Teacher Tap

 

Special Needs and Technology

What resources are available for visually or hearing impaired students?
 
How can technology help my students with learning disabilities?
 
Where can teachers go for information to support special needs students?

computerThe Internet provides a great resource for children, teens, parents, and teachers interested in special education, challenges and disabilities, assistive technology, and accessible websites.

Read Addressing the Special Needs Student through Technology by Diane Forte Barfield (Technology & Learning, January 2003)

ExploreTeacher Resources Center from Georgia Dept of Education. Contains accommodation templates and ideas for many different special needs. Also lots of ideas fo assistive technology.

 

Special Needs and Technology Resources

The following resources will get you started exploring special needs and technology.

 

Professional Organizations, Standards, and Materials

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org/
Organization focusing on exceptional children

LD Online
http://www.ldonline.org/
The starting point for learning disabilities

NICHCY
http://www.nichcy.org/
National information center for children with disabilities

Proteacher Special Ed Forum
http://www.proteacher.net/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=special_ed
Active forum for elementary special education teachers

 

Assistive Technology Resources for Teachers

ADA Home Page
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Information on the Americans with Disabilities Act

All Kids Can
http://www.allkidscan.org/
School projects

All Kinds of Minds
http://www.allkindsofminds.org/library/challenges/challengesSub.htm
Great articles

Effective Learning Groups
http://adhd.kids.tripod.com/groups.html
Article about grouping children for activities

Library in the Sky
http://www.nwrel.org/sky/department.asp?ID=0&d=11
Special education links

Listen Up Web
http://www.listen-up.org/
Specializing in information for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Multiage Classrooms Links
http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagelinks/index.html
Good resources for special and regular ed teachers

Primary Teacher Resources
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/9893/
Good resources for special and regular primary teachers

Special Education from Education World
http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/
Good starting point for special education

Special Needs Links From 4teachers
http://4teachers.org/profd/spedlinks.shtml
Great links

Special Needs from Teacher Vision
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-5819.html
Lessons

Special Needs Links from Teacher's Planet
http://www.teachersplanet.com/special.shtml
Lots of links

Starbright
http://www.starbright.org/
Projects for seriously ill children



Assistive Technology Resources for Teachers

Special Education Links from Discover School's Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/edspec.html
Good starting point

Assistive Technology from Education World
http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/assistive/index.shtml
Good starting point

Special Education Website
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/specialed/
University of Virginia links to special ed resources

Alliance for Technology Access
http://www.ataccess.org/
Group focusing on access to technology for people with disabilities.

AbleData
http://www.abledata.com/
Search for assistive technology resources and technology

Ability Hub
http://www.abilityhub.com/
Resources to help people who have difficulty using computer technology

CAST
http://www.cast.org/
Uses technology to expand opportunities for all people

Family Guide to Assistive Technology
http://www.pluk.org/AT1.html
Super basic information about assistive technology

National Center to Improve Practice
http://www.ldonline.org/
Lots of resources on technology and special education

Tools for Life: Taking the Mystery out of Assistive Technology
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/tfl_mystery.html
Great article

Closing the Gap: Computer Technology in Special Education
http://www.closingthegap.com/
Links to products and resources

RehabTool.com
http://www.rehabtool.com/at.html
Assistive Technology resources

Assistive Technology
http://www.kidstogether.org/at.htm
General resource

 

Resources for Children and Young Adults

Common Thread
http://www.commonthread.org/
Designed by and for children with challenges (particularly medical problems)

Can Do Kids
http://www.nlbbs.com/~mbush/kids.html
Focuses on what children "can do"

Just Because We Have a DisAbililty Doesn't Mean We BYTE
http://library.thinkquest.org/11799/
A thinkquest by kids for kids with disabilities

Bandaids and Blackboards
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/fleitas/contents.html
For chronically ill children

Understanding Disabilities
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002137/
A thinkquest jr. project

the AbleDisabled
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003703/
A thinkquest project by high school students about

The Best We Can Do
http://library.thinkquest.org/28279/
A thinkquest project to learn about visual disabilities


Web Accessibility Issues

Explore issues related to web access for children with disabilities. Start with the WebXACT website. This free service will analyze web pages to determine if they are accessible. Try analyzing a website for kids using this resource. Consider the issues in designing web accessible websites. Use the websites below to learn more about this issue.

Consider All Students

Identify a student in your class with special needs. Use the resources above to identify three new strategies you can use to support this child.

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