Assistive Technology is a broad topic that can be broken down into high, medium and low. This means there is either a lot, a little or in between amount of technology used to assist someone with something. In every classroom, there are a diverse group of students who learn differently. It is important as a teacher that we are aware of these differences and differentiate our instruction.
There are a lot of different technologies that can help support differentiate instruction. This includes several different types of software. Wahl and Duffield (2005) give several ways technology can be used with a diverse group of students. One example they give is Kidspiration/Inspiration (Wahl and Duffield, 2005). This program allows students to create graphic organizers. For some students it is easier to use a program then to write out information in a graphic organizer. This could be due to hand writing skills or visual impairments. Another example they give is text to speech (Wahl and Duffield, 2005). There are several software programs or online websites that will do this. This will allow students who are having difficulties reading the text a chance to understand it. These are just two examples of how assistive technology can be used with a diverse group of students.
Wahl, L., & Duffield, J. (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/763
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