The Present: Assistive Technologies

Most educational technologies in classrooms are at the early stages of adoption. Like most new technologies in the early stages, these educational technologies are presently being used in "traditional' ways, they are new tools being used to do "old" things. Word processors, calculators, and electronic learning games are good examples - these tools provide improvements in efficiency over print-based technologies (e.g. pencils and paper) but they do not fundamentally change the nature of the educational enterprise.

For students with disabilities, technology tools can make a dramatic difference, but they are still being used in traditional, "assistive" ways. These tools primarily provide access to traditional activities that are otherwise inaccessible. New technologies have been remarkably effective in this assistive role; even the most disparaging critic of technology in the classroom usually praises the remarkable benefits of assistive technologies for students with disabilities.

Examples providing evidence of the power of technology for individuals with disabilities are not difficult to find. For individuals with motor disabilities (who may not have the fine motor control required to manipulate a pencil, keyboard. or mouse), the advantages of expanded keyboards, single switch devices, head-mounted infra-red pointers, speech recognition software and word prediction are obvious. Similarly, refreshable Braille devices, talking word processors, screen readers, screen enlargers, and tactile graphic pads offer clear advantages for individuals who are blind.

It is not hard to envision the power of new access technologies currently being developed in laboratories all over the world: implanted sensory chips (such as cochlear implants) for both hearing and seeing, neural control devices for robotic arms and legs, convertible wheelchairs that adapt to both sitting and standing positions, and cognitive prostheses for memory deficits.