Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible without  the use of it.  There are many types of assistive technology that are available for individuals with disabilities.  We can learn more about the different forms of assistive technology by visiting http://auto.buffalo.edu/  Below are some resources and websites that are useful when trying to find assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.

Mild Disabilities- Learning disabilities, mental retardation, and emotional/ behavioral disorders .  Students with cognitive difficulties have issues with memory, attention, and thinking.  Students can use Penfriend that will help predict the next word that they would write.  Kurzweil can also be used to read scanned text out loud.  It helps the students who struggle with reading or writing text.  It is also helpful for ELL students.  Visit http://schwablearning.org/ and http://www.idonline.org/ for more information on assistive technology for student with mild disablilities.

Moderate and Severe Disabilities - Students have problems learning and functioning.  Students can use a binder that is filled with directions done in pictures to help an individual complete a task.   Here are two websites that help us to better understand our students who are intellectually disabled.  http://www.cdc.gov/ and http://www.education.com/.

Physical Disabilities - Quick Glance is a mouse replacement.  The mouse is controlled by eye movement and the mouse is clicked by blinking.  Other examples of assistive technology for students with physical disabilities include:  word prediction, voices recognition systems, page turners, and mouth sticks or mouth operated joysticks.  Some websites that will give more information on AT for individuals with physical disabilities are http://www.optionsind.org/ and http://www.arecil.org/.

Sensory Disabilities - Students could use Intellikeys keyboard which is a progarammable keyboard with different keypad overlays.  The overlays can be color coded and programmed for the individual needs of the student.  This device can help with writing papers, answer questions or vocabulary, use the internet to research information as well as doing tutorials.  Sound Field Systems could be used with students with a disability with hearing.  It will amplify the instructions and responses.  This will help the student be able to hear and participate in discussions in the classroom.  Websites for the students with sensory disabilities are http://www.aisquared.com/, http://www.ngtvoice.com/, and http://www.magnifiers.org/.

At-Risk Behaviors/Situations - Many students who are at-risk get frustrated and drop out of school.  Online classes are beneficial to them.  They work at their own pace and are free from judgement of others.  At-risk students can be placed on RTI and progress monitoring done to measure student achievement of goals and objectives that have been set for the student.  At risk students could receive extra practice and remediation by using http://www.brainpop.com/ and http://www.compasslearning.com/.

Gifts and Talents - Gifted students perform at very high levels.  These students need to be challenged or they may become bored or disinterested.  Inspiration software is a good tool to help gifted students with creative writing skills, comprehension, and higher order thinking.  WebQuest is also an iquiry activity website where teachers can tailor activities to match the topics that are being taught in class.  Some websites that may be helpful when teaching gifted students are http://www.davidongifted.org/ and http://www.reacheverychild.com/.

Web 2.0

This activity was somewhat difficult for me. I struggled to get this assignment completed. I created a glogster concerning appropriate attire and interviewing skills as well as an animoto video that shows the do's and don'ts concerning appropriate attire. I also created two activities from classtools.net. The first one that I created is a timeline and the students are ask to put them in order of when each step of the job search process happens. The second activity dealt with a list of reminders for dress attire, job knowledge, resume' and application and the actual interview. In this activity the student is asked to place the item in the correct bin. All of these activities can be used as review resources for future assessments. The students may also use these resources as examples to view as they create their own resources. Check out the links below to test your knowledge concerning job readiness .

http://www.glogster.com/teched505/interviewing-skills-by-ramona-edwards/g-6lj602822ho93jcadfjh8a0
http://animoto.com/play/n8UBYP0g042vJ5lF4ushJQ
 http://classtools.net/widgets/timeline_7/d7i30.htm
http://classtools.net/widgets/dustbin_9/5DgxG.htm

Google Reader

I found some great feeds on google reader.  I am interested in learning more about the new technology I have received this year.  All teachers at my high school received a promethean board and I am eager to learn how to become an expert.  I subscribed to a feed on Promethean and discovered that just a few months ago they unveiled an interactive table that supports collaborative & inclusive learning.  This would be a great tool to use in the special education classroom. 

I have also been appointed to be the RTI coordinator for my building and I am in need of all the information that I can obtain.  The response to intervention feed that I subscribed to will help me become more familiar with the ins and outs of RTI. 

Below are the feeds that I have subscribed to:

Response to Intervention (RTI)  http://nichcy.org/feed
Promethean  http://prometheanworld.com/rss/news.rss
Special Education  http://0.tqn.com/6/g/specialed/b/rss2.xml
The Journal of Special Education  http://sed.sagepub.com/rss/current.xml
Special Education Law Blog  http://specialeducationlawblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Instructional Software

Instructional Software is designed to deliver or assist students with instruction on a particular topic. I am including six different types of instructional software which include drill and practice, tutorial, simulaiton, instructional games, problem solving, and integrated learning systems.

Drill and Practice involves students working problems and receive feedback for correctness. http://www.teachrkids.com/ :  Use of this website would allow students to practice math problems.  On this website the students will perform timed drill-based assignments. 

Tutorials provide instruction that is similar to a classroom instruction on a topic.  http://www.mathscience4u.com/:  Use of this website would allow the teacher to provide hands on tutorials on integers.

Simulation  is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that will teach students how the system works.  http://www.cuttheknot.org/

Instructional Games help to reinforce key concepts and build essential sills.   http://www.thelearningcompany/ These different learning activities can be used for review and extra practice as well as they make learning fun.

Problem  Solving   http://www.superkids.com/ :  There are so many educational software packages that students will be able to use their problem solving skills.  These different packages would be ideal to use for enrichment to those students who are performing above grade level or as a student reward for completing assignments.

Integrated learning system http://www.pearsonschool.com/ :  NovaNet Courseware allows for personal instruction.  NovaNet can be used for credit recovery.

Classroom response systems are a great way to promote interaction and student engagement.  When using this type of response system students will be willing to participate more.  The students response is anonymous and they have no fear of being embarrassed by their peers.  The response system also allows the teacher to assess the students and learn if there is a need for remediation or if they are all on track with what is being taught.  The teacher will be able to identify where the student needs improvement instantly.  The teacher will be able to clear up any misconceptions by viewing the responses that are given by the students. 

I would like to use this type of interactive system to review for test as well as for prior knowledge assessment.  By using it prior to teaching a unit I would know where I should begin.  I remember watching who wants to be a millionaire and always thought it was helpful to use the audience. And as the video shows us we should embrace this technology and not bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich in order for our students to soar to new heights.

Ipods are being used in the classroom to assist students with reading.  Reading apps are used to help students read smoother and improve fluency. Students are putting the 3R's into practice by rereading, recording and reflecting.  I believe this is a great tool in that it allows the students to hear what they sound like and they will be able to work on their weaknesses.  The goal is to make their reading sound as if they are talking. This app allows students to work independently while the teacher works one on one with other students.  Students are engaging in something new and that can make all of the difference in the world.

I could use this app in the classroom to help students with improving fluency.  This is awesome.  These students are self assessing.  This is amazing.  As they said in the video we have come a long way  baby!!



My Favorite Technology

I am not techno savvy at all.  I am struggling with all of the new things that are required for this class.  I would have to say right now that my favorite is the Promethean Board.  We have just received some in my school.  I actually received some training today.  I do believe it is very important for us to use and teach our students how to use different forms of technology.