Assistive Technology

It is our District’s aim to ensure that there is universal access for any student, including those with disabilities, to be able to access any curriculum that the District offers. Over the past few years, our district has adopted the Read & Write and Snapverter extensions as a Universal Design tool for all students and these programs work when they are logged in through their cbk12 accounts.

There are some students in our Special Education program who do not respond adequately to the tried-and-true methods used by our Special Educators in overcoming certain learning disabilities. Assistive Technology can often be the solution. Some examples of assistive technology:

Speech-to-text to help those who have difficulties writing but can verbalize information adequately.

Text-to-speech for those with difficulties reading.

Chromebooks, personal devices, etc. for access to digital formats.

Pencil grips, slant boards etc.

Classroom amplification systems.

The district has developed a set of protocols and procedures for systematically evaluating and planning the implementation of assistive technology for students. The District’s Assistive Technology Program is supplemented by the support we get from service specialists at the South Coast Education Service District, through the technology lending library (Oregon Technology Access Program) at the Douglas ESD and Bookshare.

The field of Assistive Technology is constantly changing- there are new ideas, devices and software to improve students’ ability to successfully complete their education. Our District is striving to stay current with these changes to provide the best possible education for students with disabilities.

Resources

Read and Write extension- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readwrite-for-google-chro/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd?hl=en-US

Read and Write tutorial for Coos Bay staff and students:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krWM0h7rkYQ

Snapverter- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/snapverter/plebojnaihkfjkkpgaemcjpnkmcpleih?hl=en-US