It's hard to imagine not using technology every day in the real world. And yet in our schools, technology is often seen as giving an unfair advantage. A narrated version is available at donjohnston.com...
When I was a teacher, the question was always "What kind of technology do you use?" The assumption was that any technology was useful. It is important to distinguish between bells and whistles and what can really help students. This excellent video provides a strong case to rephrase the question - "What assistive technology do you use to help make learning accessible to all students?" I have seen first hand how assistive technology can bring the freedoms of communication, reading, and movement to students with physical and cognitive disabilities.
The important thing to remember is that EVERY learner benefits from assistive technology of various kinds. Some may benefit more than others, but we ALL need it!
I agree with Don Johnston Inc below: the line is fuzzy if not non-existent between assistive tech and simply tech: tech is what helps us all do what we'd like to do. Sure, each new development poses new challenges and opportunities, but as the video implies, we need to ditch the attitude "we've always done it that way." If we can do it better, we should!
The future of AT is tech support-free. An example: one of our design goals for a new product we released called Bookstream was to make it so easy that it can be implemented in 30 minutes. If you have to install something and only your IT staff have rights to install, it will take longer than 30 minutes. It may take months. Looking at these issues, we made Bookstream "installation-free" and the most user-friendly AT product I've ever used. I've seen the future and the future is simple.
I wish I had those things back then too. But I think the next generation will concur considering how quickly technology is advancing. It's incredible to think that 100 years ago the automobile was just becoming a mainstay, 40 years ago the very first desktop computers (actually more like calculators than what we think of as computers) were coming out, 20 years ago not many of us had Internet connections in our homes, and now I'm talking into my phone, asking it to check my schedule.
The main barrier is teachers' unwillingness to become skilled in using and applying technology and thus helping their students to become familiar too.. Lots of resistence out there. Maybe the next generationn of teachers?? It depends on what they are being taught in those stale education depts. in college.
@aelialicinia I agree. Another barrier to the use of AT is the lack of effective and efficient technical support. A third barrier is administrators' and spec ed heads resistance to AT - teachers can only implement what their bosses allow and support.
What skills will be valued when our kindergarteners graduate from high school 13 years from now, and how do schools need to change to prepare them for this continually changing world we live in? The only thing that seems likely is that globalization, competition, and technology create an environment that requires creative problem-solving and adaptability in the face of uncertainty. How do schools need to be structured to foster this?
It seems to me that all technology can be considered assistive...a smartphone, a computer, a car, text-to-speech. The more I think about it, the harder it is to distinguish "regular" technologies from "assistive" technologies.
There's an excellent book called "Switch" by Chip and Dan Heath that outlines ways where "average" people can make big changes. I think they have a model to move the unmovable. Teachers feel really beat up right now with the school bureaucracies, the focus on testing, and the tight oversight by administrators garnering a sentiment of mistrust. But when a teacher sees something that has a dramatic impact on a student, the teacher will embrace it. It's our job to show them that impact.
This video certainly doesn't advocate that technology is the answer in all cases-only that technology should be considered in schools and not discounted because of false assumptions or metastasis.
No, I'm not blind, but I work with folks who are, am interested in assistive technologies, and write a blog about tech solutions for home healthcare and people with disabilities. Google mHealthTalk. --Wayne Caswell
