As a first-year teacher in a regular education classroom, I am not that familiar with assistive technology. After reading our text, I learned that Assistive technology device is defined as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). From reading our text, I have learned about many effective ways to better help the needs of students with disabilities. My coworkers and I have never worked with a student using assistive technology but my mother who is a special education teacher for 19 years has experienced assistive technology. Proloqou2Go was used to help one of her former students who couldn’t speak. This helped to promote the development of communication skills and foster language development. The student was able to tap on the icon or picture and it identified what she was pressing. The most challenging piece she had was the proper training. Teachers are now given so much to incorporate in their classroom without the proper training which is causing a lot of frustration, not only for the teacher but for the student as well. Another tool used for students was laptops, it provides students to differentiate instruction depending on their learning needs. Our text states” Mobile devices have many beneficial features for students with disabilities such as touch screens, portability, downloadable cost-effective apps, and built-in AT features” (Korner & Leske, 2012). Providing assistive technology for students in need will promote better learning growth and engagement for our students. Now that I have learned more about assistive technology, if I ever needed to use assistive technology in my classroom, I will be more aware of what to expect and how to better assist my students.
References
Korner, H., & Leske, G. (2012). Apps for communication and everyday living. Independent Living, 28(1), 21–24.
Roblyer, M. & Hughes, J. (2019). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New York, NY:
Pearson Education.
Kaitlyn's Blog 
I agree with what you said about teachers having so much to incorporate without the proper training. I’ve been teaching for ten years. Over the course of those years, I’ve been told about programs and technologies, but generally, I’ve had to figure things out for myself. There are so many new assistive programs and technologies that I feel we should have regular training on what is available to keep us up-to-date on what is out there. According to Roblyer and Hughes (2019), “For successful technology implementation for students with disabilities, adequate training and ongoing support are necessary” (p. 313). Special Education teachers certainly need to be on the forefront of the knowledge, but classroom teachers may have to implement assistive technologies as well.
References
Roblyer, M.D. & Hughes, J. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across
disciplines. 8th ed. New York, NY: Pearson.
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