Topic 1 - A
Basic Information about Assistive Technology

This topic is offered as a review for students who have a basic understanding of assistive technology (AT) from previous courses or hands-on experience.

Assignment

Students who have taken and completed DIS 505 should complete the following assignments:

Review 3 of the 8 web sites listed below and in a 2-3 page paper answer the following questions:

What is the content of each of the web sites you have reviewed?

What is the web site's focus?

Is the web site useful to professionals?

Is the web site useful to consumers?

Were there useful links found on the web site related to AT?

What links did you find that are new and that you are interested in using in the future?

Is the web site easy to navigate? Explain.

Is the web site accessible to people with disabilities?

Web sites:

Submit your MS Word document in the "Assignments" area located from the left Course Menu. You'll find a link titled "Topic 1 - A Basic Info about AT" for this topic.Topic 1 - A Basic Info about AT

Choose either A or B for the second part of this topic's assignments

A. Review three of the following articles from the journal “Teaching Exceptional Children” Volume 37 No. 3, Jan/Feb 2005 Theme: Adapting Curriculum for Middle and Secondary Students. The articles and the readings from #2 are provided within NAU's Cline Library and will require authentication using your dana login and password. (The Course Resources page for this course can also be located from the "Cline Library Readings" link on the left side course menu.) There are five articles in this issue that address teaching and transition issues for students with disabilities.

  1. Moving from Elementary to Middle School: Supporting a Smooth Transition for Students with Severe Disabilities.

  2. Woodshop, Technology, and Reading!

  3. Math Games for Adolescents
  4. Navigating the College Transition Maze: A Guide for Students with Learning Disabilities

  5. Empowering Students with Severe Disabilities to Actualize Communication Skills

After reading and reviewing these articles, how many references to assistive technology do you find? Do you think that AT should have been included in the teaching strategies or in the transition plans? In a short paragraph for each article (3 paragraphs total), list the AT tools (or general categories) and associated services that might have been included in the article if the author had been knowledgeable about the field of AT.

B. Read the following chapters from "Living in the State of Stuck" by Marcia Scherer, Brookline Books, Cambridge,1993 .

1. Going Into the 21st Century with a Disability pages 7- 28.

2. Independent for the First Time, pages 29-42.  

Summarize the information in these two chapters in a 2-3 page paper. Include information that is new for you or information that you think is important to remember when working with students/clients.

Submit your MS Word document in the "Assignments" area located from the left Course Menu. You'll find a link titled "Journal/Article Review".