Adaptive Technologies
Resources from MEDAL QUEST and DESIGN SQUAD
These media resources from MEDAL QUEST and DESIGN SQUAD help students explore how science, technology, engineering, and math support athletes with physical disabilities as they compete at elite levels.
Use these standards-based resources to increase students' understanding of people with disabilities, broaden awareness of Paralympic sports, highlight the adaptive technologies used by Paralympic athletes, and showcase the engineering design process used to create these technologies.
Visit the Adaptive Technologies Special Collection on Teachers' Domain.
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Designing a Wheelchair for Rugby
In this video segment adapted from DESIGN SQUAD, teams of high school kids use the engineering design process to build an automated wheelchair to help a U.S. Paralympic athlete train.
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Designing Swimming Prosthetics for a Dancer
In this video adapted from DESIGN SQUAD, teams of high school kids use the engineering design process to build specialized prostheses for a double-amputee dancer who performs underwater.
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The Design Process
This video resource, excerpted from DESIGN SQUAD, illustrates each step of the engineering design process.
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Jeff Fabry: Like a Robot Shooting the Bow
In this MEDAL QUEST video, Paralympic archer Jeff Fabry shares the adaptive technology that enables his robot-like shooting routine and explains the impact archery has had on his life.
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The Prosthetist
In this MEDAL QUEST video, prosthetist Shane Ryley explains the care and technology needed to create high-performance artificial limbs for athletes.
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Titanium Chairs and Cheetah Legs
In this MEDAL QUEST video, Paralympians share how adaptive technologies have helped them perform in a range of competitive sports.
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The Design Process Poster
This printable image from DESIGN SQUAD illustrates the five steps of the engineering design process.
Meet The Athletes
A Message of Support from BP
BP is honored to be part of the support network for Team USA, now and through 2016. As part of our ongoing commitment to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes, BP is excited to partner with MEDAL QUEST to present Adaptive Technologies, a collection of multimedia resources that explore the lives and challenges of U.S. Paralympians.
Developed especially for educators, these resources are a powerful tool to engage students in learning about the challenges faced by athletes with physical disabilities and the adaptive technologies that allow them to compete at elite levels.
More From PBS
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Fit To Go The Distance
NOVA - Info on what a person's body needs in order to finish a marathon.
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Bonnie St. John Interview
On TAVIS SMILEY, Bonnie St. John remembers the 1984 Paralympics.
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Exercise in a Pill
NOVA - Interactive show explaining the research and effects of the "exercise pill."
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Jesse Owens
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film about the 1936 Olympic champion's rise to fame.
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Be More Tuned In
Wisconsin Public Television shares MEDAL QUEST with its viewers.