Evaluating Assistive Technology

• PRINT
• EMAIL

"Assistive technology is more than the device," says Andrew Beigel, Ph.D., a former assistant professor of education and coordinator of the inclusion program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Beigel, an expert on using technology to promote inclusion for special education students, says teachers and parents often err by matching technology to kids instead of matching kids to technology. To assure that kids are paired with technology that's developmentally and age-appropriate, he urges IEP teams to follow this three-step process:

1. Conduct full-scale assessments that include specific definitions and descriptions of students' learning strengths and weaknesses. Include detailed information about students' cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills.

2. Assess environments where students live, work, and study. Pay attention to specific places such as classrooms, cafeteria, and corridors where students' disabilities interfere with learning and social development.

3. Determine the types of assistive technology that most closely match students' interests, preferences, and capabilities. Be certain that students have a say in the matter before they're assigned technology that they might be ashamed to use or find too cumbersome or complicated.

Beigel urges IEP teams to evaluate devices according to the following criteria:
1. Durability of the device.
2. Ease of updating and repairing the device.
3. Willingness of vendor to provide a trial or loaner period for students.
4. Portability of the device.
5. Company's reputation for service, training, and reliability.
6. Psychomotor skills students need to operate the device.
7. Aesthetic appeal of device to students.
8. Unobtrusive sound and light qualities of the device.

For more information, go to www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/at_assessment.html.

From the Beltway: Tech Support That Works
Four inexpensive tech-support options to help your school achieve a successful technology implementation.

Face to Face: Alan Kay Still Waiting for the Revolution
Since inventing much of the technology behind personal computing in the late 1960s, Alan Kay has dedicated his work to developing better learning environments for children. Now a senior researcher at HP and the president of Viewpoints Research Institute, Kay is launching Squeak, a multimedia authoring tool that allows children to construct dynamic simulations of real-world phenomena.

Forum: Just-in-Time Tech Training
It's common knowledge that we administrators must help propel teachers to the level where they are as comfortable working with technology as they are with the subject they teach. The task for school districts is to devise training processes that facilitate this end.

LESSON PLAN

Let's Learn About Firefighters! Presents a lesson plan focusing on fire safety and prevention through reading, writing, and brain storming sessions.