1. Make recommendations for hardware and software for the student.

For a student with Dyslexia, I would recommend Ghotit assistive technology

software. Ghotit provides users with adaptive phonic, grammatical, and contextual
assistance. According to Brian Neese with TeachThought (2020), Ghotit “features
the ability to learn from the user’s past mistakes, personalizing suggestions for
spelling, and grammatical errors. Ghotit can predict words, check passages of text
contextually, read text aloud using TTS [Text-to-Speech] technology, and recognize
split and merged words. It also includes an integrated dictionary for students to
quickly lookup a word” (para. 38). This assistive technology software is ideal for
helping students with dyslexia because it is personalized to the user since it is built
to learn for the user’s past mistakes. The additional features, such as Text-to-
Speech, allow the user to read with ease while also working to diminish any
learning gaps that may have developed as a cause of a student’s dyslexia.
As for the Attention Deficit Disorder, I would recommend Kurzweil 3000. This
assistive technology software provides the user with an abundance of features that
not only help students with attention deficit disorders but also dyslexia. From my
experience, students with attention deficit disorder are more engaged and have
higher levels of content-retention when multiple senses are engaged while learning.
Brian Neese with TeachThought explains, “the Kurzweil 3000 strives to provide
students with a multi-sensory approach to literacy learning” (para. 11). Kurzweil
3000 contains key features suited for students with Attention Deficit Disorders such
as multiple text-to-speech voices, talking spell-checker, picture dictionary graphics
for more than 40,000 words, text magnification, and additional support tools
(Neese, 2020). Kurzweil 3000’s assistive technology software would support
learning for a student with Attention Deficit Disorder with its multitude of features
that apply to a variety of senses.

2. Give advice to the student's key academic faculty (English, Math, Social Studies and
Science) on general integration in their classrooms for this student and hardware.
a. Math- When showing a video in class, display the subtitles along with playing the
audio so that the student may read the text and hear it at the same time. This will
help with Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. Reinforce that the student
should be using Ghotit and/or Kurzweil 3000 to read directions and word
problems before beginning to solve any mathematical problem.
b. English- Since English is a course that requires the most amount of reading and
writing, Ghotit and Kurzweil 3000 should be integrated on a daily basis. Either
Ghotit or Kurzweil could be used for their text-to-speech software. However, I
would recommend Ghotit begin the main software to be used for writing
assignments due to its adaptive capabilities. Also, Ghotit would be best for an
English class because it also provides the student with grammatical assistance.
 c. Social Studies- For a middle school Social Studies class, I would recommend the
teacher utilizes Kurzweil 3000 over Ghotit. This recommendation is mainly based
on the immense amount of new content students learn in any history class.
Kurzweil 3000’s visual dictionary would be immensely helpful in a social studies
class while also having other features such as text-to-speech. However, when it
came time to complete a writing assignment, I would recommend the teacher
reinforces the student to use Ghotit for the same reasons listed above for the
English class.
d. Science- Similarly to my recommendation for Social Studies, I would also
recommend Kurzweil 3000 as the main assistive technology software for a middle
school science class. I believe the picture dictionary of over 40,000 words and
phrases would be ideal for a science classroom. The magnification capability
within Kurzweil 3000 will be great for a middle school science class because the
student will be able to magnify any more structures or images to get a better
understanding of the visual graphic.

3. Make recommendations to the principal where the school might be able to find funding
for this project.
a. Ghotit is currently priced at $129 per annual subscription which covers 1 device.
They also offer school licenses, but this pricing option is not publicly published.
b. Kurzweil 3000 offers several pricing options. Currently, an annual subscription
for one user is listed at $500, $2,000 for up to ten users, $3,000 for up to 30 users,
or $4,000 for a school-wide subscription. They also offer discounts if multi-year
subscriptions are purchased.
c. My recommendation to the principal would be to apply for a loan through the
state. For example, the state of Maryland Department of Disabilities offers loans
from $500 to $6,000 (Department of Disabilities, 2020). I’d recommend the
principal applies for a loan through the State’s Department of Education or the
state’s equivalency of Maryland’s Department of Disability.

References:
Department of Disabilities. (2020). Assistive technology.
http://mdod.maryland.gov/mdtap/Pages/AT-Financial-Loan-Program.aspx

Neeves, B. (2020, May 22). 15 assistive technology tools & resources for students with
disabilities. https://www.teachthought.com/technology/15-assistive-technology-tools-resources-
for-students-with-disabilities/