As educators and teachers our main purpose is to make sure all students
learn and gain knowledge of what we are teaching them. Being that said we
should all be aware of the importance of meeting every students needs in the
classroom. We all know that not all children learn the same way that there are
many different learning abilities that children pose. In addition we need to be
more aware of those children with special needs that also need to have their
needs met regardless of their condition. One of the ways we can help them is
with the use of Assistive Technology, which are objects or systems that
increase or maintain the capabilities of people with disabilities, in other
words these devices are specially designed for people with special needs and
disabilities. Assistive Technology is tools design to help students with
multiple learning styles as well as with physical challenges. They help
students with class work as well as with their homework and projects. These
tools can make things easier to understand and see when working with a
computer.
The article explains briefly how to find some of these tool that are
already in our programs and applications that we use on a day to day basis. I
speak for myself when I say that I was not aware of those tools in my computer,
but after reading this article I think I will give it a try and use some of
them just to see how they work. Some of these tool include magnification to see
documents in larger print to read better; on screen keyboard to type using the
mouse instead of fingers, for those students with hand coordination
disabilities; a voice narrator to read for you; speech recognition to write
papers without having to type; language translators; mouse keys that control
the cursor; and visual and sound notification when there are things pending for
them to do.
The author also mentions about using the IT department to help you set
up some of these tools and programs in your classroom or computer lab for
everyone to use. There are many other programs you can purchase online or
sometimes get for free if you go through your district. I have attached some
links that have special resources in regards to Assistive Technology, these not
only guide you through what it is but they offer other resources in regards to
getting the correct help you need for your students. These sites are also very
helpful for parents and it offers various resources for parents too, making it
easy for parents to get the help they need at home too.
These
following links are sites that are very resourceful for, parents, teachers, and
students as well, I hope they are very useful in reading more about Assistive
Technology.
3.
http://www.enablemart.com/?leadsource=137&gclid=CKPxoLS1iroCFdBxQgodThoA7Q
References
Ahrens, K. (2011). Build an assistive
technology toolkit. Learning and Leading with Technology, 22-24.
Retrieved from www.iste.org.
Rocelia,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I like that your article defined what assistive technology is from the beginning. It is sad, but often times children with special needs get left behind in school. Mostly because they need some extra attention in order to fit their needs. However, when their needs are meant it makes such a difference in their cognitive development. Not only does it affect their intellectual state, but it also allows learning to take on a whole new role in their life; one that is effective and fun. Assistive technology will fill in the gap needed for learning in the lives of disabled students.
Thank you for your response!
DeleteRocelia,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your blog!! It looks great! Your post is also very creative and contains a lot of interesting and useful information. I agree, Assistive Technology really gives children with disabilities a better chance. Just because they have a disability does not mean they should have to miss out on certain material. I love how AT contains so many creative aspects that aims to include ALL students. It is important that students do not feel left out when they are in the classroom. Being left our can have a great negative impact on a students. As future educators we need to be sure we include every single one of our students. Using AT is a great way that will help us do this so I think we should all strive to incorporate it in our classrooms! Thanks again!!
Jessica, thank you for your comments and helpful input.
DeleteRocelia M.
Your blog was very helpful. I really enjoyed reading it and I got a better understanding of what Assistive Technology is. I think it is very important for all students to be able to learn and participate in all class activities no matter what their disability is. The resources that you gave at the end of the blog are also very helpful. It is great that there are so many different tools to help disabled students learn just like every other student.
ReplyDeleteLavena. I am glad my blog was helpful to you and hope you can take a look at the references becasue they are very helpful.
DeleteRocelia M.