Assistive Technology for LD's

     Last week was a week of awakenings.  My week began with the of the webinar for students with learning disabilities.  Although, I presently own an ipad I was not thoroughly aware of their potential.  I immediately found myself comparing present technology, such as the accessibility options and ibook app to what my sister (legally blind) had while she was getting a high school and university education.  My sister used to sit at the table with a very simple object that would simply elevate whatever she was reading.  I can only imagine how her education would hopefully be different with the presence of an ipad.  With these functions she would be able to enlarge the text, change the colour, zoom on images, and speech selection to name a few.  Although, she did well in school without the benefits of a mobile device and these applications, I can only imagine the success and potential that may not have been attained.
     My second awakening occurred when I collected my school data.  It was at this point, I saw a province that was once ahead of the game in terms of technology that is now coming up short.  Not long ago the province of NB was piloting a project that would see every student with a notebook, to the somewhat stagnant approach today.  While teachers seemed very willing to integrate technology it appears that there is a subsequent lack of mobile devices within our school.  Presently, few teachers are using mobile devices in their classrooms as the only access they have is to the personal devices of students.  Although, this approach may work, not all students have this access and this creates a haves and have nots classroom environment.  If we are to get the needed technology into the hands of students with LD's a strategic approach needs to be employed.