Assistive Technology Tutorial

Assistive technology devices range from high tech. to no tech. at all - there is a continuum.  They are becoming increasingly abundant and Special Education laws mandate the consideration of using the devices for all students students with IEPs.

Atomic Learning (http://www.atomiclearning.com/dns10pc) has a wide range of training options available for Assistive Technology devices.  I worked through the training for Dragon Naturally Speaking. The training was easy the follow and the best part is that it is broken into manageable chunks. I was interested in certain components, therefore I could click only on the parts I wanted to learn more about.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech recognition software that allows the user to dictate anything into the program just through the sound of their voice.  It can be used to type any document that one would create using a keyboard.  The text can be manipulated and revised. The user can even dictate into a recorder when they are away from their computer and then download it at a later time. Dragon can also be used to surf the Internet through the sound of the user's voice.  There are recognition errors until the program is fully trained to the sound of the user's voice. This is a powerful tool for older students and adults who struggle with reading.  It gives them the freedom to express their ideas on paper.  However, the program takes some time to get used to and it isn't good for younger students whose voice is still changing.