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At its core, the American educational system is about democratization of knowledge for all students, regardless of their circumstances. In 2011, 22 percent of non-institutionalized adults with disabilities had less than a high school education. If this statistic was applied to the general population, my suspicion is that there would be an outcry to reform K-12 education to have better graduation results. But for students with disabilities, there is no shock or outrage and that is something that has to change. The key to improving the educational experience for students with disabilities is better accommodations in schools and continued improvements in assistive technology.

A limited budget doesn’t have to stop you or your child from getting some of the best assistive technology available to help people with LD. These free resources will help you stretch your dollar while getting geared up for the new school year. Better yet, some of them may already be in your pocket—we’ve included features built into common devices like the iPhone and iPad that can be helpful for people who struggle with reading, math, organization and more.

Welcome to the draft of the National Education Technology Plan. We encourage you to host discussion groups with various stakeholders and look forward to your comments, ideas, and links to appropriate videos, stories and research. Commenting is available at the bottom of each page, enabling you to provide comments within the context of the plan and we will make this feature available for the next sixty days. Thank you.

Whether you’re on a farm, in a small town, or at home in your slippers, we’re inviting you to join us on Monday, April 30, from noon to 6 p.m. ET for the National Rural Education Technology Summit 2.0, as we use the power of technology to overcome distance, bring resources to rural schools, and engage administrators, teachers, and students in this free virtual conference.

Click here for full conference information and registration What: Want an intriguing conference that will channel you and your students to an invigorating new level, change the current path of your classroom, and set the course for change in your school? Then don't miss the 2011 August Institute. There is something for everyone regardless of how you perceive your classroom technology integration skills and teaching. You’ll leave with new ideas, knowledge of at least one free online application and many techniques to set your students on an exciting path of innovation and self motivation. When: August 8-10, 2011 Where: Phyllis J. Washington Education Building - University of Montana Missoula, MT Conference Highlights: Keynote address and presentations by Kevin Honeycutt (Teaching Wired Learners) Half-day sessions (novice & intermediate) with Tony Vincent (Project-based Learning) Wes Fryer ( iPhoneography 101; Talk with Media: Simple Ideas for Powerful Sharing and SmartNetworks) Concert with Chance McKinney Technology workshops for both novice and Intermediate users Technology coaches to support participants during workshops for novice users Presentations by our regional technologists, Diane Woodard and Dean Phillips Monday Evening Poster sessions highlighting Best Practices in Technology by teachers participating in the SLATE grants Tuesday Evening – Tech in the Wild session – using technology outside the school walls Ability to earn 2 semester credits or 22 OPI renewal credits Plus...many of our other sessions on school culture, RTI, special education, Indian Education, gifted ed, reading and math interventions … and much, much more

Click here to register for this event What: Early childhood is often when a child and the family first receive a diagnosis while in the hospital or outpatient setting. This course will explore the basics for introducing assistive technology devices to the family while in the hospital setting/outpatient setting. Learner Outcomes: Participants will identify criteria to determine when to introduce assistive technology to the child Participants will become familiar with the basic features of assistive technology assessment Participants will receive an overview assistive technology devices appropriate for a new diagnosis involving motor, sensory and cognitive issues. When: Webinar begins at 10:00am Mountain time. Session sign in begins at 15 minutes prior. This session requires you to call in to access the audio. If applying for Individual Continuing Education Units (one hour of instruction) registered attendance and successful completion of this educational program is required and must be applied for with the payment of $16 being made directly to RESNA. Submission application will be provided.   Certificate of Attendance will be available upon completion.

Students with learning disabilities (LD) may struggle with schoolwork in many different areas. While most are likely to have trouble with reading, others may have issues with math, memory, organization, or writing. Assistive technology (AT) can be a great way to minimize the extent to which they need to ask for help and to enable them to be more independent learners. Assistive technology (sometimes referred to as "adaptive technology") is a general term that describes the types of tools and devices that assist people to achieve greater independence. For individuals with LD, assistive technology can include such things as scanners and screen reading software, voice recognition software, calculators, highlighting and note-taking programs, electronic/digital organizers, and much more.

Technology—and especially the subset of technology tools known as assistive technology—can be an effective, if not necessary, element of the writing curriculum for students with disabilities. Assistive technology (AT) can be defined as a technology (including the training and support to use it) that allows someone to accomplish a critical educational or life task. Since writing is so integral to school success, AT is often indicated to assist students with disabilities. In this article, CITEd looks at how technology can support students’ writing.

A new study shows that assistive technology employed by a team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and educators has a significant impact on helping students with disabilities achieve their academic goals.

The research was published in the January/February 2010 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Register here free now!What:If I put a laptop on your desk, do you become smarter? Just introducing computers to the classroom will not, on its own, improve instruction. By now, using the experience of many districts around the country, we know a lot about how to use technology effectively to support improved instructional practices. Come learn from the experience of educators about key success factors in implementing a digital initiative. Whether you have some digital classrooms in your district, or you have an iPAD initiative, or you only have a few computers in the classroom, you know that technology will soon become a reality. Join us for a free webinar to learn how educators are creating an optimal instructional environment using digital devices and integrated curriculum to power the classroom. Register to: Find out the 9 key factors in powering a digital classroom successfully. Ensure your curriculum leverages technology using real world examples. Find out how to use bring your own device (BYOD) to fund a move to digital. Hear from an educator who successfully aligned a professional learning program to support a digital initiative. When:Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm MT

As technology evolves to customize education based on students’ strengths and weaknesses, assistive technologies typically used by students with special needs could also become powerful learning tools for the general student population, experts suggest.