Achieving Success Through Assistive Technology

Achieving Success Through Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology refers to any technology that allows one to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of an individual with special learning needs. When creating an AT toolkit, a teacher needs to think about: What tools will meet the needs of my students so that they can function more effectively?

AT is necessary for some students in the same way that eyeglasses or other aids are necessary for some students. AT can effectively help students with special needs to... build on individual strengths; gain motivation; accomplish higher rates of learning and improved achievement; complete academic tasks independently, including tasks they might not otherwise be able to handle unaided, leading to a great sense of self-efficacy

How can AT help? For a student with slow information processing who has difficulty keeping up with the pace of language spoken and instructions delivered in the classroom and is slow at reading words and text? For a student who struggles with writing. He/She takes more time to copy information; written work is laborious; organization and ideas are weak; and editing is poor?

How can AT help? For a student who struggles with reading comprehension (i.e. limited background knowledge and vocabulary; minimal retention of text read)? For a student who has a poor working memory (i.e. has difficulty keeping in mind multiple pieces of information while carrying out a task; retaining or recalling information)?

Getting Started with Premier Assistive Software

What is Premier assistive software? Premier Assistive Software is a tool bar, containing several tools that are used in a specific application. Students select which tools match up with their current need. The tools can be fine tuned to meet each students specific needs

Who Should Use Premier Assistive Software? Premier assistive software should be considered, necessary for some and good for all. All students have access to this software. Premier assistive software can help any student read or write more effectively. By providing access to all students, use of this software will become normalized.

What Can Premier Do for Students? Premier is an easy to use matrix of tools, each one designed to enhance the learning of the individual using it. Premier enables all students to read and write more effectively.

Support Each of the tools in the tool bar comes with a manual and video tutorials which allow users to self train.

Talking Calculator The Premier Tools Talking Word Processor Universal Reader Text To Audio Scan and Read PDF Equalizer Talking Dictionary

Talking Calculator Simple talking calculator Talks through equations Does integer equations

Universal Reader Reads all documents/pdfs or websites Scans and reads documents Summarizes documents Uses a screen or a talking pointer to read

Talking Dictionary contains over 250,000 words Extensive definitions allows for approximate spellings presents a selection word list and synonyms

Text to Audio Converts text or PDFs to audio files MP3 or Wave Allows segmentation of the audio file

Talking Word Processor Word processor with the features of Voice and Word Prediction Proofread and grammar check your own documents. Create an Auto summary of your document

Scan and Read Scan and Read will allow you to scan printed material into Word or rich text formats. You can then read or edit the material Automatically summarizes documents Document can be copy/pasted into WP.

PDF Equalizer Reads and edits PDF documents Scan any document into a PDF Converts PDFs to MP3s Built in dictionary Summarizing function

Getting Started Class Introduction Normalize the use of the software, by providing access to all students through class wide lessons Begin by introducing the TWP in preparing and editing a composition Communicate with parents and care givers

Getting Started Individual Student Determine your student s primary need Teach them one of the tools on the tool bar Show them how to access the help videos Build upon the successes obtained and introduce another tool

Discussion: What are our next steps as a school?