Assistive technology (AT) is used to help individuals with various types of disabilities. These disabilities can range anywhere from cognitive problems to physical impairment. Assistant technology helps students focus on his or her strengths so they can reach their maximum learning potential. An example used in the article discusses how a student that has trouble reading might benefit from listening to audio books instead. It can be said that assistive technologies have the capabilities to compensate for a deficit of the student’s skills. Assistive technologies can assist a student in various subjects. Listening, math, organization and memory, reading, and writing skills can all be addressed when working with assisting technologies. Some assisting technologies include electronic math worksheets, personal FM listening systems, portable word processors, and talking calculators. Keep in mind that these are only a few of the numerous assisting technologies that are available to students with learning disabilities.
When purchasing assistive technologies, there are some key factors consumers should keep in mind. Some of these factors include the setting the AT will be used in, if the AT is simple to learn how to operate or not, and if there is technical support is available for the AT device. As for the setting, the consumer should think about where the AT will be used and stored either at home or in the classroom. The consumer should also keep in mind that the AT should be fairly easy to operate and come with step-by-step instructions to show the user how to operate the device bought. If there is potential for confusion on operating, the consumer should also consider the availability of technical support that they can call with operating questions.
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs?content=702
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/evaluating-consumer-AT-products.gs?content=783
Assistive technology appears to be a terrific breakthrough in the education of today. As you have mentioned, individuals who may have difficulty reading, could be given audio books to listen to while any individual who may lack the skills to operate a scientific calculator, could be given a talking calculator instead in order to help assist the productivity for such individuals. This assistive technology must be easy to operate in order to have positive results, and with the endless posibilities that this technology can provide, it will be no surprise to see this take place in every classroom in the U.S.
ReplyDelete