Assistive Technology Resource Classes at ISBVI Equip Students for Future Success

By: Seth Johnson

ISBVI middle school students are seen sitting around a table in the ISBVI library with librarian Shawn Humphrey. Each of the students is using a laptop as they take part in an assistive technology resource class. In an effort to improve their digital literacy, students at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) currently take part in daily assistive technology resource classes, with a focus on building upon their computer skills. The Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation (IBCF) is a proud supporter of this initiative and is currently working alongside the school to help it reach a 1:1 student-to-laptop ratio for all full-time students in grades 3–12 who would benefit from a personal device.

Over the past five years, ISBVI and IBCF have provided students with a variety of adaptive technologies, including BrailleNote Touch tablets and refreshable braille displays, to meet diverse learning needs. While these tools remain essential, a recent statewide Gaps Analysis, conducted by IBCF in partnership with ISBVI, has revealed that ISBVI students lack strong and consistent foundational 21st-century digital literacy skills that are expected by both post-secondary institutions and modern workplaces. Providing students with laptops that are tailored to their accessibility needs yet aligned with the technology used by their sighted peers will help bridge this digital divide and better prepare them for future academic and professional success.

As graduates of ISBVI, Ashley McWhirter, Chris Avila, and Mackenzie Colglazier are now leading this digital literacy charge as instructional assistants in these assistive technology resource classes. Through these courses, the instructional assistants work to strengthen students’ 21st-century technology skills, helping them stay up to date with all the tools that are available to them. One day, students may spend time learning new key commands on their laptops, while other days will be dedicated to learning how to navigate a specific program using built-in accessibility functions.

Having all learned to maneuver the ever-changing world of technology over the years, Avila, Colglazier, and McWhirter work closely with each student to ensure they are equipped for life after high school, giving them the knowledge and encouragement needed to grasp all the tools that are at their fingertips.

“I decided it would be a good idea to try to help some of the students going forward who were trying to go to whatever university they wanted to, so they could avoid some of the pitfalls I ran into,” says Avila, who graduated from Purdue in 2025 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and came to join the ISBVI staff.

It only takes a few minutes of sitting in on one of the assistive technology resource classes to see the impact they’re having on ISBVI students and their confidence with using technology. Some days, the students may work on making sure their keyboarding skills are up to par, while other days, they may spend time browsing the internet for information on a given topic and putting it into a neatly organized report. No matter the lesson, the students embrace the task with a collective enthusiasm, knowing that it’s equipping them to succeed going forward.

As Colglazier points out, the ultimate hope with the assistive technology resource classes is that the students she’s working with will be ready to succeed post-graduation.

“When I was a student here, the first time I took an online quiz was in college,” says Colglazier, who graduated from IUPUI in 2021 with a degree in Elementary Education. “So we’re doing a lot of expanding, and I think that’s great for our students because we’re giving them the skills that we didn’t necessarily get.”

The photo shows five adults standing together in a room with blue walls and computer workstations behind them. Two guide dogs sit at the front, each wearing a harness and held by members of the group, giving the scene the feel of a training or educational setting. While technology is always advancing, McWhirter hopes the assistive technology resource classes at ISBVI can serve as a foundation for students to go forward and navigate the next wave of devices.

“Technology is just constantly evolving, so there are going to be things 10 years from now that none of us know how to use,” says McWhirter, who graduated from Ball State in 2019 with a degree in Social Work. “But I’m hoping these students at least have enough skills to build off of and figure it out as they get older — the skills to research and find out how to do things that they don’t know.”

Through these assistive technology resource classes, Colglazier hopes to embolden ISBVI students to go out and achieve their dreams.

“You are just as capable as any sighted person,” she tells her students. “Having technology skills as a blind person, that gives you the same playing field as a sighted person. It gives you that equal footing — it gives you that access.”

As the Assistant Director of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) at ISBVI, Nick Leon has been at the forefront of pushing the school’s assistive technology efforts forward. Having worked in the field of blind and low vision for many years, he ultimately hopes the assistive technology resource classes can make a greater impact on future employment rates for those who are blind or have low vision.

The image shows three adults seated side-by-side at a long table, each working on a laptop. They are all wearing sleep masks that cover their eyes and over-ear headphones, suggesting they may be participating in a simulation or accessibility exercise. “Working at Bosma, I always heard that 70% unemployed number,” Leon says. “I want that to go down dramatically. It still just hasn’t been significantly impacted, and I think technology and the ECC are a big part of that and still aren’t taught enough in the schools, which is why we aren’t seeing a noticeable change made to that statistic. As a teacher, I have parents ask, ‘What can my child do once they get out in the workforce?’ I just want to say, ‘Well, what do they want to do?’ And to have that be possible.”

At IBCF’s January board meeting, Leon led board members in an assistive technology resource workshop using laptops, with each board member wearing a blindfold to relate to the instruction students are currently receiving. After taking part in Leon’s workshop, IBCF board member Hannah Wilson says she now understands how vital these assistive technology resource classes are for the students at ISBVI.

“It was really neat to see a glimpse of the technology that we work to provide for the students in action,” Wilson says. “I hadn’t experienced firsthand how some of those applications are used by the students. It’s amazing that this technology exists, and I’m so thankful that we’re able to help provide it.”

We’d like to thank Healthcare Initiatives, Inc. for aligning with IBCF's investment in this new technology approach. Stay tuned to our newsletter and social media pages for further updates on how these assistive technology resource classes are making an impact on students and helping prepare them for life after graduation.