Instructional Services
Assistive Technology
The York Catholic District School Board is committed to providing all students access to the curriculum through the use of assistive technology. Over the years, the Student Service Technology Steering Committee and the Special Education Technology Team (SETT) have experimented with several hardware and software tools to accommodate a range of learners.
Hardware would include computers, interative white boards, large rolling trackballs, modified keyboards and overlays, switches and headsets with microphones. Software includes both Ministry licensed titles such Co-Writer, Write Outloud, and Clicker 5 to support our special learners, as well as software such as Boardmaker and Writing with Symbols to assist with augmentative communication systems.
Through various Ministry grants, the York Catholic District School Board was able to purchase volume licensing of specialized software, as part of of the board's universal technology access design.
These software programs are available in all schools:
- Kurzweil 3000 is the text-to-voice software which also includes many study skill tools and the ability to scan texts;
- Inspiration graphic organizer software that will create visual organizers, translate it into text outlines and export to a word processing file;
- WordQ is a word prediction software that is great for students with spelling and/or word retrieval difficulties;
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional is a voice-to-text software which allows students (and those of us who don’t type very well) to compose written work through dictation.
- (It’s For You Newsletter, Vol. 1)
RELATED LINKS
- Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction or Students with Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6, 2005
- Special Needs Opportunity for Windows (SNOW)
- Assistive Technology to Support Students with Special Needs
- Achieving Success Through Assistive Technology
- Tools for Learning
- E-Library
