  Mid Tech  High Tech

 assistive technology can provide accommodations, modifications or adaptations made to the environment, curriculum, instruction, or assessment practices (South Carolina Assistive Technology Program, 2012)

 The 1997 Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which calls for access to the general education curriculum for all students, mandates that assistive technology be part of a student’s Individualized Education Plan(Gromisch, E. S. & Reinhard Neas, L. M. (Ed.),(2012)

 To give students equal access to curriculum and improve student outcomes, schools must deliver new and creative ways to meet the educational needs of all students(Gromisch, E. S. & Reinhard Neas, L. M. (Ed.),2012)  Assistive technology accomplishes these goals by allowing students with many types of disabilities to see, hear, read, write, and communicate(Gromisch, E. S. & Reinhard Neas, L. M. (Ed.),(2012)

 For example the act allows the students with disabilities to do the following:  Technology allows a teacher to present the content in different formats.  Can allow students to improve in writing and organizational skills  Helps students improve or achieve grade level in reading

 Cullen, Richards, and Frank (2008) conducted a study to determine whether computer software would help students with disabilities improve their performance in writing(Alnahdi, 2012)  In general, the results showed that the impact on most of the seven students was positive.(Alnahdi,2012)

 My position on fostering assistive technology to provide full inclusion of students with disabilities in education, employment, daily activities, and in their communities is that of a positive one.  There are so many advantages in using assistive technology to not only the disable but also for those who are not disable by using it for the following:

 Differentiating Instruction  Intervention Purposes  Independent work for certain students

 Using technology allows students to make choices about their learning activities  Students learn more when they are given the opportunity to make choices about their learning activities (Erwin, 2004; Sanacore, 1999; Suarez, 2007)

 Examples of some of the devices are:  Closed caption on the television screen  Computer programs that allow reads and highlight words for students  The use of calculators in math  Speech to text software

Everyone is entitled to an equal and fair opportunity in anything they are trying to accomplish. Because some people has a disability does not mean that they are enable to perform certain task or function in society.

 This will make me more conscious on how to utilize all technology in my classroom.  The use of all technology is important for the success of not only disable students but the same technology assistance can be used for regular educational students also.  I will use this for a variety of purposes in my lessons and incorporate it when it is appropriate.

 Alnahdi, G. (2014). Assistive Technology in Special Education and the Universal Design for Learning. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 13(2),  Gromisch, E. S. & Reinhard Neas, L. M. (Ed.). (2012). Special education: A guide to technology options. Bright Hub Education. Retrieved from inclusion-strategies/ a-teachers-guide-to- assistive-technologies-in-the- classroom/?cid=parsely_rec inclusion-strategies/ a-teachers-guide-to- assistive-technologies-in-the- classroom/?cid=parsely_rec

 National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. (2009). Assistive Technology Act. Retrieved from  South Carolina Assistive Technology Program. (2012). SC curriculum access through AT. Retrieved from l l  State Assistive Technology Programs. (2014). Exceptional Parent, 44(1),