 |
Penny ReedDirector of Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) |
Penny Reed is a private consultant in the field of special education specializing in assistive technology services. She was founder and director of the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI), a statewide technical assistance project on assistive technology funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction from 1993 to 2003. She has been a teacher, consultant and administrator in the field of special education for over thirty years. Much of her experience involved working with children with physical and multiple disabilities, which led to her interest in assistive technology. Dr. Reed has worked for local school districts, education service agencies, and state education agencies and has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses at the post secondary level.
Dr. Reed provides training across the country on a variety of topics related to assistive technology with a special focus on helping school districts improve their delivery of assistive technology services. Dr. Reed is co-author of the Educational Tech Points (Bowser & Reed, 1995), Navigating the Process, Educational Tech Points for Parents (Bowser & Reed, 1997), Educational Tech Points: A Framework for Assistive Technology Planning (Bowser & Reed, 1998), Assistive Technology Pointers for Parents, (Reed & Bowser, 2000), Assessment for Assistive Technology (Reed & Best, 2001) and Supporting Physical and Sensory Capabilities Through Assistive Technology (Best, Bigge, & Reed; 2001) in Teaching Individuals with Physical, Health, or Multiple Disabilities, How Do You Know It? How Can You Show It? (Reed, Bowser, & Korsten, 2002), A School Administrator’s Desktop Guide to Assistive Technology (Bowser & Reed, 2004), Considering the Need for Assistive Technology within the Individualized Educational Program (Castellani, Dwyer, McPherson, Reed, Rein, & Zabala, 2005), Assistive Technology and the IEP (Reed & Bowser, 2005) in Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. She is editor of Designing Environments for Successful Kids (2003) and co-editor of Assessing Students’ Need for Assistive Technology: A Resource Manual for School District Teams (Reed & Lahm, 2004).
Dr. Reed is a member of the Leadership Team for Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services (www.qiat.org) and in that role works with others to develop guidelines and materials to help school districts evaluate and improve their assistive technology services. She also maintains a website in conjunction with Gayl Bowser related to their work with Education Tech Points (www.edtechpoints.org).