Abstract:
Ever since I was young, I loved learning. For the past four years, I have had the opportunity to continue learning and studying to become a special education teacher. In addition, I have been fascinated by technology and believe it is important to stay up-to-date with the current trends. Therefore, I wanted my honors thesis to incorporate education and technology. I decided to focus on assistive technology and how it is used in Indiana schools. The purpose of my honors thesis was to learn more about assistive technology (AT) and then to share that knowledge with others. There were several components to my thesis. Through reading articles from the Internet and books and by taking a technology class (SpeED 331) at Ball State University, my understanding about assistive technology greatly increased. I also surveyed some Indiana public high school teachers about their knowledge and use ofAT. During the fall semester of2011, I gave two presentations about assistive technology and the survey results at club meetings on campus. In addition, I invited Daniel McNulty, associate director of professional development and northeast regional coordinator for Promoting Achievement through Technology and Instruction for all Students (PA TINS) Project, to give a presentation at Ball State University. To sum up all that I have learned and completed, I created podcasts so others can continue to learn about AT.
