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The Pros And Cons Of Assistive Technology

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“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” This quote by John Wooden adequately describes how difficulties experienced by individuals should not hinder or impede them from accomplishing a goal. In the classroom there are numerous challenges faced by students, however these challenges should not be allowed to interfere with their ability to learn and excel in everyday tasks. For students faced with writing and spelling challenges the use of technology can facilitate and improve their learning experience. A closer look at the pros and cons of utilizing technology in the classroom for students with severe writing and spelling challenges will be explicated. Writing forms an integral aspect of the education system, for students with writing and spelling challenges this may be an obstacle which may hinder there ability to reach their full potential. However, the use of assistive technology can be utilized to overcome these challenges. Assistive technology as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA) is "any piece of equipment, or product system . . . that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" [Part A, Sec. 602(1)]. Assistive technology according to Lewis (1998) plays two …show more content…

Computers, specialized software and portable keyboards deliver effective methods of editing, recording and sharing ideas for students who may have a learning disability which presents writing and spelling challenges. One major advantage it facilitates is legible and consistent documents. Less time is spent on correcting writing, focusing instead on communicating ideas. Moreover through the use of word processors numerous revisions can be facilitated forgoing the process of rewriting, therefore allowing learners to pay closer attention to the

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Halbardier teaches her students digital literacy skills. Specifically, she trains students and general education teachers on how to use tools such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text and other accessibility options for students with reading disabilities. She also includes other free options teachers can use to provide audiobooks for their students. As a Resource Specialist, Ms. Halbardier makes it a priority to ensure the students on her caseload are successful in the general education classroom. This requires her to learn the specific strategies that each teacher utilizes by communicating regularly and pushing into the classroom to support her students.

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In “What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades,” Maria Konnikova explains that handwriting develops better thinking skills, and makes the process of learning easier. According to Konnikova, the Common Core standards only encourage legible writing in kindergarten and first grade. In contrast, professors now make emphasize on the students to be proficient on typing on the keyboard. Based on a study, children who physically wrote a letter demonstrated that specific areas of their brain were functioning. While the children who watched other people writing the letter, did not had the same effect.

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1. Name at least three items that could be considered AT and describe how those devices could support a student with a disability in the classroom. • Adapted pencil grip: This can help students write appropriately and form their letters correctly. • Text to Speech software: This can help students who have trouble reading because they can follow a long and hear the sounds as they read. It can also help deepen comprehension because they don’t have focus on decoding the words, can listen to the meaning of the story.

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Three laws that have shaped and resolved the rights and services available to the students with disabilities will be discussed in this section. Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Act( IDEA )and The Americans Disabilities Act( ADA). The IDEA is the major federal statute providing educational rights to students with disabilities. Even so, two other statutes, Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act and ADA which was modified recently (ADA,2006,2008), also have implication for the disciplinary process when it involves students with disabilities ( Russo & Osborne, 2009). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is the first federal civil rights law protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

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In her article Do We Really Need Cursive Writing, Caitlin Carpenter provides readers with content from both viewpoints of whether or not cursive writing should be taught in elementary school. With the rise of computers and technology in the past generation, and larger ratios of class time being spent on preparing for standardized testing, cursive writing has been shoved on the back burner in recent years. Some professors, such as Steve Graham of Vanderbilt University, may argue that the most efficient way for anyone to record their thoughts is at a keyboard. A first grader can only write between nine and 18 letters a minute. Since typing is a slightly easier motor skill, it yields the fastest documentation of thoughts.

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Out of the two basic ways to write, some people enjoy writing the old fashion way with a pen and paper. Others take a more modern approach using a computer and keyboard. Attending elementary school in the big computer boom era of the mid-nineties, my generation was one of the first to actually have a “computer lab” type of class. Since those days every word assignment I have ever had was completed using a computer. If I ever used a pen and paper and pen it is only to take quick notes that are barley legible, only to transfer them on to a computer at a later time.

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In chapter 5 it discusses how students who cannot use pencil and paper effectively can use computers and mobile devices with appropriate educational apps to acquire skills and demonstrate knowledge; this includes computation and calculations at basic and advanced levels. This is so true with all children not just children with disabilities. As teachers this is part of our job to figure out which children may need assistive technology. But when using computers and mobile apps you need to make sure you are using effective instruction for the learning to continue and grow. Computers and mobile devices provide access to the general education curriculum by offering opportunity for additional instruction, repetitive practice, and concept development.

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With technology skill demands imposed by online assessments and classroom writing assignments, it is evident that typing is an essential skill student must hold, in order

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Though the world is becoming dependent on technology, are we becoming overly dependent? Cursive writing is an important writing skill that should be taught in schools, that is on the edge of becoming extinct. At least 41 states in the United States don’t require public schools to teach cursive anymore. This will greatly affect students because not everything is capable of being done on the computer. Even though technology is a great agricultural advancement cursive writing is still a beneficial tool to be taught and not overlooked.

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Reading is an essential life skill. The ultimate goal of reading is to comprehend and make meaningful connections with text. Therefore, the development of skills needed for reading begins at an early age and progresses through stages into adulthood (Chall, 1996). Within the early stages of reading development, children begin learning and acquiring these specific skills. Moreover, many of the skills learned during early childhood are constrained skills.

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Learning reading and writing in schools is the first step to developing fine motor skills in children. Thus, being said, the education system seems to always change what should and should not be taught in schools. Cursive and handwriting instruction is one topic in particular that is argued about and if it should still be taught in schools. People believe that technology is now the new way of learning in schools and writing on paper is deemed to be unnecessary. If schools stop teaching using writing on paper and move to technology, these technological devices will ultimately take away from children’s fine motor skills and the ways they can comprehend what is being taught to them.

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In her study, Lunsford collected thousands of student writing samples from a five-year period, specifically from 2001-2006 (Thompson 157). The findings of her study are gripping. She found that because young people do much of their communicating via online forums, the additional keystrokes are fundamental in reviving their ability to write (Thompson 157). A whopping thirty-eight percent of all writing done by Stanford students during this study occurred outside of the classroom (Thompson 157). This piece of information alone may be indication enough that her logic was strategic.

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PURPOSE The audience will gain a deeper understanding about the disability and how it affects the people who are afflicted by it. INTRODUCTION Take a few seconds to read the following paragraph. It does not make much sense. The photo illustrates one variation of how people with dyslexia read and in most cases, how they write, too.

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Accessibility is a concept that essentially applies to the customization of products, services, appliances and environments in a way that enables them to be used by people who have various types of disabilities. Effectively speaking, these products and services are designed in such a manner that enables people with special needs to gain both ‘direct’ as well as ‘indirect’ access to them. At the same time, the benefits of accessibility also extend to a wider category of individuals such as senior citizens and medical patients. Assistive technology is a term that is closely associated with the concept of accessibility. For instance, the application of assistive technology is what makes electronic equipment such as computer screen readers accessible to all categories of end users, including those with disabilities or special needs.

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These days people people do not sit down rarely even write, they type, they are swayed with the status quo into believing the quicker the better, why waste so much time doing something when it can be done for you so quickly? And if you do this you will have more time to do other things; “Very small proportions of adults use cursive for their day-to-day writing. Much of our communication is done on a keyboard, and the rest is done with print.” (Polikof, M.

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