These tips originated in an article in Ed Tech Magazine. The magazine focuses on “helping school district technology managers do their jobs better. The publication offers best practices, features, product reviews and case studies from the field that show how technology can be leveraged to improve teaching, learning and administrative services on school campuses of all types and sizes.”
- Make Assistive Technology Training Ongoing. Technology is constantly improving, so it’s important that teachers continue to learn and be trained to use new technology. School districts can hold individual or group training sessions for teachers about how to use assistive technology.
- Go Outside the Classroom to Learn. Research online best practices for teaching with assistive technology. You can find a wealth of resources — including lesson plans, templates, digital reading materials, and visual and audio supplements – to implement in your classroom.
- Let the Students Teach. Young students, including students in special education, are “digital natives”, says Diane Moog, a teacher at the Montana School for the Deaf & Blind in Great Falls, Mont. Teachers should give them opportunities to play with, explore and demonstrate what these new devices can do. Many students will learn these tools on their own.
- Know which tools work and stick with them. Make it a habit to recognize what specific pieces of assistive technology are working particularly well for your students. Keep those devices around because they’re working!
If you’d like to learn more about these tips, check out the original article in Ed Tech Magazine.