[Marian McCarthy]

I enjoyed this module. I have worked in SET for three years now and have used some assistive technology with my students but feel that I need to up skill in this area.
I didn’t realise that there are different classes of assistive technology including low, medium and high tech options. I understand that we are using plenty of these aids already in the classroom such as visual timetables, adaptive paper, magnetic letters, reading rulers. These do make a big difference to the confidence and ability to learn of many pupils.
I look forward to using some new tools this year.
I found the SETT framework to be very useful and I had not come across this before.
I like the way that it is student centred. We need to look at the pupil’s strengths and needs first of all and try to figure out what will work best for them. It needs to be specific and manageable.
The SETT framework will be very useful when updating Student Support Files.
From a School Self Evaluation view, assistive technology links well with the Digital Learning Framework. It’s important to look at how well we are assisting our pupils in the area of technology. This area is changing and it is important to keep up to date with new ideas and advances.
Looking at the Digital Learning Framework, there are a few standards that relat to this.
One is Standard 1.3 “Teachers use digital technologies to support differentiated learning and assessment.”
Teachers can use assistive technology to achieve this.
Another applicable one is Standard 2.2 “The school promotes a culture of collaboration and sharing of good digital learning practice.”
Collaboration and sharing ideas among staff can enable this to be achieved.

[Author]

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