Assistive Technology # 9

Assistive Technology in Education is an idea whose time has come.  Sure we all understand that there are students in the classroom who have physical disabilities and who need assistive technology devices.  The very picture that comes to our mind is an AT device such as a wheel chair, ramp, or a computer.  But did you know that assistive technology can include items such as: highlighters, eraser grips, page-turning devices, and leg braces?  Not every student who needs assistive technology devices has a physical disability.  Sometimes the disability is a learning disability.  Maybe the student has difficulty decoding words and they require an AT device that allows them to have a piece of text read out loud to them.  Maybe Assistive Technology is a service provided to a student to give them the exact same access to an activity or exercise that all other students are receiving in the general education classroom.  If you are as confused about Assistive Technology as I once was then this blog post is just what you need.  Take a look at some of the many different resources available on the web for children/people who need assistive technology to help them throughout the day.  If you are looking for information and resources in AT the best place to begin is at some of the premiere universities in the country who have developed exceptional assistive technology programs and who have provided information for students at their college on how to use AT devices, as well as information on how to obtain AT devices, and even information for teachers of students with disabilities.

The University of Washington received a grant that allowed them to create a program on their own campus for students and employees with disabilities.  The name of their program is called AccessIT and the website is   http://www.washington.edu/accessit/it-checklist/index.html

The website has so much information on assistive technology.  It starts off explaining what assistive technology is.  It also provides a checklist for people to use to help them determine whether a facility is accessible or not.  There is even a course that students at the university can take on accessibility design for use in secondary schools grades 9-12.

The University of Buffalo has an excellent online training module for people who are trying to learn more about Assistive Technology.  We are actually using this website in our own training at SMU to become experts on assistive technology.  The website for this training is http://atto.buffalo.edu/

There are also other resources that are not actually tied to a university.  For example, The Virginia Department of Education has a blog titled Assistive Technology.  The best part about this blog is that people can go online to the blog and ask questions about assistive technology and then they people who run the blog will create a blog post based on the questions asked.  One of the most recent blog posts was written by a teacher who was asking how she can incorporate the appropriate assistive technology into her lesson plans so that all students can access the curriculum in the same way.  The AT blog staff responded and gave her some examples of lesson plans that can be adapted for students who need AT devices or services.  You can access the blog at this web address: http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu

Texas has its own assistive technology network.  You can access it by going to http://www.texasat.net/

Each year educators in Texas are asked to submit answers to the Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) services in school settings survey.  The surveys help the Texas Assistive Technology Network determine what assistive technology services are being provided at schools in Texas as well as what still needs to be done to help create awareness of AT and the universal learning design for all students in Texas.  You can also listen to podcasts on assistive technology and there is an additional link that takes you to even more AT resources.

If you already know what you need to know about AT and you just need to know where to go to buy assistive technology devices you might try going to this website:  http://www.ablenetinc.com/  Ablenet sells assistive technology products for schools and businesses.  If you have an idea of what you want to buy or even if you need a few ideas then you can check out this website to find out more!

Technology Skills Outcomes # 8

When I think back to the very reason that I signed up to take this course I realize it was because I did not have the skills that are necessary to keep up with the pace of the online world.  The students in my class were beginning to surpass me on certain skills and I knew that in order to keep them interested in the academic part of learning that I needed to learn how to create lessons that integrated technology.

I have always been interested in technology but I have always had a difficult time overcoming the “technical challenges” that everyone faces when they learn a new task with a technological tool.  I knew that I needed structure, organization, and guidance to help me overcome these challenges and so I decided to sign up for a course that would help me build the skills that I needed in order to be successful as a teacher and as an instructional technology educator.

I came into this class not knowing much beyond the basics of MS Word and Excel.  However, I have discovered that I am able to learn a new skill each and every day.  I also have discovered that I do not have to be an expert in technology as long as I know where to go to find the information that I need.  If I have the resources that I need to do what I want to do then I am ok.

The most important skill I have learned so far is the skill of technology integration planning.  A teacher must carefully plan and think about the lessons that she uses with technology.  He or She must be very familiar with each step in the process and must evaluate their lesson for effectiveness so that valuable time is not taken away from instruction while the students are learning to use the new and integrated technology for that academic lesson.

Ed. Tech. Journal # 7

As a special education inclusion teacher I am responsible for implementing the individual education plan for each of my students on a daily basis.  I travel from classroom to classroom and I assist the students on their work and I also help teach the concepts to the students.  However, because I do not share a common planning period or conference with any of my co-teachers it is difficult for me to be involved in the lesson planning.  However, I do help teach and present the lessons each week.  When I present a lesson on a brand new concept that we are studying in class I like to use powerpoint.  3 weeks ago I learned how to insert an instructional video from discovery education into powerpoint.  I was so excited that I decided to integrate that into a lesson that I presented to my 6th grade S.S. class on European Exploration.  The video was only about a minute long but it really animated what explorers looked like during Columbus’ day and it was perfect for the presentation. 
       
We have an amazing technology facilitator on our campus who has set up a wiki for all of the teachers at our school.  We take turns going in and editing or adding pages that we find interesting.  I finally learned how to edit a wiki and so I added one of my favorite educational software websites called Sheppard Software.  One of the Science teachers that I worked together with the technology facilitator of our school to create a technology based lesson from a website called Big Huge Labs.   We took the students into the computer lab and they created informational flash cards with their science vocabulary.  My special education students really benefited from this assignment because they were able to learn a definition, put it into their own words, and then find a picture that goes with it.  It helped them learn the concept in three different ways.

I also found out from our technology facilitator that we can use that same Big Huge Labs website to create our own project to receive district technology credit.  Between what I am learning in this class and also what I am learning from our technology facilitator I feel that I am making huge improvements in my own skills as a technology educator.  I am thankful for all the wonderful things I am learning and hope to be able to share all this knowledge with everyone else in our school!