("Digital Access", 2014)
Digital Access
"Full electronic participation in society" (Ribble, 2015, p.24).
In education this means that technology should be available to everyone. Digital Access is just one of the 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship according to Ribble. Watch this video to learn more about Digital Access and its role in education. |
(Rbc YoungLeaders, 2015)
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Assistive Technology
"The Technology Related Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (Tech Act) first described an assistive technology device as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities"" (ectacenter.org, 2018).
"The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 uses essentially the same definition as the Tech Act, adding an exception that excludes surgically implanted medical devices. An assistive technology device is defined as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability. Exception. - The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device"" (ectacenter.org, 2018). |
(Teachings in Education, 2016)
Watch this video to learn more Assistive Technology and how it can be used in your classroom.
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Survey
This survey was sent to the Special Education teachers in a middle school. They were asked to complete the survey based on their knowledge and practices. Please take a moment to look through the survey and the questions that were asked.
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Survey Results
Here are the results from my survey as of April 25,2018:
* 83% of the teachers surveyed were able to correctly identify from a list what was considered to be assisstive technology.
* 100% of the teachers surveyed stated that when writing their students' IEPs they consider what assisstive technology is available.
* 100% of the teachers surveyed were not aware of the assisstive technology that is built into our computers at school and is available for student use.
* 83% of the teachers surveyed would be open to Professional Development about available assisstive technology in our building and would like it to be hands on where they can see and operate the technology. (There was only 1 teacher not willing to participate in the Professional Development, she currently is not a practicing Special Education teacher and feels that it would not be time well spent for her at this time.)
Going forward, I plan to have a conversation with our Educational Diagnostician to see if there is a time during our Professional Development days or even our PLC where we can make this happen for our entire Special Education department. I feel that this would be very beneficial for everyone involved and can be a huge benefit to our students.
* 83% of the teachers surveyed were able to correctly identify from a list what was considered to be assisstive technology.
* 100% of the teachers surveyed stated that when writing their students' IEPs they consider what assisstive technology is available.
* 100% of the teachers surveyed were not aware of the assisstive technology that is built into our computers at school and is available for student use.
* 83% of the teachers surveyed would be open to Professional Development about available assisstive technology in our building and would like it to be hands on where they can see and operate the technology. (There was only 1 teacher not willing to participate in the Professional Development, she currently is not a practicing Special Education teacher and feels that it would not be time well spent for her at this time.)
Going forward, I plan to have a conversation with our Educational Diagnostician to see if there is a time during our Professional Development days or even our PLC where we can make this happen for our entire Special Education department. I feel that this would be very beneficial for everyone involved and can be a huge benefit to our students.
Narrator - AKA Text to Speech
Computers come with accessibility tools already built in to the operating system. These can come in handy in the classroom when you have students with learning disabilities that require accommodations to access the regular curriculum. One of the tools already installed on a PC is called "Narrator". This tool is developed by Microsoft and will read available text to whomever may need this accommodation. The image to the right shows how to use Narrator (text to speech) on a PC with Windows 10. To access the information on the image look for the circles and hover on them to read the information. Also be sure to look for the blue circle with the speaker icon to watch a screencast tutorial on how to use the Narrator tool on your PC computer. This is one accessibility tool that is good to use in the classroom for those with vision impairments or those who struggle with reading higher level texts. Click on the circles to help explain how to use Narrator on your PC.
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Additional Resources:
For more information about assisstive technology please visit the following websites:
* https://www.edutopia.org/article/assistive-technology-resources
* https://www.teachthought.com/technology/15-assistive-technology-tools-resources-for-students-with-disabilities/
* https://www.teachthought.com/technology/8-helpful-assistive-technology-tools-for-your-classroom/
* http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/
* https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basicswww.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics
* https://www.edutopia.org/article/assistive-technology-resources
* https://www.teachthought.com/technology/15-assistive-technology-tools-resources-for-students-with-disabilities/
* https://www.teachthought.com/technology/8-helpful-assistive-technology-tools-for-your-classroom/
* http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/
* https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basicswww.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics