Thoughts on MPTT and Scherer Chapter Readings

In thinking of ways to use assistive technology in the classroom, the environment (milieu), personality, task, and technology are seemingly obvious factors in deciding on ways to adapt the activity for the child, but which can easily be overlooked for a teacher new to these technologies. What is important to consider is not just how these technologies can assist students in learning new skills and finding new ways to share their ideas, but whether you are using your student's time and the resources most efficiently to build on skills needing development; matching the correct technology to the task and the student; and in the appropriate situations (teacher/ educational assistant / parental support or supervision, time of day, student's technological, motivational and attentional capabilities).
It is easy to imagine teachers getting carried away by enthusiasm for a particular AT computer program and start using it with students who are not necessarily a good fit, just because it has worked with other students with great success in other situations. Getting to know the students strengths and areas of difficulty, their temperment with different levels of assistive technology, and attentional and motivational capabilities will greatly determine the types of assistance you will want to provide your students. Experience with the technologies will be a great benefit in learning about the levels of attention and motivation needed to work with the programs.

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