4 ways to make college more accessible for special needs students

There may be a shortage of apps targeting post-secondary special education, but you can still take steps to facilitate a smooth transition for your students

special-needs-studentsIn recent years, the awareness of special needs in education has grown steadily. Yet, most of the focus is placed on K-12 resources. As special needs students move on to higher education, the amount of support and resources seems to dwindle.

Nearly 350 special needs apps can be found when searching in the iTunes store. The large majority of these apps feature fun cartoons and basic concepts – perfect for the K-12 audience, but not the higher education audience. I was impressed with the recent eCampus News article on assistive technology apps, which listed several apps that held value beyond the doors of high school.

While early support and intervention are critical, students with special needs also need help transitioning into the higher education space – just as does any student entering college. Once they’ve outgrown K-12 tools, what is available to facilitate learning?…Read More

10 assistive technology Apple and Android apps

These apps can help special needs students thrive in a higher education setting

assistive-apps-technology
Copyright: 1000 Words/Shutterstock

As the higher education landscape changes to one more suited to serving the diverse needs of students, part of that responsibility is in helping find resources that can assist special needs students in navigating curriculum, course management and communication.

Some of the more common concerns students with special needs face, such as text-to-speech functionality, organization and scheduling, and communicating with faculty and admin their needs or questions, now have apps available for Apple products—and many times, Android—to help with those concerns. Many have been vetted specifically by educators or students with special needs.

For example, students who have difficulty writing due to disabilities can benefit from the free Dragon Dictation app; or if a visual disability makes using a calculator difficult, the Talking Calculator app could become an ideal solution.…Read More

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