Quality Indicators of Assistive Technology - Post Secondary

The QIAT Consortium is a nationwide grassroots group that provides input into identifying, disseminating, and implementing widely applicable Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services in School Settings that can be used as a tool to support quality assistive technology work in the schools.  Did you know that a new work group of AT professionals has been drafting quality indicators specific to post secondary education? The Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology in Post Secondary (QIAT-PS) offers tools and resources on quality implementation of assistive technology in the Post Secondary environment. QIAT-PS is a collaborative effort of hundreds of professionals from a variety of higher education and K-12 schools and based on the successful implementations of assistive technology indicators in K-12 public schools. The QIAT-PS was developed as a tool for both students and college personnel. The QIAT-PS Student Guidelines are intended as a tool for students and families as they consider the transition from public school to the college environment.  The QIAT-PS College Guidelines are intended as a tool for college personnel as they consider their accessibility and accommodations for the entry of students with disabilities. Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology in Post Secondary Education is sponsored by DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center and DBTAC: Southwest ADA Center. The QIAT-PS web site will be updated by the end of the summer.  If you are interested in a final copy of the indicators contact Janet Peters at jpete@uic.edu.

AT Minute Video: Using Photos on the iPad

AT Minute Videos, a product of PACER Center's Simon Technology Center, are short videos highlighting a variety of assistive technology tools, tips, how tos and more.  There are many apps that allow you to incorporate pictures from your personal photo collection. In this video we go over a few different ways to get photos onto your iPad and then how to edit them. In addition to the methods mentioned in this video you can also email yourself photos or use the new Messages feature.

Assistive Technology Accommodations in Higher Education

Students and parents are often surprised to learn that the process of obtaining accommodations, such as assistive technology, in college and other postsecondary programs is very different than in K-12 public schools. This is because the legal requirements are different.

When a student leaves the K-12 setting and moves on to higher education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) no longer applies. Instead, civil rights laws for people with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, regulate how postsecondary programs must accommodate the needs of students with disabilities.

In higher education, the student is responsible for contacting the appropriate program at the school to identify themselves as a student with a disability and to request necessary accommodations. The student must also provide paperwork that documents his or her disability. If the student does not identify him or herself as a student with a disability in need of accommodations, the college is not obligated to provide accommodations to the student.

Usually the school’s disability support office can help students through the process of arranging necessary accommodations. To ensure that colleges provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, the student may be asked to supply the school with documentation such as a list of accommodations that have been used successfully in the past or a recent IEP from high school.

It is a good idea for the student to request accommodations prior to each school term rather than waiting until they find it difficult to complete the coursework. A student who needs books and other instructional materials in alternative formats, such as audio, large print, or Braille, should request these items early enough so that the material is ready when classes begin.

Although colleges may provide assistive devices as reasonable accommodations, they are not required to and may not provide the most sophisticated technology available. It is acceptable for a college to provide different technology than what the student prefers or is familiar with.

The availability of accommodations in higher education settings often varies, depending on the college or program the student attends. The following table provides a sampling of common accommodation options for areas in education. It is not intended to be comprehensive.

Test-taking	Reading	Writing	Lecture
Extended test time	Audio books	Computer or portable word processor	Interpreter for people who are hearing impaired
Allowing breaks during test taking	Large-print or Braille materials	Electronic spell checker & dictionary	Assistance with note taking
Low-distraction testing environment	Screen magnifiers	Speech recognition software	Digital recorder
Repeating directions	Scan-and-read software and pens	Talking word processor	FM listening device
Oral testing	Computer Braille display	Graphic organizer software	Computer for taking notes
Allow use of computer or calculator	Colored overlays	Slant board	Real time captioning
	Other reading services	Scribe
Computer Access	Math	Studying/Learning	Studying/Learning
Alternative mouse device	Graph paper	Post-it notes	Digital recorder
Alternative keyboard	Calculation chart	Highlighters and highlight tape	Timers
Computer access software	Talking calculator	Index Cards	Talking watch
Voice recognition	Accessible math software	Day planner	Print or picture schedule
		Personal data assistants	software for organization of ideas
		Graphic organizer software	Voice output reinders for tasks, assignments, steps to tasks

Tips for Transition Planning and Accommodations

1. Learn about the latest assistive technology options that could be useful to your son or daughter now and in the future by contacting PACER’s Simon Technology Center. For a listing of AT Resource Centers in your area, visit the Alliance for Technology Access Web site at www.ataccess.org. (PACER is an AT Resource Center)

2. Actively involve your son or daughter in the selection and set-up of any assistive technology they use. The youth should learn to manage their assistive equipment independently or feel comfortable directing support providers to assist with the set-up.

3. Involve your son or daughter in creating a student file for assistive technology and other accommodations that includes documentation of disability, accommodation needs, technology needs, technology emergency back-up plan, and contact information for repair services.

4. Start exploring postsecondary institutions with your son or daughter if he or she is interested in pursuing higher education. Talk with others to identify colleges that offer strong support programs for students with disabilities. Be sure to make an appointment with the disabilities support office to find out what kind of accommodations the school provides and whether they adequately meet your child’s needs.

Sharon's Story

 Sharon, a first-year college student, has a learning disability that affected her reading and writing. In high school, all her books were on tape, she took her exams separately, and she was allowed extra time to complete them. Sharon did not to request accommodations when she began her first year of college because she felt she could manage without the additional support. At mid-semester, however, she had failed two mid-term exams, and she became concerned about passing her classes. Sharon decided to contact her school’s student services office to request accommodations she had previously received in high school. She also contacted her instructors and informed them of her disability and the accommodations she needed. As a result, Sharon improved her test scores and passed both of the classes she had been failing.

Apps for Special Education: App Store, App Shopper, Moms with Apps

App Corner


App has been used as a shorthand term for “applications” and has become popular to indicate mobile application. App grew even more popular with the opening of Apple's App Store, which can be accessed through iTunes. In the “App Corner” in Tech Notes we will highlight mobile applications that are universally designed or meet an educational need. This month we highlight apps that help you navigate the variety of apps currently available.

App Store - by Apple The App Store icon is a built in app that comes standard with the iPad. Tap the App Store icon and you’ll find over 65,000 apps made for iPad. There are apps for anything and everything and you can search, purchase and download them right from your device (wifi or 3G connection required). Best of all, many of the apps are free.
AppShopper - by AppShopper.com, LLC AppShopper keeps you up to date on the latest news with apps via both the app and the companion web site www.appshopper.com. Users create a free account and are able to track the apps they own via My Apps and the apps they would like to own via a customized Wish List. The app will notify users when an app price increases in price, goes on sale, is available for free and when the app is updated. Additional features include searching by the following categories: Popular Apps, What's New, Wish List, My Apps. AppShopper FREE (4 out of 5 stars from 523 ratings for current version); Information from the Apple iTunes Store viewed on 6/30/11.
Moms with Apps - by BabyBlinks Moms with Apps is a group of parents who develop educational apps. They started with a web site and blog and feature a popular Free App Friday. The free app gives parents and educators an additional way to interact with their content and collection of apps they have deemed parent and child friendly. They aim to assist parents and educators to identify apps that address the needs of their children and students. Developed in collaboration with the Moms with Apps development group, nearly 400 developers have cataloged and categorized over 1,000 apps by their educational value and appropriate age group. The result is a comprehensive catalog of apps. Moms with Apps FREE (4.5 out of 5 stars from 61 ratings from all versions); Information from the Apple iTunes Store viewed on 6/30/11.

Web Spotlight: Khan Academy

Math can be a tough subject for even the strongest of students and it’s easy to fall behind or miss a key concept. Even adults might find that there are holes missing in their math knowledge. Luckily there is a great free website to help your youth, young adults, or even older adults work on math skills and more. This site is called Khan Academy.

When Salman Khan started creating YouTube videos to tutor his cousins who lived far away he never expected them to be so popular with the online community. As the videos grew and the views racked up he created a website to hold them all called Khan Academy. 2,200 videos later you can find instruction on anything from basic math to advanced calculus.

The videos alone would be a great resource but Khan academy offers some interesting tools to motivate and assist users. Once you sign in to the website you are presented with a map that lets you see what skills you have to master to learn more complex concepts. Once you click on a concept you can watch a video demonstrating how it works. After each instructional video you are presented with a handful of practice questions. Only after you complete 10 questions in a row does site give you an award stating that you have mastered that concept. Along the way you can earn badges that represent your accomplishments on the site.

If you are a parent or a teacher you can set yourself up as a “Coach” where you can track a users progress and help them if they are struggling in a certain area. The site features detailed progress reports and graphs for a single or multiple students. In addition to Math Khan Academy has added videos on Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy, History and more. Find out more about Khan Academy by visiting them online at www.khanacademy.org or watch Salman Khan’s presentation at TED 

EC Corner: TNT Newsletter May 2011 (Robots as Assistive Technology)

The Tots 'n Tech Research Institute (TnT) is an inter-university collaboration between Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), Philadelphia, and Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe. TnT's mission is to provide up-to-date information and resources about adaptations--including assistive technology--to use with infants and toddlers for state education agencies, Early Intervention providers of all disciplines, and families. TnT produces a newsletter highlighting the use of assistive technology with infants and toddlers. The May 2011 issue focuses on the assistive robots and how they can assist infants and children with movement, socialization, education and more. To subscribe to this newsletter, follow this link tnt.asu.edu/home/news  or visit the Tots n Tech home page tnt.asu.edu.

Early Childhood Corner: EZAT 2

EZ AT 2: Simple Assistive Technology Ideas for Children Ages Birth to Three

EZ AT 2 is a guide for increasing young children’s participation in daily activities and routines using assistive technology. This fantastic publication is a follow-up to PACER’s popular EZ AT: Assistive Technology Activities for Children Ages 3 to 8. Funded by and created in collaboration with Tots-n -Tech, this publication will be available for purchase this summer for $5.00 from PACER Center. For more information about EZ AT 1 and EZ AT 2 visit pacer.org/publications. For more information about Tots-n-Tech, visit tnt.asu.edu.