Assessing Appropriate use of Assistive Technology

A great deal of learning about how to embed Assistive Technology in education has occurred through a trial and error approach across tertiary education in Australia over the past twenty years. The learning developed along the way has contributed to the very rich body of wisdom we now share across the sector. Through our learning we have accumulated practice knowledge that recognises the power of AT when it:

• Meets the specific learning difficulty experienced by individual students
• Is introduced to complement academic skills development
• Can reinforce literacy skills and knowledge
• Is not viewed as a replacement for good teaching
• Is introduced systematically with targeted guidance and support

We now also understand that the best outcomes for students with specific learning disabilities occurs when assistive technologies are strategically embedded within learning how to learn tutorials and when the AT tutor has been provided opportunity to become proficient in the use of the technologies themselves.