The purpose of the National AEM Center’s Quality Indicators with Critical Components for K-12 is to assist state and local education agencies with planning, implementing, and evaluating systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students who need them. States and local school districts will find the Quality Indicators useful for implementing statutory requirements that mandate equitable access to learning opportunities for students with disabilities, including equal access to printed materials, digital materials, and technologies.

In this module we will provide a comprehensive description of the legal landscape of the assistive technology locally and on an international level as well as best practices.

Some educational materials can create barriers for some students when they are not designed with accessibility in mind. Some students with disabilities may h...

Acquiring the accessible formats a learner needs is part of a multi-step decision-making process. By prioritizing accessibility, access barriers for learners with disabilities will be minimized when materials are acquired. In cases where inaccessible materials have been selected, alternative forms - accessible formats - of those materials will have to be acquired for learners who need them. Examples of accessible formats include audio, braille, large print, tactile graphics, and digital text conforming with accessibility standards.

Accessible formats of materials can be acquired from:

Accessible Media Producers (AMPs)
Publishers
Local Conversion

Advocating For My Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) is a workbook designed for students to use as they begin to learn to advocate for the accommodations and accessibility features they need in their educational programs. It applies common self-advocacy principles to the needs of students who use AEM in their daily educational programs. Students and their support teams will find this guide useful when an assessment has been completed to establish the need for accessible educational materials, technology, and assistive technology. In creating this workbook, the authors have assumed that the student is already using their AEM in functional ways in their educational environments. Because students can start building self-advocacy skills as soon as they begin to use AEM, individual sections of the workbook may be useful as soon as students begin to learn to use AEM.

As an introduction to bioengineering, student teams are given the engineering challenge to design and build prototype artificial limbs using a simple syringe system and limited resources. As part of a NASA lunar mission scenario, they determine which substance, water (liquid) or air (gas), makes the appendages more efficient.

Students design and develop a useful assistive device for people challenged by fine motor skill development who cannot grasp and control objects. In the process of designing prototype devices, they learn about the engineering design process and how to use it to solve problems. After an introduction about the effects of disabilities and the importance of hand and finger dexterity, student pairs research, brainstorm, plan, budget, compare, select, prototype, test, evaluate and modify their design ideas to create devices that enable a student to hold and use a small paintbrush or crayon. The design challenge includes clearly identified criteria and constraints, to which teams rate their competing design solutions. Prototype testing includes independent evaluations by three classmates, after which students redesign to make improvements. To conclude, teams make one-slide presentations to the class to recap their design projects. This activity incorporates a 3D modeling and 3D printing component as students generate prototypes of their designs. However, if no 3D printer is available, the project can be modified to use traditional and/or simpler fabrication processes and basic materials.

This module gives a comprehensive overview of the cognitive and learning difficulties and related assistive technologies.

In this module, we will explore how Individual Education Plan (IEP) teams can assess if assistive technology is required to reduce or remove learning barriers for students with a disability.  In the past, IEP teams have looked to specialists as experts to conduct an assistive technology assessment for their students. However, the IEP team is the best expert on their student. It is best practice for the IEP to conduct an AT assessment on their students, with each team member contributing in the area of the assessment that aligns with their expertise.  In this module, we will share the steps necessary for an assistive technology assessment, as well as resources and tools that will help the IEP team make data-informed decisions.  Assessment ideas for common types of assistive technology tools will be discussed, such as tools for reading, writing, and math.  In addition, resources will be shared for AT assessments that involve AT for vision, hearing, motor, and communication.  We will also share WA State support agencies who exist to guide IEP teams during the AT assessment process.  

This course illuminates current theories about autism together with challenges faced by people on the autism spectrum. Theories in communicating, interacting socially, managing cognitive and affective overload, and achieving independent lifestyles are covered. In parallel, the course presents state-of-the-art technologies being developed for helping improve both theoretical understanding and practical outcomes. Participants are expected to meet and interact with people on the autism spectrum. Weekly reading, discussion, and a term project are required.

Students learn more about assistive devices, specifically biomedical engineering applied to computer engineering concepts, with an engineering challenge to create an automatic floor cleaner computer program. Following the steps of the design process, they design computer programs and test them by programming a simulated robot vacuum cleaner (a LEGO® robot) to move in designated patterns. Successful programs meet all the design requirements.

This module gives a comprehensive review of communication impairment and related assistive technologies.

In this module we will give a detailed description of the project required to complete the Assistive Technology Foundation Course.

This module gives a comprehensive overview about daily living assistive technologies for people with disabilities as well as the latest smart technologies.

Students are given a biomedical engineering challenge, which they solve while following the steps of the engineering design process. In a design lab environment, student groups design, create and test prototype devices that help people using crutches carry things, such as books and school supplies. The assistive devices must meet a list of constraints, including a device weight limit and minimum load capacity. Students use various hand and power tools to fabricate the devices. They test the practicality of their designs by loading them with objects and then using the modified crutches in the school hallways and classrooms.

In inclusive early childhood programs and settings, social and learning activities are designed for the participation of all children. Objects, tools, and materials that are selected for inclusive activities provide options for engaging through multiple sensory, physical, and perceptual means. The Quality Indicators for Early Childhood describe how agencies, programs, and services can work together to improve the accessibility of early learning environments for children with disabilities.

Students follow the steps of the engineering design process (EDP) while learning about assistive devices and biomedical engineering. They first go through a design-build-test activity to learn the steps of the cyclical engineering design process. Then, during the three main activities (7 x 55 minutes each) student teams are given a fictional client statement and follow the EDP steps to design products an off-road wheelchair, a portable wheelchair ramp, and an automatic floor sweeper computer program. Students brainstorm ideas, identify suitable materials and demonstrate different methods of representing solutions to their design problems scale drawings or programming descriptions, and simple models or classroom prototypes.

Short Description:
This book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary. The course, and the resulting book, focus primarily on the safe and ethical use of technology in digital learning environments. The course was organized according to four topics based on Farrow’s (2016) Framework for the Ethics of Open Education.This is the first of 2 Versions of this pressbook. Click on Volume 2 for information.

Long Description:
This book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary. The course, and the resulting book, focus primarily on the safe and ethical use of technology in digital learning environments. The course was organized according to four topics based on Farrow’s (2016) Framework for the Ethics of Open Education. Students were asked to review, analyze, and synthesize each topic from three meta-ethical theoretical positions: deontological, consequentialist, and virtue ethical (Farrow, 2016). The chapters in this open educational resource (OER) were co-designed using a participatory pedagogy with the intention to share and mobilize knowledge with a broader audience. The first three chapters in the book discuss specific ethical considerations related to technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) , social networking services (SNS), and 3D printing. The next four chapters shift to a broader discussion of resource sharing, adaptive learning systems, STEM, and assistive technologies. The final two chapters discuss admissions and communications that need to be considered from an institutional perspective. In each of the nine chapters, the authors discuss the connection to the value of technology in education, and practical possibilities of learning technologies for inclusive, participatory, democratic, and pluralistic educational paradigms.

Word Count: 56853

ISBN: 0-88953-438-1

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Short Description:
This book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary. The course, and the resulting book, focus primarily on the safe and ethical use of technology in digital learning environments. The course was organized according to four topics based on Farrow’s (2016) Framework for the Ethics of Open Education.

Long Description:
Click on Volume 1 to read the first book in this series.

This book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary. The course, and the resulting book, focus primarily on the safe and ethical use of technology in digital learning environments, and is the second volume in the series. The course was organized according to four topics based on Farrow’s (2016) Framework for the Ethics of Open Education. Students were asked to review, analyze, and synthesize each topic from three meta-ethical theoretical positions: deontological, consequentialist, and virtue ethical (Farrow, 2016). The chapters in this open educational resource (OER) were co-designed using a participatory pedagogy with the intention to share and mobilize knowledge with a broader audience. The first section, comprised of four chapters, focuses on topics relating to well-being in technology-enabled learning environments, including the use of web cameras, eproctoring software, video games, and access to broadband connectivity. The second section focuses on privacy and autonomy of learners and citizens in a variety of contexts from schools to clinical settings. In each of the seven chapters, the authors discuss the connection to the value of technology in education, and practical possibilities of learning technologies for inclusive, participatory, democratic, and pluralistic educational paradigms. The book concludes with reflections from the course instructor gained over two iterations of teaching the course.

Word Count: 40312

ISBN: 978-0-88953-472-8

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)