Assistive technology in education.

I have learned an immense amount of information about a subject that I was ignorantly and completely unaware of before; the subject of Assistive Technology in education. The last time I was in any kind of school setting other than a college was twelve years ago, and I can’t recall ever seeing one bit of AT anywhere in my high school. I have commonly seen the “JAWS” sticker on the computers in the IUSB computer labs, but never gave thought to what they might mean. Needless to say, this video was very eye-opening for me! The biggest issue we have with AT is the lack of access that students who need it, have to it. In almost every story that was told in “Freedom Machines” regarding a disabled child in school, there was a reference made to how the school either could not, or did not care to give the child access to AT. I think the development of AT in the workplace, and not just in school has the greatest potential for improving lives of those who need it. A great example of this was Floyd, again from the video “Freedom Machines” who was a quadriplegic, and was able to hold a day job with the assistance of AT. Floyd not only helped himself, but he returned to the assisted-living home where he once stayed and tried to motivate others to follow in his footsteps. The biggest questions I still have were brought up by a fellow W200 classmate, and that is how AT can and or will be applied to the more “hands-on” educational subjects like the sciences?