High+Tech+Communication+Tools

=// High Tech Communication Tools //=



**Definition** High Tech Communication Tools are any communication system that requires a power source and extensive training to competently program and maintain the device.

** Hight Tech Systems **

//-Eye Gaze System:// It allows people with severe physical disabilities to a access a computer. It has an inbuilt camera that tracks where your eyes are looking, enabling people to move the mouse pointer around. Here is a video about the overview of the Eye Gaze Edge. media type="custom" key="16281294"

//-Ipad with Proloquo2Go:// The iPad itself is a great high tech device. By having the Proloquo2Go device, the iPad becomes even better. The iPad now provides a full-featured communication solution for those who have difficulty speaking. The Proloquo2Go is more than a simple communication board. It brings natural sounding text-to-speech voices, up-to-date symbols, powerful automatic conjugations, and a big vocabulary center with more than seven thousands items. The following video is about a child using Prologo2Go to discuss his favorite topics of conversation. You could see how helpful it is for a child who cannot communicate verbally. media type="custom" key="16283586"

//-Alternative Keyboards:// They are also part of the high tech communication tools. There is a variety of alternative keyboards that fall under the category of expanded keyboard, mini-boards, one-handed keyboards, and on-screen keyboards. The following table shows the major categories of alternative keyboards and what type of students they work better with.


 * **Alternative Keyboard** ||  **Types**  ||  **Student Characteristics**  ||
 * Expanded Keyboards || -QWERTY layout

-Overlays || -For students who have poor fine motor skills, need a large target area, and want a layout similar to typical peers. -For students who have poor fine motor control, and require nonstandard layout. ||
 * Mini-Keyboards || -QWERTY layout

-Frequency-of-use layout || -For students who have restricted range of motion, can only use one hand, and have good targeting skills. -For students who have restricted range of motion, need to increase keyboarding speed, and are willing to learn frequency-of-use layout ||
 * One-Handed Keyboards || -Half-QWERTY

-Chorded keyboards || -For students who have good dexterity in one hand, and are familiar with the QWERTY layout. -For students who have not (or almost no) range of motion, can remember chords, and can control a mouse. || Resources:
 * On-Screen Keyboards || -On-screen || -For students who cannot use a keyboard, can control a mouse or mouse emulator, and find it easy to locate keys on-screen than on a keyboard. ||

Assistiveware. (2012). //Proloquo2go//. Retrieved from http://www.assistiveware.com/product/proloquo2go Dell, A. G., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2011). //Assistive technology in the classroom, enhancing the school experiences of////students with disabilities//. (2 ed.). Pearson education, Inc