NORTHAMPTON, MA – HEC Academy rolled out a new one-to-one laptop initiative for students last week, the culmination of years of review, research and planning.
HEC Academy students now have access to individual laptops with assistive technology. This technology provides educational assistance in the form of the ability to listen as well as read any text seen on the screen, word prediction software that assists with spelling, and graphic organizer software that helps each student plan for writing and general note taking.
Assistive technology at HEC Academy began twenty-five years ago, with voice recognition software that helped students with severe dyslexia who could not spell or produce completed written assignments, to dictate their work. The difference that this made to the students was immediately clear. Now, HEC Academy educators are working to integrate the new assistive software throughout the curriculum school wide in the final steps of this project.
HEC Academy is an alternative learning program of the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, MA For more information about the HEC Academy High School and Middle School program, visit www.collaborative.org/special-education/alternative-learning-programs.
