Discovering Assistive Technology: Module 2, Websites and Thoughts about Hardware

I appreciate the opportunity to look at products that are available to assist students with learning.  As a teacher in 6th grade, I have never been in the position to even consider purchasing such materials.  In fact, I am not certain how much our librarian even has to do with these purchases.  I would assume many of them come out of special education dollars and occupational therapy money. That being said, I really appreciate EnableMart and how it is designed.  From previous posts, I am sure you have realized that reading is a special interest of mine.  With the organization of EnableMart, I was able to hone in resources that could be used to support students in reading. Instead of just organizing by type of technology, it was categorized by the support it would provide. For the professional who is looking for new tools, this is an important feature.

As evident in the final video we watched in this module, assistive technology is providing opportunities for people to communicate in way that was not possible before.  The keyboards that are available currently can adjust to the particular need of an individual.  I am especially impressed with those that have multiple layers for the keyboard, accommodating many different needs. The touch screens that are available assist those who struggle with poor hand-eye coordination, but also could be an appropriate accommodation for students who are new to communicating with a computer.  I think that this is an important point. Although assistive technology may have certain populations in mind, they are also making communication much easier for many groups of people.