Yuly Arizpe Star Legacy Module March 4, 2011 Star Legacy Module Assessment 1. Name at least three items that could be considered AT and describe how those devices could support a student with a disability in the classroom. Dream Writer- can be used like the video showed for students like William; he has weak muscles so writing is very difficult. He used to produce very short answers, but now that he has his Dream Writer he elaborates, and gives much more detail. Audio recorder- can help because if writing is hard for a student, they can orally record their answers. Hand-held electronic magnifier- can be a great AT for students who have vision impairments; this tool can magnify whatever they need to see. 2. Explain two reasons why it is necessary to consider AT for students with disabilities. Everyone is entitled to and deserves a free and equal public education. Another reason is that just because they are disabled does not mean that they cannot succeed. They can do so much with the right AT’s; they can even do better than students who don’t have a disability. 3. Why is it important to consider both AT devices and services? It is important to consider both because you can’t get the maximum benefits without having both. If you only have the devices you fall short. Who will then who will tell you how to use them. Who will make sure they are used properly. If the devices mess up who will fix them? Who will meet with teachers and decide what is best for each individual child? If you only have the services you also fall short. Once the team meets and develops and IEP for the child how will they address this without the devices. The child obviously needs more assistance, so the devices are very important. 4. Describe three responsibilities of the Implementation Team. They consider whether AT devices and services are needed to accomplish the individualized goals and objectives for students with disabilities The team develops a plan to help guide AT implementation and to ensure that activities related to AT are completed Yuly Arizpe Star Legacy Module March 4, 2011 The team monitors, observes and evaluates a student’s AT 5. List three outcomes the Implementation Team can determine by evaluating a student's assistive technology. Student feedback to determine whether the student likes the AT and feels that it is helpful Observations to establish whether the student uses the AT and appears engaged and interested in using the device Performance data to determine whether the AT helps the student to perform the intended task(s) They can determine if the AT is used routinely with continued success They can determine if the AT is only used intermittently, which raises questions about the actual benefits They can determine if the AT has been abandoned 6. Imagine you are a seventh-grade general education language arts teacher and a student in your class has an upcoming IEP meeting. What types of information should you gather ahead of time to contribute to the discussion of the student's AT needs? Name at least four. I would observe him and watch how he interacts with his peers I would take notes on particular times that I see he isn’t focusing I would jot down the subjects he has the most trouble with Look at their history; previous IEP’s 7. During the meeting suggested in the example above, the IEP team recommends AT for the student. As a general education teacher, describe your role in the AT implementation and evaluation processes. If one of my students’s had to use AT, I would welcome it in my classroom. I would make sure that the student used it in the classroom, and I would not let any kids mock the disabled child. I would research the specific AT, so that I would be familiar with it. I would also find out who is in charge of the AT on my campus, so that if I ever had any questions I’d know who to ask. I would also jot down observations to monitor results of the AT, if I see that the AT is not working for the child then I would talk to the person in charge on my campus.