Project ACCESS: Field Testing an Assistive Technology Toolkit for Students With Mild Disabilities
By Puckett, Kathleen S.; Journal of Special Education Technology, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 5-17Publication Date: Spring 2004
Article describes the Project ACCESS toolkit, which contains software, equipment, and strategies to support academic achievement for students with mild learning disabilities in language arts and mathematics. Ten commercial assistive technology (AT) products are available in the toolkit: (1) IntelliPics Studio from IntelliTools, Incorporated, which is a program that incorporates sound, pictures, text, graphics, and movies to increase student interest, (2) Kidspiration from Inspiration Software, Incorporated, which is used to develop electronic concept maps in a variety of formats, including Venn diagrams, flow charts, pictures, and digital photos, (3) IntelliTalk II from IntelliTools, Incorporated and (4) Write:Outloud from Don Johnston, Incorporated, both of which provide writing support by highlighting text as it is read, either by letter, word, or sentence, (5) Naturally Speaking from Scan Soft, Incorporated, which is a voice recognition program that transcribes the student’s voice directly into a word processor, (6) Co:Writer, from Don Johnston, Incorporated, which is a word prediction program that provides support for students with limited keyboard abilities, (7) Kurzweil 3000 from Kurzweil Educational Systems, Incorporated, which is an optical character recognition application that can be used to scan books and other print media into a computer, (8) MathPad, from IntelliTools, Incorporated, which provides support for students working on arithmetic calculations, (9) AlphaSmart Pro portable keyboard from AlphaSmart, Incorporated, which provides a durable, portable method for keyboarding, and (10) IntelliKeys, from IntelliTools, Incorporated, which is an alternate keyboard that simplifies keyboarding by offering fewer choices, as well as customization options through the use of overlays. The toolkit is expected to promote a proactive educational strategy and provide access to general education standards through the use of AT.
Assistive Products Discussed: KURZWEIL 3000 FOR MACINTOSH
DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING
KIDSPIRATION
CO:WRITER 4000
MATHPAD
KURZWEIL 3000 FOR WINDOWS
ALPHASMART PRO (MODEL ALF-CO1)
INTELLIKEYS
INTELLITALK
INTELLIPICS
WRITE:OUTLOUD
Published by: Exceptional Innovations (Website:http://www.exinn.net)
Technology and Media Division (TAM) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.tamcec.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J48212
