Gayl Bowser
Assistive Technology Collaborations
Date: February 1, 2007
Snippet 1: "How did you happen to work with youngsters with physical disabilities?" (4:25)
Snippet 2: "Tell us about SETT and Re-SETT" (4:12)
Download: Full Transcript
Gayl's fascinating AT journey began in 1979 when she moved to Oregon and was hired to work in a self-contained classroom for kids with physical disabilities. Initially resistant to technology, she relented when told she would help write a grant for an Apple Computer for her special education classroom. She tells of her discoveries with students, learning she could diagnose and determine their needs, and becoming totally hooked on the possibilities of technology for children with special needs.
Gayl acknowledges her mentors along the way as she became involved in professional development and eventually established the Oregon Technology Access Program, a federally funded two-year program that has survived for twenty years through the Oregon Department of Education.
She shares her approach of empowering districts throughout the state to provide technology services and support for students with disabilities and credits the longevity of the program to this model. Her retirement includes consultation, professional development, writing the Education Tech Points series, and "mothering" the QIAT program.