 Assistive Technology Is Not Just For Students With Disabilities By Lori Arguelles

Paige’s Story hist

What is Assistive Technology (AT)  Assistive technology is defined as any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

How Can Assistive Technology Help  Boost self esteem  Enhance quality of life  Increase productivity  Improve performance  Increase independence

Assistive Technology Devices That May Already Be In Your Classroom Word processorComputer Text to speech Smart phones Spell checkerScanning access CalculatorVoice recognition Digital recordersCamera E-organizersExtra time E-booksPeer support

Inclusion Students and Assistive Technology  Inclusion: The practice of educating all or most children in the same classroom, including children with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities. (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)  AT helps students who have disabilities learn the material in a way that they can understand it  AT helps eliminate barriers students may face that prevent them from being at the same level as their classmates

Assistive Technology for all students, not just those with disabilities  Technology can enhance the curriculum and meet a wider range of learners  Technology can increase flexibility of presentations  Technology improves lectures and allows students with impairments to be engaged  Technology can provide visualization in a variety of ways

How can a student benefit from assistive technology  Reading/Dyslexia  Writing  Math  Speech Impairment  Learning/Studying  Vision  screen readers, SonicFinder  Hearing  Textcommunication, captions

Assistive Technology and “At Risk” Students  A growing number of students are considered “At Risk” most could benefit form some type of cognitive task assistance.  Because most “at risk” students don’t fall into the diagnostic profile, they don’t receive assistance: if Assistive Technology was available to all students, these students would benefit.

Assistive Technology and Universal Design  A teacher's goal is for students to learn skills and understand the subject. Traditional curriculum offer only limited flexibility for meeting goals –and often requiring students to adapt to the curriculum. Universally designed curriculum overcomes limitations by incorporating three principles of flexibility into the design:  Multiple methods of presentation  Multiple options for participation  Multiple means of expression

Universal Design defined  Universal design is the design of products and environments to be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities.” (The Center for Universal Design, 1997)

Universal Design for Learning and Assistive Technology  Assistive technology looks at overcoming the barriers the Individual faces in the environment.  UDL looks at making the learning environment as flexible and accommodating as possible  Both approaches strive to insure the access, participation and progress of students with disabilities.

The Use of Assistive Technology In The Classroom Can Help Struggling Learners Succeed  Multiple Methods of Presentation  Flexibility in presentation allows the same concepts to be taught using a variety of methods, media, or materials. How would this look in a classroom?  Content could be presented using multiple media, such as oral lectures, textbooks, charts or diagrams, audio tapes, and videos.  The same content could be changed from one medium to another, such as oral output for students with reading difficulties or pictures and illustrations for students who need a visual image.

The Use of Assistive Technology In The Classroom Con’t  Materials would have adjustable presentation characteristics - changeable font style and size, highlighting of main concepts, or variable volume and speed controls.  Material could be adjusted to match students' cognitive styles. For example, students who prefer sequential, factual information might learn a history lesson from a timeline-style presentation. Students who learn better with a base of broader concepts might choose to have the same lesson presented from a big picture, or cause-and-effect perspective, with dates and facts filled in later.

Tips For Teachers  If technology is available use it.  Develop a habit of including technology in daily lesson plans.  Visit your media specialist for helpful suggestions.  Familiarize all student with the assistive technology available.  Attend IEP meetings and become familiar with needs and suggestions for use of assistive technology.

Technology Helps  “... ordinary people do extraordinary things. Technology helps extraordinary people do ordinary things.  John Scully (middle), Apple Computer, late 1980’s

Work Cited  universal-design-for-learning-improved-access-for-all.gs universal-design-for-learning-improved-access-for-all.gs   universal-design-for-learning-improved-access-for-all.gs?page=2 universal-design-for-learning-improved-access-for-all.gs?page=2  /uploads/3/4/1/9/ /udl_intro.ppt&rct=j&sa=U&ei=uUDGUJu 3H_G42QX38YCgAg&ved=0CBsQFjAC&q=assistive+technology+unive rsal+classroom+design+and+inclusion+ppt&usg=AFQjCNE6D_mNFg OpdSzb5J3LpSOLl6OFZA 