Assistive Technology in the Classroom - Organizational
Skills, Memory, Managing Personal Information, Time Management,
Staying On Task
Devices and approaches that help individuals with learning disabilities
get organized, stay organized and on-track, and make work and learning
assignments more manageable include:
- highlighters
- index cards
- color-coding
- graph paper
- beepers/buzzers
- digital clocks, digital watches, talking watches
- headphones or earplugs to shut out distractions
- tape-recorders, mini pocket recorders that
allow the user to verbally store and retrieve telephone numbers,
appointments, and individual notes ( to do lists)
- voice-activated day planners which operate
with voice-input technology; and
- software programs , such as personal data managers
and free-form data bases.
Typical features of personal data managers include
monthly calendars, daily schedulers and planners, clocks with alarms,
memo files, "to do lists," address books, telephone directories,
bank books, and check registers. The user can store, organize, and
retrieve vast amounts of personal information. Free-form
data bases enable the user to create his or her own notes
of any length, on any subject. Rather than notes on paper, these
electronically-stored notes can be retrieved by typing in any piece
of information contained in the note. The ability to retrieve information
by only remembering a portion of information contained within the
note can be beneficial for individuals with memory and organizational
difficulties. Through a simple cursor movement that highlights each
note, the user can browse through all the notes within the data
base until the one being sought is found. Database systems enable
the user to easily store, sort, and retrieve data.
Also, organizational software tools are available
to writers who need help with organization and benefit from visually-oriented
systems of organizing. Pre-writing software programs help the writer
get started with a writing assignment by organizing random ideas
(See Writing Section).
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