Assistive Technology for My Students?

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WhyDoINeedAssistiveTechnologyinMyClassroomAssistive technology may be a solution for students with learning disabilities who have difficulties in reading, writing, calculations, memorizing, planning organizing or completing a task.

Students who constantly struggle with schoolwork often perform poorly, lose self-confidence, and experience increased frustration at their perceived failures. Experts define assistive technology as any item, piece of equipment or system that helps people bypass, work around or compensate for learning difficulties. The technology can include “high-tech devices” like speech recognition systems, reading machines etc and “low-tech devices” such as tape recorders, organizers, highlighters and more which aim to make learning easier and simpler for students.

To improve learning disabilities, educators should stimulate, facilitate and strengthen a student’s positives to help them overcome their weaknesses. Assistive devices serve as tools that enable students to focus on their learning by working around challenges and achieving maximum potential, increased functional independence and better academic performance.

What deficits does assistive technology address?

Markets offer high and low tech devices that address deficits in most areas of learning difficulties. For example, students who have difficulty organizing and planning their work can use calendars, organizers and schedule lists. Students who struggle to remember instructions can use cost-effective post-it-stickers. Those with visual perception deficits can utilize markers and highlighters to identify vital information. Students with reading difficulties can access audio books and publications. Similarly, students with writing difficulties can benefit from abbreviation expanders and alternative keyboards. With the many devices available, the key lies in identifying a device that suits the student’s specific needs.

How does assistive technology help students with learning difficulties?

Students can use these devices as either a compensatory or remedial approach. A student with reading difficulties but good listening skills might use a reading machine to complete a reading assignment, thus compensating for a deficit by focusing on a strength. Alternatively, a student using phonic software to learn phonics correctly benefits from the software as a remedial measure. In some cases, the tool may serve both purposes. For instance, a student might use a reading machine while following the written text to learn unfamiliar words. Choosing the right resource and incorporating it effectively requires knowledge about the tool and its functions.

How to choose the right assistive technology device?

Students should participate in selecting a device intended to “assist” them in performing necessary tasks. Before purchasing a device, consider the following factors:

  • The specific needs and challenges the child faces, particularly the academic areas where they struggle.
  • The student’s strengths, knowledge, and interests.
  • The environment where the student will use the device (at school or home?).
  • Skills, tasks or functions the device needs to perform (is it to compensate for writing, reading, organizing etc).
  • Device criteria including: cost, portability, reliability, ease of learning, operation and interoperability with other devices.
  • The student’s comfort with the device.

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