Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Technology access law helps those with special education needs

This article described a new law that will give Americans with disabilities better access to critical technologies. Personally, I found this interesting because a close family member of mine is handicapped. Oftentimes, new pieces of technology can be overwhelming and confusing for him to navigate and understand. I would be very grateful if companies could create software and devices that are more user friendly.
Especially as a future educator, I am saddened to know that a lot of technologies are literally inaccessible to so many people. I'm actually surprised that more hasn't been done up until this point with technology for disabled people. Technology can be a great asset in the classroom to people who may not always be able to do the same things as the rest of the students. For example, a student who has difficulties speaking can use a keyboard projected onto a screen to convey his or her ideas to a classroom and therefore can be a very active part of class conversations.
Overall, I am excited to see the changes that will be taking place in the technological world to make devices more accessible not only for the disabled, but for everyone.


liz exo said...

I think technology would be a great way to help out disabled students, but I am curious as to what specific technologies are becoming availabe for disabled students.

scalhoun said...

This law is really a great idea! I think it is really wonderful that school will now have to make sure that their disabled students are included. This can have more benefits that just the obvious, too; my sister is disabled, and she had so many teachers that just assumed she couldn't participate in something because of her disability, when in reality she was fully capable of it. I think this will really force teachers to figure out what their students are and are not capable of, and then make adaptations to that.