Onto the next. I have spent much time looking into the many aspects of Universal Design for Learning and now am ready to move onto the next topic for my Assistive Technology class, which happens to be assistive technology. Assistive Technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. We will look further into assistive technology in this blog.
A great website to browse to get a better understanding of assistive technology (AT) is Assistive Technology Internet Modules. You must sign up for the site but once you do, it is filled with an immense amount of information regarding assistive technology with in depth examples through different modules. The three modules I perused were AT Assessment process in the School Environment, AT Consideration in the IEP Process, and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR).
In the AT Assessment process in the school environment section, I found a framework I believe would serve very beneficial for educators. The SETT framework stands for student, environment, tasks, and tools. These are all the aspects the AT team must consider before they begin to identify specific technologies that can help the student accomplish the desired task. The framework is built on the premise that the team must first determine what the student needs to be able to do that is difficult or impossible for the student at this time before thinking about what technology could possibly be a tool that would be of assistance. Please view the video below for a deeper explanation.
I found the SETT framework the most important subset of the first module as it explains how to begin to use AT appropriately for each student. It was developed to help educators use AT effectively for each student and to not begin to use AT just for the purpose of saying it was used but to truly help students succeed in a given task. I found this beneficial to utilize with some students that have issues with certain subject areas but do not have an IEP. Being able to understand how to help them by encompassing the different parts of SETT will make me a better educator.
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The last and final module was Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). Voice recognition is a computer application that lets people control a computer by using speech. Students may use voice recognition along with most word processing systems. The words spoken will appear on the screen. The software has proved very beneficial for students struggling with spelling or students with challenges in the mechanical aspects of writing as their able to focus more on the content of their writing. For students with physical access difficulties, the software can replace a traditional keyboard and mouse allowing students to use the computer freely. I was unaware of all the different ASR programs out there that are easily accessible. Windows 7 has a high quality ASR built into the operating systems. I thought that was amazing and went to set it up on my own computer with Windows 8. Please (click here) to see how to set up ASR on your own computer and watch the video to see the program in use.
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