Blog Post # 12

It is great to be writing about assistive technologies this week, because my first experience with the subject comes as an anecdote. I was walking from one of the Jacksonville, Florida, libraries and I saw a wheelchair occupant sitting too still on the sidewalk, as it seemed the person should be moving and enjoying the view. I kept walking, looking over and over to see if the person moved, and as I went slightly forward from his center, I thought I should check it out. As I got closer, I could see there was a gap in the sidewalk that was all sand, and I immediately knew what the problem was. I alerted the person that I was there to help, and this little computerized voice said, "Thank you." At the time, I didn't know what assistive technology was (even though I had seen Dr. Steven Hawking tens of times) but that incident enlightened me to how far the special needs community had come. Now that I am moving into the realm of teaching, it is absolutely necessary for me and my peers to learn as much about this kind of technology, because a disability no longer keeps our children from learning alongside their peers, unless that is their choice or their parents' reasons, in which case they have access to assistive technologies for home schooling. I did a lot of research this week on assistive technologies that are useful for today's students, and it has been a great learning experience to see how inclusive students with disabilities are meeting the challenges of learning in the schools. Talking about a few seems inappropriate, as it is a simply fascinating subject, but here I go.

One of the most fundamental parts of learning is being able to write literately, but this can be more of a challenge for learning disabled students. To overcome this obstacle,

the technology has such tools as Intellitalk III, Kid Works Deluxe Knowledge Adventure, Read and Write 5.0, and Write Out Loud 3.0. These assistive technologies use talking word processors that enable the students to give auditory feedback that helps them to reinforce the writing process. For example, if a student is working on writing sentences, a pull-down menu can be selected that has text the student typed, which can be read out loud. These tools also enable the student to choose a font size, text color, background color, and even add graphics. It has been observed that disabled students feel empowered and very enthused when they can participate in class with their peers, and assisted technologies that combine auditory and visual concepts is adequate for assessing those students alongside their counterparts. This kind of inclusive classroom is what assistive technologies is all about, and when a student from any walk of life can conquer the challenges of reading and writing, we all benefit in the long run. Assistive learning doesn't stop there - there is a tool for almost every classroom situation you can think of.

For example, there is a tech tool called Supernova Access Suite (SAS), which is “a complete screen reader with natural sounding speech and integrated screen magnifier with Braille display support” that is great for blind students. The company that makes

the SAS has many different types of the same technology, which can afford a specific need to be addressed as required for different students. If you have a student who has very limited mobility, then FaceMouse is an assistive tool that turns a regular webcam into a mouse operator. Students use their head and facial gestures to type on the keyboard, point the cursor and click on websites, allowing the user to have easy control to do his/her class work. Facemouse can also be adjusted for each user's specific facial and head gestures to turn a head gesture into click, or vice versa with face gestures. Similarly, but designed for more mobility-challenged students, is Sip-and-Puff systems, which allows the student to use his/her breath to control a mouthstick (used like a joystick) to type, click on web pages, and do many more operations. There are also some great tools that teachers can go to help them better understand how to use assistive technologies, too.

Dell is a multinational technology corporation that specializes in making computers and technologies that assist their functions, but this week was the first time I knew how much they are vested in the assistive technology movement that can help educators. With its Assistive Technology Configuration Tool, Dell brings an array of assistive tech tools to the classroom, allowing teachers to meet almost any or all of their special needs students' needs.

Upon looking at Dell's site, its boast of being a "leading" company in this area is well warranted and deserving, because they are like a one-stop shop to make whatever situation your students are challenged in become less difficult to face. Aside from Dell, the National Center on Universal Design for Learning is a fantastic resource for helping teachers "prepare course materials, classroom activities, and lectures in such a way that students of all abilities can access and understand them." The site is user friendly and allows for ease of access to navigate through it, and it has so much to offer that you will feel great knowing you have it in your network for your learning disabled students. It was a lot of fun researching all the assistive technology tools that are out there for teachers, and if you were like me, you probably thought, "How do I understand the tools the learning disabled use in the classroom?" At least a couple are here, but feel obligated to learn about as many of these assistive tech helpers as you can, especially if education is your major, like mine.

Although I could only share a little bit of the vast amount of knowledge I have gained by researching assistive technologies for the classroom, there is far more out there for you to learn about. In the 21st Century classroom, everyone is included and the technology is present and expanding to make anyone who wants an education to have the same opportunities. As my beginning anecdote shows you: We all may get stuck in the sand occasionally, but if someone is there to help get us out, then we can move along with the days business knowing we have the support we need. Learning disabled and special needs students deserve our attention just as much as those who are not. I hope you get a smile or a tear or two out of the video, Assistive Technology in Action - Meet Sam, I included at the end of this post. I'm "all in" for assistive technology and I will be very vocal for it when I become a teacher.



Sources: Ability Connection Texas, JAMP, Ithaca College, PRWeb, National Center on Universal Design for Learning, Dolphin, Claro Software, DELL, LD Online, Teach Thought, and Origin Instruments.