我们必须停止用名词（例如 PowerPoint、YouTube 或 Twitter）来思考技术，而是用动词（展示、分享、交流）来思考。
道格拉斯·费舍尔和南希·弗雷，《21世纪技能》
什么是辅助和无障碍技术？
辅助技术 (AT)是一个总称，涵盖一系列工具、策略和服务，使残疾学生能够完成他们原本难以完成或无法完成的任务。
无障碍技术是指在设计时充分考虑了不同用户需求的技术。无障碍技术通常包含与辅助技术类似的工具和功能。例如，字幕……为视频或音频提供文本是一种成熟的辅助技术支持，尤其适用于听障学生。但对于正在学习英语的学生、视觉学习者，甚至那些当天感到疲惫、需要额外帮助的学生来说，添加视频/音频材料也同样有益。因此，无障碍技术的应用范围非常广泛。“通用学习设计”告诉我们，对少数人有益的，对大多数人也同样有益。对于教育工作者而言，这正是实现学习无障碍的良好开端。
问问自己，从一开始，我可以在教学设计中提供哪些条件，使所有学生（包括残疾学生）都能取得更大的成功？
在谈到残疾学生时，经常会提到工具、策略和支持，其中“辅助技术”是法律规定的，必须在个别化教育计划 (IEP) 中予以考虑。通过加深对辅助技术和无障碍技术如何相互重叠和补充的理解，教师可以更好地支持所有学生。
名为“面向所有人的无障碍课程”的开放获取培训系列课程，旨在为致力于实现所有学生平等获取教育机会和融入教育的普通教育和特殊教育教师、服务提供者和管理人员设计。
通过阅读题为《辅助技术和通用设计——同一枚硬币的两面》的文章摘录，可以更深入地了解这个主题。
UDL 和 AT 的联系在于，它们都认为可以通过有意识的教学设计来减少或消除障碍，而这种教学设计植根于 UDL，同时为学生提供他们所需的工具。
为什么科技如此重要 适用于残疾学生？
The National Education Technology Plan (NETP, Office of Educational Technology, 2024) states, "Technology can be a powerful tool to help transform learning. It has the potential to empower students to expand their learning beyond the confines of the traditional classroom, support self-directed learning, help educators tailor learning experiences to individual student needs, and support students with disabilities. Technology also has the potential to allow students and educators to collaborate with peers and experts worldwide, engage with immersive learning simulations, and express their learning creatively. Furthermore, it has the potential to collect student performance and engagement data, providing insight into student progress and allowing educators to deploy targeted support".
Think about the quote at the top of this page. It’s not enough to provide teachers with a box of tools. Teachers need to understand how to leverage those tools using methodology that considers the variability of all learners, and how to strategically implement them to reduce the specific barriers to learning for the students they are teaching. By grounding the provision of assistive technology in the practices of universal design for learning, teachers can support the goal for students to be successful in inclusive settings.
What is the impact for our students with disabilities?
The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 looked at postsecondary outcomes for students nationally and found that students with high incidence disabilities who received assistive technology performed significantly better than those who did not receive assistive technology.
Students who received AT graduated at a rate of 99.8% compared to 79.6% for students who did not receive assistive technology.
Students who received AT enrolled in postsecondary education programs at a rate of 80.9% compared to 40.1% for students who did not receive AT.
Students who received AT obtained a paying job at a rate of 80% compared to 50.8% for students who did not receive AT.
What are the mandates for providing assistive technology?
Because AT is so important for students with disabilities, there exist specific mandates for providing tools, strategies and the services that support their use. Since 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has required AT devices and services be available to every student with a disability - if that student needs AT in order to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Needing AT to access an educational program can mean access to special instruction; access to the general curriculum; and/or access to extracurricular activities. In many cases, the provision of assistive technology can be the most meaningful way of ensuring students can meet more challenging objectives and experience an appropriately ambitious program.
More than one federal law addresses the requirement that schools provide AT to students who benefit from it and have equal access to their educational programs. Others include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, and a fairly recent Seneate Bill from California called SB 605 which gives students greater access to assistive technology.
The U.S. Department of Education has provided new guidance about AT. Myths & Facts About Assistive Technology and Services answers many questions surrounding AT and can be very useful to teams that support students with disabilities.
Dive deeper into AT with the “Legal Basis for Assistive Technology” which includes excerpts from Gayl Bowser and Penny R. Reed's book titled Leading the Way to Excellence in AT Services: A Guide for Administrators.
References
Bowser, Gayl and Reed, Penny, Leading the Way to Excellence in AT Services: A Guide for Administrators, 2020.
National Center for Special Education Research, National Longitudinal Transition Study-2
U.S. Department of Education, A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design, and Use Divides, National Educational Technology Plan, 2024.
U.S. Department of Education, Myths & Facts About Assistive Technology and Services, 2024.