Assitive Technology

Introduction: Some students simply need extra help. As educators, I believe it is our responsibility to have programs on hand that will maximize a students learning potential. The following programs are just a few examples of tools to give aide to those with special needs.

EZ Keys- http://www.words-plus.com/website/products/soft/ezkeys.htm

EZ Keys is designed to give a voice to those who cannot speak. It allows for communication in the classroom between a teacher- student and student-student to be more like an ordinary interaction. Unfortunately, our current system does not teach sign language to all students, and I think this is the next best thing. EZ Keys allows for these students with this special needs to participate in classroom activities much easier and faster.



Easy Listener - http://www.centrumsound.com/Easy_Listener.html

Easy Listener is designed to give aide to students with hearing disabilities. Its design allows it to work with ear aides to help combat background noise in a classroom. Easy listener is one of the most popular choices for upper level students because it is convenient as well as effective. By using easy listener, students are able to participate on the same level as any other student. This means that the student can now gain valuable information simply by being able to interact with other students.



AskSam - http://www.asksam.com/

AskSam is a program that gives assistance to anyone who struggles with Organization and Memory. It is able to organize documents in Web page, Email, PDF file, text, and Word document form. Hundreds of private businesses use AskSam every single year.

How could this be helpful to a student who needs assistance in their school work? Well, once a document is in an AskSam database, it can be edited, rearranged, and organized much easier than other sources. Students who have a memory disability now do not have to remember what they searched the day before because it is right there for them in an AskSam database. In fact, this database is not limited to students with disabilities at all, it can be used by all students, and makes remembering and saving documents much easier on the student.


Assistive Technology is very necessary for the success of students who may have disabilites. In order to maximize those student's potential, teachers and adminstrators must be aware of these types of tools, and work to get them into their classrooms.