Implementation of Assistive Technology in Transition Planning

     My blog has discussed many aspects of assistive technology and how it helps break down barriers in their lives. As students matriculate through their academic career there will come a time when they transition from school to their adult lives or college. Assistive technology can continue to help assist students even after they have left grade school. 

Assistive Technology Accomodations in College 

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act colleges are required to provide programs that are accessible to students with disabilities. Colleges and universities are required to provide services but they are not required to provide the savvy technology. Colleges have the flexibility to choose the services they provide as long as they provide services to the student. 

Below you will find a list of accommodations from the textbook Assistive Technology in the Classroom.  The task is listed first followed by nontechnology based accommodations and lastly technology based accommodations (NTA: nontechnology accommodations, TBA: technology based accommodations). 

Task: Note taking---- NTA: student note taker uses carbonless paper---- TBA: portable note taker, whiteboard capturing device 

Task: Taking test----NTA: extended time and distraction- free environment for testing----TBA: spell check, use of a calculator, and text-to-speech software for reading support 

Task: Reading----NTA: providing readers----TBA: audio books, text-to-speech, scan/ read systems with highlighting  

Task: Registering for classes----NTA: priority or early registration----TBA: web based registration systems 

Apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Handheld Devices for Visual Supports

 iPrompts provides students with picture based prompts to stay on task and transitions between activities. The app has a library of pictures and users can add their own pictures using their camera. 


First- Then is an application that allows users to create visual schedules using pictures. Messages can also be recorded to prompt students or serve as reminders linked to each picture. 


iCommunicate is used as a digital Boardmaker for handheld devices. Students use pictures from Boardmaker or their own personal pictures to communicate. Various voice options are available through the application. 

Even though assistive technology is available to help students at school I was unaware of how much technology can be used in the home and community. It's a great way for students to become familiar with it and have the support of teachers and staff, then follow them home and in their environments. 

References: Dell, Amy G., Deborah A. Newton, and Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

Integrating Augmentative Communication in the Classroom, Home, and Community

Augmentative communication is the term used to describe devices to supplement speech or writing for those who have speech and written language impairments. Individuals with cerebral palsy, autism, and Parkinson's disease can take advantage of AAC devices to communicate or aid in communication. 

Strategies Teachers Use to Overcome "Learned Helplessness"
Students with speech and language impairments can have a difficult time communicating with others. By building in communication expectations each day the student feels included and held responsible to be an active participant in the classroom environment. Teachers can encourage students to use their augmentative communication systems by asking questions and providing them with a choice. They also need to be empowered by constructing phrases to reject situations that may be unsafe or they don't like.  

Ways to Integrate Augmentative Communication into an IEP 
When students are using an AAC device it should be included in the student's IEP. The device should not be included as a goal but an aid to help the student reach a specific goal. The goals and objectives should be included to ensure they are able to practice communication skills in their individual learning program. The device should be integrated throughout the school day for instructional and non- instructional use. 


The Importance of Supporting the Use of Augmentative Communication Systems at Home and in the Community
At the start of using an augmentative communication system the goal is for student to use the machine as an aid for communication regardless of the setting. The teacher must be heavily involved in the process to ensure a smooth transition from school to using the device at home and school. Using the device in other settings helps reinforce their communication skills. Family members should be trained on how to evaluate the implementation  process. You want to ensure the student is able to use the device in their environment. Special considerations should be made for the student's family involvement, culture, and identifying places or activities. 

Ways to Design Augmentative Communication Systems for Home and Community 
There are several ways to promote the use of an AAC device at home and in the community. Parents and family members should be trained on how to use the device in their home. When family members are trained student's are less likely to depend solely on school staff to troubleshoot technical and pragmatic problems. Interviewing the family will help the teacher provide specific communication demands to fit their lifestyle. The teacher should encourage family members to provide opportunities for the student to use their device. Most times parents and families can anticipate what a student wants but they must allow the student to communicate their needs. The family members should be providing data to school staff to ensure the AAC device is being used properly and if assistance is needed. 

Applications and Virtual Manipulatives

The internet can provide a ton of information. The internet can serve as a resource to find assistive technology devices or the internet can be used as the assistive technology device. In this post you will read my review of an educational application and see the results from an internet search for resources and applications for math. 

Application Review                                                                 
Title: Math Drills Lite
Publisher: Instant Interactive
Web site address: Application can be purchased from Apple
Cost: Free
Notable system requirements: iOS 5.0 or later
Purpose: Learn basic math facts, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
Structure: Students can use hands built in on the screen to solve math problems.
Special features: On screen manipulatives, can customize symbols and placeholders, and users can choose a number range
Strengths: On screen manipulatives, answer choices for support, nearby facts are given to help students make a choice, multiple students
Weaknesses: must upgrade to the full version to gain access to all capabilities
Summary: The application can be beneficial for students to help with automaticity. If going to use math drill definitely upgrade to the full version.

Educational Resource Internet Search 

• Sheppard Software- offers everything from early concepts to Precalculus. The website is free and offers various games such as Fruit Pop and Math Man to practice math skills. The website offers a wealth of games and choices for each topic including money and time. Sheppard Software also offers games for other subjects which include nutrition, preschool, and science. Because the website has So many components it lends itself to students with disabilities. Students with disabilities can learn and master concepts in multiple ways. 

Computers and the Internet to Teach Math

Assistive technology can help students in various areas of their lives and subjects in school. Earlier I discussed how assistive technology can be a resource for students in reading and writing. In this post you will read how AT plays a role in math. Each separate subheading addresses various ways to use AT in math. 

Key Questions to Consider When Selecting Educational Applications 
The purpose of the application should be at the forefront of  the decision making process. The application could help the student solve a math problem or  strengthen their math skills. After determining the purpose there must be an evaluation to determine if the application really does what it says. The last question to consider is if the application can replace traditional classroom activities. The application may allow the student to use online math manipulatives instead of tangible manipulatives. 

Applications for Automaticity and Math Fact Fluency  
Automaticity is the ability to recall content quickly and accurately with no effort. In the classroom this shows up as Math Fact Fluency, the ability to solve computation problems by using basic math facts. Timez Attack is a game created by the makers of Sony PlayStation. The game focuses on multiplication facts by using high- tech video games. ArithmAttack is another computer game used to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. The game can be played with one or more players. The numbers can be customized to give the student targeted practice. 

Technology Tools used for Visual- Spatial or Motor Control Difficulties 
Visual- spatial or motor control difficulties can affect students in many ways at school and in their classroom. Copying things from the board and placing digits in the correct place value  can all be challenging for these students. Math Pad is a talking worksheet program. It allows students to solve math problems by properly aligning numbers and allowing students to use a keyboard or mouse to click. Math Type can be used for students in advanced math. It uses symbols to create equations and allows students to color code them. 

Educational Applications for Math Concepts, Math Skills, and Problem Solving 
According to The National Mathematics Advisory Panel students must understand core concepts to transfer previously learned knowledge to solve new problems. They will need to be proficient in automaticity, fluency, and conceptual understanding to be effective problem solvers. Assistive technology applications can relieve one of these barriers for students to be successful. Math Pad Plus is an extension of the basic Math Pad application previously discussed. Math Pad Plus allows students to solve fractions and decimals. Math Talk/ Scientific Notebook is used with Dragon, a voice recognition software. Students can speak math problems from various levels, from prealgebra to statistics. 

Low and Mid Tech Adaptations for Students with Disabilities 

Low Tech Adaptations

• Manipulatives- can be used for basic math facts 
• Fraction rubber stamps
• Addition and multiplication tables- reference guide for students who struggle with automaticity 

Mid Tech Adaptations

• Talking calculators- help students with learning disabilities check their work 
• Calculators with oversized buttons- used for students with visual impairments  
• Coin abacus- teaches basic money counting 

Citation: Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., & Petroff, J. G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Assistive Technology for Reading

My last few post have focused on assistive technology for writing. I'm going to switch gears and focus on reading. On the Tools for Life wesbite by Georgia's Assistive Technology Act Program the assistive technology specialist gives tools to help student's when reading. The webinar is short but provides readers with several resources to help minimize the barriers for students with disabilities. The first screen compared and contrasted a screen reader and a text reader. The text reader is for students with adequate vision but may have a reading disability, whereas the screen reader is for students with low vision capabilities. The screen reader is able to read all elements of a screen.

The next few slides focused on where to get to get electronic text from websites such as bookshare.org. 

At the conclusion of the presentation assistive technology specialist gave several ways text and programs can be modified to help students when reading. No different than curriculum, the tools will need to be altered to fit the student's need. Many programs come with various features such as the ability to highlight key information, changing the rate of speech, and can include a language translator. The ability to change these features allows the device or program to be customized for the student's specific needs! Check out the webinar below! 

Assistive Technology for Reading Webinar 

The Writing Process and Assistive Technology

As students get older there are expectations they will produce a written document using each part of the writing process, prewriting, drafting, reviewing, editing, and publishing. Writing is no different from any other subject in assistive technology. There are tons of assistive technology resources to help students with disabilities. Even when providing students with assistive technology, practice and best practiced teaching strategies are necessary. 

Prewriting: Graphic organizers allow students to gather and organize their thoughts on a topic. Inspiration software is a great tool for students to use. It allows students to easily create maps and diagrams with words and pictures to better organize their ideas. 

 
Drafting: After a student gathers and organizes their thoughts they are now ready to put it all together. For students with disabilities the actual physical motor skill of writing can be difficult. Using a computer, adapted keyboards, and word prediction dictionaries can assist students with the task. 

Editing and Reviewing: Before publishing a document the student must edit their work. Grammar checkers, text corrections, and thesaurus’ are great ways to help students rethink and review their work. 

Publishing: Students can use blogs, Prezi, or a PowerPoint presentation instead of actually writing a physical paper or a document filled with words.

Assistive Technology to Support Writing

In my previous post I discussed the differences between sensory and learning disabilities. I also covered high and low tech assistive technology devices. In this post I will discuss two websites to support students in writing. Both websites offer high tech devices. I will list each website and answer several questions about the product offered on each website. 

Kidspiration Software 

What type of disability or learner challenges might be best supported by the software? 

Students with ADHD, autism, Asperger's, dyslexia, aphasia, and visual or auditory processing disorders

Provide a specific example of how the software might be used

• Students can create visual diagrams and pictures 
• break up assignments into small chunks 
• Text to speech interface 
• create a storyboard to illustrate the sequence of events in a story 

Is the software user friendly? 

Yes, the toolbars and icons are easy to follow. Each subject is given specific icons to help students determine what they want to do. Kidspiration can be used for math, reading, writing, science, and social studies. 

Expensive to purchase? 

The software is inexpensive in that for a single computer it cost $39.95 and for licensing for up to 20 computers it cost $640.00. 

What did you learn?

I have this software on my computers at school. I teach kindergarten so I have not allowed students to use the program independently, but we have used the software together as a group. I have used the software to create maps and diagrams as an anticipatory activity for science or social studies. During math we have also used the manipulatives as a way to practice math concepts such as adding and subtracting. 

Text Aloud 3 Software 

 What type of disability or learner challenges might be best supported by the software? 

Students with dyslexia or comprehension difficulties

Provide a specific example of how the software might be used? 

Students could use this software to read the story and answer comprehension questions. It allows them to focus on the meaning and purpose of the story instead of the words. 

Is the software user friendly?

Yes, a toolbar is added to the top of the screen and students can choose which feature they would like to use. It can also be used in emails and web pages. 

Expensive to purchase? 

The Text Aloud 3 is very inexpensive with the cost of $29.95.