Assistive Technology

A good teacher wants all students to have a rich experience in class.  Technology is an increasingly important component of this experience.  For students with disabilities technology can have special challenges.  Fortunately there are some technologies that address special needs.

For the student with low vision, ereaders may be a good option.  There are a variety of texts sizes and clarity setting.  There is also the feature of converting text to speech.

For the hard of hearing an assistive listening system which provides a microphone for the teacher which transmits to the student could be helpful.  A speech to text system which translates voice to the written word is another option.

A left hand keyboard would be helpful to the student who fell off the skateboard and broke her right arm.  It would allow her to keep up with school work and perhaps improve her keyboarding skills.

I would like to concentrate on the technology that can greatly enhance the life of a child with autism.  This was shared by my sister, an educator, but first and foremost a mother.  My nephew is autistic.  Since the diagnosis my sister has been a pioneer in care, treatment and education.  The itouch is his primary communication device using an application called prologuetogo.  He also uses the app photoshare to share events.  This is helpful in the educational setting in that his teachers and peers can connect and communicate with him.  It adds to his general happiness, which makes being in school a more comfortable environment.  For pleasure he enjoys accessing photos and videos, music videos, favorite shows and music.  The ipad2 has a camera.  One of his educational objectives is to learn how to take a picture.  The itouch has been a welcome addition in both home and school.

Technology can be an important and uplifting tool in enhancing the special needs learner's experience in the classroom, and in the world.

Resources

Beth Lynn (2007) Teacher Tips/Training retrieved from http://www.suite101.com 

Teaching Technology (2010) retrieved from http://vsedgewick.edublogs.org