Providing Assistive Technology - Solving Problems or Creating Division?

Introduction  

Assistive or Inclusive Technologies assist and direct students who have learning, physical, mental health, sensory needs, and auditory or visual processing disorders. It can help them more effectively and equitably study, research and overcome writing and reading difficulties in planning, negotiating and completing classroom tasks.

The various technologies need to be matched accurately and in a timely manner to meet a need or set of needs. The AT solutions or "kit" can also potentially cause more problems or eventuate in a costly exercise in time, expenditure and frustration as the most appropriate devices, software or strategies may not be funded or made available. They need to be very carefully considered and researched and agreed upon by the student, parents, guardians and educators, University or training college staff. The lack of awareness or maturity in the research approach may compromise the potential outcomes.

• What needs to be considered?
• How does an educator, parent or trainer determine the most relevant and appropriate assistive technologies for short and long term use?
• Does it conform and meet the criteria of UDL and leading educational practices?

PORTABLE DEVICES 

Students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions require a wide range of tools and solutions in order to initiate and independently complete tasks. Often it is difficult and time consuming to source the most beneficial combination of technologies that will meet their needs. A range of popular and affordable mainstream technologies exist that can assist them in their research, study, organisation and learning. Freeware can also be gainfully employed to meet certain ends too. Often the solutions are in the operating system of their device but technicians turn them off, as they are “annoying”!

How can educators harness the simplicity, power and portability of devices such as mobile Smartphones, iPhones, C-Pen Readers, Livescribe Pens, Bluetooth devices, Soundfield systems, Notebook, Air Books, Chromebooks, Pads and MP3 players so that they are used effectively and constructively at school rather than being a nuisance and hindrance?

• Do educational institutions and training colleges negate the positive advantages and features or relegate them to another ‘banned’ technology? 

Educators and students need to consider the relevance and importance of portable digital devices. Schools and tertiary settings need to provide opportunities for including them in an educational, data retrieval and research contexts. Students perceive these technologies as critical elements in the delivery, storage, and development of knowledge systems, alongside their computers. BYOD can solve problems and allow students to be more confident and independent but they can also be a distraction as well.

Educators should negotiate and decide with their students as to the necessary tools to use in class as well as in other domains. Agreement as to whether they are permissible or appropriate in different settings at school should be articulated and clearly defined in school or institution policy. Most campuses have a computer laboratory or classroom with computing resources as well as in information areas such as libraries and pods. Facilities for safe, equitable and manageable usage can prevent security risks and ensure the integrity of all systems. Liaison and discussion with relevant IT personal will result in workable and productive outcomes. Robust infrastructure with servers, routers, hubs and Ethernet as well as wireless access needs to be deployed so that Internet access is seamless and as fast as possible.

The decision to allow or ban a device is dependent on how the school views and perceives learning. How students interface with devices and people has changed markedly over the past twenty years. The prevalence and scope of new portable devices has increased exponentially. The range of facilities has also diversified and expanded. Current technologies offer a range of functions with multiple features and formats in these devices. 

Smartphones and iPads as well as Notebooks of all shapes and sizes and Operating Systems access the web, provide services including, Messaging, YouTube, Snapshot, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, SMS, email and play back music, animated gifs and video files. They can be used to store names and addresses or friends and colleagues as well as calculate, and help students organise and plan their day. Their battery life can last up to a week without charging or only a day with constant use (e.g. Kindle Readers batteries have a very long life). Combinations of the above plus Digital Audio Recorders and cameras can help to record content to be revised and studied after classes or training session.

Mobile phones include web browsers, Global Positioning Satellite features, voice recording, video playback as well as Office document support and access to PDF files. The data transfer protocols include Ethernet, USB 2 or 3 infrared, Fire wire and Bluetooth connectivity options. Students are connected to local and global communities and communicate in a variety of ways. Transmission of information is fast and often effective.

• Have educator, lecturers, and trainers fully grasped the implications of these technologies and exploited them for the advancement of teaching practices, or lagged behind?

Students often regard current educational settings and their teachers as being more and more irrelevant. With Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 tools, students are able to share ideas and information using a variety of online tools, accessed anywhere at their convenience. They can Blog, create Wikis and use Intranets to great advantage and be socially connected, especially students who may have physical liabilities and communicate via a switch, head pointer, AAC device (e.g. a Smart 3) or use an Eye Gaze device - https://www.zyteq.com.au/products/eye_gaze

SOFTWARE GENRES

Software can be freeware or Open Source based, or purchased as commercial products. With freeware programs and utilities, successful deployment can be achieved at a small cost with near immediate results. In other situations, successful and satisfactory deployment may result in significant costs in the initial purchase, as well as short to long time frames in the testing, installing, configuration and implementation. Opportunities and funding for training and professional development may or may not eventuate. 

Genres of software programs provide students who struggle with text-based systems. Increasingly, students wish to use visual media to describe and document significant events in their work, study and leisure time. Schools need to provide opportunities for students to use their skills in video, photography, symbols, Emojis, programming , simulations, (Minecraft, Sim City), robotics, AI, CAD systems, Mind mapping (e.g. XMind and MindView with Kidspiration 3 for younger students) and animation to complete assignments and tasks, without having to rely wholly on text.

Schools often remain ambivalent to the use of other recording and assessment tools such as video and audio recorders such as C-Pen Reader Pens (https://www.spectronics.com.au/blog/new-technologies/review-of-c-pen-reader-reading-support-device/) , Quicktionary Pens or Livescribe Pens or audio recorders on their Smartphones or Android based tablets. Some do not allow note-taking apps such as Sonocent Audio Notetaker or NTEhub Note Taking Express as they feel compromised and worry about legal situations if something awry happens in their classroom. They struggle with different formats and encourage or even stipulate that all assessment must be written or typed. 

This disenfranchises a growing percentage of students who find producing, reading and comprehending text difficult or impossible.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Using scanners with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, students can transfer text from any printed source into electronic formats that can be edited, printed and saved (included in Claro Apps, Ghotit program and Apps and Texthelp Read & Write products).

Scanning text using OCR systems, either desktop or hand held devices, provides students with the option of acquiring the whole or part of a document, newspaper, book, instruction or study guide. After it is electronically converted to a text file, PDF or MS Word document, students can change the font, size and colour, background colour, line spacing and overall appearance (as in Ghotit Real Reader and Writer App sand programs on Mac OS and MS Windows' devices). Text can be voiced, brailed or even translated into a preferred language. Of course, copyright and validation principles need to be clearly understood and proper conventions followed.

Some students have difficulty reading text due to the complexity of the text, layout and amount of text, the vocabulary or terms embedded in the writing as well as the lack of time required to read or study the contents. This occurs frequently in exams and texts while they are under duress writing with a one or pencil. Occasionally it is simply the fact that the original is a library resource that cannot be borrowed. In other instances it may be the fact that the student is fatigued or not concentrating due to medication or lack of sleep.

Text to speech software provides instant speech feedback when reading MS Word files, web sites, emails, online chat messaging software and in any other programs where text can be ‘highlighted’ or selected. Claro Apps can read text from a photo or a website graphic and voice it back as well as transfer it to a Google document or Google Slides. Voices are male or female and speed and sometimes pitch can be modified. Text can be spoken within the program, voiced by using a floating toolbar.

Text to Audio programs and utilities can be used to convert text to WMA, .WAV and MP3 sound formats. These file types can be associated and played with applications on the students’ or school’s computers or on iPads, Android devices, other computers at home, Smartphones or on MP3 players and iPods. 

Talking calculators can be used to check the input of numbers and functions as well as the result of a calculation. They assist vision-impaired students and those who require voice feedback as they may inadvertently transpose numbers or enter required steps or functions incorrectly. Students with Dyscalculia depend on them!

There are spell checkers that help with locating and spelling words correctly. Used in conjunction with an online or dedicated thesaurus and linked dictionary, students can locate and define words and build confidence in using more appropriate vocabulary. Yet other programs voice PDF files that have been downloaded from the web, accessed from a CD or DVD or provided by teaching staff or scanned by the student, teacher, scribe, tutor or teacher assistant.

Note and document storage cloud-based services and storage applications are usually easy to master and track and store Internet pages and resources. Evernote is a great example of a handy and cheap Cloud based notetaking and storage option as well as Dropbox and the iCloud.

These cloud resources aid in storing, compiling and locating information whilst students research and gather critical data on the web. They can then re-order data, add notes, photos, images and video content at school or at home.

Organisational, planning and information management systems provide electronic storage and retrieval of data. Systems exist that assist in students maintaining schedules and alert students to important and significant events. Use of diaries, calendars, reminders and visual, auditory and text-based media can realise better outcomes for poorly organised students. It promotes greater self-reliance, which results in a more confident and independent users. Some students require programs that use symbols such as Boardmaker or use the free Adapro on MS Windows based devices.

CONCLUSION 

It is in carefully selecting the right technology with good research and due diligence that will ultimately reveal the necessary inclusive technologies. Working under the UDL model (Universal Design for Learning- see the CAST web site) at the right time that ensures success.

As all students and educators have their own capacities to cope with new technologies, it is in identifying which technology or combination of solutions that will provide the necessary supports in a cost and time efficient manner. Educators need to embrace emerging technologies and assist students in identifying how, when and where they can be gainfully employed to further opportunities to participate and succeed.

It should never be about the cost. Meeting individual needs and providing sustainable and reasonable outcomes must be the goal. The technology should be 24/7 in design and functionality. There in so valid argument NOT to equip young people who are already disadvantaged. The technology – from no tech, to low tech right up to advanced technologies are paramount if a student is assessed and requires interventions and learning, access, auditory, study, planning and organisational and or visual supports. 

Author: Gerry Kennedy ? This article is a revised paper previously presented at a Pathways 8 Conference in Australia, published in June 2019.  

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