Assistive Technology - Module 1

Assistive Technology – Module 1

Reading various articles and perusing the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) took me back to my childhood. I was born with an optic nerve defect that put me into the hospital and consequential surgery the first few years of my life. I remember hearing my parents discuss having me learn Braille “just in case”. Thankfully, I didn’t have to learn Braille and made it through mainstream education fairly okay. But I remember how it felt to be different. In viewing today’s education processes for low vision students, I marveled how technology makes such a difference. The students don’t feel “deprived” of their vision, but accept it as part of who they are. Education is exciting (in particular, the Science project http://www.blindscience.org/ncbys/Default.asp) and supports not only curricular goals, but also building self-esteem. The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides resources not only for those with disabilities, but for employers and others to support inclusion into the mainstream of society.

As a new TL, one of my goals has been outreach to the special needs of the school community (in particular, the MR class, the resources classes, and language learners). These classes never came to the LMC prior to this year and now feel welcome and come often. Today, Dr. Seuss’s Birthday and Read Across America Day, I have four classes scheduled. I converted some YouTube Video’s into windows media files and plan to show them with some fun worksheets that teach vocabulary. I am always seeking lesson plan ideas and resources to engage these students (and teachers) and support the instructional goals of this special community. Let me know if you have any!