There’s An App for That! All About Adaptech’s Free and/or Inexpensive Technology Database

Handouts

Presented at 4:00pm in Cotton Creek II on Thursday, November 17, 2016.

#4584

Speaker(s)

  • Jillian Budd, Ms., Dawson College
  • Alice Havel, Dr., Dawson College

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format:
  • Expertise Level: Not provided
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Adaptech Research Network’s Free and/or Inexpensive Technology Database was developed to address the technology needs of college and university students with disabilities. We will present the research that led to the birth of the database along with how it works and some of our favorite software, hardware, and mobile applications.

Abstract

Since 1999, the Adaptech Research Network has shown that the use of assistive technologies has a positive impact on the success of students with disabilities in college and university. However our research has also revealed that these students face numerous obstacles in accessing and using the needed technologies. In our early investigations, students reported that they bypassed these barriers by using low-cost alternatives or mainstream technologies in creative ways. In response to the students’ concerns and suggestions, we decided to share these innovations and low-cost alternatives with others who might find them helpful; this was the birth of our Free and/or Inexpensive Technology Database. During this presentation, we will share the research behind the database and then demonstrate how it works. We will also showcase some of our favorite software, hardware and mobile applications that can be beneficial to college and university students with disabilities.

Keypoints

  1. Attendees will learn how to navigate Adaptech Research Network's Free and/or Inexpensive Database
  2. Attendees will learn about some of our favorite free and/or inexpensive software and mobile applications
  3. Attendees will learn about connecting the research findings to the database’s practical applications

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Mobility, Vision

Topic Areas

Assistive Technology

Speaker Bio(s)

Jillian Budd

Jillian Budd, M.A., is a doctoral student at McGill University studying School/Applied Child Psychology. She received her Master of Arts in School/Applied Child Psychology from McGill University in 2014. She has been a research assistant at the Adaptech Research Network since May 2007 and project manager of Adaptech’s Free and/or Inexpensive Assistive Technology Database since October 2014. Some of her research interests include learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and assistive technology. She is also a frequent consultant to schools and specialized centers on assistive technology and on universal design for learning. Her most recent, first-author publication examines treating postsecondary students with specific learning disabilities versus those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder differently for research or practice.

Alice Havel

Alice Havel completed a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Until recently, she was the Coordinator of the Student AccessAbility Centre at Dawson College. Currently, she is a Research Associate with the Adaptech Research Network, where her focus is on the development of inclusive teaching practices through universal design and the use and accessibility of information and communication technologies in postsecondary education. In 2015, Dawson College awarded her the Research-Recognition Award. She was also recently awarded the Significant Contribution to College Life from the Quebec Pedagogy Association. One of her recent publications in the International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research examines the college-student perspective in terms of professors’ use of information and communication technology in their teaching.

Handout(s)

buddhaveloctober72016 buddhavelahgfinalpptnov112016