Changing Lives through Assistive Technology

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Changing Lives through Assistive Technology


One of the first things a teacher should take in consideration when constructing a lesson plan is the different needs each student has. The teacher needs to feel and understand what his or her student is experiencing. Everyone learns differently. The classroom should be a friendly environment and equipped with ready to use tools and devices for the advantage of those with disabilities. Classroom lessons should be effective, clear, and interesting. Student involvement and participation would be a main focus. Lesson planning would need to be modified if needed, in ways, which can accommodate and create an equal opportunity of learning for the students. Different approaches also needs to be considered if a certain method introduced is not working.  

In the beginning of the video, Assistive Technology: Enabling Dreams, a young college student from the University of Washington named Susanna Sweeney-Martini was interviewed. She states, " Assistive Technology is the major foundation of my life, without it I could not exist as I am today..." (The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2005). With all the AT around her, being a disabled person with cerebral palsy no longer plays a role in hindering with her learning ability or her mobility. She is able to continue her daily routine in school and social life.

 Significant improvements in technology have been made in the past few decades for individuals with disabilities. Computers have created a path and access for them to probe into a whole, new, unexplored world of new information and technology.With the use of Assistive Technology in classrooms, educators can provide a welcoming atmosphere for diverse learners which can also help create a sense of normalcy and preserve self-esteem. It can provide opportunities for those who could not get involved at one point and a chance at being free.

Everyday students with physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities face obstacles that seem impossible to hurdle. It can range from simple tasks such as holding a pencil, reading, writing, listening, moving from one place to another, or just being able to express one's self. Computers have created such an impact in our world that what was once impossible is now achievable with AT.

Assistive Technology: Enabling Dreams, featured a variety of tools and instruments that helped in aiding individuals not just with school but with their everyday life. The video presented tools such as speech recognition, wheelchairs, devices that aid in playing musical instruments, and communication with computers through body movements, for example the movement of an eyebrow. It's just remarkable how AT helps students with disabilities do things quicker and easier. It helps them to communicate, socialize, and participate in classroom lessons and activities. It helps them to become more independent.

 In a 2010 MySciNet article, Carpenter mentions, "that a brain-computer interface has helped an individual with Lou Gehrig's disease. This person cannot move, speak, or breathe without a respirator, but he can think just fine. The device uses brain signals generated in the motor cortex to control a computer mouse directly, allowing him to communicate." 

I feel that every school should invest in AT. If our goal for our students is to succeed, then investing on these special instruments can only lead to better things.There should always be a solution to help students improve. Every child deserves a chance to shine...

                                                   
                                                                      References

The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2005). Assistive-Technology: Enabling Dreams [video file].
     Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

Carpenter, Siri. (2010). MySciNet An Inclusive Community: Assistive Technologies Enable Discovery.
     Retrieved March 30, 2013, from http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2010_04_02/caredit.a1000033

 The Eye-Com EC7T Assistive Technology Device. (2011, August 14). [Video File]. Retrieved from
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TF6MRHjZDo