The Instructional Technology Ward

Why Are Glasses Perceived Differently Than Hearing Aids?

Without technology, the human body is a pretty proscribed instrument. We cannot write without a pen or pencil, nor eat hot soup without a bowl and, perhaps, a spoon.

And yet, only certain technologies are labeled “assistive technologies”: hearing aids, prostheses, wheelchairs. But surely our pens and pencils, bowls and spoons assist us as well. The human body is not very able all on its own. 

My curiosity about how we think about these camps of “normal” and “assistive” technologies brought me to Sara Hendren, a leading thinker and writer on adaptive technologies and prosthetics. Her wonderful site, Abler, was recently syndicated by Gizmodo. I talked to her about why crutches don’t look cool, where the idea of “normal” comes from, and whether the 21st century might bring greater understanding of human diversity.

Very cool! Please share with me if you or someone you know has or does try this out! I’m going to pass along to my friends at Head Start!

Here you will find the best environment on the Internet for children living with various autism challenges.

Make social media group participation part of the assignments.

Treat Twitter (and its cohorts) like a resource.

High school senior Piper Otterbein has dyslexia, but it doesn’t define her. In a talk at TEDxYouth@CEHS, she shares the lesson that her difficulties with dyslexia have taught her — the best path in life is to harness the strengths you already have, rather than fixate on things you think you lack.