by Cheryl Cumings
Before I write my first sentence, I must tell you why I am writing this article. A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my co-worker's office; we were solving the world's problems, and I was complaining about adaptive technology and how I didn't have the time to learn more. My work colleague and friend happened to be Joe Lazzaro, the director of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind technology program and the author of "Adaptive Technologies For Learning And Work Environments."
When Joe suggested that, for starters, I could read his book, I am embarrassed to tell you that I told him that even though I was sure it was a great book, "... books about technology put me to sleep."
Of course, at this point, Joe should have invited me to leave his office. Instead, he came up with another suggestion. "Cheryl, I am teaching a course online at Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI), and I think you should take the course."
I thanked him politely and said I would think about the online course. Joe, however, did not let me forget about his suggestion. Every time I spoke with him thereafter, he would remind me about the course. Finally, on the day the course began, I said, "I will take the course and if I like it and learn something, I will write an article about my experience."
That evening I arrived home to find an e-mail with instructions for registering for the Train the Trainer course at EASI. Although I had heard that BlackBoard is not a very accessible program, EASI made the registration process very straightforward. Within a few minutes, I had joined the class and was part of an online learning community. All participants were required to read the lessons in conjunction with the specified chapters in "Adaptive Technologies For Learning And Work Environments" and to post our responses to the class' e-mail list.
The class began with a discussion of who uses adaptive technology and what adaptive technology actually is. Aware that my responses would be read by everyone in the class, I diligently read the lesson and the chapter in the book. Although I wondered if I would learn as much as if I was in a classroom and listening to a lecture, after the first lesson, I was hooked.
I liked the fact that I could submit my answers anytime from the comfort of my home. I found that by reading the responses from the other participants, I often gained a perspective I had not previously considered. Then I saw lesson two, "input devices, output devices, ports, memory and disk drives and the CPU and the mother board," and my resolve to continue the course wavered. However, the information provided in the lesson and the book was approachable and easily understood. By the end of the course, I was very comfortable with the process of downloading my lesson, submitting my answers to the listserv and reading the responses of other classmates.
While exploring the EASI web site, I learned that this class was actually part of a certificate program in accessible information technology provided by EASI and the University of Southern Maine. To learn more about the certificate program, visit the web site, http://www.easi.cc and click on the training link.
Although I was initially a reluctant and skeptical student, I strongly encourage anyone wanting to learn about adaptive technology to take this course and to read the book, "Adaptive Technologies for Learning and Work Environments." The book is available in various accessible formats and can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com or http://www.specialneeds.com.