1.2 Technological Literacy

"For most people, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible".

Mary Pat Radabaugh, IBM National Support, Center for Persons with Disabilities

Although there is a long history of efforts to help persons with disabilities by using either technologies available to the general population as well as technologies designed solely for use by people with disabilities (Blackhurst & Edyburn, 2000) , the past 20 years have seen an unparalleled interest in the use of instructional and assistive technologies. This is mainly due to digital revolution and to the development of technological literacy that led to mass production of equipment. ABLEDATA, for example, maintains a database that includes names and descriptions of thousands of devices intended to enhance the learning and/or life functioning of persons with disabilities.

 Nevertheless, along with a clear unprecedented growth in the development of high-tech devices over the past years, there has been also a renewed appreciation for low-tech aids and considerable refinement in procedures to assess students for technological needs. That has a lot to do with questions like price, availability, ease of use and lack of capacity to provide a good network of services to help children in post-acquisition periods. Besides there is always a real danger of getting sophisticated material that will be obsolete in a short period of time.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE LITERACY SKILLS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES