On-line education in assistive technology: Challenges and opportunities

There is growing recognition that rehabilitation professionals need to learn about new developments in assistive technology as well as to how to work with one another in order to improve assistive technology services. However, the necessary training and education of professional service providers have not always followed technological developments and a growing recognition of the need for multidisciplinary education. Where training and education is offered it tends to lack breadth or depth, be profession specific, or focus on basic rather than advanced level skills. This paper will explore the extent to which on-line assistive technology education might solve some of the problems identified with current Assistive Technology education. The opportunities and challenges that multidisciplinary postgraduate courses in Assistive Technology may face will also be discussed.