In the article Build an Assistive Technology Toolkit the author,
Kelly Ahrens, discusses assistive technology tools; their importance as well as
the various types of tools that are out there to help those with special needs.
Kelly Ahrens is the technology director for the East Providence School District
in Providence, Rhode Island. In the article, she states that assistive
technology tools can help students with disabilities foster independence and
can help them further develop their self-confidence. She then lists and
describes both free and low-cost assistive technology tools as well as
assistive technology software packages that can be purchased and installed on
school computers by IT departments. She points out the fact that many operating
systems already come complete with assistive tools and she describes where to
find those tools on both PC and Mac computers. She then provides a list of
other helpful tools that are either free or low-cost and can be found online.
She encourages parents to work with the IT department in order to ensure their
children receive the most optimal tools for their needs. Lastly, she lists and
describes in great detail some of the assistive technology tools that may be
found on a reader’s operational system.
I believe that this article is very significant because if I
plan to assign projects for my students that require technology, it will be
important that I know about assistive technology tools that may help any of my
students who may have special needs. First of all, I’m glad that I read this
article because I had never before even thought about the possibility that I
may have students with special needs who could benefit from assistive
technology tools. Secondly, I learned about different free and low-cost tools
that are available if the need arises. I feel that this article has impacted my
learning tremendously, because I now have an idea about how I would handle a
situation or dilemma that I had never before thought about. I think everything
about this article was explained well and so it could be easily understood for
the most part, the only thing that I think I may need further explanation on,
would be the whole process of talking to the IT department and getting software
purchased and installed on the school computers.
As a result of reading this article, my hope is that I will be
able to apply what I have learned as needed in my future career, as an
educator. If I do have a student with special needs or a student I feel could
benefit from assistive technology tools, I will follow Ahrens steps and take
her advice in order to help my student(s).
Ahrens,
K. (November 2011). Build an assistive technology toolkit. Learning &
Leading with Technology, 39(3), 22-24.
I agree with you when you say that you will be assigning projects in the future that require the use of technology and how importance it is to be able to use it. As a future teacher i will be assigning many assignments that will require the use of computers and i will like everyone to be able to benefit from them. Before reading your post i had never really thought about teaching students with disabilities and how they might need help using technology. Do you have any other resources that could be helpful?
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this post. It is shocking to me that there is free software available (that might already have come with my operating system) that can be used as assistive technology.This may be valuable to remember as budget cuts in many districts can limit the amount of new software that is available every year. It is great to know that there is something free out there. Working with the IT department would be very important, as many times teachers and students can not makes changes on school computers. This would require the assistance of a system administrator (IT person).