Assistive Technology Day 1Reflection 1

Today I was reminded of the importance of independence in each of our lives. Something that can easily be taken for granted by many. I was amazed by the video footage we viewed today and awakened to the fact that the possibilities for my students are endless. This awakening has led to a great desire to learn and experience as much assistive technology as I can get my hands on. The more knowledge I have the better myself and the program planning team can meet the individual needs of each student, help them achieve their learning outcomes, achieve a greater quality of life and develop independence. Assistive techonology is vast and always changing, just as our students needs are always changing, thus assessing our students and finding the right tool for them is vital. The Assistive Technology: Supporting Student Success document (published by the Nova Scotia Department of Education) can guide you and the program planning team in this process. This document outlines the categories of assistive technology, guides you through the program planning process, contains a list of resources, give suggestions for instructional adaptations, strategies and ideas and provides many checklist and forms to guide you through the file review and assesment process. Each school board as a team of people who can help support you and your students with assistive technology. I thank Barb for reminding me of that. This week I sent one quick email out and the rewards were plentiful. A wonderful person from our tech team named Janet showed up at my school and was excited to share with me the possibitlites of assistive technology. I asked for a laptop on loan with as many programs as I could get to take home and explore in the wee hours after my children have gone to sleep. The next day I received an email stating that a brand new lap top on its way, I will be the first to use it (not sure I handle that pressure with two small children in the house). However, the hope is that after I use it the laptop will continue it's journey to another resource teacher to share with them the world of assistive technology.