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Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Eight Ideas

The classroom is more diverse than ever, and teachers must be prepared for every type of student, especially those with disabilities and special needs.

Plenty of assistive technological devices can help children with learning challenges succeed. Assistive devices range from hearing aids and amplifiers to glare-reduction screens, screen magnifiers, note-taking devices, voice-recognition software and much more.

Here are eight great assistive technology devices teachers can use in the classroom:

  1. Word Talk:  Here's a powerful, free text-to-speech plug-in accessible on Microsoft Word. With this tool, teachers and students can hear any document read aloud and save audio files for later. 
  2. FaceMouse:  This tool turns a standard webcam into a working mouse operator. Students can use their head and facial gestures to complete tasks such as pointing the cursor, clicking on Web sites or typing on the keyboard. 
  3. Sip & Puff System:  Students with mobility issues such as paralysis or other motor skill difficulties can navigate a mouthstick, like a joystick, to click on Web pages, type and more. 
  4. Talking Calculator:  This device has a built-in synthesizer that reads each number, symbol or operation that is pressed, as well as the answer to the problem. 
  5. Digital Pen:  Students can convert their handwriting into text or an audio recording. 
  6. Ghotit:  For students with dyslexia and other challenges with reading and writing, Ghotit is a great tool that includes a phonetic spell checker. It also offers word prediction, a grammar and punctuation checker, proofreading and more. 
  7. Dragon Dictation:  Speech-to-text resources let students speak and see text appear right before their eyes. 
  8. Read, Think and Type:  Kids can write whatever they say. With a strong phonics approach, students learn how to build words and sentences and write their own phrases. 


The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program has also compiled a list of Web resources related to assistive devices. Here are four great ones:

  1. National Center to Improve Practice
  2. Assistive Teacher Training Online Project (ATTO)
  3. Tech Matrix
  4. International Children's Digital Library (ICDL)


Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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