During my teaching experience thus far, the most experience I have had with AT has been in making modifications to students' assignments by allowing them to type assignments instead of writing them. As I reflect back over my first three years of teaching, however, I remember advocating for students who would have benefited from using a laptop in class due to limited writing skills. I also remember during one IEP meeting trying to get a student a recording device to use during lecture due to the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury. For some reason, these requests were not honored. My personal belief in the classroom, is if something is going to help the student be successful, regardless of if they have a disability or not, then it is my responsibility to advocate for that student. We live in a time where we use assistive technology to navigate our day to day lives (cell phones, GPS, internet, etc.), so why not allow students to use AT in the classroom to navigate their education?
Enabling Dreams
This video shows how important AT can be in students' with disabilities lives. As AT continues to evolve, we as educators need to stay updated on what is available for our students with disabilities, so they can enjoy the school experience just as much as students without disabilities. Just as we are required to have professional developments on reading, writing, math and assessing students, as a fairly new teacher in the field, it would be helpful to have periodic PD's on the new AT and research that is available to students. This way as we sit in IEP meetings, we can advocate for a better school experience for them.
Enabling Dreams
This video shows how important AT can be in students' with disabilities lives. As AT continues to evolve, we as educators need to stay updated on what is available for our students with disabilities, so they can enjoy the school experience just as much as students without disabilities. Just as we are required to have professional developments on reading, writing, math and assessing students, as a fairly new teacher in the field, it would be helpful to have periodic PD's on the new AT and research that is available to students. This way as we sit in IEP meetings, we can advocate for a better school experience for them.