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=Assistive Technology...= What is assistive technology? What assistive technology do you use at school or at home? Assistive technology is any device acquired commercially....

Assistive technology enables any person to interact with their environment in a more independent manner thus improving their quality of life. These devices can help people communicate such as communication switches, participate in recreation activities, or help assist someone with a disability in being able to more independently feed themselves at meals.

In school I have used communication switches such as TechTalk with Mayer-Johnson symbols for students who are non-verbal in order to participate in class. The student had in front of them TechTalk which would be have a prescribed amount of Mayer-Johnson symbols with a voice recording of what that symbol was. When asked a question about the book in English Language Arts the student could turn to their TechTalk device, find the answer, press the picture, and everyone else would be able to hear what the student had to say, thus making the student a more active member of classroom discussions. Kristin Scarimbolo

Jamie Taggart: Assistive technology is used by individuals with disabilities to perform functions that might otherwise be quite difficult or impossible. Its purpose is to improve a persons ability to function in their environment. It can include devices such as wheelchairs and walkers that assist in mobility, as well as hardwares and softwares that assist people in accessing computers or other information technologies.

In the classroom that I worked in this past school year there was a picture schedule exhibited in the back of the room for one of the children in the classroom. It was actual digital pictures that were lamanated and attached with velcro to stick to a board. The pictures were changed as the day progressed and as activities changed. It allowed the child to know what was coming up in his schedule. There was another child in the room who had handwriting difficulties, so he was permitted to use a word processor for writing documents. He also used a gripper on his pencil to assist with handwriting. All of the children used flowcharts and outlines to assist in the brainstorming process prior to writing their first drafts. Furthermore, books on tape were available as a center activity throughout the entire school year. In regards to myself, I am a big user of post-it notes. They are wonderful reminders when life gets rather busy.

Assistive technology is any technology that can help people with disabilities complete tasks in an efficient manner. It also can help people perform tasks that might usually be difficult or impossible. Some minor assistive technologies that I use at home are post-it notes or highlighters. Another assistive technology I use is a Blackberry, which helps me retrieve email in a more efficient way. One assistive technology I used in my classroom was a red circle seat which helped one of my ADHD student sit during writing. It helped him sit and wiggle in his seat, instead of run around the classroom.-Katie

Rob - After today's class I find myself needing to think outside the realm of computers and gadgets as the only assistive technologies available for students/adults. I never thought about including walkers, wheelchairs, utencils, and even curb design as assistive technologies. But following the lead of the classmates that have already responded, AT should include anything that makes a person more successful at accomplishing goals they set for themselves whether for academic purposes or common life skills. As a regular ed teacher with very few interactions with special needs students, I am interested in seeing what technologies are available for learning disabled and see if any of those tools are also beneficial on a whole class situation. In working with Donna on the options for the project, I found myself gravitating more towards the web 2.0 tools because I feel it will be more closely focused on my goal of finding tools that not only help a special needs student or two, but quite possibly a whole class with varying levels of instructional levels. One tool that I absoulely love to use on a weekly basis for informal assessments are class response systems. Each student has a remote and I ask them questions to gauge understanding and they simply push a button to submit their response. It gives the class a bar graph and shows me where my students throughts are. It also provides every student to respond with the confidence of not being ridiculed by me or other peers. I keep the set in my classroom because no other teacher in the building wants to use them. I think it is an excellent tool for my age/instructional level students (7th-8th). Good first day! Looking forward to working with you guys the next two weeks!

Brian: Assistive technology is anything that is acquired to help or assist students' with physical impairments, learning difficulties, or mental challenges. This assistance can consist of any and all technological advancements to improve and increase learning.

I use cognitive tudor in math class to assist in solving algebra and geometry problems.(I now know this is instructional technology and not assistive technology) A few of my students over the years have used an alpha smart in English class to assist with writing assignments. All my students use calculators. This year I had a student who used a walker throughout the day and a wheelchair to get to and from school. My students use the internet to work on geography lessons and also use the internet for research projects in all core classes. I agree, good first day, see everyone tomorrow.

From Melissa: As a result of today's class, I now realize that assistive technology can be any technology that assists a person with his or her independence in life. For example, I never realized that the cuts made in curves are in fact technology. I look forward to learning more about all levels of technology from high to low, especially the low because it is probably cheaper... :)

As for my own experience with technology, half my students this past year used the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). I have a visual classroom schedule and one of my students had an individual schedule. My classroom's SLP used some sort of nouns program with my students, where they would click on the picture and the computer would say the name of the picture. We would often use books on tape. One of my students had his own DVD player (Mom supplied) that he would do work to get to watch it. Jamie, do you know if the schedule your classroom used was from Board Maker?

At home, I think about what might be considered assistive technology. I realize that I do not have a disability, but there are certain technologies in my life that I do not know what I would do without them. For example, I would never get up in the morning without my alarm clock. Is my alarm clock assistive technology? Resource: http://www.pecs.com/

From Bill: I once thought AT was limited to computer gizmos and other expensive items, so it was a surprise to learn all the various things that fall under this broad title. AT is anything that helps a student or person do a task that they couldn't do, or do well, before the introduction of the AT. In my classroom setting we have three students who use augmentative communication devices such a Dynavoxes and TechSpeaks. For the child with the TechSpeak, it is his only form of verbal communication, and it's amazing how adept he is at using this device. For the other two students, the communication devices are use to promote and improve oral communication. In addition to these high-tech devices oru students use lower-tech objects such as slant boards and special pencil grips for writing, and environmental modifications such as study carrels among other examples.

Jessica - Prior to the first day of this class, I had a picture of AT in my mind consisting of fancy gadgets and high-tech machines. Now I understand that assistive technology can be anything which helps students access learning. These devices and programs are vital for facilitating independence, self-concept, and a "can do" attitude.Although I have not had formal experiences with assistive technology, after reading the group of articles assigned I realize that we have all encountered and interacted with these technologies at some point in time. Books on tape, computer games, and the mobility devices are only a few examples of types that I didn't realize fall under the AT label.