Assistive Tech, Module One

In my educational training, the focus on students with disabilities was much more centered around cognitive impairments, so this week's module has opened some interesting areas for me. For example, I am intrigued by the "Braille is Beautiful" teaching resource sold by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). It would be really interesting to tie in a unit on Braille for my Language Arts students with the use of the play "The Miracle Worker." Currently, I do not have any students who are blind, but this would be a good awareness raising activity for all my students. Something to think about and ask my department head if there is money to purchase the kit!

In the broader world, I found JAN (the Job Accommodation Network)to be an amazing resource, one which I am surprised I have never heard of. JAN exists to help not only persons with disabilities but employers as well, and I was impressed with the training they could offer a potential employer to increase the hiring of people with disabilities. This would be a wonderful resource in high schools, for the guidance counselors to navigate and make available to any students they may serve who would benefit from it. This site would be useful for special education educators at all levels, as well.

I am excited about the AT modules, because I have felt a bit unstable in my training to serve my students with disabilities in the best way, so these modules should provide me with a better understanding and some ideas to incorporate into my classroom.