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</FONT><BR>SKIP KIMPEL'S BLOG<BR>DECEMBER 4, 2009<BR><BR>ESCHOOL NEWS HAD THIS
GREAT ARTICLE THAT CAME OUT ON THURSDAY IN REGARDS<BR>TO<BR>NEW TRENDS FOR
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY..<BR><BR>CONVERGENCE, PORTABILITY, AND CUSTOMIZABILITY ARE
AMONG THE FEATURES<BR>THAT<BR>WILL DEFINE THE NEXT GENERATION OF AT DEVICES FOR
STUDENTS<BR><BR>ONCE CONSIDERED A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED FIELD, ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
(AT)<BR>NOW<BR>INCREASINGLY CAN BE FOUND IN APPLICATIONS AND DEVICES SOLD TO
THE<BR>GENERAL<BR>PUBLIC, SAYS A NEW REPORT THAT HIGHLIGHTS SEVERAL KEY TRENDS
IN AT<BR>DEVELOPMENT.<BR><BR>THE NATION CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION (NCTI)
PRESENTED THE REPORT<BR>DURING ITS ANNUAL CONFERENCE LAST MONTH. THE ISSUE
BRIEF, TITLED<BR>"UNLEASHING<BR>THE POWER OF INNOVATION FOR ASSISTIVE
TECHNOLOGY," COMES AT A TIME OF<BR>GREAT<BR>OPPORTUNITY FOR BOTH SCHOOLS AND AT
PROVIDERS, THE ORGANIZATION SAYS.<BR><BR>"THE CONFLUENCE OF FEDERAL STIMULUS
MONEY AND GUIDANCE FROM THE U.S.<BR>DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S OFFICE OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION PROGRAMS . TO<BR>CONSIDER<BR>INVESTING IN 'STATE-OF-THE-ART ASSISTIVE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING'<BR>AFFORDS<BR>THE FIELD A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO DEFINE
AND SHAPE WHAT STATE-OF-THE-ART<BR>ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY CAN BE," SAYS THE
BRIEF.<BR><BR>WITH THAT GOAL IN MIND, NCTI SOLICITED THE OPINIONS OF MORE THAN
65<BR>PEOPLE<BR>FROM ACADEMIA, THE EDUCATION-TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY,
PROFESSIONAL<BR>ASSOCIATIONS,<BR>AND ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.<BR><BR>BASED ON
THIS FEEDBACK AND A REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE, NCTI<BR>CONCLUDED<BR>THAT
"APPLICATIONS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR THE DISABLED ARE
INCREASINGLY<BR>RECOGNIZED AS PRESENTING SOLUTIONS FOR THE WIDER CONSUMER
MARKET." AS A<BR>RESULT, THE GROUP SAID, AT FUNCTIONALITY NOW OFTEN IS BUILT
INTO<BR>MAINSTREAM<BR>CONSUMER DEVICES.<BR><BR>HERE ARE THE FIVE MOST
SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IN AT DEVELOPMENT, ACCORDING<BR>TO<BR>NCTI:<BR><BR>1.
CONVERGENCE. NCTI DEFINES THIS AS THE CONSOLIDATION OF VARIOUS<BR>TECHNOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS INTO "A SINGLE PLATFORM TO PERFORM MULTIPLE<BR>TASKS"-SUCH AS THE IPHONE
AND OTHER SMART PHONES OR MOBILE DEVICES.<BR><BR>THESE DEVICES HAVE THE ABILITY
TO RUN MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS THAT CAN<BR>SUPPORT<BR>AND ACCOMPANY STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES THROUGHOUT THEIR DAILY<BR>ACTIVITIES.<BR><BR>FOR EXAMPLE, THE BRIEF
MENTIONS THAT STUDENTS IN TAIWAN ARE ENGAGING IN<BR>AN<BR>AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM
WITH SMART PHONES AND THE GENERAL PACKET RADIO<BR>SERVICE<BR>(GPRS) NETWORK.
WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO<BR>INTERACT TO AN EXTENT
THAT WAS NOT POSSIBLE BEFORE.<BR><BR>IN THE UNITED STATES, AN IPHONE APPLICATION
CALLED ISIGNS CAN FACILITATE<BR>COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DEAF STUDENTS AND OTHERS
WHO DO NOT SIGN. OTHER<BR>IPHONE<BR>APPS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES INCLUDE
PICTURE SCHEDULER, WHICH<BR>HELPS<BR>STUDENTS WITH AUTISM CREATE AND ORGANIZE
PERSONAL TASKS, AND IPROMPTS,<BR>WHICH<BR>PROVIDES VISUAL PROMPTING TOOLS TO
HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND UPCOMING<BR>EVENTS<BR>AND MAKE CHOICES.<BR><BR>OTHER
EXAMPLES OF CONVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDE E-BOOK READER
DEVICES<BR>AND<BR>ONLINE SITES THAT CATER TO HANDHELD TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS
BOOKSHARE.ORG,<BR>WHICH IS AN ONLINE LIBRARY OF DIGITAL BOOKS UNDERWRITTEN BY
THE<BR>EDUCATION<BR>DEPARTMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH QUALIFYING PRINT
DISABILITIES.<BR><BR>2. CUSTOMIZABILITY AND UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL).
ACCORDING TO<BR>THE<BR>BRIEF, CUSTOMIZABLE AT IS DESIGNED SO THAT IT "CAN BE
CONFIGURED IN<BR>DIFFERENT WAYS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL
USERS."<BR><BR>UDL SIMPLY MEANS CUSTOMIZING SOFTWARE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A
DIVERSE<BR>GROUP<BR>OF LEARNERS. FOR EXAMPLE, A UDL CURRICULUM SHOULD OFFER
MULTIPLE MEANS<BR>OF<BR>REPRESENTATION (THAT IS, IT SHOULD GIVE LEARNERS VARIOUS
WAYS OF<BR>ACQUIRING<BR>INFORMATION), MULTIPLE MEANS OF ACTION AND EXPRESSION
(IT SHOULD GIVE<BR>STUDENTS SEVERAL ALTERNATIVES FOR DEMONSTRATING WHAT THEY
KNOW), AND<BR>MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT (IT SHOULD MOTIVATE AND CHALLENGE
DIFFERENT<BR>LEARNERS APPROPRIATELY).<BR><BR>WHILE MUCH EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE HAS
INCLUDED CUSTOMIZABILITY IN RECENT<BR>YEARS, NCTI URGES DEVELOPERS TO INCLUDE
ELEMENTS OF UDL TO HELP ALL<BR>LEARNERS<BR>SUCCEED.<BR><BR>GAMING, ANOTHER
TECHNOLOGY THAT RECENTLY HAS GAINED MOMENTUM IN<BR>EDUCATION,<BR>IS ALSO AN AREA
THAT NEEDS WORK, SAYS THE BRIEF. "ALTHOUGH GAME<BR>DEVELOPERS<BR>HAVE NOT
TRADITIONALLY FOCUSED ON ACCESSIBILITY AND CUSTOMIZABILITY,<BR>THERE<BR>IS A
GROWING MOVEMENT TO ENSURE THAT DEVELOPERS KEEP THESE FEATURES IN<BR>MIND<BR>AS
THEY DESIGN GAMES," IT SAYS.<BR><BR>FOR INSTANCE, SOME ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH
AS UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE GAMES<BR>AND<BR>THE INTERNATIONAL GAME
DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION (IDGA) GAME ACCESSIBILITY<BR>SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, HAVE
SUPPORTED DESIGNING GAMES WITH CUSTOMIZABLE<BR>FEATURES THAT WILL MAKE THEM
UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE.<BR><BR>SOME UDL FEATURES FOR GAMING INCLUDE THE
CAPTIONING OF DIALOG,<BR>TEXT-TO-SPEECH CAPABILITIES FOR ON-SCREEN TEXT DIALOG
AND INSTRUCTIONS,<BR>THE<BR>ABILITY TO MAGNIFY AREAS OF THE SCREEN, THE ABILITY
TO USE AN ADAPTED<BR>CONTROLLER IN PLACE OF THE STANDARD ONE, AND CUSTOMIZABLE
COLORS FOR<BR>COLOR-BLINDNESS.<BR><BR>OTHER UDL RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE OFFERING
VARIATIONS IN THE DEGREE OF<BR>DIFFICULTY AND ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS FOR USERS,
SUCH AS GUIDES AND<BR>FEATURES<BR>THAT HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANT POINTS OR REWARD
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES.<BR><BR>3. RESEARCH- OR EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN. WITH
TECHNOLOGY CHANGING SO<BR>RAPIDLY,<BR>RESEARCHERS ARE BEGINNING TO REALIZE THAT
STUDIES OF AT'S EFFECTIVENESS<BR>SHOULD FOCUS ON FEATURES, USAGE, AND THE USER
POPULATION, RATHER THAN<BR>INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS, NCTI SAYS.<BR><BR>"AS FEATURES
BENEFICIAL TO USERS WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITIES BECOME<BR>COMMONPLACE ON
EVERYDAY ELECTRONICS, AT RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND THAT TO<BR>STAY<BR>CURRENT, THEY
NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT STATE-OF-THE-ART RESEARCH AND<BR>EVIDENCE<BR>MAY COME
FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES OR FROM CONSUMER TESTING AND DEMANDS,"<BR>THE<BR>BRIEF
NOTES.<BR><BR>EVEN WITHOUT FORMAL STUDIES OR MARKET RESEARCH, IT SAYS, AT
SPECIALISTS<BR>AND<BR>DEVELOPERS CAN DETERMINE UTILITY, INTEREST, AND EFFICACY
SIMPLY BY<BR>READING<BR>REVIEWS, DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF DOWNLOADS, AND
TALKING OR CHATTING<BR>ONLINE<BR>WITH USERS.<BR><BR>CURRENTLY, RESEARCH THAT
PROVIDES INFORMATION ON WHICH FEATURES ARE MOST<BR>EFFECTIVE FOR WHICH
POPULATIONS, UNDER WHICH CONDITIONS, AND FOR WHICH<BR>TASKS<BR>IS STILL IN THE
EARLY STAGES, ESPECIALLY FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES, THE<BR>REPORT<BR>SAYS.<BR><BR>YET
INITIAL RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE<BR>COMMUNICATION
(AAC) DEVICES HAS SHOWN THAT AAC SYSTEMS WITH STATIC<BR>VISUAL-GRAPHIC SYSTEMS
MIGHT BE MORE EFFECTIVE FOR USERS WITH AUTISM,<BR>WHEREAS OTHER USERS MIGHT
BENEFIT MORE FROM SPEECH-GENERATING DEVICES.<BR><BR>ALSO, "THE ADVENT OF NEW
TECHNOLOGIES AND MULTIMODAL COMMUNICATION<BR>ABILITIES<BR>IN BOTH MAINSTREAM
COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION DEVICES AND AAC DEVICES HAS<BR>LED<BR>TO FURTHER
CONFIRMATION OF RESEARCH THAT MULTIMODAL APPROACHES (VOICE<BR>OUTPUT<BR>DEVICES,
GESTURE, SIGN, FACIAL EXPRESSION, PICTURE SYMBOLS, AND<BR>COMPUTER-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES) ARE MOST EFFECTIVE IN MEETING A WIDE<BR>VARIETY
OF<BR>COMMUNICATION NEEDS IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS," THE BRIEF
SAYS.<BR><BR>4. PORTABILITY. TO HELP PROMOTE INDEPENDENCE, PORTABILITY IS
CRITICAL,<BR>SAYS<BR>THE REPORT. WHILE THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)<BR>REQUIRES SCHOOLS TO EDUCATE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
IN THE LEAST<BR>RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT, PORTABLE TECHNOLOGIES ARE HELPING TO
REDEFINE<BR>THE<BR>MANDATE OF "LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT" AND ARE
BOOSTING<BR>INDEPENDENCE.<BR><BR>ONE EXAMPLE OF PORTABLE AT IS A LAPTOP
COMPUTER, ESPECIALLY A NETBOOK.<BR>MANY<BR>OF TODAY'S LAPTOPS HAVE A HOST OF
ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES, AND NETBOOKS<BR>ALLOW<BR>FOR AN EVEN SMALLER, LIGHTER
SOLUTION.<BR><BR>TAKING THE IDEA OF PORTABILITY ONE STEP FURTHER, SAYS THE
BRIEF, IS A<BR>GROWING MOVEMENT TOWARD HIGH-QUALITY, FULLY PORTABLE, OPEN-SOURCE
AT.<BR>UNDER<BR>THIS MODEL, STUDENTS CAN CARRY AT SOFTWARE ON THEIR JUMP DRIVE
AND USE<BR>IT<BR>WHENEVER APPROPRIATE.<BR><BR>CLICK, SPEAK IS ONE EXAMPLE OF
SOFTWARE THAT CAN BE DOWNLOADED ONTO A<BR>JUMP<BR>DRIVE AND IS DESCRIBED AS "THE
ONLY FREE, PROFESSIONAL-GRADE SCREEN<BR>MAGNIFIER THAT WORKS ACROSS REMOTE
DESKTOP SOFTWARE."<BR><BR>5. INTEROPERABILITY. ACCORDING TO THE BRIEF,
INTEROPERABILITY CAN MEAN<BR>MANY<BR>THINGS FOR AT USED IN SCHOOL, HOME, AND
COMMUNITY SETTINGS. IT CAN REFER<BR>TO<BR>A DEVICE THAT CAN BE USED ON MULTIPLE
COMPUTER PLATFORMS, SUCH AS<BR>WINDOWS OR<BR>MAC OS X; OR IT CAN MEAN "THE
ABILITY OF TWO OR MORE SYSTEMS OR<BR>COMPONENTS<BR>TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND
TO USE THE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN<BR>EXCHANGED."<BR><BR>NCTI BELIEVES THAT AS
THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY MOVES TOWARD SOFTWARE AS A<BR>SERVICE (SAAS) AND CLOUD
COMPUTING, THE POTENTIAL IS GROWING FOR AT<BR>SOFTWARE<BR>APPLICATIONS THAT ARE
NOT INSTALLED ON A PARTICULAR MACHINE, BUT RATHER<BR>ARE<BR>ACCESSED THROUGH THE
INTERNET FROM ANY MACHINE.<BR><BR>"AS UBIQUITOUS INTERNET ACCESS BECOMES A
REALITY IN SCHOOLS, THIS TREND<BR>MAY<BR>EMPOWER USERS OF SPECIFIC SOFTWARE
LICENSES TO USE THAT SOFTWARE ON<BR>WHATEVER<BR>MACHINE THEY ARE NEAR, THUS
ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR RESOURCE ROOMS OR<BR>SPECIALIZED AT LABS," SAYS THE
BRIEF.<BR><BR>ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF INTEROPERABILITY IS WHEN PROGRAMS CAN SHARE
AND<BR>COMPILE<BR>DATA. ONE EXAMPLE IS TEACHTOWN, A SOFTWARE PROGRAM THAT
PROVIDES AUTISM<BR>SERVICES AND COORDINATES DATA AND COMMUNICATION AMONG
PARENTS, TEACHERS,<BR>AND<BR>CLINICIANS. SHARING DATA FACILITATES COMMUNICATION,
BOOSTS THE<BR>EFFECTIVENESS<BR>OF THE CLINICAL INTERVENTION, AND ELIMINATES THE
NEED FOR TEACHERS OR<BR>CLINICIANS TO TRANSFER DATA MANUALLY INTO THE SCHOOL'S
INDIVIDUALIZED<BR>EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) RECORDS, SAYS THE
BRIEF.<BR><BR>ACCORDING TO NCTI, THESE FIVE TRENDS ARE CRITICAL TO DEFINING
CURRENT<BR>STATE-OF-THE-ART AT; HOWEVER, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPERS MUST REMEMBER
THAT<BR>"KEEPING IT SIMPLE" IS REALLY THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL AT
TOOLS.<BR><BR>NCTI HEARS THIS PLEA FROM . PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS AS WELL. TOO
OFTEN,<BR>THE<BR>SOPHISTICATION OF THE FEATURES OR INTERFACE OF NEW DEVICES
PRECLUDES<BR>EASY<BR>USE BY DIRECT CONSUMERS OR THEIR PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND
FRIENDS. WITH<BR>MORE<BR>STUDENTS BEING SERVED IN GENERAL-EDUCATION CLASSROOMS
OF UP TO 30<BR>STUDENTS,<BR>DEVICES NEED TO OFFER AS LITTLE COMPLEXITY AND
FACILITATE AS MUCH<BR>INDEPENDENCE FOR THE USER AS POSSIBLE," THE BRIEF
SAYS.<BR><BR>"IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ADDING NEW FEATURES TO THE STUFF WE ALREADY
HAVE,"<BR>EXPLAINED TRACY GRAY, DIRECTOR OF NCTI. "WE MUST ASK THE QUESTION:
WHAT<BR>DO<BR>WE NEED TO SOLVE, AND HOW CAN WE DO THAT?"<BR><BR>THE BRIEF ALSO
UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF STATE-OF-THE-ART AT<BR>TRAINING<BR>FOR EDUCATORS,
AND IT LISTS POSSIBLE USES FOR IDEA-BASED STIMULUS<BR>FUNDING<BR>FOR
SCHOOLS.<BR><BR><A
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