"Assistive Technology" has become a buzzword in the field of special education. Oftentimes, the phrase brings out ideas of fancy, expensive softwares or complicated tools. In reality, however, assistive technology can be a basic tool. The main goal of assistive technology in schools is to allow students to access curriculum despite learning disabilities and other challenges.
This site aims to categorize common types of assistive technologies found in the IEPs of students with learning disabilities in order to support ELA-related activities. An IEP typically includes an umbrella term for the type of device/technology that needs to be made available to the student, rather than the name of a particular software. This generalization is done so that teachers and districts can use the softwares and tools that they have available or are most equipped to teach students to use (C. McNally, personal communication, March 26, 2019). Additionally, many of these supports are useful not only for students with IEPs, but for general education students. Each main page on this site includes a dropdown list of various software examples that fit the category, as well as demo videos and information about cost, ease of use, etc.
There is also a section of this site dedicated to resources that may help students with dyslexia, a sort of spotlight section for important options that may not fit into the included assistive technology categories. Again, these supports could also be useful for other students, but were designed with dyslexia-related academic difficulties in mind.