Technology in Your Life
The chances are good that you already use technology to help you learn.
Do you use a calculator to speed-up computing? How about a computer
to help you write? A spell checker? Email? The list probably goes on
and on. These
devices and others will be important as the demands on your time increase
in college. There may be some technologies that will be especially useful
to you because they help you get past your disability related limitations.
We will call these
assistive
technologies. Here are some examples of assistive technologies:
- Computer software that reads text to you
- Computer software that converts your spoken words to written text
- Machines that allow you to take notes in Braille
- FM broadcast systems that allow you to hear what is spoken in a
noisy lecture hall
To learn more about assistive technology, visit the
Center
for Technology and Disability Studies Web site.
If you are already familiar with assistive technology, skip to summary for Checkpoint 3 then go on to Checkpoint 2. What You Can Do
Now
Discuss assistive technology with your special education teacher or
an assistive technology specialist. It might be important for you to
have had some experience with potentially helpful technologies before
you go to college. For example, if you believe that using software that
converts your speech to written text will be helpful, you should take
the opportunity to try this out and get skilled with it now.
We developed several activities that can help you research assistive
technology. Visit the Post-ITT Web site and go to
Section 2 of the Guidance Activities. You will first (Activity 10)
be asked to identify how your disability makes learning in school hard.
The activities that follow show you how you can learn about different
technologies that can help you. A simple
worksheet allows you to keep track of what you learn. You can use
this later when you meet with the Disability Services Coordinator at
your college. Some technologies require that you learn new skills and
gain new knowledge. As you work with these, be patient with yourself
and the new equipment that you are using.
Prepare to Discuss Assistive Technology with Your Disability Services
Coordinator
Many colleges have assistive technology laboratories available to students.
It is also common for colleges to incorporate assistive technology in
computer labs used by all students. Often the Disability Services Office
will publish information about these resources on their Web sites. Find
out what will be available to you at the college you are planning to
attend by visiting that college's Web site.
Click
here for some hints on finding the information and questions you
might want to ask when you meet with your Disability Services Coordinator.
Summary
- Think of how you currently use technology to make your life easier
and to get around limitations caused by your disability.
- Learn more about how assistive technologies might help you in college
by visiting the Center for Technology and Disability Studies Web site.
- Ask your teacher about a formal assistive technology assessment
or use Post-ITT activities 10 - 17 to do an informal self-assessment.
- Find out how your future college provides assistive technology for
students with disabilities.
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