Assistive Technologies in Educational Settings Jackie Guerin EME /23/14

The Grand Idea Teachers today have to adapt to many different forms of learning disabilities. Because of this they have had to come up with ways around these students, so that they can gain the same understanding of a subject as their peers. They have done this through assistive/adaptive technologies.

Assistive Technologies According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) Assistive Technologies are defined as: “Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities”. (Gelinas)

Adaptive Technologies Adaptive Technologies is defined by Washington University as: “Adaptive technology is typically used to describe hardware or software that is used to help individuals with disabilities use computers” (DO-IT, 2004).

Importance?  Together these two forms of technologies come together for students to use. In some way these are one and the same.  That being said, as teachers, we must use both of these properly because it will help our students gain understanding.  Some examples of this are getting larger printed keys on keyboard or having a program that can tell a student what is on the web page. (DO-IT, 2004; Gelinas)

Demonstration #1  In this video from Edutopia we meet three students who all use assistive technology in their own way depending on how much help they need. It shows that these students have the desire to learn more and over come their disabilities. Whether that is through voice recording for papers, touch screens for homework, or joysticks to play music.Edutopia

Demonstration #2  For those who want to teach younger children, I have found this video from AssistiveWare.com. This is a update video about 4 year old Vanessa. She has a form of autism that has her slightly behind her peers when it comes to her level of speech. She started using an app called Proloquo2Go she has started showing signs of talking and has made it easier to communicate with others. AssistiveWare.com

My Findings From the videos, examples, and definitions I have presented I believe it is obvious that assistive/adaptive technologies are important. It helps those of all ages communicate. It should not be something that those with disabilities have to fight to receive.

This graph shows how much the United States plans to spend on assistive technology ("Disabled and elderly," 2007)

How To Integrate? As seen from the graph above, the government is planning to use more and more funds to help those with disabilities. It is up to teachers and parents though to ask that these funds be used. This can be done by using grants. Examples of which can be seen here.here

Helpful Links  Technology/Pages/default.aspx Technology/Pages/default.aspx  This website shows more uses of assistive technology  mic/Adaptive/computers_at_faq.html mic/Adaptive/computers_at_faq.html  This website has some frequently asked questions that come with teachers using assistive/adaptive technology  dreams-video dreams-video  This website is great when trying to find the latest in integrating technology in the classroom.  vanessa-part-2 vanessa-part-2  This site has more video on how assistive/adapative technologies help students.  technologies-in-the-u-s/ technologies-in-the-u-s/

 (2013). Educational technology grants. Office of Education Technology, Retrieved from  AssistiveWear. (2014). Finding her own voice - vanessa part 2. Retrieved from  Disabled and technologies in elderly assistive the u.s. (2007). Medic Shoes, Retrieved from  DO-IT. (2004). Adaptive technology faq. The Faculty Room, Retrieved from  Gelinas, G. (n.d.). Definition of assistive technology. Retrieved from Definition.aspxhttp:// Definition.aspx  How assistive technology enables dreams [Web]. (2005). Retrieved from Works Cited