Assistive Technology

When I am finally in front of a classroom, I will doubtless have students who are in need of assistive technology.  Assistive technology is brought in to compensate for what a student may be unable to do by his or herself.  It can not only help students complete assignments, but also build the skills that they may be lacking in the first place (Raskind & Stanberry, n.d., p. 1).  It is a tool that can foster independence and self-reliance, and so the accommodations that must be made to fit these devices into a classroom are well worth the effort needed to master them.  Students may already be using assistive technology when they enter my classroom, which is something that, as a teacher, I must be flexible with.  I must learn how to adapt to the changes that the technology brings with it, even though assistive technology is an aspect of teaching that has hardly been touched upon in my education classes.  Accommodating this new technology means allowing for some wiggle room in the classroom schedule.  Teachers need to become familiar with the technology.  Learning how to work the technology is equally as important to the teacher as it is to the student.  

Of course, with the variety of devices out there, this process might not take as long as might be thought.  While there are some technologies out there that require some effort to master, some of these devices are simple and low-tech.  They include items such as screen magnifiers, which allow for better visibility, or even alternative keyboards for students experiencing discomfort when using regular keyboards.  Some of these items might require a change in seating arrangement or teacher guidance ("Education World: Assistive Technology Helps All Kids Learn", 2005).  In the video, we saw footage of a boy who learned how to play a musical instrument with a joystick rather than by manipulating the buttons.  The music teacher was open to this new way of playing and accommodated the student as best as he could.  When a teacher is aware (as he or she always should be) of a student with special needs, accommodations in the lesson plan must be made ahead of time.  Careful planning and thought must go into ensuring that the child is learning but in such a way that compensates for certain skills or abilities that he or she does not have.

Accommodating a student who utilizes assistive technology and who has special needs that must be addressed is dependent on the unique circumstances surrounding the child.  What does his or her IEP state? What sort of classroom environment makes him or her less stressed or pressured?  There needs to be a balance between comfort and challenge for the child - comfort so the child can learn from the lessons taught by the teacher, but challenge so that the child can grow from experience.  Spoonfeeding a student with a disability will not benefit them in the long run.  On the contrary, it will do the exact opposite of what their assistive technology is hoping to achieve: self-reliance and independence.

Teachers must be willing to accept that these students are just normal students.  Every student has a special and unique set of circumstances around them, and students with disabilities are the same.  Their circumstances are merely ones that the teacher can manipulate using assistive technology.  Teachers should embrace the new methods of teaching that technology is offering them, especially when it allows them to reach students whose special needs would have been ignored 50 years ago.  We are in an age when we must ask ourselves if we want to be the teachers who help or hinder the progress of technology in classrooms.

References

Education World: Assistive Technology Helps All Kids Learn. (2005, August 9). Education World: The Educator's Best Friend. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech220.shtml

Raskind, M., & Stanberry, K. (n.d.). Assistive technology for kids with learning disabilities: An overview - Assistive technology | GreatSchools. GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs