Assistive Technology

Why is inclusion important both to the student with special needs and the culture of the class?
When I was a child, moving was a way of life. At the time I hated it, but this is the reason I wanted to be a teacher. It didn’t matter how many new schools or students I encountered it was always the teachers that made me feel included and a part of the class. Inclusion is important to the student with special needs because not only are they defended with the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Assistive Technology Act, but because every human being has the right to be educated regardless of special needs.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires common places used by the public to provide an equal opportunity for access. I see this in two ways, equal opportunity for access into public buildings, and also equal opportunity for access to education. Legally it provides access into public buildings and ethically there are really no boundaries.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act looks more towards the aspect of education and students. It entitles everyone to a “free appropriate public education for students with disabilities.” It entitles students with special needs to a non-restrictive learning environment.
The Assistive Technology Act affirms that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of Americans with disabilities. It also provides funding in order to help implement the technology that is that valuable tool.
Inclusion is important to the culture of the class because it provides not a moral way of being, but an ethical one. If the culture of the class is ethical it will spill out past the classroom creating ethical students who will take it into their lives, and hopefully into their future.
The culture of the class starts with the teacher.

What technology tools do you find specifically valuable that assist students with visual, hearing, motor, learning, or language disabilities?
For students with visual disabilities I believe that a Narrator program and a Magnifying program together could be very beneficial, especially in combination with a Braille keyboard. There are many programs out there but these two can make a very big impact on an everyday routine.
Students who have hearing disabilities could be deeply impacted by a Voice to Sign Language Translation Program.
Students with motor disabilities can use an on-screen keyboard or a voice recognition software to transcribe spoken word to text.
Language disabilities can be addressed with a language translator. Either a voice recognized translator or a written one or both. These are a few of the examples of Technology that I feel can be valuable to assist students with a variety of disabilities. Any of these can be used in combination with any other programs. Some of these are available on Windows XP and Vista at no additional cost.
Cecilia Garcia