Welcome
Welcome to the Assistive Technology Assessment Centre (ATAC). The main aim of the project is to respond to the increasing demand of people with disabilities for equal access to and participation in higher education. This project focuses on providing dedicated Assistive Technology (AT) supports, training and assessments to the students in the Shannon Consortium Institutions and the Shannon region.
See Upcoming Events for Details on our Summer AT Courses 2010 - Upcoming_Events
Aims
· A regional assistive technology assessment centre (ATAC) has been established at the University of Limerick.
· This exciting project will provide students with disabilities the opportunity to have their assistive technology needs assessed.
· The ATAC project will offer training and technical support for staff and students in consortia institutions.
· A regional online documentation centre has been established for print impaired students. This will convert print text to audio
· The ATAC centre will explore gaps in current Assistive Technologies and research into the latest Assistive Technologies.
Objectives
The main objectives of the ATAC project are as follows:
· Develop best practice in Assistive Technology, in particular AT training, support and assessments.
· Increase participation rates of students with disabilities in education through the use of Assistive Technology supports.
Definition of Assistive Technology
For those who are unsure what Assistive Technology (AT) is, the most commonly used definition is the American definition, which is
"Any item, piece of equipment or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customised that is used it increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities"
Put simply, Assistive technology is any device, piece of equipment, system or piece of software which assists users. Some examples of Assistive technology include voice recognition systems, voice synthesis, screen magnification, Braille embossing/printing, alternative computer input devices (trackballs, switches), radio aids and tape recorders.
AT can play an important role in the lives of students with disabilities by helping to increase access to all sorts of materials. It allows the student to perform a task they might otherwise be unable to do. In other words, AT is used to support independent learning.
Shannon Consortium Partners
The ATAC centre will facilitate AT Assessments supports and training for students in these institutions
· University of Limerick
· Institute of Technology Tralee
· Limerick Institute of Technology
· Mary Immaculate College Limerick
Links and local partnerships
The ATAC centre will also develop links with national and local disability groups. We will invite any interested parties to use our "Try it and See" AT facility. We intend to inform the secondary schools in the Shannon consortium region of the AT supports available. In this way we hope to reach the project's target market, and increase awareness of the AT support available at third level to students with disabilities. We will also disseminate information on the project to any relevant or interested parties.
An ATAC information day will be held every year. During the information day a presentation will made detailing supports available to students with disabilities in third level, the supplementary applications procedure, the AT support available in third level and what the ATAC project is. The ATAC centre will also be open for the purpose of displaying all the AT available and allowing all to avail of the "Try and See" AT facility.
Contact Details
Conor Hartigan - ATAC Coordinator
Contact Details
Telephone: 061 234385
Location: University of Limerick, Main Building, EM026
Email: conor.hartigan@ul.ie
