Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction Dr. Maria Clayton Middle Tennessee State University 2010 EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference March

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Introductions  Speaker  Presentation Overview  Purpose  Raise awareness among faculty & admin  Shed light on teaching/learning w/disabilities  Briefly introduce three preferred AT apps  Share materials related to presentation  Targeted Audience  Publication project—Basis of the presentation  Starting point  Scope limitation

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Statement of Problem  Description  Types of disabilities  Blindness or Visual Impairment  Deaf or Hearing Impairment  Mobility Impairment  Speech Impairment  Other Disabilities—learning, developmental, emotional, and the like  Further limiting scope of discussion

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Brief overview of legislation  Section 504 Rehabilitation Act, 1973  Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975  Reauthorized in 1990 as Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, amended, 1997  Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (the Tech Act), 1988, revised 1994  Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990, amended 2008  Other signs that point to progress  Increased interest, proliferation of Disabled Studies programs  Faculty recognition of not wanting their own access limited

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction When writing about the issue of AT as a means of improving accessibility, Carmela Cunningham and Norman Coombs suggest, “People with disabilities may have benefited more from the proliferation computers over the past two decades than any other population group. Computer technology provides for these individuals the tools needed to obtain a significant increment of independence and productivity hitherto unavailable to them” (vii). (Information Access and Adaptive Technology. Phoenix: Orynx Press, 1997)

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Teaching with a Disability  Insights from faculty  S. O’Neal, English Department GTA, ABD  J. Harris, Director, Disabled Student Services  Dr. D. Shelar, Prof, Health and Human Performance  Dr. T. Perry, Prof, Health and Human Performance  Dr. K. Burriss, Prof, Elementary and Special Education  Learning with a Disability  Insights from students  C. Gourneau, Education Dept. GA,, MA in History, pursuing teaching licensure  J. Beecham, AT Lab Assistant, MA in Exercise Science

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction “First, I would like to explain why I stress the importance of AT and why I think teachers should understand more about it. The first reasons are rather personal. My position is based partly on the fact that I currently work in the Adaptive Technologies Center at Middle Tennessee State University. It is appropriate to admit that I am disabled myself. I have a high functioning form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). Though I have not required AT to fit the needs of my particular disability, working at MTSU’s ATC has given me a new perspective of this special-needs population on campus. I have met and befriended several students struggling with various disabilities, and I have seen them interact successfully with many technological applications with which I (like many able-bodied users) was previously unfamiliar. In the ATC, I feel that I am connecting to an important population on the campus of which I am a member. Additionally, I have realized that such equipment would be very beneficial in a ‘normal’ classroom.” (O’Neal)

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  How do faculty get started?  Educating ourselves on the needs of our disabled students  Conferring with students  Using a variety of strategies to facilitate their access  Multiple methods of conveying same content  Alternate versions of assignments/materials [i.e. digital text, Alt text, and audio]  Collaborative assignments  Practicing flexibility with work completion and giving feedback  Responding digitally to student writingdigitally  Collaborative assignments  Conferencing  Privileging revision [e.g. portfolios]  Making use of DSS and IT resources within UniversityDSS

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Focus on Zoom Text  Text magnifier for Microsoft Windows  Released in 1988 for MS-DOS for the visually impaired  Released in 1996 for Microsoft Windows  Now available for Macs—built-in on Mac Book Pro  mtext_9_home_page.htm mtext_9_home_page.htm  Originator: AI SquaredAI Squared  Customizable to user preferences  A side storystory

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Focus on JAWS-- Jobs Access with Speech  Text to Speech or Braille display (screen reader)  Released in 1989 for the blind and visually impaired using MS-DOS—Ted Henter  Released in 1995 for use with Microsoft Windows  Highly customizable 

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Focus on Kurzweil 3000  Text to speech converter app  Raymond Kurzweil, early 1970’s reading machine for blind people  K-1000 for visually impaired, K-3000 for disabilities related to reading and writing, 1996  Works with Microsoft Windows and Macintosh Version 4  Highly customizable 

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction Final Thoughts: “Our good colleague Brenda Brueggemann, a leading scholar in disability studies, reminds us that technologies used initially to help those who have been termed disabled— persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or struggling with diminished eye-sight, or limited in their mobility—often have the unintended consequence of serving communities who consider themselves fully abled precisely because these groups share some common needs and fundamental values, even as they differ widely on others” (57). Lee, Valerie, and Cynthia L. Selfe. “Our Capacious Caper: Exposing Print-Culture Bias in Departmental Tenure Documents. ADE Bulletin 145 (Spring 2008): 51-8.

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction Works Cited  Beecham, J. Personal interview. 8 Feb  Burriss, Kathleen G. Personal interview. 20 Feb  Cunningham, Carmela, and Norman Coombs. Information Access and Adaptive Technology. Phoenix: Orynx Press,  Downing, June E. Including Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities in Typical Classrooms: Practical Strategies for Teachers. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes,  Gourneau, C. Personal interview. 8 Feb  Hamill, Lee, and Caroline Everington. Teaching Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.,  Harris, John. Personal interview. 20 Nov  Lee, Valerie, and Cynthia L. Selfe. “Our Capacious Caper: Exposing Print- Culture Bias in Departmental Tenure Documents. ADE Bulletin 145 (Spring 2008): 51-8.

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Lewiecki-Wilson, Cynthia, and Brenda Jo Brueggemann, eds. Disability and the Teaching of Writing: A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,  ___. Lewiecki-Wilson, Cynthia, and Brenda Jo Brueggemann. Introduction. Lewiecki-Wilson and Brueggemann, Disability 1-9.  Murray, Dinah, and Ann Aspinall. Getting IT: Using Information Technology to Empower People with Communicatin Diffuculties. London: Jessica Kingsley Pub.,  Perry, Tara. Personal interview. 21 Oct  Scherer, Marcia J. Living in the State of Stuck. Cambridge: Brookline Books,  Shelar, Dawn. Personal interview. 27 Oct  Walshe, John. “Ahead of the Times... Providing for Disabilities.” Irish Independent 7 Jan Sept

Opening the Door: Adaptive Technologies and Writing Instruction  Contact information: Dr. Maria Clayton PO Box 70 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN  Materials available from PDF files at:

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