I am an OT and could use some help with technology resources and implementing them in the classroom with students with special needs. I would really like to know about any tools that could be helpful for students with motor and speech limitations in the general education classroom. The tools we are currently using don’t integrate well into that setting. Where can I find tools that my students could use in the general education classroom?
CITEd just recently updated the TechMatrix(opens in a new window), a tool that allows you to search for information on assistive and learning software and tools. The TechMatrix now includes more than 190 products and tools in AT Access Devices, Reading, Math, and Writing. You can search for tools by subject area, learning supports, features, and product names.
It sounds like the “features” search may be most helpful to you. You can select one or more features (e.g. connection to computer, customizable interface, embedded resources, text-to-speech, word prediction, etc.), and then click the “Generate Matrix” to view a matrix of products having that particular set of features.
Popular types of products that have been successful as both AT for students with special needs and general classroom technology include portable notetakers, adapted keyboards that can be used by one or more student on a regular desktop computer, and text-to-speech functions on general computers that can stand in for dedicated speech devices and read a students’ presentation or response. You can find out more about these technologies at the TechMatrix.