Friday, October 12, 2012

The Tools of Today!

A classroom community consists of diversity. There will be students who will need more assistance than others. Effective teachers adapt to each students need and provide different learning adaptations.  Students with learning disabilities receive help from their teacher, peers, parents, and technology. Assistive Technology is defined as any item, piece of equipment, or system of products that is used to increase, maintain, or improve, functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities (Bridge Multimedia, 2005).

 

There are plenty of assistive devices that students can use based on their disability. It has been estimated that there are over 4,000 assistive technologies that have been designed for students and teachers. It is important that teachers are aware of different technologies that can be used in the classroom for students with disabilities. It is stated that many companies today are turning their research and development to assistive technology (Steele-Carlin, 2011). There are many devices that are used in the classroom. Below is a list of technologies.

 

  • Speech/Voice Recognition- This allows a student to control their computer by speaking. This also types student’s spoken words.
  • Personal Reading Machines- This allows for a scan printed page to be read aloud.
  • Talking Calculators- Recites numbers, symbols, or functions once the key command is pressed. This also reads back answers to problems.
  • Video Description- Provides a descriptive narrative track to what is going on in videos for low vision students and students who are blind.
  • Large Print/Screen Magnifier- This is a software function that magnifies the words on a screen, making it more viewable for a student to read.
  • Captioning Displays- This presents the spoken dialog on a screen into words.
  • Hearing Aids- Amplifies the sound in a classroom for students to hear.
  • Computer Eye Command- This allows a student to command a computer with the movement of their eyes.

There are plenty of resources that can be found online for assistive technology. It is important that teachers are trained on each device used in their classroom. This allows the device to be used to its full potential. Students should also have training with each device they will be using. The device cannot assist the student, if the student is not aware of its functionality and how to properly use the device. “The devices that help the least, especially in classrooms, are those that teachers [and students] do not understand” (Steele-Carlin, 2011).

 





References:

Bridge Multimedia. (2005). Assistive Technology Helps all Kids Learn. Education World. Retrieved at http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech220.shtml

Steele- Carlin, S. (2011). Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Helping Challenged Kids Get the Most from Learning. Education World. Retrieved at http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech086.shtml
 (2009). What is Assistive Technology. Retrieved from
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 12, 2012 at 3:47 PM

    Hello Zulay,
    It is amazing the kind of technology available for people with special needs. These advances have helped people live better and fuller lives. It is great that they allow special need students access to general education classes. I look forward to see what the future brings. I just hope this new technology is available to all people with special needs, not just those that can afford insurance.

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    Replies
    1. ziglesiasOctober 15, 2012 at 6:14 AM

      Hello Jodie,

      What I find great about assistive technology is that most devices can be used for all types of students, not just students with diabilities. I am also curious to see what new devices are created for the classroom.

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  2. mmbrownOctober 12, 2012 at 6:25 PM

    Thank you for posting about all the wonderful assistive technology(AT) devices that are out there and to know that you have only covered just a small portion of them! I think there are two sentences that you used that really describe how affective an AT device can be the first one being "It is important that teachers are trained on each device used in their classroom" and I think this is something that does not happen enough! I have 5 communication devices in my classroom (only 2 different types) and I did not get any training on them until the end of September. Since I did not get proper training the devices were not really used to their full potential. The other pivotal sentence was "The device cannot assist the student, if the student is not aware of its functionality and how to properly use the device." If the student is not provided with any training on their device they will not look at is as something that can help them, they will think it is just a "toy" for them to play with. The process to get an AT device can be extensive but if done correctly can really help pinpoint the device that will work best with that particular student.

    Jodie a great thing about the technology afforded to our students is that if it is a necessity, the school district must provided it for the student! This helps eliminate the worry of a student not having any insurance.

    Thank you for such a great topic and blog posting!

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    Replies
    1. ziglesiasOctober 15, 2012 at 6:19 AM

      Hello,

      Thank you for your comment. I believe that too often we realize that teachers need to train on devices, but so do students. Some of these devices I have not used before, so it is important to me that I get as much training as possible.

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