Technology+Autobiography

**__My Experiences With Assistive Technology__**
As far as I knew, assistive technology was a foreign subject for me. I knew little about it, and had no idea I was actually using it. However, after a little more education I began to discover assistive technology is all around me. Assistive technology is our way of life and how we do things in the year 2010. We depend on assistive technology for our daily needs, and when it is not working we get frustrated and annoyed. While assistive technology helps us make it through our day to day lives, it has become increasingly important in the realm of education. Students who were once left behind or now catching up to their peers. Students who were once struggling are given the opportunity to succeed. Assistive technology is the way to bridge the gap for many students who have not been reached in other ways. In the classroom, I have had limited experiences with assistive technology. I know my middle school students use Read, Write, and Gold for testing and other more lengthy assignments. My students also use computers and word processors for writing assignments. They enjoy the experience and the diversity in their mode of output. My students have also used AlphaSmarts and enjoy the mobility of the word processor. I have had little training with these technologies and use them infrequently, however I can see the benefits clearly. One of those benefits is increased engagement. Assistive technology is something I believe can make the big difference in a student's academic career.

media type="custom" key="6769263" When watching students accomplish feats that would have been impossible a decade and even decades ago, I can't help but be amazed. It is not as much the amazement of how far technology has come, but I imagine what life had to be like for students like these before this technology existed. Some students were left sitting in a classroom with no voice. Some students were being thought as as unteachable. Some students were unable to express their thoughts and feelings in any way. This is why assistive technology is such a necessary component in education. The moving of an eyebrow can mean a new world of exploration for a child who in the past sat wanting to scream out. The future will only mean more possibilities, possibilities all students need to have a fair shot.