Adaptive Technology: Tools for Learning

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Adaptive Technology Tools for Learning

• Student Affairs/
• Disability Resource Center

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Why We Are Here

• Computers and other technology have become
  essential tools in higher education
• Students with disabilities need access to course
  materials in print or online like everyone else
  or access to a computer workstation for classroom
  learning
• How adaptive technology helps students accomplish
  things given their current level of function in
  the academic setting, rather than remedial
  technology that builds academic skills

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of Students Registered with the Disability
Resource Center 2002-2003

• Physical disabilities 48
• Visual disabilities 10
• Cognitive disabilities 31
• Hearing disabilities 7
• Includes students as having primary and/or
  secondary disabilities

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Computers as Compensatory Tools

• Basic tasks
• Equipment commonly used by students who are
  blind, low vision, have physical limitations, or
  cognitive disabilities
• General strategies and approaches for all
  disability types
• Adaptive technology available at ASU West
• Low Tech options
• Demonstrations of adaptive technology

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Basic tasks

• Reading use of an optical character reader that
  reads through a speech synthesizer or prints in
  Braille
• Writing use of a laptop computer and input
  device to take notes in the class and print them
  out in normal or large-type print read notes
  later with use of a speech synthesizer
• Organizing information outlining software such
  as Inspiration or Text Help, that helps organize
  information more efficiently, both for study and
  for producing written assignments
• Researching information use of online
  information through libraries such as digitized
  catalogs, databases on CD-ROM, electronic
  journals, electronic books, and accessible
  computers allow students to research the material
  they need
• Taking Tests use of speech synthesizer to hear
  questions, enter their answers, and verify with
  screen-reading software screen magnification
  computerized spell checker

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Equipment Used by Students who are Blind, Low
Vision

• Braille embosser and printer Braille printers
  emboss information for reading
• Refreshable Braille Display Braille information
  is on a strip-type device that normally sits
  directly in front of the standard computer
  keyboard
• Optical character recognition (OCR) Reader scan
  a printed document and convert the information to
  sound
• Screen-Reading systems speak the information
  shown on the computer screen
• Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) enlarges print
  materials up to 60 times
• Screen-magnification software magnifies
  information on the computer screen from 2-16
  times
• Large monitors seventeen-inch to 21-inch
  monitors offering a full-screen image

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Computer access approaches used by students with
cognitive disabilities

• Screening reading systems speak the information
  shown on the computer screen
• Altered colors on a monitor colors can be
  changed from black background and white
  foreground to some other color combination
• Highlighted portions of text makes reading
  easier for some people
• One word or one line on the monitor at a time
  too much information displayed at one time makes
  it difficult to read
• Word prediction software helps with spelling
  problems
• Voice recognition systems difficulty translating
  thought into written format, but individual has
  good oral language ability

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Equipment used by people with physical limitations

• Keyboards provide larger or smaller target
  areas pressure sensitive when touching keys
  on-screen keyboards
• Keyguards plastic or metal that fit over
  keyboards for easy access for use with finger,
  pointer, or mouthstick
• Voice recognition software speak into microphone
  to create text on screen due to typing
  limitations
• Trackballs, joystick, headpointers for
  manuevering around on the computer screen
• Sticky-Key software allows individual to press
  each key separately in a multiple-key operation
• Word prediction software takes any character
  entered from the keyboard and looks it up in the
  program dictionary, program displays a selection
  box with a list of most likely words or phrases
  that begin with that character

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General strategies and approaches for all
disability types

• Do not need to be complicated or expensive
• Students have already developed strategies to
  meet all or some of their needs and willing to
  share their ideas
• No single solution will accommodate all people
  with learning disabilities, physical limitations,
  or vision impairments

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Adaptive Technology at ASU WEST

• CCTV (magnifies print materials)
• 21-inch monitors
• Reading Edge (scan print material to be read
  aloud)
• JAWS (speech synthesizer for users who are Blind)
• Zoomtext (computer screen magnification)
• Kurzweil 3000 (speech synthesizer for users who
  are low vision or have a cognitive disability)
• Dragon Naturally Speaking (voice dictation)
• Readplease 2002 (speech output with font size
  enlarger)

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Low Tech options

• Increase the font size on materials created by
  you to size preferred by the student (i.e..
  Syllabus, course packets, assignments, PowerPoint
  notes, etc.)
• Requesting textbooks for your classes from
  publishers who have the textbook available in
  electronic format/CD-Rom
• Use videotapes that already have closed/open
  captions available on them
• Substitute a different style mouse for computer
  classes (i.e. Trackball, Think pad, etc.)
• Convert PDF documents to format accessible for
  screen-reading software (i.e. HTML, plain text
  ASCII)