EDCI 5825 Assignment Week 4

For a student with a hearing impairment, I would first and foremost have this student sit closer to the front of the classroom so they would be able to hear me better when I speak. I also would make sure that whenever I would give an oral lecture that students have to take notes from I would make my notes readily available for my students to access via the course wiki or google docs. In this way, the hearing impaired student will be access my notes so if they possibly missed something from the lecture they will be able to have the material they missed. If possible, I would use a variety of SMARTBOARD activities as these are very strong visual aides for the students. Also, if possible, I could use speech recognition software that would allow me to speak into a microphone as I am lecturing and have what I am saying either project on the board or to the student's computer. The hearing impaired student will be able to follow right along with the lecture and will be able to catch all of the nuances of what I am saying as what I am explaining may be portrayed differently in the written notes form of the lecture.


For a student with with low vision, I would use technology such as DAISY talking books. The DAISY talking books are a more technologically advanced version of books on tape, but DAISY talking books offer even more than just this aspect. "Some of the features that make the DAISY system effective are image files, video playback, and support for standard files such as .wav, .jpeg, etc. The tools allowed by DAISY aids those with visual impairments to share in today's digital, knowledge society" (WEBSITE). DAISYwould aid those students who are not able to see very well will be able to have an interactive textbook. I also would plan to use technology such as jingcasts that can talk to the students directly to explain what is going on if there is an activity that utilizes a lot of visual aides. 


For a student with a broken right arm, I would use technology such as speech recognition if the students are required to do an activity where they need to take notes. The student would also be able to use speech recognition to complete a quiz or a test. The speech recognition software will allow the student to complete any task required. According to the wiki article, "The use of speech recognition software allows students that have little or no motor skills in their arms and hands to be able to produce typed reports, manage software, and perform research with a computer, just like other non-disabled student" (WEBSITE). I would also have my notes readily available for the student as it may be difficult to catch all the information from the lecture.


For a non-communicative autistic student, I would use a variety of the tools already mentioned. Something beneficial for these students would be DAISY talking device. Not only can DAISY read textbooks, but it can also read documents. Some autistic students have the ability to write. In this case, I can have the DAISY reader read the student's assignment right from the word document. I would also use lots of pictures in my lecture as non-communicative autistic students are able to connect very well through photos and are able to recognize certain characteristics. As for the other students, I will also make my lecture notes readily available.


Reference

Assistive Technology in Education/DAISY. (2009). Retrieved June 19, 2011, from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/DAISY