Cognitive Prostheses for Students with Mild Disabilities: Is This What Assistive Technology Looks Like?
By Edyburn, Dave L.; Journal of Special Education Technology, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 62-65Publication Date: Fall 2006
Article focuses on the use of technology as a cognitive prosthesis, as the author discusses tools that can be used to enhance the academic performance of students with mild disabilities. A number of helpful Internet resources are mentioned, including Ask (http://www.ask.com) and Google (http://www.google.com), as these sites can be consulted if a child with a disability struggles to recall specific factual information. If a child with a disability struggles to remember to perform specific tasks at specific times, the memory tools at iPing (http://www.iping.com) could be considered cognitive prostheses as well. Online calendars such as Google Calendar (http://www.google.com/googlecalendar) can be used for children who struggle with executive functioning aspects of memory that impact organization and meeting deadlines, while Google’s built-in calculator (http://www.google.com/intl.en/help/features.html#calculator), WebMath (http://www.webmath.com), or Microsoft Excel could be used by students who struggle with mental computations. Children who struggle with handwriting or spelling can use a dictation service such as iDictate (http://www.idictate.com), while the AutoSummary feature in Microsoft Word can be used by children who struggle with decoding. A theoretical discussion of cognitive technologies is included.
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 )
Link to text: http://jset.unlv.edu/20/JSETv21n4.pdf
