Now that a bunch of folks have taken a look at the iPad Features chart,  I am hoping that you might be able to help me or give feedback about a companion form that I have posted here.  It’s a features chart that could be used when a family or an IEP team is considering Mobile technology of any kind.   The idea is to start with the tasks that the student needs to do and then discuss what features a tool would have if it was used to support student achievement for those tasks.

Earlier this year,  I began thinking a lot about iPads and their features.  It seemed to me that there were some very unique aspects to the way iPads and other mobile tablets had been created and that, as many of us were involved in assessing whether an iPad would be a good tool for people with disabilities, we ought to be able to describe their features.

I have watched, with interest, the very rapid change in the world of technology that started with the iPad and has continued with products from a multitude of companies.  Yesterday I looked at the Black Friday ads in my local newspaper and counted about twelve different brands.  As an educator, I have thought a great deal about these new products and their introduction into schools around the country.  I've also thought a lot about their use as assistive technology.

AT the Closing the Gap Conference this year, I'll be doing a preconference workshop called "Put Me In Coach!" where we will spend the day talking about how we choose the support strategies that we use in our AT practice.  There's a lot about Coaching, but we'll also be discussing the essential elements of Consultation and Collaboration. I'm particularly interested in how we decide whether to act as a consultant, to collaborate with an educator or family to increase AT implementation or whether a coaching approach is the best option.

(This article was originally printed in the Friends of ATIA September 2011 Back to School Issue.  It is reprinted here in order to encourage candid discussion and sharing of strategies for AT Assessment services.)

Michael Fullan offers a list of assumptions about change and implementation that I have found very useful. Here's a summary of his ten assumptions.