Learned about assessment frameworks that are used to assess students to determine which assistive technology would best suit their needs. I must admit today was less frustrating than yesterday since my own technology was refusing to cooperate and I got way behind the rest of the class.
The importance of assessing students to ensure that they get the right technology has been stressed again and again in the short time we've been together for this course. I can understand the importance of the right fit when determining the best assistive device for a client. Often I feel the computer is not the best fit for me. When something goes wrong I am lost. I am more comfortable still with pen and paper though I am working at being at ease with computers since it is becoming more and more a part of my job. It is frustrating though when your ability and the device don't match.
Not only are comfort level and ease of use important. Assessing people for the right fit is a complex task. The assessor needs to understand the technology, understand the task or tasks the student needs to do, understand the person who is using the device, understand the environment in which the device is to be used, and understand the time involved in using the device. And this is a simplifed version. The assessment frameworks we examined all seemed to assess for all or most of these things in varying degrees. The WATI was by far the more detailed assessment and I am wondering about the reality involved in using such an in depth assessment. It would take a great deal of time to administer and would the results be that much more valuable than administering something shorter and more straightforward? (See links for more information on the assessments.)
As a teacher in the process I see my role as offering information to the AT specialists when assessing, along with implementing the use of the device or at least overseeing it's use. I'm assuming we would also be responsible for ongoing assessment of how it is working and how it helps the student meet his/her goals.
Also got a chance to use the iPod Touch today and the app Proloquo2Go. I was looking forward to working with the iPod and was impressed with how easy it was to use the application. I wonder about typing messages since the keyboard is very small? There is an alternative keyboard on Proloquo2Go though it is still fairly small. I guess, as part of the assessment, fine motor skills and ability to use the keyboard would be taken into consideration as part of understanding the student and their capabilities. I am looking forward to working more with this program in the days ahead. (See video below on how to use Proloquo2Go.)
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