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Assist Your Students with Assistive Technology

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Learning has never been more accommodating than it is today, thanks to innovative advances in Assistive Technology (AT). Fortunately, students today have access to lots of different technology tools that can help to assist them in the learning process.

The purpose of this blog post is to bring awareness to Assistive Technology and to highlight some of the best resources and learning tools that are available to our students.  However, before we take a look at some of the best AT tools, let's look at a quick definition of Assistive Technology.

In the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 602 [1], AT is defined as, " ... any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of children with disabilities" (idea.ed.gov).  There are two important concepts in this definition.  First, assistive technology is any item or piece of equipment.  Second, AT increases the ability of a person with a disability to do something functional, such as read, write, or organize thoughts (Bowser, G. 2013).

As an Instructional Technology Specialist, I try my best to provide staff, students, and parents with the best tools and resources to assist with teaching and learning in the digital age.  Here are some resources to get started with using Accessibility features on different device platforms.

Accessibility on Chrome OS
Accessibility on Android
Accessibility for Mac
Accessibility for iOS




Chrome Accessibility Apps & Extensions

While these are only just a few of my favorite AT tools, I have found them to be extremely useful and valuable to students.  I encourage you to explore these Accessibility tools and try to continue to find creative ways to enhance learning for all students.  After all, our goal should be to level the playing field regarding equitable access for all learners.

More Assistive Technology Resources


References
  1. idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p,root,statute,I,A,6021,
  2. Bowser, G. Assistive Technology in the Digital Age. Learning&Leading with Technology. September/October 2013 Vol. 41 No.2

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