|
With the reauthorization in 1997 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), assistive technology (AT) is no longer viewed by educators exclusively within a rehabilitative or remediative context, but as a tool for accessing curriculum.
Eschewing the "fix-it" approach, educators now begin by examining the curriculum, the students, and how tools can help students achieve outcomes. (Warger, Cynthia. ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education Reston VA. "Integrating Assistive Technology into the Standard Curriculum." 1998. ERIC Digest material may be freely reproduced and disseminated as long as it is acknowledged.)
Guidelines and policies in Warger's web article speak of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and school districts, referring obviously to education at the elementary through high school levels. However, many of the checklists and strategies can apply to any level of education and excerpts or summaries of a few are given below.
Educational TECH Points developed by Gayle Bowser and Penny Reed in 1995, (Bowser, G. and Reed, P. "Education TECH Points: A Framework for Assistive Technology Planning and Systems Change in Schools." Web posted on Nov. 20, 1998. Accessed 2/13/01) and based on the Langton and Hughes 1992 model TECH Points, poses questions at six different stages of the process: Referral, Evaluation, Extended Assessment, Development, Implementation, and Periodic Review. Questions below were devised for elementary through high school students with IEPs, but have been adapted for students in higher education:
Referral:
Does the student experience any performance deficits, which might be remediated or compensated for by the use of assistive technology?
Evaluation:
• Can the student be accurately evaluated with standard assessment procedures?
• Does the use of AT, as an accommodation during testing, enhance the student's performance?
• What types of AT solutions would enhance the student's educational performance?
• Are the services of a specialist needed?
• Is an extended evaluation needed?
Extended Assessment:
• Does the type of technology we are trying actually do what we thought it would do for the student?
• Which of the technology solutions tried is most effective?
Plan Development:
• Does the AT help the student meet one or more of the goals of the plan?
• Are AT services needed to enable the student to use the device?
• Was a specific device identified in the plan?
Implementation:
• What actions need to be taken to assure that the AT the student needs is used effectively?
• Who is responsible for each of these actions?
• Who is responsible for monitoring each aspect of the implementation of AT goals and objectives?
Periodic Review:
• Are the AT devices and or services provided being used?
• Are the AT devices/services functioning as expected?
• Have long range plans (including transition) for the student's AT use been made?
Establishing Policies
It is important that institutions have a clear policy on assistive technology. Louis Danielson, Director of the Division of Research to Practice at OSEP (Office of Special Education Programs) suggests that such policies include:
• A statement of desired AT outcomes;
• Policies for delivering AT services;
• Staff development and technical assistance policies;
• Verification that the technology plan includes research-based practices;
• Mechanisms for interdisciplinary involvement;
• Policies for purchasing, using and managing equipment;
• Strategies for obtaining adequate funding;
• Strategies for communicating these policies.
(Warger, 1998)
Choosing the Right Technology
Expensive, complicated technology is not always the best choice. Both low and high tech solutions should be considered. Cost, access, training time needed, comfort level or the "right fit" with the student should all be planned for, and periodically evaluated.
Elements to Consider in Implementing Technology:
• Locate equipment where instruction and learning take place;
• Technology needs to be accessible;
• Select low tech applications, whenever possible;
• Integrate the use of technology into lessons in a purposeful and meaningful way;
• Offer training and technical support to classroom teachers [and writing and support center staff];
• View the initial fiscal and human resources as an investment;
• Avoid reinventing the wheel each year — when possible use the technology that is already in place.
(Warger, 1998)
Case Description
Abigail Littlefield, Associate Professor Of Science at Landmark College and instructor of internet-based classroom instruction at the Marlboro Graduate Center, keeps all her course notes available in PowerPoint format, and on her course web site. Students are required to access them and print them out prior to the lectures; thus they have an advance organizer to help preview the materials, and they bring a template for their own notes to the classroom. Moreover, some of the responsibility for preparation is transferred from the instructor to the student.
Once a week, the student must visit the web site again, to answer a question for the week. Other information for the course — syllabus, schedule, important documents, homework, news, and updates, as well as photo images of students in action — are posted and available.
In the classroom, Professor Littlefield frequently uses a data converter, which basically turns a television into a computer screen, and she is able to bring up her notes for the lecture. Using her particular tool, called Tvator, she can freeze the screen, while she makes slight alterations based on class discussion, and then show the edited version of the notes to the class.
Professor Littlefield also keeps a library of images for use in the classroom. She mentions to colleagues that the technological approach is particularly valuable if a teacher's handwriting is not great, or if their drawn images on the blackboard are sometimes confusing or unclear.
She also uses Mimio, an electronic whiteboard, which can be connected to a computer for downloads of visual images or notes created. The whiteboard can use Quicktime video clips to display sequenced drawings to reveal, for example, the biological process of mitosis. The Professor sometimes uses a "Flex cam," which will magnify anything and display it to the entire class — for example, the image in focus from the end of a microscope. It is worth noting that all of these technological tools, are very usable and useful in large classroom settings.
Professor Littlefield has selected a biology textbook for her course, not only because of its inherent quality, but because of its valuable CD-ROM. She uses the CD-ROM extensively, since it connects to various assignments in the text. The science department at Landmark has taken it upon itself to train students in the use of Microsoft Excel, with its valuable spreadsheet program and graphing capabilities. And in the classroom, the Professor sometimes has students present their final projects on a LCD (liquid crystal display) projector, connected to their computer. The image from the computer screen displays onto the larger projector screen.
Pros and Cons of LCD Projectors
Linda Hecker, Director of Educational Services at Landmark College, uses LCD projector regularly for formal presentations. She would like to share her list of pros and cons.
The biggest advantages of LCD projectors are that they:
• provide strong visuals with excellent color;
• can incorporate audio, visual, video components;
• focus attention on content;
• organize information visually;
• are ideal for bits of information, in bulleted formats, that help focus on main ideas & key details;
• produce excellent handouts that encourage note-taking.
The disadvantages of LCD projects include that they:
• become overly cutesy when you rely on clip-art visuals;
• can be gimmicky if you overuse animation;
• may lead to LCD fatigue (generally, you shouldn't present info for more than 20-30 minutes without some kind of interactive activity);
• lead to passive intake of content;
• are not conducive for associative, reflective, or thematic thinking.
Geoff Burgess, Associate Professor of Communications, uses LCD projectors regularly with students in his classroom. He feels that they can be noisy, and the instructor will need to gain some familiarity to avoid occasional difficulties with any given projector. Also, if it is not a fixed projector, the instructor will need to carry it around and allow for set-up time.
|
