The End of a Journey That Will Lead to New Beginnings

Throughout this semester, I have learned so much about assistive technology! I have really enjoyed learning in this class, and blogging about everything that we have done. I have learned about different Universal Design for Learning, which helps teachers include all students into their lessons. I have so many great resources for UDL now that I have completed this course. I know that all of this will definitely help me in my future career as a special education teacher. I also learned so much about assistive technology in this course. I learned all about high-tech, mid-tech, and low-tech assistive technology, and I know that will be a huge help in the future because I will certainly encounter students that use all three! I know that my instruction, planning, and IEP writing will definitely improve because of the information that I learned in this class! I have learned so much since my early posts in this class that it is unbelievable. I hardly even knew what UDL was when I started. I am happy to be finishing up this course, but I am upset that I will not get to continue to learn the information that I was receiving. So, here’s to a new journey into the field of Special Education! 

Apps that can be used to provide visuals supports for students with severe disabilities

There are so many awesome apps that are out there that can help to provide visual supports for students with severe disabilities. These are mostly students who are not attending college. These visual supports include picture schedules, activity schedules, and social stories. These apps can help students become and stay more organized. They are great stress relievers and could also help individuals communicate with the students.

Examples of these apps include:

iPrompt – this is a picture schedule for students 

 

iCommunicate- This is a schedule creator and you can click pictures to make the app speak

 

Boardmaker- This is a social story that helps students plan out their days 

Assistive Technology as an Accommodation for Students with Disabilities in College

When students with disabilities reach college they unfortunately no longer have access to an IEP. Although students will not get IEPs in college, they can still use assistive technology in the classroom! Now under Section 504 and the ADA, colleges must provide (at no cost to the student) reasonable accommodations to make their program accessible to students with disabilities. There are some accommodations for college students with disabilities listed below:

• Computers (all computer offer a variety of AT services and tools already built in)
• Portable note taker/smart pen to record lectures and sync to notes
• Sign language interpreters
• Assistive listening system
• Word processing application for essay exams
• Use of a calculator
• Text-to-speech software 
• Captioned videos
• Providing handouts in electronic format
• E-text
• Audio books
• Screen magnification applications
• Graphic organizer applications
• Providing a telecommunication device for the deaf (TTY) 

 

Making It Work: Implementing Assistive Technology

This resource is incredible for anybody that is looking to implement assistive technology into the classroom. The guide includes different sections that are :

1.     Gather Relevant Information

2.     Establish IEP Goals

3.     Conduct Assistive Technology Trials

4.     Identify Assistive Technology Solutions

5.     Develop AT Implementation Plan

6.     Adapt Lessons for Technology Integration

7.     Follow up and Plan Transition

They provide a plethora of information for each of these steps, and it is extremely effective!

The resource can be found at http://www.setbc.org/download/LearningCentre/Topics/MakingItWork_Intro.pdf

Assistive Technology Implementation: Working Together to Make a Measurable Difference

The “Assistive Technology Implementation: Working Together to Make a Measurable Difference” is an implementation module that is intended for people who are or will be involved in assistive technology decision making and/implementation. The contents of this module focus on planning for the use of AT devices and services. These services and devices are needed for students with disabilities to participate in educational activities, work toward mastery of Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, progress within the general education curriculum, and benefit from a Free, Appropriate Public Education. 

This module will show you:

• purposes and results of AT
• big ideas in AT implementation
• planning for AT implementation
• evaluating the effectiveness of AT implementation