The Final Post

This experience has been great for developing my teaching strategies.I have completed four modules discussing assistive technology for students with special needs. This blog is to reach out to other teachers to help assist their teaching journey and educate on new topics. I know as a teacher I will be using many of these ideas and strategies in my future. I was unaware of many of the tools and devices that I have researched. I am more comfortable now that I have been educated on many of these topics. Therefore, I can reach out to all of my students and help them learn to their fullest potential.  I have learned many different types and options about AT devices then I would ever expect before this class. I understood what differentiation in a lesson was, but I did not know what the term Universal Design Learning meant. This has opened my eyes to so many options in my classroom. I am now aware that every student learns differently and how to reach them. I researched different toolkits and tutorials that helped me gain the full understanding of UDL. I am now comfortable to use these ideas to better my lessons and add more variety to my classroom. In addition, I learned a tremendous amount about special needs and the devices to help benefit the students learning experiences. I now have this resource to relate back to and help guide me through my teaching career. I will always be learning to educate  my students and myself for life

Importance of Transition Planning in High School

As discussed in the previous post, most people are concerned with students p-12 with special needs. However, there are many students who have special needs further their learning to higher education. The previous post discussed the difference of laws once a student is in higher education. The IDEA Act does not cover students in the higher education programs, they need to be under the ADA. The barrier and protection barriers between IDEA and ADA have a huge gap and do not offer the same technology access for the students. Therefore, these differences make transition planning in high school especially important for students in special education who want to attend college. To help students prepare for this transition, IDEA provides transition planning starting at age 16. The students will have two to three years to develop the skills to succeed in college. They will need to gain the skills in assistive technology skills for independence and self-advocacy skills.

Source:Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

IDEA vs. ADA

There are a few differences separating IDEA from ADA. IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This act was developed to protect the rights and needs of students with disabilities. However, the act only covers students from preschool to 12th grade.  Therefore, when students with disabilities attend colleges and universities they do not follow under the same rules. The higher level schools are not required by law to accommodate for students with special needs.

Therefore, when students with disabilities are attending college they will follow under ADA or a Section 504. The ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act. ADA covers all colleges and students. unlike Section 504 depends on if the higher education school has enough funds for the students requirements.
Therefore, students can be covered by an ACT and law to receive what they need to succeed and any level of education.

Source:
Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

UKAT Toolkit

The UKAT toolkit is another great resource for teachers and planning to help a student achieve an AT device in the classroom and at home. The toolkit allows the teacher to start the assessment process and planning for what is best for the students. This allows you to plan make almost a check list of what one needs to achieve the AT device. The planner can see how much funds they can afford and what is available for the student. At the same time the device needs to fit the student's needs. There are also options to track the student's progress. Once the student receives the AT devices, it is very important to monitor and track the student's progress to see if it is helping them and beneficial to their school work.


Source: http://edsrc.coe.uky.edu/www/ukatii/toolkit/AT_Implementation.pdf

Assistive Technology Model Operating Guidelines

Implementing assistive technology in the classroom is very important for students with special needs. Students need to have access to everything to help them have success in the classroom. Therefore, as a teacher we need to do research and inform ourselves of as much information as possible. The first site I researched was Assistive Technology Model Operating Guidelines. This a great source for teacher or family members that will be encountering AT devices. The guidelines walk you through all training and process of achieving an AT device for a student. The students also can see what the device will be like and can download the complete workbook.


Source:http://www.otap-oregon.org/Pages/Default.aspx

Devices Designed for the Home

The previous post discusses why it is important to allow the augmentative communication devices to be used at home and in the community. The students need to get use to the consistence and become comfortable with their device. Therefore, the communication devices needs to be compatible for the use in school and at home.  When the student wants to communicate the device needs to have the appropriate responses for the student. Therefore, the devices need to be designed for the activities and needs of the home life and living in the community. The student needs to be comfortable and allowed enough options for communication. If the student is not offered this it can be very frustrating for the student and they might have the urge to stop trying to communicate. This is why it is very important to make sure the devices have the options for the students to properly communicate.


Source:
Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Augmentative Communication At Home and In The Community

The previous post discussed how a student receives an augmentative communication device. Now I will discuss why it is so important to link the training and use of the devices with school, home and the community. The students practice their devices in school, but need to get use to them and how they work at home and in their community. The development of a working relationship between school and home is critical to the success of augmentative communication. These environments both demand communication and demands from the students; however, they ask for different responses and needs. The teachers are trained how to use these devices in their classrooms. Therefore, these students are expected use the devices at home as well. Training for augmentative communication devices should be offered for the family members in the house.

Source:
Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.