I am pleased to see so many of you scrambling to get on the Information Superhighway. Unfortunately, some of us are still bogged down on a tote road, somewhere. This article will hopefully help those administrators to become more familiar with technology and less intimidated by this latest area of expertise.

Let us begin by answering some of your most common questions.

Q. What is “Assistive Technology”?
A. It’s expensive.

Q. No, I mean, what does it consist of?
A. It’s technical.

Q. Well, how am I supposed to fmd out what I am expected to buy for my students?
A. You are supposed to hire an Assistive Technology consultant to help you

Q. What is an Assistive Technology Consultant?
A. He is expensive.

Many of you have questions about specific “hard¬ware” that you are considering, for instance:

Q. I recently purchased a MAC 575 with modem, fax card, scan capability and voice input. The geek down the hall said.he got a Super MAC PLUS. What did he get that I dido’t get? 
A. He got everything you got plus a large drink and fries. 

Q. How can I add Super Mega K to my IBM PC Clone?
A. Ream out the cylinders to 9OMM, add an overhead cam, dual carbs and spoilers, glass pack your pipes and paint the body candy apple red.

Q. Are you s.ure you’re talking about computers?
A. Are you sure I’m not? ….

The Division is now getting into technology in a big way. By using an “Automated Voice Response System” (AVRS) Division staff can avoid frustrating local administrators when consultants are not available for a phone consult. Recently, I called Con¬sultant Bob with a due process question and got “Into” AVRS.

Me: Can I speak to Bob, please?
AVRS: This is AVRS Bob, ready to assist you.
If you wish to file a complaint for investigation, press “1″ NOW!
If you wish to request a Due Process Hear¬ing, press “2″ NOW!
If you wish information on fIling a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, press “3″ NOW!
If you wish to call your local Director a Nazi Gestapo Chowderhead, press “4″ NOW!

And the technology in Augusta can now be linked to the technology in your local school, These sophisticated computers can “talk” to each other (digitally, of course) and can conduct routine business without the need to tie up valuable administrator time. For instance just listen to this conversation between a computer in Augusta and our counterpart computer in Brewer.

Augusta Com: Our data banks indicate that you have missed filing multiple annual, EF S 272′s.
Brewer Com: What-AT?

Augusta Com: 272′s – your “Documentation of Justification for Waiver of Previous Documentation Report.”
Brewer Com: Right when is it due?

Augusta Com: Remember Jimmy Carter?
Brewer Com:Ooooh, what do you recommend?
Augusta Com: Pull your EF S 284′s ”The Reductant Information Waiver of Reductant fuformation Report” from any year from ’88. through ’93 and recode it all to the 272. Works every time.

Brewer Com: What if our AdminIstrators uncover this?
Augusta Com: Our Administrators?

Brewer Com: It’s done. Thanks dude.
Augusta Com: Is this a great system or what?

Incredibly, all of this takes roughly .00162 seconds. It would take our most capable administrators hours to fabricate this amount of information!

Some future thinking planners expect that by the year 2000, local schools will be submitting more data in more formats to Augusta that we will even be able to become aware of, let alone read, study or discuss, dictating the need for much more sophisticated equip¬ment to monitor and report on this new information.

The need for more “hardware” to “read”, “file” and “match” this data will outweigh the need for consultants who are much slower and more prone to error. Budgets Will need to be planned accordingly. It is not inconceivable to imagine a Division of Special Services that is one big machine – Special Com – with “consultant” computers linked for specific purposes (Due Process Com, SERT Com, Out-of-District Com, etc.)

This trend may be threatening to many of our current administrators. If you are concerned about your future with this new trend toward technology, you may want to consider contracting for services from an Assistive Technology Administrator Consultant.

Q. What is an Assistive Technology Administrative Consultant?
A. I’m expensive.