Assistive Technology Web Quest:

1. Assistive Technology Web Quest: Enrichment for Students with Special Needs By Lacy Clements ITEC 7530

2. Who are Students with Special Needs? • The term “special needs” encompasses a wide variety of developmental delays and disorders, such as… • Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder, learning disabilities, or sensory disabilities.

3. How does Assistive Technology Aid Students with Special Needs? • You may find the following website helpful: www.kidstogether.org This particular website addresses stereotypes, parental and teacher concerns, assisted technologies, IEP’s, and teaching those with disabilities with respect and dignity. According to this website, “Assistive technologies enable people to communicate, receive instruction, learn, play, move about, achieve, and be independent” (Blackstone, 1990).

4. Students living with Disabilities • Students who have special needs are no longer placed in separate “Special Ed.” classrooms. • Laws state that every student with special needs has the right to be placed in his/her “Least Resistive Environment” (LRE), or mainstream classrooms. Therefore, teachers must differentiate to meet these students’ specific needs.

5. Technology as a Tool: Tool #1 • Technologies can aid each student’s progress through differentiation. The first tool I will speak of is a program that our school recently purchased called Kurzweil. • Kurzweil is education software that can provide lower-level, intermediate, or advanced tutorials in Reading. Students who have mild learning disabilities and auditory disabilities would greatly benefit from this software.

6. Kurzweil • http://www.kurzweiledu.com/default.html • This software allows struggling readers to visually read textbook material while having it read to them. As each word is read, a highlighter highlights the words. • Students are able to adjust the reading setting to as fast or as slow as they like. • Students are also able to pause on a word and request its meaning.

7. When to Use… • Most of our classrooms don’t have more than one computer. However, we all have scheduled computer lab days once a week, which would be a great time to utilize this tool. • Because most of our computers have matching headsets, students can work independently and at their own paces without disturbing others.

8. Technology as a Tool:Tool #2 • The Alpha-Smart, which is created by Neo corporation, is a lightweight, hand-held device that allows students with disabilities such as Autism or ADHD quickly type assignments rather than write. • These students often become frustrated due to large amounts of material that they would otherwise be required to write. The Alpha-Smart alleviates the overwhelming task of writing large amounts of material.

9. The Alpha Smart • http://www.neo-direct.com/intro.aspx • The Alpha Smart does not have a large screen, and does not allow Internet Access; it is not a laptop. Rather, it is more of lightweight keyboard. • Picture retrieved from assistivetech.sf.k12.sd.us

10. References • www.kidstogether.org • www.kurzweiledu.com • www.neo-direct.com • www.assistivetech.sf.k12.sd.us