The Case Against Assistive Technology

A look at the assumptions stopping schools from using technology.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• assistive technology
• assumptions
• dyslexia
• physical disabilities
• the case
• Don Johnston Incorporated

[paulhami]

The important thing to remember is that EVERY learner benefits from assistive technology of various kinds. Some may benefit more than others, but we ALL need it!

[DonJohnstonInc]

It seems to me that all technology can be considered assistive...a smartphone, a computer, a car, text-to-speech. The more I think about it, the harder it is to distinguish "regular" technologies from "assistive" technologies.

[aelialicinia]

The main barrier is teachers' unwillingness to become skilled in using and applying technology and thus helping their students to become familiar too.. Lots of resistence out there. Maybe the next generationn of teachers?? It depends on what they are being taught in those stale education depts. in college.

[amzara]

@aelialicinia I agree. Another barrier to the use of AT is the lack of effective and efficient technical support. A third barrier is administrators' and spec ed heads resistance to AT - teachers can only implement what their bosses allow and support.

[DonJohnstonInc]

The future of AT is tech support-free. An example: one of our design goals for a new product we released called Bookstream was to make it so easy that it can be implemented in 30 minutes. If you have to install something and only your IT staff have rights to install, it will take longer than 30 minutes. It may take months. Looking at these issues, we made Bookstream "installation-free" and the most user-friendly AT product I've ever used. I've seen the future and the future is simple.

[DonJohnstonInc]

What skills will be valued when our kindergarteners graduate from high school 13 years from now, and how do schools need to change to prepare them for this continually changing world we live in? The only thing that seems likely is that globalization, competition, and technology create an environment that requires creative problem-solving and adaptability in the face of uncertainty. How do schools need to be structured to foster this?

[MrBarFoox]

@antipop198 ippppaaaddd rulez

[DonJohnstonInc]

I wish I had those things back then too. But I think the next generation will concur considering how quickly technology is advancing. It's incredible to think that 100 years ago the automobile was just becoming a mainstay, 40 years ago the very first desktop computers (actually more like calculators than what we think of as computers) were coming out, 20 years ago not many of us had Internet connections in our homes, and now I'm talking into my phone, asking it to check my schedule.

[DonJohnstonInc]

Thanks for the feedback--it just so happens that I narrated a version on the Don Johnston...just search for "the case."

[bpfheadstrong]

Love this video -- and can we get some assistive tech for all the text? Voice over for version II please.

[DonJohnstonInc]

There's an excellent book called "Switch" by Chip and Dan Heath that outlines ways where "average" people can make big changes. I think they have a model to move the unmovable. Teachers feel really beat up right now with the school bureaucracies, the focus on testing, and the tight oversight by administrators garnering a sentiment of mistrust. But when a teacher sees something that has a dramatic impact on a student, the teacher will embrace it. It's our job to show them that impact.

[antipop198]

Bring on the ipad competitors so apple can stop holding everyone in at over a barrel...

[edgarv704]

great video! This would be a great presentation to show to schools unwilling to make the leap into technology. There is just too much good that comes from technology to outweigh the bad. Ipads, smartboards, ereaders, etc. I wish I had these things when I was going through grade school.