Section 5: Develop AT Implementation Plan

Description, Rationale and Guidelines

Effective assistive technology implementation is only as good as the plan that guides
that implementation. Successful implementation plans

address four main areas

equipment support tasks
staff and student training
methods for integrating technology into the students program
techniques for assessing the effectiveness of the AT implementation

All four areas are important to the plan since a lack of direction in any one area will affect
the others. For example, if there is no plan in place for solving technical problems, there
will be unnecessary delays in repairing the equipment causing frustration and loss of
implementation time. Similarly, ineffective or nonexistent plans for staff training will lead
to confusion and inconsistent or ineffectual use of the technology in both the short and
long term.

are developed and carried out collaboratively by the students school based
team identifying
an implementation plan coordinator
team members who are responsible for specific aspects of the plan
a reasonable implementation timeline

While it is critical to have one person on the students school based team responsible for
coordinating the implementation plan, all team members share the responsibility of
developing and executing the plan. Successful implementation of technology, especially
assistive technology, can be a lengthy process during which the expertise of everyone
on the students team will, at some point, be required. (See Team Roles for more
information).

arise from the goals established in the students IEP (Individualized

Education Plan) and proceed based on assessment and performance data

To be truly effective, integration of assistive technology must be based on the students

IEP goals specifically those goals that can be directly supported by technology. As the
plan is implemented, information or data must be gathered and recorded to ensure the
use of the technology continues to meet these goals and the students individual needs.
The more specific and systematic this data collection, the more effective ongoing
implementation decisions will be. (See Section 2: Establish IEP Goals for more
information).

emphasize realistic integration of the technology in the students curriculum

and daily activities so that
implementation of the technology proceeds at a comfortable pace for both the
student and school based team

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other, non-technology based tools and strategies are employed when more
appropriate

The implementation plan should, above all, be realistic and attainable given the students
abilities, the teams technical competence, and the available time for creating materials,
solving technical issues, and so on. Implementation of assistive technology is a long
process which may occur over the lifetime of the student. Careful and considerate
implementation will ensure short and long term success. Timelines assigned to
implementation tasks should reflect this understanding. (See Section 6: Adapt Lessons
for Technology Integration for more information)

Four Main Areas of Implementation Tasks

1.

Equipment Support Tasks

To use technology effectively, it must be set up properly and maintained efficiently. The
implementation plan should have a clear indication of which team member is responsible
for each equipment support task. Depending on the specific equipment being
implemented, some or all of these tasks need to be addressed
Equipment Set Up

physically arrange technology work space

o e.g. arrange for appropriate table, locate power bars, rearrange students
position in class
put security measures in place
o e.g. determine how the laptop will be stored when not in use
receive equipment, remove and store packaging, situate in workspace
install and register software
o e.g. assistive software, word processing program, virus protection
acquire and set up peripherals
o e.g. scanner, cables, carrying case
install peripheral drivers
o e.g. scanner, printer
establish network connection
o e.g. set up user account, email, internet access
initial charging of equipment
o e.g. AAC device, dedicated word processor
test equipment
o e.g. speech output on AAC device, run computer software

Equipment Maintenance

daily equipment maintenance

o e.g. charging batteries, cleaning screen, replacing ink cartridges
minor equipment repairs
o e.g. printing problems, reinstallation of software
major equipment repairs
o e.g. system failures, screen damage, lost parts

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Setting up the equipment may involve several members of the school based team and,
often, the school or district IT department. For example, the students Special Education
Assistant (SEA) may receive and physically situate the equipment, the Learning Support
Teacher (LST) may arrange for a scanner, the district IT technician may install software
and set up the network configuration, and the school principal may establish the
equipment security plan.
Since the various tasks involved in setting up the equipment build on the completion of
previous tasks, it is often helpful to select one time period (perhaps an afternoon) during
which the team members responsible for set up agree to complete their tasks in
sequence. This is particularly helpful if some team members are not available at the
school or site every day.
2.

Staff and Student Training

No assistive technology implementation plan would be complete without outlining plans

for staff and student training. Once the assistive technology has arrived and been set
up, the team should identify the following
what training is required?
o specific hardware and / or software
o focus of training based on IEP goals
o type of training (general overview or specific features)
who will provide that training?
o assistive technology support (e.g. AT consultant)
o district based support (district staff)
o team support (team members who are already familiar with technology)
who will attend the training?
o team members who will be working directly with the student and
technology
o team members who will be directing or overseeing implementation
o team members who will be implementing the technology in the future
o team members who are generally interested
Prior to the training sessions, participating team members should revisit the students
IEP goals and review the students daily activities to ensure that the training activities
can be focused on learning those aspects of the technology which will be implemented
with the student. During the training, specific suggestions and plans for implementation
can be highlighted.
When the team has finished its formal training and has had time to practice and prepare
materials, the student training phase can begin. The team will need to make some initial
decisions
will the student be initially trained in or out of the classroom environment?
o Depending on the technology, training may be disruptive to other students
in a classroom setting and the student may be distracted by classroom
activities. It may be more effective to have the technology located in a
quiet space where the student is comfortable learning the technology,
making mistakes, and asking questions. The technology can then be
moved into place when its use is more automatic.
o In the case of some technologies (e.g. AAC devices) initial student
training might occur in the actual environment in which it will be used.

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what activities will be used to train the student?

o Since learning technology itself places a cognitive burden on the student
(sometimes a large one depending on the technology), teams should
consider using lower cognitive tasks when completing training activities.
For example, if the student needs to learn how to use word processing
features, the team may provide the student with some text to copy so that
creative composition is not needed.
how will the students performance be evaluated during training?
o As students are learning to use the technology, it is important to keep
records and data on how effectively the student is using the technology
so training can be directed at areas that require further attention or
development. Simple checklists of skills mastered, anecdotal
observations and scheduled assessments (e.g. timed typing tests) can be
used to keep a record of technology use during training activities. Some
teams use the following assistive technology skills framework to guide
student training (Gail Bowser and Joy Zabalas adapted framework from
Janice Lights work on AAC competence).
Areas of Student Assistive Technology Competence

Operational Competence the student has the skills necessary to use the
specific assistive technology as needed. For example, the student can turn
on the computer, locate the software program, save a file and so on. For a
student using alternate access, the student would be operationally competent
if they were able to use a switch or alternate mouse effectively.
Functional Competence the student has the necessary skills to use the
assistive technology to accomplish the desired task. It requires operational
competence to launch a word processing program and use the various
features to adjust the font and so on, but it requires functional competence to
actually use the word processor to create, edit and print a writing assignment.
Strategic Competence the student has the necessary skills and
understanding to use the assistive technology effectively and appropriately
within his or her program. A student would be strategically competent if he or
she understood and was able to identify real world situations where
technology was the best choice (e.g. a word processor versus paper and
pencil), and use the appropriate features of the technology to complete a
task.
Social Competence the student has the necessary skills to use the
technology effectively and appropriately around other people. This could
mean without distracting others unnecessarily in a classroom or actually
using the technology with peers for partner or group tasks.

The main goal of student training is to help the student become as independent as
possible using the assistive technology. This may be a long process that occurs over
several years, so it is helpful to refer to the assistive technology competence framework
on an ongoing basis to ensure that student training is highlighting all four areas.

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3.

Methods for Integrating Technology into the Students Program

One of the more challenging aspects of effectively implementing assistive technology is

planning for integration of that technology into the students daily educational program.
The implementation plan should contain specific plans for which initial tasks or activities
will be supported by the technology and what methods will be used to integrate
technology into those tasks.
For example, if the student will be using writing software to support written
output, the team should identify the specific writing task that will be addressed
(e.g. morning journal writing). If the implementation plan is too vague in this area
(e.g. Language Arts writing), the technology will likely not be implemented as
effectively.
Teams should refer back to the original data gathered on the students
educational program and classroom environment to identify these initial tasks.
Asking the question: What regular task or activity poses the greatest challenge
for the student? may help teams focus.
Teams should be patient and realize that implementation of assistive technology
takes time and, while it is easy to be caught up in the excitement of the potential
of technology to support the student, success in the long term should be the goal.
The best way to ensure this is to consider initial activities carefully and build on
each success until the technology is fully integrated.
As the technology is integrated into the students program, the implementation
plan is adjusted to help move the student along the continuum to full integration.
4.

Techniques for Assessing the Effectiveness of the AT Implementation

In addition to the specific techniques for assessing the students use of the technology
when completing tasks or activities, the implementation plan should also contain a
description of the techniques that will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the
AT implementation. Teams usually meet regularly to discuss a students IEP and these
meetings provide an opportunity to review AT implementation. However, these
discussions must be informed by specific information on how effectively the technology
is being implemented. For example, reporting that the student is not using his
technology very much is only helpful if that report contains specific details as to when he
is actually using it, when he is not, and possible reasons for it not being used. This type
of information will help guide teams to adjust the overall implementation plan
accordingly. Perhaps an implementation task has not been accomplished, perhaps the
tasks or activities are not appropriate, or perhaps the team is not able to prepare the
necessary resource materials. The implementation plan should contain a description of
the techniques that will be used to monitor and report the effectiveness of the AT
implementation between IEP review meetings.

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Tools for Developing AT Implementation Plans

As with all other steps in the implementation process, there are numerous tools and
guides available to help teams develop effective implementation plans. The tools and
forms could be simply printed and used as is or teams could modify them to suit the
specific needs of the team and student. Given the hectic pace of most schools today,
teams may be tempted to streamline the implementation plan form so it can be
completed quickly. However, the more thorough and considered the implementation
plan is, the more likely it will be implemented successfully.
1.

AT Implementation (University of Kentucky Assistive Technology (UKAT)

Project http://serc.gws.uky.edu/www/ukatii/
This four page implementation plan assists teams in identifying the main areas of
implementation the IEP objectives, the specific assistive technology acquisition and set
up, AT training plans, and the methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the AT solution.
It also contains a section for monitoring the AT implementation with columns for
recording the results of student performance as well as student perception of AT use.
2.

Assistive Technology Implementation Plan (Gayl Bowser)

Oregon Technology Access Program OTAP http://www.otap-oregon.org/
This four page implementation plan is less structured than the UKAT form and provides
teams with a list of questions to consider around student use of the technology, the
technology itself, and staff and student training on the technology. The plan provides a
general framework which teams can easily modify to suit their needs. An additional fifth
page is included which assists teams in identifying the data collection process during AT
implementation.

3.
Assistive Technology Implementation Plan (Zabala, J.S. & Korsten, J.E)
Making a measurable difference with assistive technology: Evaluating the effectiveness
of assistive technology (1999) http://sweb.uky.edu/~jszaba0/ZabalaImplePlan2001.PDF
This multi page plan contains areas for teams to record responses to guiding questions
for planning and evaluating implementation. A plan summary charts the important
components of the implementation plan in a one page document.
4.
SET-BC Collaborative Action Plan (www.setbc.org)
In addition to the student, environment and task information, the SET-BC CAP has a
section which outlines the teams implementation plan. This chart focuses on plans for
the technology, the staff and student training, and the integration of the technology into
the students educational program.

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Case Study of an Effective Implementation Plan

Jane is an intermediate student who has cerebral palsy. By gathering information on her
strengths and areas of need as well as her classroom environment and daily academic
activities, Janes team identified specific IEP goals that could be supported through
assistive technology. Planning meetings were held to identify the specific assistive
technology that would be put in place and a detailed implementation plan was drafted.
The implementation plan contained several parts. The software that was being
implemented was Classroom Suite (specifically Intellitalk III) as well as Overlay Maker
(http://www.intellitools.com). These were installed on a desktop computer with access
being provided by an Intellikeys USB keyboard. The first part of the plan outlined who
was responsible for receiving the equipment, installing the software, setting up printing
and network access, and ensuring equipment security. The second part of the plan
described training the team had not implemented Classroom Suite before so team
members outlined a training plan that involved an initial introduction to the software that
would take a full day followed by three half-day training sessions at two month intervals.
All team members would attend the initial training with the classroom teacher and
special education assistant attending the follow up sessions.
Plans were also outlined for introducing the technology to Jane. After considering her
daily schedule as well as the technology skills she would require to use the hardware
and software, a plan to use a writing activity involving the creation of a daily home letter
was formed. The team identified how they were going to assess the use of the
technology to complete the task as well as the development of Janes technology skills.
Individuals responsible for all aspects of the plan were listed including timelines for
completion of specific activities (e.g. the school technician was listed as responsible for
setting up printer and network access by a specific date, the Special Ed Assistant was
listed as responsible for creating the necessary overlays for the identified home letter
task, and the classroom teacher was responsible for assessing the technology
implementation).
Three months after the implementation plan was put into action, Janes team had an IEP
review meeting. At that meeting, individual team members reported on their part in the
plan and a general discussion took place around the overall effectiveness of the
implementation. It was determined, after reviewing the data on how Jane was currently
using the hardware and software, that it was being very effective in providing support for
her written output but the Special Education Assistant was having difficulty finding time
to create the overlays needed to expand her use of the technology. The team discussed
some possible ways to provide the SEA with the time needed and a solution was found
when it was discovered that Jane did not really require her support during art lessons.
The implementation plan was adjusted to reflect the expected increase in Janes use of
the technology and the team set a date three months in advance for a second review.

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