Assistive Technology Portfolio

Alyson Naquin (Theriot)EDSP 6964

About the AuthorAlyson Naquin (Theriot) is currently an Assistant Professor

at Nicholls State University in the College of Education. She teaches undergraduate literacy and lesson planning courses. Prior to coming to Nicholls, she taught elementary school for 10 years for the Lafourche Parish School System. She is also an independent jeweler for Premier Designs, Inc.

Alyson is a single mother of two children. Taylor is a senior at the LSU School of Dental Hygiene and Grant is a senior at E. D. White High School.

During her spare time, which is short, she enjoys reading and watching reality TV shows.

Table of ContentsIntroduction to AT

What is AT?.............................................................Slide 5Special Education Accommodations…………………Slide 9Special Education Modifications………………………Slide 10Louisiana State Requirements…………………………Slide 12

Ways to make life better with AT in the classroom………Slide 13Ways to make life better with AT at home…………………Slide 26Ways to make life better with AT in the community………Slide 37Others ways to make life better with AT……………………Slide 40Links to other AT resources………………………………….Slide 43

Introduction to Assistive Technology

(AT)

What is Assistive Technology?

Assistive technology (AT) is defined by IDEA 2004 as two components: assistive technology devices and

assistive technology services.

Dell, A, Newton, D, & Petroff, J.. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc..

Assistive Technology Devices

AT Devices: “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” (IDEA 2004, Sec. 1401 (1)(A)).

Dell, A, Newton, D, & Petroff, J.. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc..

Assistive Technology Services

AT Services: “any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device” (IDEA 2004, Sec. 1401(2)).

For more information on IDEA 2004, visit www.idea.ed.gov

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Special Education Accommodations

• An accommodation is an adaptation made to instruction or assessment that does not change the actual material/content being taught or tested. • Accommodations might change the manner in which

information is taught or the context in which students respond.• An example of an accommodation would be to give a

student extended time on a task or have a test read aloud.

Dell, A, Newton, D, & Petroff, J.. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc..

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Special Education Modification

• A modification fundamentally changes what is being taught or tested.• Modifications might reduce/increase the amount of

learning required or the complexity of the intended learning. • A simple example of a test modification would be to

reduce the number of test questions from 20 to 10 for a given student.

Dell, A, Newton, D, & Petroff, J.. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc..

For more information on special education accommodations and

modifications, visit www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/accommodations-education

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Louisiana State Requirements

The Louisiana State Technology Plan states that:• Appropriate assistive/adaptive technology will be

available to address the unique requirements of persons with special needs.

• Appropriate support for the assessment, acquisition and implementation of assistive technology will be provided.

To learn more about Louisiana’s assistive technology requirements and services, visit www.latan.org. To read

Louisiana’s Educational Technology plan, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/edtech/techstateplan.html

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Assistive Technology at School

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of writing:– Prewriting: Graphic organizers work

well during the prewriting phase. Software such as Inspiration and Kidspiration are forms of AT for prewriting.

– Drafting: Various AT are available for the drafting phase including word processors, word prediction features with dictionaries, and speech recognition devices or apps.

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of writing:– Reviewing: text-to-speech apps read

aloud what has been written to assist in the reviewing phase.

– Editing: Spell checkers, grammar checkers, text-to-speech features and automatic text correctors assist with editing.

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of writing:– Publishing: Word processors, various

social medias, blogs and wikis can assist with publishing.

– Note taking: portable word processors, SmartPens and Braille note takers can assist with note taking in the classroom. Even low technology devices like pencil grips can assist with note taking.

To learn more about assistive technology that is available for writing, visit

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/960-writing-tools.gs

Reading

The National Reading Panel identified 5 components of effective reading programs: phonological awareness, fluency, phonics, vocabulary and comprehension. To read the Put Reading First document published by the NRP, visit http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/publications.htm

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of reading:– Phonological Awareness: Starfall is a

web application that meets the criteria of effective phonological awareness instruction. (http://starfall.com)

– Fluency: Students can enhance their fluency by listening to stories, taping themselves read, and performing timed readings.

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of reading:– Fluency (continued): Applications that

can support fluency building: Read Naturally Software, Reading Assistant Expanded, and Raz-Kids.

– Vocabulary: Applications that support vocabulary development: ClozePro v.2 and Clicker 5.

Ways to make life better in the classroom…

In the area of reading:– Comprehension: Interest level is key

to students’ willingness to read. The Internet offers a wide variety of texts that can encourage active reading. Leveled reading Web sites are also available to assist in promoting reading comprehension. Audio books are available for students who have visual impairments.

Reading

To learn more about assistive technology available for reading, visit

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/948-reading-tools.gs

Math

The National Mathematics Advisory Council defines math automaticity and fluency as important aspects to math

education.

Math Automaticity: the fast, accurate, and effortless processing of content information

Math Fluency: being able to efficiently and accurately carry out procedures to solve computation problems.

To read Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Council, visit http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/report/final-report.pdf

Math

To learn more about AT in the area of math, visit http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/949-math-tools.gs

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Assistive Technology at Home

Ways to make life better at home…

In the area of communication:– There are various AT available for

people who have hearing difficulties. • Cochlear implants are a surgical option to

improve hearing.• Shake awake alarms or alarms with flash

are available.• Silent call wireless systems are available

for phone services.

Ways to make life better at home…

In the area of communication:– There are various AT available for

people who have trouble speaking. • Augmentative communication systems,

aided or unaided, can assist individuals by allowing them to select buttons on the device to give a spoken device.

• Text messaging, blogs and discussion rooms also enable people to communicate without having to verbally speak.

Communication

To learn more about assistive technology available for communication purposes, visit

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/assistive-devices.aspx

Ways to make life better at home…

In the area of home computers:– Various AT provide accessibility

features for users with disabilities.• Stickykeys allow students to execute that

typically require pressing keys at the same time.

• Slow keys increase the amount of time a key must be depressed before registering a key stroke.

Ways to make life better at home…

• Mousekeys allow users to work a mouse by manipulating the keyboard’s numeric keyboard.

• Onscreen keyboards allow users to use their mouse as a keyboard.

• Some computers have visual alerts in the place of auditory alerts to accommodate the hearing impaired.

• Computers can have screen magnification or high-contrast color schemes to assist those who are visually impaired.

Ways to make life better at home…

• Moisture guards can be helpful for computer users who drools.

• Trackballs work as a mouse and are useful for those who don’t have full access of their hands.

• Eye-gaze systems track the movement of people’s eyes to move the mouse pointer.

• Expanded keyboards are larger keyboards that help those with poor motor skills.

• Speech recognition technology allows people to operate a computer by speaking.

Computer Accessibility

To learn about more AT to make home computers more accessible for those with

disabilities, visit http://www.ablenetinc.com/Assistive-Technology/Computer-Access

Ways to make life better at home…

– AT can assist with teaching early communication and emergent literacy prior to schooling years.

– AT for early communication:• Toys that have switches can enhance a

child’s understanding of cause and effect relationships.

Ways to make life better at home…

– AT for emergent literacy:• There are various apps that can be run on

smart phones, iPads, and/or iPods that enhance literacy.

• Authoring applications like My Own Bookshelf can enable parents to create interactive stories for children.

• Helpful resources for developing literacy is the comprehensive curriculum Meville to Weville.

Emergent Literacy

To read more about how AT can assist with the development of early literacy skills, visit http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ884370.pdf

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Assistive Technology in the Community

Ways to make life better in the community…

– AT for the community:• Augmentative communication systems

include environmental icons that enable people to better function in their communities.

• Hearing aids and cochlear implants assist the hearing impaired function better in their communities.

• All of the computer accessibility AT can assist people perform in the workplace.

Assistive Technology in the Community

For more resources on community AT, visit http://www.accessmaine.org/living_assisttech.htm

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Other Ways to Make Life Better with AT

Other ways to make life better with AT…

– Various forms of AT can be used a source of entertainment. For example, many people make use of iPads and its various apps.

– Forms of AT can be beneficial to businesses in that they can be used to assist customers. For example, many grocery stores now have motorized shopping carts.

Other ways to make life better with AT…

– Various forms of AT have also enhanced communication systems for people, those with disabilities and those without. Years ago, we mainly communicated via snail mail. Today, most people are connected on some form of social network.

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Other Resources

AT for the Visually Impaired

http://www.perkins.org/resources/scout/assistive-technology/teaching-at.html

http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=2&SectionID=4&TopicID=31

AT for the Deaf

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_003399

http://www.tcnj.edu/~technj/2003/dodds.htm

AT for the Physically Impaired

http://www.gmc-uk.org/accessibility/assistive_technologies/physical_impairments.asp

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Accessibility-HOWTO/physical.html

AT for the Learning Disabled

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs

AT for Students with ADHD

http://www.adhd-brain.com/assistive-technology-for-adhd.html

http://www.examiner.com/article/assistive-technology-the-classroom-for-adhd-students

AT for the Gifted

http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Gifted_Students_and_Educational_Technology

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