Assistive Technology Review: "Dragon Naturally Speaking"

This summer has been great not because of the warm weather, swimming, and outdoor activities that I have done. I had a great opportunity to take two summer classes on technology. I have learned so much in particular in my assistive technology class. The most exciting software that I had a chance to operate was Dragon Naturally Speaking. Until this summer I was unaware about this software program. Taking college courses requires typing several pages of research papers and projects. Our hands get tired and our elbows can never seem to get comfortable as we work at our desk. With my current school schedule, word documents, spreadsheets, email, and resumes has surrounded my current life. With Dragon Naturally Speaking you never have to pick up a finger to type. Why? This is because it allows you to type by speaking. This software is run by the sound of your voice. This includes opening files and working on the internet. Dragon is speech recognition software created by Nuance Communications. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it with my own two eyes. I simply put on the headset that comes with it and began speaking into the microphone as the words appeared one by one. With this great innovation, operating a computer can be done in half the time. Even better, this serves as a great assistive technology device for students with disabilities. Students with limited fine motor skills can now use their speech as the software recognizes the individual’s voice. According to Dragonnuance.com this software recognizes your voice with up to 99% accuracy. Training is easy and gets better with repetitive use of the program. It can be used with a PC or a Mac. According to Dragonnaunce.com, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10.1 is compatible with Windows 7 and has earned the Windows 7 logo certification for compatibility. Dragon offers several editions which can be purchased for home users and business purposes. There are special editions for lawyers and doctor’s called Dragon Legal and Dragon Medical. That’s the great thing about this software is that it helps accommodate a diversity of users. According to Dragonnuance.com, each edition comes with a noise-canceling headset. The higher editions come with wireless headsets. Dragon Naturally speaking can be use with a variety of operating systems such as Windows 2000, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. You must have an internet connection in order to activate the software. I recommend that teachers who work with students with disabilities try this program. More time can be spent on assisting students with the quality of a paper or story than the quantity. Teachers and other professionals have the opportunity to send emails, create newsletters, grade books, etc. Hopefully this information has inspired you so that try Dragon Naturally Speaking’s creative speech recognition software.

Assistive Technology Review: "The Trackball"

Students have a wide array of disabilities that affect them in numerous ways. There are some individuals with visual or hearing impairments which require sign language and tactile adaptations to help support learning. Others may include Spina bifida, cerebral palsy or other spinal cord injuries which can affect the ability to walk or sit up using a straight posture. In such cases as these children can have the inability to perform fine motor movements. Frustration and self-esteem can make students feel less involved and left out of basic educational functions such as writing with a pen or controlling a mouse to perform actions on a computer. IDEA stresses the importance of equal opportunity and access to assistive technology. Students with disabilities should be able to engage in tools to help them achieve the best possible educational outcomes. I want to introduce you to the track ball which is an alternative mouse which can better assist students with poor fine motor movements in the hands or arms. I had the chance to learn about this alternative mouse in my assistive technology class. This is an advanced pointing device that can be bought at a reasonably low price. The trackball can be purchased at just about any store such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Staples. Several models still have cords that you have to yank around as you move them and a lots of designs still need a mouse pads. When using the trackball the movement of the finger helps to navigate the PC.

Assistive Technology Review: "The SmartNav"

During my assistive technology class I was introduced to a tool that can assist individuals with disabilities or the inability to use their arms and hands. Technology is one of the largest trends worldwide. Everyone should have the opportunity to be involved in the various innovations and technological advances that come into existence yearly. There are several basic and stereotypical characteristics of each disability category from medical, physical, educational, and psychological. The results from these characteristics are intertwined with 13 specific categories for students age 3 through 21 years to receive special education services. Among a few of these include multiple disabilities, speech and language impairment, and most severe orthopedic impairment. Individuals who suffer from this impairment can include physical problems such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida. These physical conditions affect educational performance and can be due to disease, genetic anomalies, or other causes. These problems require adaptations with devices and equipment to help accommodate their needs. That’s why I’m introducing you to the SMARTNAV head pointer. This is a hand free mouse alternative that is a reliable device which gives the user full control by moving their head. This is a inexpensive priced mouse that is good for people with good head control to completely navigate their computer. According to Naturalpoint.com, a mini reflective dot is stuck to the person’s forehead, eyeglass frame, hat, hand or tip of the nose. It includes a monitor-mounted transmitter and receiver that launches infrared beams.When launched out, it can sense reflections from the tiny dot. According to Naturalpoint.com, the individual is able to left click, right click, double click, and drag by holding the cursor still. You can place the SMARTNAV on top of your computer monitor, but be sure that it faces you. For laptop users, it can even be clipped to it. It can be positioned just about anywhere as long as it can notice the reflective piece of clothing, hat or other accessory the person is wearing. I definitely recommend looking into this assistive device. Students orthopedic impairments can make use of this tool with an alternative method of using their head. The more the student uses this tool, they will become more comfortable and more confident. Students have with poor fine motor skills can feel a sense of inclusion and can perform operations on a computer the same as their non-disabled peers.

Assistive Technology Review: Educational Software Program “TOUCHMATH”

I have had a the opportunity to learn about many devices and software in my assistive technology class. I happend to stumble across computer software program called TOUCHMATH. Touchmath helps assist young children with basic math operations. Students with disabilities or struggling individuals ranging from pre-k to third grade can benefit a great deal from its activities. According to Touchmath.com,the trick to is quite easy. "For a matter of fact it can be described in one word: Touch Points. Each number 1 through 9 has touch point locations equivalent to each digits value. Numbers 1through 5 have single touch points, while 6 through 9 have double touch points When children count the touch points, they make the connection relating the numbers with real values." Children begin to understand that a number for example 3 is not just a funny shaped , but instead a quantity such as 3 oranges, three bugs, 3 eyeballs, or 3 touchPoints. Picture objects are used in this software which is an excellent method for children who are visual learners, especially those with disabilities. According to touchmath.com, "Children use a multisensory approach which requires them to count aloud the single Touchpoints once and double Touchpoints twice. This strategy engages students on various levels including visual and tactile, kinesthetic’s, and auditory."

In order for students to get the correct answer, it is essential that they put their finger on the touchpoints using the appropriate touch and counting pattern for each number. Counting is the solution. Computations are simple because they engage the individual in TOUCHMATH. All operations are related to counting. In TOUCHMATH addition, children count forward. With subtraction problems they count backward. In multiplication and division, students count in sequences. Students touch and practice counting each problem repetitively.When they answer aloud, it helps strengthen basic math facts. Touchmath is also well-suited for Interactive Whiteboards for classroom lessons. Students become fascinated with the pictures as they count and play with touchmath. According to touchmath.com it involves a pre-test and post-test. Also students can be evaluated on the student assessment screen. I think this program is great for young children because it connects an images to numbers. This software program takes into consideration the diversity of of learners (auditory and visual). Again remember this program is a great assistive technology tool for young learners and students with disabilities. Hopefully you have learned more about this software. If you decide to use it, I'm sure you will find out the impact that it can have on young children.

Assistive Technology Review: Educational Software Program “FACELAND”

In my assistive technology class I had the opportunity to spend more time with the tech-devices the following day. A software program called Facland was really fun and challenged me as the levels progressively got harder. As I was playing with this software I thought to myself, this would be a great tool for students with disabilities. What type? Autism and Asperger's because of the social problems that these individuals face. This educational game would help them to recognize facial expressions and the meanings behind them.These individuals can have trouble relating to others. They do not avoid other people around them, but they do not have instincts and skills to assist them in expressing their thoughts and feelings and noticing others’ feelings. Other symptoms include having trouble recognizing verbal and nonverbal cues or understanding social norms. It is a possibility that they may not understand the importance of personal space, may gaze at other individuals, or avoid making direct eye contact. Most notably they may have unusual facial expressions, body postures, and gestures. An educational software program called “FACELAND,” helps students with autism and asperger’s learn to recognize facial expressions of emotions. FACELAND includes an amusement park theme to catch the student’s attention. According to DonJohnston.com, there are six schools that give concepts of clues and eleven game activities offer practice and fun. The schools in FACELAND are based on the theory that students will gain skills recognizing facial expressions involving different kinds of emotions. Children will be able to split them down into smaller parts. According to DonJohnston.com, it promotes clue attainment through spaced repetition, merge clues for “part to whole” learning. It capitalizes on instruction that integrates photos, mirror mimic sessions, and various connections and interactions. The program uses a wide array of subjects to support generalization and transfer of recognition skills to true life circumstances. Surprise, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and contentment are the emotions built-in to this software program because they are the most essential human emotions. These are emotions expressed in cultures globally which considers diversity.According to DonJohnston.com, Paul Ekman, the top psychologist in facial expression of emotions created FACELAND based on his studies and research. Hopefully you've gain more insight about this software and can use it to your advantage. It can help assist students with various disabilities especially asperger's and autism.

Personal Reflection:Modification and reformatting in LBD classroom

Education definitely changes lives in my opinion. I seem to learn more and more about the world of assistive technology in my current studies. I have become more self-conscious about tools that I use everyday. I have become this way because the little things that help assist us, we would never imagine that it is defined as assistive technology. better yet when we think of assistive technology or the term technology, we view it in a physical aspect. By this I mean we percieve as an actual tool such as a computer, calculator, or large keyboard. this is where we get confused of the meaning AT, in which I have been guilty of this perception in the past. IDEA 2004 incorporates the point of viewing the definition of assistive technology in terms of services instead of a physical device used by an individual with a disability. This helps us understand the concept of the term and helps us distinguish this common misconception. Providing a device is not enough and doesn'y guarentee that an individual is going to benefit alone from it. Once the concept of assistive technology has become clear, we can understand the many underlying that can play a role in serving as a form of assistive technology.With this being said, I have had numerous opportunities to reflect on a time in my own life that I used adaptive technology but was unaware that it was considered a form of assistive technology. As I have worked further along in my graduate studies I have learned the importance of understanding students with disabilities. I have learned how to accomodate their needs and modify the curriculum. Students with learning disabilities learn in different ways, a variety of rates, and are solely unique in their own special way. It is indispensable to get to know your students as individuals to form trusting relationships. Knowing their needs and how they learn best will enhance their educational experience throughout your class. I have had the opportunity to take what I have learned throughout my course work and implement the knowledge in hands on experiences through subbing for Jefferson County Public Schools. A long-term teaching assignment for a LBD class was given to me in which I had an ample amount of time to understand the needs and necessary modifications for each student. Student's disabilities consisited of autism, Attention Deficit disorder and mood disorders. A particular student with autism would become frustrated with writing activities. It was difficult to keep him seated during these writing activities and most importantly maintaining his focus to complete his daily assignments. I knew I needed to make some modifications and accomodations to help him achieve success in writing. I began allowing him to type his morning writing on the computer. It also served as a positive reinforcement technique. The agreement was to let this student begin the day typing his writing as an alternative. If he completed the rest of his daily assignments by hand and remained attentive throughout the day, he last assignment at the end of the day could be done again on the computer. I found this strategy to be very successful. Considering that he learned different than the other five students in my class, I found it useful to reformat the way test were given to him as well. Converting writing aspects of his test to more of short answer and multiple-choice motivated the student. Now that I have had time to reflect on my past experience with this particular student, I realized that reformatting the students test served as a form of assistive technology. Also giving the student the option to conduct his writing activities on the computer rather than by hand served as a service. Further more it served as an accomodation and helped fulfill his needs due to his autism. At the time I didn't realize that I was providing assistive technology and a serve to my student.

Personal Reflection: Planning for the Future

As I transition through this course, I obtain more critical knowledge about Assistive
technology. I'm learning what is assistive technology, and what is not. As thoughts continue to
come to my mind, I realized that I have used some some sort of Adaptive Technologhy without being aware that is a form of assistive technology. Throughout high school I realized that I was having difficulty remembering assignments that my teachers would assign. At times I would forget page numbers, how many chapters to read, and important due dates. I would find myself calling friends to asked that what was assigned for homework. Sometimes I would complete assignments ahead of time thinking that they were due the following day, but in reality not until the end of the week. When making the jump from middle school to highschool, I was use to my teachers giving constant reminders of homework assignments and due dates. If a assignment was late in middle schoool, it was okay to bring it back the next day for full credit. When I arrived to high school, it didn't take long to realize that life was now about growing up. I rapidly learned that I had to take responsibility for my school work and actions. I knew that I had to stop depending on others and take some kind of ownership in my learning. I began to understand that I had control over how much I learned, and how much I wanted to learn. I wanted to become a student that was instrinsically motivated. Being a multi-sport student athlete playing football, basketball, and track, I wanted an opportunity to play at the collegiate level. I had to become dedicated in the classroom and maintain a high grade point average. That's when it popped into my head. Scheduling, time management, planning and organization were going to help me achieve my educational goals to the maximum extent possible. I went to the store and bought a planner the size of a note book. This way I could implement some organization into my daily life and school. My planner became my bestfriend which guided me to remember important things I needed to know. I would write each class, assignments, and due dates in my planner everyday. I began to understand that teachers see numerous faces on a day to day basis. This became great preparation for college in my opinion, so I took it very serious. I was on my way to independence and becoming a responsible young man. My entire time in high school I never realized that the planner I bought was serving as assistive technology on the low-tech end. Most importantly, if someone would ask me what AT meant, I would have told them something to do with computers. Now that I have had time to reflect and learn more about AT, I can began to appreciate the little things such as the planner that helped me to gain organization and keep track of my educational life. My planner definitely helped assist me and become more aware of task that needed to be completed. It has helped me transition throughout college greatly. I wouldn't be able to retain vital information essential for my busy schedule. Assistive Technology has come so far since my days in high school. I have witnessed evidence of my previous statement. Today I still use a planner, except it's on my at&t phone instead of notebook form. It still helps me remain organized and holds me accountable for my learning and daily scheduling. Important date remind me with a specific ring tone on my phone. Today I have learned that the planner that got me on the right path is referred to as Assistive Technology.