Module 8: Assistive Technology

This week has a been a little stressful! It seems as though cold and flu season officially has begun because I have been out of commission for a few days! But I am back to almost normal! Anyway, I did a little exploration of the assistive and adaptive technologies and tools available at the current school I work at. My boss pointed me in the direction of the Center for Learning and Academic Success and I am glad I got to learn more about this program and the efforts of these teachers to help students who may need more assistance when it comes to learning and understanding the material they are presented in class.

I also took a look at some articles this week including "Assistive Technology: 10 Things to Know," which was very interesting and informative. I think steps two and three are important to note. We should be aware of the different technologies and tools that are available to use that are assistive and adaptive for students. A lot of these tools are also free, which is extremely helpful for librarians who have a small budget. I think step five is also important because teachers and librarians need the proper training when it comes to using these different tools. They also need to understand how to use them with students so that they can be effective.

Step nine may be a difficult step to follow. At my last school we started checking out headphones to students outside of the library and soon they weren't coming back. However, I think if we had barcoded the materials and put them in the catalog this would have helped solved the problem. But it still can be difficult to loan out expensive technological devices.

Overall, I think that a lot of these tips are useful for librarians who are trying to add more assistive and adaptive technologies to their school libraries. I will definitely be looking more into these technologies and tools moving forward.

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