Week 9 - On Screen Keyboard

This weeks class was quite interesting as I continue to build on my knowledge of the many things that are already available for AT without us even knowing it.  The on screen keyboard that is accessible in almost all computers is a great peice of technology for those individuals with limited motor skills but are very capable of fine motor along with excellent timing.  As I watched the videos of both individuals, it was truly amazing to see how they used such a device with relative ease with such limited mobility.  Just watching what this technology allows these individuals to access is hard to believe unless you can see it with your own eyes. 

As I attempted to use the on screen keyboard, I felt very clumsy and awkward trying to spell a simple word, once again adding to my amazement to what the individuals in the videos could due with such AT.  I felt that the scanning option made it very difficult and without much practice could certainly be frusterating in the beginning.  However, it certainly does open up a different world to those with no a lot of motor skills and makes me want to work on improving my motor skills so that I can share this with my students.

As we began to finish up our class we were given our final assignment - my group was assigned deaf-blind individuals.  With the limited amount of time we were able to gather up some great ideas as to how and what to present about and I am looking forward to next weeks class and learning much more about technology avaible for these individuals.