Technology for Students with Impairments: The Possibilites are Endless!

There are a great variety of technological tools that students with various impairments can use to aid in their learning experience. The field of technology continues to grow in ways that I never could have imagined.  Technology is useful for exploring the world around us, connecting with others, and broadening the horizons of our intellect. As technology continues to make these exciting leaps and bounds, I anticipate that the tools for students with impairments will continue to become broader as well.  Technology should be an enhancement to everyone's learning experiences because the possibilities it provides are seemingly endless.

For a student with an hearing impairment, visual aids are a wonderful alternative to providing learning experiences.  Since these students may not be able to hear in-class lessons (or completely rely on lip-reading) I would recommend the use of the internet to gather more information. A class wiki is a wonderful way to post information that all students may need, hearing impaired or not.  Schrum and Levin (2009) detail virtual field-trips in their book. This is a fun and interactive way for students with hearing impairments to learn about places around the world without having to rely on their ears. I would eventually like to try to use one of these virtual field-trips in my English class to demonstrate specific time periods of books (the world of Dickens, for example).  

A student with low-vision may need their lessons supplemented by tools that they can hear or touch.  The DAISY talking books are helpful for those who cannot read books comfortably.  The Kindle and other e-readers are wonderful ways to store thousands of books, but they have been criticized for not attending to the needs of blind or low-vision readers.  I would also recommend the use of Podcasts for students with low vision. There are thousands of podcasts that can supplement the in-classroom lessons I may give.

In the case of a student with a broken right arm I would recommend the speech recognition software for writing purposes (if they are right-handed).  This way, students can simply speak into a microphone, and the computer will "translate" the speech and type it for the student.  This will eliminate the struggle the student may have with pen-to-paper writing.

A student with autism may benefit from educational videos found on TeacherTube.  I know that some people with autism feel uncomfortable with face-to-face communication, so if they can learn from videos of people instructing then it would be a good alternative.  Autistic children also enjoy electronic games, according to my basic understanding. That being said, there are many educational games that these students can simultaneously learn from and enjoy.

Although all of the technological methods studied in our reading were most likely designed for students with impairments, I think that I could easily use them for ALL of my students in the future.   

Resources

Schrum, L. & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.