Assistive Technology and Curriculum Alignment for students with visual disabilities

 
Last week some colleagues and I gave an informative presentation at ATIA in Orlando on the alignment of a technology curriculum with assistive technology for a PreK-12 school environment. The value of this approach is that students are taught a standard educational technology curriculum while being exposed to the concurrent assistive technology skills necessary to complete the standard educational technology curriculum. 

Techno-literacy, Assistive Technology and Critical Thinking

 
Assistive Technology Specialists are typically tasked with assessing, designing, educating and implementing assistive technology solutions for students with visual disabilities. The numerous assistive technologies available mean that students and the Assistive Technology Specialist have a multitude of options to help students succeed. Before the student can take full advantage of the benefits of assistive technology, there are several prerequisite skills that must be successfully developed first. These prerequisite skills do not differ too much from those necessary for students without disabilities. 

The Importance of the Assistive Technology Assessment for Students With Visual Disabilities

 
The assistive technology assessment does much more than assesses a student's need for and competency with assistive technology solutions in a K-12 educational setting. Using a set of generic criteria to decide which assistive technologies should be distributed to student's means that a percentage of students will be assessed incorrectly.