EDM 310 Blog Post XI

This week, in EDM 310, we watched a video presentation by Margina Busby from the College of Education at the University of South Alabama. The presentation was titled “Overview of Assistive Technology and Implementation.” It is designed to give background information prior to an in-class presentation next week. Assistive technology is defined, in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as any “item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially…or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve capabilities of individuals with disabilities.”  This definition includes a wide range of devices, for example: pencil grippers, powered wheelchairs, closed captioning, and touchscreens. These devices may seem dissimilar, but they all share the same purpose of providing access to education for students with disabilities.

Margina Busby explained that very few students with disabilities are educated solely in resource rooms. Most students with disabilities are educated in regular classrooms. This concept is called full inclusion. This means every educator will have students with disabilities in their classroom at some point. As a future educator, I believe it is important to be informed on the use of assistive technology so I can effectively use it in the classroom.

I hope to ask Mrs. Busby two  questions in the upcoming presentation. First, I would like to ask what percentage of the annual education budget is allocated for assistive technology. Second, I would like to ask her view on future development of assistive technology, considering the rapid pace of overall technological development