Faculty Spotlight
June - July 2002
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Assistive Technology:
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A Start
Michael Hannum's teaching and research specialty is preparing teachers
in the field of special education, working with children with a
wide range of disabilities. Quite early, he suspected that advances
in technology would mean beneficial changes in the impact his students
would have on children's lives when they moved into the field.
Using computers to assist people with disabilities came directly
onto Michael Hannum's radar in 1983.
His observant department chair, Dr. Larry Coleman, knew that Mike had taken two courses on microcomputer technology, and asked him to consider developing a course on assistive technology. At that time, typewriters were the most visible technology tools on campus. Next, Mike heard rumors that computers were coming to UT, but the only people who received them were secretaries who used them primarily for word processing.
Power of Video
Though disappointed, Mike bided his time and eventually began to work with the Apple IIe. From the start he envisioned using advances in technology to facilitate and accommodate learning. He noted the universal element that exists in the potential of technology to extend the human 'reach.' "We will all need programs and devices to assist us as we age," and technology has amazing potential to extend the range of our interactions with the world.
When asked how technology has changed teaching for himself and his students,
Mike notes that to interact with a disabled child, the teacher needs multiple
strategies, the ability to analyze a task down to its most basic component
parts and then communicate effective strategies based on those components.
The camcorder and DVD technology allow him to present the a visual record of
a lesson and then offer multiple examples and elaborations of the skill sets
that the video is making visible. Presenting from the DVD disc, he can stop,
ask questions, go back and forth and lead the students into a deeper analysis
of the critical techniques they will need to impact the lives of their students.
DVD also allows an effective presentation of best practices, always critical
in a field where success is determined by tiny correct steps.
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