Practical And Fun Guide To Assistive Technology In Public Schools

From setting up a stellar team to consultations and evaluations, and from implementation to assessing success, this guide presents detailed advice and ideas to provide assistive technology (AT) services that effectively and efficiently help students. The nuts and bolts of each area are presented in a practical way (with amusing metaphors thrown in for good measure) so that you can directly apply what's in the book and see tangible results.

This playful yet professional book is designed to help educators select, acquire and implement technology to help all students, but especially those with special needs. School districts often struggle to develop consistent practices for meeting the needs of special education students. With this book, you’ll learn how embracing student-centered approaches like project-based learning and growth mindset works to support students with disabilities. You’ll get guidance on how to plan and execute educational experiences using technology centered around the needs of students with disabilities. And you’ll learn how to effectively and consistently consider and select technological supports based on the specific needs of an individual student with a disability. This book: • Details how an educational team can request assistance to determine technology needs. • Explains how to conduct and document assessments to help an educational team make informed decisions about technology needs. • Describes a proactive approach to professional development for individuals and for those who train others on the use of technology. • Assists individuals or teams in creating an action plan for developing a culture of inclusion. • Interweaves stories, songs and other exciting features to make learning fun! The New Assistive Tech is a catalyst for breaking down walls between special education and general education, and will help all educators realize they have tech knowledge (and can build upon that knowledge) that can be used to support students with disabilities.

Leverage technology to engage students with learning disabilities! The Corwin Connected Educators series is your key to unlocking the greatest resource available to all educators: other educators. This book shows you how to harness the power of today's technology to improve learning and engagement for students with learning disabilities. Uncover and highlight their strengths by implementing: • New ideas for using assistive technology to teach core subjects and study skills • Positive opportunities for students to show what they know • Tools that provide better content accessibility Being a Connected Educator is more than a set of actions: it's a belief in the potential of technology to fuel lifelong learning. To explore the other books in this series, visit the Corwin Connected Educators website at http://www.corwin.com/connectededucators/. "Every educator can implement these methodologies to transform their learning environment into a place that honors and respects the differences of EVERY learner. Follow these simple steps: Read the book. Employ the content. Observe the successes. Then share those achievements with others!" Christopher R. Bugaj, Author and Presenter The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools "The authors have produced a practical approach to engaging students with learning disabilities. Educators will find great tools, ideas, and strategies to support students with learning challenges. Sprinkled throughout the book are case studies from noted educators, which are useful when thinking through the process of integrating technology in the classroom. This is a must read!" Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D. AssistiveTek, LLC.

Designed to be read one day – and page – at a time, this book from four inclusive learning experts offers 365 strategies for implementing technology to design inclusive experiences. Educators across the world are working to design individualized instruction that empowers every student to become experts at learning. Technology and instructional interventions designed to support students with disabilities often eventually become mainstream and used by the masses. These practices provide a pathway for designing inclusive, equitable and accessible educational experiences that meet the needs of every individual learner. This engaging book includes daily strategies accompanied by examples of tools that can be implemented immediately to design meaningful instruction. Topics covered include role-playing games for social-emotional learning, building literacy through captioned video, coding to teach early literacy, text-to-speech for math and reading, and much more! Each daily strategy includes: • Explanation of how to use the strategy to design inclusive educational experiences. • Examples of tools that can be used to implement the strategy. • Alternative ways to use the strategy to extend student learning. • Images illustrating the strategy or tool. • Identification of relevant ISTE Standards for Educators and ISTE Standards for Students. Related resources. The heart of the book is the shift in mindset that occurs by exploring a different practical, inclusive strategy each day and infusing these strategies into everyday practice.

This guide presents strategies for applying technology to help students who have cognitive and physical disabilities, and shows how technology is useful not only in presenting curriculum and assessing students, but also in the administration and organization of special education programs. Case studies and descriptions of state-of-the-art applications illustrate how technology can help students with disabilities master complex materials and basic skills and how technology can support educators in assessing and evaluating students' progress. Chapter 1 describes the most common challenges associated with educating children with disabilities and discusses research-validated approaches in assistive instruction and assessment technologies. Chapter 2 demystifies the process of determining what technology will best meet student needs and discusses the cost effective acquisition of those technologies. Chapter 3 delineates strategies necessary to ensure that technology investments produce continuous learning improvements, including the establishment of a technology team and devising a long-range technology plan. Chapter 4 provides assistance in finding the help needed to make technology "pay off." It includes an extensive resource list that provides contact information and describes national, state, and local organizations, information centers, clearinghouses, and research group that provide services, information, and demonstrations of technology. An appendix includes relevant federal documents on assistive technology. (CR)

This work explores issues involving assistive technology engineering and science and examines topics central to the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.

"Teachers and early years educators now have available to them a raft of new technologies that can be used by children with additional learning needs. This book will help them to support children to make the most of these technologies, allowing them to access learning activities, maintain and develop their independence and meet their learning goals."--Back cover.