Enabling Dreams (edutopia, 2010)
What Assistive Technology Can Do? It’s important for teachers and parents to keep in mind that AT’s role is to assist child’s learning. It doesn't replace good teaching, but it can be used in addition to well-designed instruction. It can help the child be more self-confident and work more independently, (J. Millstone, 2014). The right AT tools let kids use their abilities to work on areas of weakness. For example, if your child has reading issues but has good listening skills, audiobooks might be useful. Finding the right match between AT tools and your child’s needs may take some work. But the appropriate AT tools can be instrumental in helping your child become a more successful and independent learner.
Text-to-speech (TTS) software is an assistive technology tool that can be used to help kids who have trouble reading. Text-to-speech can help kids with reading issues learn more effectively. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) says that eligible kids with learning and attention issues should be able to access the same learning materials as other students. Using software that turns written material into audio is a way to make that happen for kids with reading issues like dyslexia. It allows kids to see text and hear it read out loud at the same time as the text appears on the screen. Assistive technology in Learning can be defined as any technology that improve instruction and promote students’ learning, such as Reading pens, Screen readers, Text readers, and many more.
This is an example of a Second Languege Learner learns
English Words using the Reading Pen
Magical ePen, reading pen, talking pen (Shah, M. 2011)
Assistive technology can empower ESL students in some areas. Assistive Technology devices can decrease students’ isolation and allow them to become part of regular subject area in the classrooms. It then becomes a tool that provides a method for an individual who is experiencing language difficulty to still participate in a classroom. This enhanced instruction for all students including ESL students. The important thing is to match particular assistive technologies to specific needs so that students can function more independently.
As the inclusive education of all students occurs within the standard classroom, then it becomes important that the knowledge and or experience base for all teachers needs to be expanded to incorporate assistive technology approaches and accommodations. Teachers need to become familiar with assistive technology in order to embrace and use it so that they can instruct and support ESL students in an exclusionary setting.
References:
Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA). Retrieved
from: http://www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3859#What_is_AT_
Edutopia. (2010). Assistive
Technology: Enabling Dreams. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXxdxck8Gic
Milestone, J. (2014). Assistive
Technology: Tools That Help With Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics
Morrin, A. ( 2014). Assistive Technology That’s Built Into
Mobil Devices. Retrieved from: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics
Morrin, A. (2014-2015). Text-to-Speech Software: What It Is
and How It Works. Retrieved from: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics
Hi:
ReplyDeleteNicely written
-j-