Assitive technology is not just about ipads and apps, although they are beyond worth their weight in gold, it is about making learning accessible for everyone. This Blog will be focusing on how we can best make use of the ever changing and adapting world of technology to support all learners so everyone has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
As a society we judge people based on their looks- it is not something many people will outwardly admit to doing, but I want you to be honest as I ask you to think about the judgements you make when you see a person with autism, down syndrome, or another "disability".
What assumptions are you making right now as you look at this picture? Are you making assumptions about her abilities? Her IQ? Her social interactions? What are you presuming her level of competence is?
The woman in the picture is Susie Rubin, she will be 35 this May, she has her own place (although with the assistance of 24 hour care), she has an I.Q of over 130, she graduated high school with honours, she is attending college and she travels around the country doing presentations and keynote addresses on autism/special education.
Due to her limited expressive and receptive language, at the age of 13 she was still testing at an approximate age of two and a half years. She may not have graduated with honours or lived in her own place if it was not for the fact that at age 13 she was introduced and able to communicate through Facilitated Communication, a method of typing out her thoughts. Sue, and many others such as Carly Fleischman and Amanda Baggs, are why we need to presume competence in our students/children and must strive to provide a variety of opportunities for them to communicate/demonstrate their knowledge to us. It is imperative that we presume some level of competency and provide accessible assessments to all students.
We do not want EPAs, assistants, parents and teachers doing things for a student if they are capable themselves; we want to teach them to become as independent as possible. This is where the universal design for learning comes in. It is our goal as educators to provide access to appropriate learning opportunities for all students. There are many tools that can help achieve this goal (many of them are Apple based as they are the most accessible products). This course will introduce me to a variety of them that I will then highlight on this Blog, along with my own personal research.
Besides highlighting the many accessibility features of Apple products (see links section of this Blog for more information), we explored the app called imovie. The entire class was able to figure out how to download and use existing pictures from the camera reel and put together a trailer movie in under 45 min. If we can master this it in that amount of time it wouldn't take much longer to teach a class (for that matter it may even be less time as some students may already have experience with it). This app can be used in elementary, Jr. & Sr. High classrooms and in all subjects areas. In L.A groups of/individual student(s) could do a book talk, character sketch, compare/contrast of novels, or act out a section of the text. In math theories could be explained, demonstration of how to do an operation, or real life examples of where we use math concepts can be highlighted. In other subject areas it can be used to highlight important dates/events etc. The possibilities are limitless- just allow students and yourself to use your imagination!
Here is the video Nancy and I made. It is our first attempt at using the imovie app.- Assisitive Tech. Saves The Day! It was so much fun!
This week I am attending the FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Some co-workers and peers from this Inclusive Education Cohort decided to attend this conference because we wanted the opportunity to learn the latest/variety of technologies and how they are being integrated into the classroom.
Session 1 iPad A to Z by Leslie Fisher (www.lesliefisher.com):
Leslie is an enthusiastic and energetic speaker who presents at a variety of conferences and on a plethora of topics. She covers learning tutorials on the basics of how to use your iPad to Digital Photography and is even a consultant for Sony and presents on Software development.
In the short three hour workshop she showered us with a lot of programs and apps that we can use in our classroom as well as some that are just fun or useful for for work/personal. I wont be listing all of the software/apps she mentioned, but encourage you to go to her website, click on "Presenting" and then "Presentation Handouts" and scroll down until you see the pdf of her presentation entitled "The iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Application Support Group". Here you will find a comprehensive list and explanation of the programs/apps (and more) that she covered. I am going to highlight my top three favourite programs/apps that Leslie showed us:
CloudOnis a cloud based drop box that enables you to link and edit all your Office and Google documents on your phone, iPad, and PC. I have never had a drop box before, and honestly was not sure why I would need one- now I do not know how I managed without one for so long. Countless times I have worked on and printed a document at home... and forgot it in the printer tray, or wanted to print /edit a document at school and could not because I hadn't to emailed it to myself, or I am working away on a document at school and something comes up that I can't finish it in that moment, but before I can leave I have to email it myself. This app will impact my teaching in a positive way because it will allow me the freedom to produce, edit and share my documents anywhere I am. If I make a lesson plan and need to adapt/edit/change it while the students and I are exploring and discussing in class I will now have the ability to change it right there on the spot. This will enable me to meet the needs of me and all of my the students on the fly.
Infuse Learningis anonline educational content delivery system. It facilitates student teacher interactions in an online format. It is supportive of a BYOD (Bring Yours Own Device) setting, as it is not specific to one operating type. Some of the great features of this program are that the teacher can make T/F, multiple choice, open ended questions, as well as provide a canvas for students to draw their answers. The teacher can save all images as well as test results. The assessment questions are marked and the results of each question is tallied, providing a visual representation of the results so the teacher can easily see if a particular question scored low/high. What I believe to be one of the most compelling features of this program is that the tests/quizzes/assessments can all be read/translated into multiple languages such as Spanish and French. This supports the universal design for learning, allowing all students to participate in the language that they feel most comfortable in. It also has a text to speech component so that a student with a reading/visual disability can still participate. In a classroom where it is our job to meet the needs of a variety of students, this program enables a teacher to collect data/assess their students in a variety of ways.
TheSky (TM) wifi Smart Pen and variety of note pads are one of my favourite tools Leslie introduced us to. The Sky Pen is available in 2/4/8GB with a recording time of 200/400/800 hours respectfully. The user writes in the notepad while the Smart Pen records audio. Whenever the user wants to retrieve the audio from a particular moment, they just tap the pen to the spot in the notepad where the word was written and it retrieves the corresponding audio. This device may be useful for students who may only be able to write the date for a class, a word or two, or even just draw an image that will spark their memory as to what the topic covered in class was about. Whenever they need/want to, they can easily jump back to that moment of audio in an instant. For students who have difficulty writing or who may need directions/conversations repeated a few times, this device would be most useful. It also allows students to concentrate on listening and taking in what is being said instead of frantically trying to write down notes and being in danger of missing the message.
This was by far my favourite session because I am walking away with a lot of apps I can try in my classroom, at a variety of age levels, plus some cool apps for my own personal use. I was shown how they work and now just have to download them for myself. I came to the conference looking for tangable things I can use right away in my classroom and this session provide that for me.
Session 2 Attended: Transforming Technology Integration for the new Learner by Nancy Blair:(www.EngagingEducation.net)
Nancy has many degrees and certificates in Education, she has won awards such as the McKeel's teacher of the year and spoken all over the country on educational issues. This workshop was very different from the previous one. It was more like a lecture on the importance of integrating technology into the classroom for students to use and explore.
Nancy did not give us programs or apps to explore/suggest we use in our classrooms, but rather discussed the ways in which technology has evolved and the importance of classroom teachers keeping up with the changes. From her three hour speech, these are the three highlights I found beneficial to share:
1. When I was in school, if anyone had a computer it was the teacher's and students did not touch it. There was only one class that I took that had a handful of computers for students to use and that teacher got them because he applied and received a grant. Even then, these handful of computers were only to be used when directed by the teacher. When students enter school now, many of them have been Skyping (online video and audio chat from device to device) with family and friends for years. She shared that there have been studies conducted that show students have better tech skills than life skills; they are able to use a mouse proficiently, but could not tie their shoes and the can navigate the Internet, but cannot ride a bike. This struck a cord with me about the importance of knowing what is in my students "virtual backpack". When they enter my classroom, I need to find out what tech skills they already have so I am not wasting time teaching lessons they already know and also not assume they have the same life skills entering school that I had. My friends and I are regularly referring back to the days when we would play out in the neighbourhood until the street lights come on- gone are those days for most. I did some searching on the Internet and found many YouTube videos, online tutorials and some apps for learning how to tie laces. My favourite was Ian's Laces- How to Tie and Lace Shoes. For $1.99, this app provides over 50 ways to lace and tie shoes. Isn't this a more diverse and expansive way to teach a child than learning "bunny ears go around a tree"...?!
2. Nancy spoke about the importance of allowing students to explore with technology and to come up with their own answers instead of there being right/wrong answers as deemed by the teacher. Students find surfing the web is fun and there is a great deal of dynamic and educational content available. The internet can be a great educational tool but the reality is that there is a lot of inappropriate content as well. Nancy shared a link- called GoGooligans.com that can help ensure students are finding appropriate material.
GoGooligans uses filtering technology to catch inappropriate words before they are searched. Google keyword technology can also target child geared content. In addition to the Google SafeSearch Filter which is always on and protecting the search engine, 28 sexual and racial keywords that are not included in the Google SafeSearch Filter are filtered out. GoGooligans includes other safety features such as recording IP addresses so that children will not look for inappropriate material because they know they are being watched. I will add this search engine to my class website and have my students search for content through here. Making myself feel a bit more at ease when there is a class of 25+ students all searching for information at that same time, that even though I can't peer over everyone shoulder at the same time I will feel more confident that they are searching safely.
3. Nancy closed the workshop by inviting us to follow her on Twitter. I did not have a Twitter account and honestly was not interested in Tweeting my thoughts. However in under 5 min. Nancy convinced me that signing up for Twitter was a good idea and I now have my own Twitter account (@Tarah_Henderson)! She spoke to the plethora of knowledge, resources and ideas that people share on Twitter. It is available for a variety of devices such as Andriod, IPad, Backberry, etc. As an educator who wants to stay up on the latest technologies and best practises and who does not want to reinvent the wheel all the time, Twitter is one method of staying "in the loop". I would suggest all educators get a Twitter account and follow others in the education field.
The third session I attended was called a "Shoot Out" by some and "Snack Down" by others. In essence, it was a panel of four people knowledgeable in the technology field, who shared their favourite technology with us fast and furiously. Here are some of the technologies they shared:
Leap for iMac- $70
This device allows you to control your computer by only using your hand. It is a little hardware box as small as a stack of playing cards that sits in front of the computer monitor and tracks your hands’ motions. It is similar to Microsoft’s popular Kinect platform, which allows Xbox 360 and Windows PC owners to get active with their entertainment.
Photon Flash app for iPad- $4.99: Lets you watch Flash Media on your IPad device using Safari.
Go Animate- free for basic program: Lets you create animated educational videos for clasroom. You can contol the voices, the content and the characters. We all know how engaging kids find cartoons!
It is a snow day here in NS today- we are being engulfed by a winter storm.
Normally this is the kind of storm teachers would pray for... on a Sunday thru to Thursday evening that is. This one coming in on a Saturday does nothing but put a halt to weekend plans. Today's plans involved going to the HRSB building to attend class for 6 hours and then an evening of dancing to celebrate a friend's birthday.
Our instructor Barb Welsford, click on her name to check out her amazing work with technology, didn't let a Blizzard warning stop us. The building was shut down and even some mall and stores closed here in HRM- for example the libraries, Pete's Fruitique, and some NSLC's did not even open, but thanks to the advancement of technology we were able to still have class (yippee)! Through an online classroom forum called Blackboard Collaborate, the four of us who were in Florida attending the FETC were able to share our power point presentations, videos and blogs. We could talk through our presentations, read comments/questions in the chat room, respond and watch interactively. Barb was even able to send everyone a file of the Power Point presentations.
I think this is a great way to hold class on any given day- not just a snow day. It makes class accessible for everyone; people with mobility issues (including someone who didn't have transportation to the course), those who couldn't find a babysitter for their kids, anyone who is feeling under the weather (like me), all you need is a computer with an internet connection and the latest version of Java installed. I prefer this version of classroom learning and sharing because I was able to stay in my PJ's, with a cup of tea for my throat, wrapped in a blanket for warmth and was able to share and receive the same information I would by going to class- the only difference being my coughing fits did not disrupt others and no one noticed I didn't have a shower yet!
I was hired as a personal tutor for a child a
few years ago who was out of school for a few months due to illness. The school
board paid me a decent amount of money/hour to work with this student for a
minimum of five hours per week. If they had of employed the use of technology
to assist the teacher and student- such as using SKYPE even to sit in on and
listen to a few of the L.A and Math lessons, then the board would have been able to limit
the amount of time they needed me to privately tutor her.
After the online interactive class, we were
instructed to watch and Blog about three of the four listed webinars. If I was
allowed I would post the webinar links here for you to watch because they contain a
plethora of useful apps and information, but these webinars have a nominal fee that is donated to the Assistive Technology Centre Society (a non profit organization that helps children with disabilities) and I would not want to take away from any monies they could receive.
I would suggest checking out her site and the webinars for yourself. Here are the top three apps
for each of the webinarsI watched:
Apps from Special Education webinar:
Dragon Dictation is a great free app for students who have good oral communicating skills, but who have difficulty putting pencil to paper to get out their thoughts and ideas. With a simple click of a button they can record all their stories, thoughts, questions, etc. When I tested it out, because I have a cold I did notice a few words were close to what I said, but not exact. For example I spoke, "Welcome to the learning and leisure blog by Tarah Henderson" and it wrote, "Welcome to the learning invasion blog by Claire Henderson". Students would have to learn to speak slowly and the teacher may have decipher a few words in context. I can also see using the app in the classroom myself as I am teaching or working with/assessing in small groups or one to one. I can talk into my device and have Dragon Dictation write notes of what I am saying. This will be great for helping me write observations and communications I have had with students at report card time.
Math Tappers are great free apps that interactively cover various subjects and levels in mathematics (for lower to upper elementary). Math Tappers covers number lines, sums, fractions, equivalents, multiplication and even time. A great feature is that it self monitors and corrects as they go. It allows students to work independently with the app. Students can set up an account under their name so I can see their scores and times; they can even email me a report of their progress. I could use this app for assessing, for extending work after completing a task, during free playtime, and during centers.
ABC Phonics Word Family is a free app that helps students recognize sounds such as short vowels, silent 'e' and long vowles, two vowels and three letter word families. It speaks the sounds clearly so students can self check, it also does not enable an inncorrect answer and has praise for the correct answer. Students have a recap at the end of each sound activity to match the word with the picture for added practise. This app would be good for students who are developing their phonics skills, beginning/ending sounds, to engage reluctant learners, as well as ESL students.
Apps from Fine Motor Skills webinar:
Dexteria App $3.99- I like the fact that it was
designed by Occupational Therapists (OT), it provides many different types of exercises for the whole hand that develops fine motor skills and writing readiness. The games develop tapping, pinching and writing skills. I really like the letter formation aspect that is like the popular Handwriting Without Tears program that I used in my classroom last year. I could see using this app in the classroom to support struggling writers as well as practise for beginning writers. A stylus can be used with this app to help develop proper pencil grip. It is very engaging and offers rewards for task completion.
Injini app $29.99 (FREE lite version available)- I LOVE that it is designed by teachers, too often teacher's experience and recommendations are not taken into consideration. It can be used to assess children in the early intervention program, provides engagement and sustains attention to task. It involves the use of the whole hand, not just one finger tapping the screen.You can use a stylus. Some of its great features are the countdown to prepare for the activity (3,2,1), a simple screen format, reinforce after completion, and it is self correcting.
Touch and Write app used to be a free, but now the charge is $2.99- it is a rewarding, self correcting, fun child centre app where players can choose what medium they want to "write" with (examples are frosting, whipped cream, shaving cream, etc.). Choosing what to write with can add an additional appeal to reluctant writers and is just plan fun. Who hasn't wanted to smear food over the table and write it at some point in time in their life?!
Apps from Communication Disorders webinar:
While looking to download ABC Phonic Word Families I came across a family of apps called ABC Magic apps- these are free apps that also assist early elementray students, as well as ESL stduents, in language development. I had this as an extra I was going to talk about, but then they were mentioned in this webinar so I moved it under this heading. I downloaded 10 of these apps in activities such as spelling, reading, matching, sentence structure and phonics at a variety of levels.
Speech with Milo sequencing costs $2.99- it is not often that I would choose to highlight an app that costs money over free ones (and lots of free ones were mentioned in the webinar), but I am particuluary fond of this app because it helps develop story telling skills, sequencing, and 36 basic skills or routines broken into three steps. I like that they get to play a game after they have completed a sequence; this offers encouragment and reward. Sequencing is a skill that many students struggle with, but it is needed to help with organization in life skills as well writing.
Communication skills was a free app when the webinar was created, but today it costs $0.99. I figured this out rather quickly because I
had it downloaded and already told people about this great app within 5 min. of
learning about it on the webinar. What caught my attention was the clip Barb
highlighted on "Listening". There are 9 steps to listen attentively. I
personally think there would be less divorces, fights, misunderstandings and a
lot of counsellors would be out of business if people downloaded this app and
followed it! Better yet, if they shared the videos with others and taught their
kids how to communicate. This one video itself (there are many more included)
is worth more than the $0.99. As someone who has been to couples counselling, I
am not afraid to admit we spent many sessions learning how to listen to each
other properly. If we had of had this skill going into the relationship, I am
confident we would not have needed counselling. I will be playing this video,
along with others, for my class on a regular basis. This is a valuable life
skill that needs to be explicitly taught and modeled. Thank you apps!
Times they are a changing'... as mentioned before, children are coming to school being able to navigate mobile devices, yet are unable to tie their shoes. However, with Velcro and alternate shoe designs, as well as shoe tying tutorials, instead of worrying about what kids are not able to do, we need to focus on what technology is enabling them to do.
More and more parents are investing in mobile devices once they realise what they are enabling their child to accomplish and the educational freedom they offer their child. Our instructor Barb, showed us a video today of students sharing their enthusiasm and excitement for the technology they are using. They are excited to share what they are able to accomplish; you could see them oozing with pride and self motivation. It was very inspiring!
Ruben R. Puentedura's blog is also very inspiring and a must read as it contains a wealth of videos, pdfs, presentations and information on education and technology. I warn you when you visit his site, there is an overwhelming amount of information presented. I wanted to explore and read it all, but as time is limited for now, I have to put it on my nightly reading list. Today I did some exploring and found a great video introducing the SAMR concept. Have a watch!
He brings up many good points to ponder, one being the integration of technology in the classroom. However, there are so many variables with this, it is very hard to compare a classroom in one school to that of another due to available resources the school has invested in, as well as the teacher's comfort level and knowledge of technology. One school I was at had a very involved PTA, that was supportive of the teachers wanting a SMART Board in at common room that could be used by everyone. The administration gave us PD days to work with technology integration specialist and be trained on how to use it, but only a handful of teachers decided to do it as others stated they had to much on their "plate" already to add one more thing to do/learn.
In another school there was a large group of teachers hungry for technology but there was only one mobile LCD for the entire P-9 school. Due to the administration and PTA's being able to make decisions (within reason) as to where they would like to spend the money. This creates unfair situations for students who could benefit from the use of technology in the classroom but do not have it available in the school they are in, or the teacher they have that year is not comfortable or knowledgeable in how to use it. Students should not suffer due to where they live in HRSB, or because of their teacher's comfort level with technology, but it is happening and I am not sure how it can be rectified.
I would like to see a Province or at least Board wide technology centre that housed resources for students, so it did not matter what school a child was at, if they needed an iPod touch/ iPad, they would have access to it (and not just for a few months like most resources). Ideally they would be paired up with a technology team member who knew the products available, how they could be utilised and would work with teacher and student to make sure everyone was getting the most out of what was available. I understand teachers who feel like there is enough on their plate now with learning how to do three part lesson plans, a new report card system, new curriculums, committee meetings, regular PD, as well as maintaining adaptations and IPPs, but the reason why were are in this career is to teach students and prepare them for society, we can't let students slip by because we don't have the time. We need to teach and work smarter. Hopefully the Board or Department can work with teachers to figure out this situation that is only going to get more and more complicated as time goes on.
PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) is a picture communication system used for non verbal children. It is introduced in six phases, beginning with learning how to exchange a picture for an item they really want, to phase six where they are putting together simple sentences answering questions such as , "What do you see?" with pictures that say "I see a", "bird". When a child is not able to use speech to express him/herself it can be very frustrating for both child and others who are trying to communicating with them. Exchanging pictures can be started at a young age to begin learning another way to communicate. Once a child makes the connection between presenting the picture and getting what they want, they are on their way to being able to communicate their needs and wants which everyone wants to be able to do at some level. As the child gets older, exchanging tangible pictures as a way to communicate could be replaced by using the more easily portable technology of an iPod Touch or iPad and a program such as Proloquo2go.
Groups presented their Proloquo2go boards in folders today that they made to support case study students. Using Proloquo2go instead of Board Maker is like driving a Lamborghini instead of the family station waggon. Both are modes of transportation that will get you where you want to go, but one is obviously more of a higher calibre and more fun to drive. Having seen Learning Centre teachers slave away using Board marker ($499 USD on sale)- finding pictures, decide which ones to use, printing them, cutting them out, buying a personal laminator (because schools no longer have laminators) to laminate them so that they last longer and then buying cardboard and velcro to make the boards, as well as employing at substitute at $180/day. It is said that it takes approx. 15 min. to make one visual aid for a board. When teachers are making 50 for communication binders, they time you are looking at for one student could be upwards of four hours/student!
This is just not as efficient as Proloquo2go ($189.99 USD). With Proloquo2go, you can create virtual "binders" worth of visual boards on an ipad or ipod for students in a fraction of the time and with much more variety and personalisation. Changing the size of icons for the visual/tactile needs of a student, changing background and file colours to what they like as well as what offers a good visual contrast. It is simple and can be adapted and changed easily when needed- no need to go back to the printer and laminate to make a change. It gives a voice to the student and provides an opportunity to communicate what they need/want when they need/want it.
PicCollage, a free app, is one of the most fun and versatile apps I have ever used. The ways you can utilise it are limited only to your imagination... I will admit mine is not as great as it was when I was a child... but as a class we discussed a few ideas and then Nancy and I worked together and thought of the following uses for this app. in a matter of 30 min. Imagine what you can come up with when you work with grade level partners for an hour!
1. Pull in a Graphic organiser, you can take a picture of the one you are using in class or copy one from the internet.
2. Take a pic of pics in a book for sequencing activity, great for students who can't get can't get writing information down but can still show their knowledge
3. visual schedule- can use check marks to show task completed, easy to change, save to photo library to pull out common days, email out
4. Practise beginning/ending sounds- you give them the letters mixed up and they drag them up to spell correctly
5. Show me more than/less than a number
6. Sort animals into habitats
7. Cloze activities with word bank
8. Put a picture of a thermometer in as well as various items students have to rank along the thermometer from hottest to coldest
9. 100s chart- we took a pic. of the 100s chart, set it as our background and we copied
and pasted a bunch of hearts from the stickers option, they can be placed over the
numbers to skip count/highlight patterns
10. Addition with counters- we took pic. of red and yellow sided counters, copied and
pasted a bunch of them on the page, they can be used to represent addition sentences
11. Base 10 materials- we took pic. of units, rods and flats, copied and pasted a bunch,
they can be used to represent numbers in a variety of ways, manipulatives are always in
scarce supply so this solves that problem as you can copy and paste as many as you want!
12. Journal entry- we searched for pictures on the Internet, saved them and added them to
our text to make a picture journal entry
13. Money matters- again took pic. of the manipulatives so that they could be copied and
pasted and used in a variety of ways, they could develop math stories that involve money
and show it with pic.
14. Venn diagram- searched and made a venn diagram from the internet our background,
copied pictures from the internet to make an animal sort
Pic Collage could also be used to make Social Stories with pictures to accompany the story. Social stories and video modelling are two strategies that can be used to teach students with autism or behaviour issues what appropriate behaviours look and sound like. Often students with autism or behaviour issues do not know what the desired or appropriate behaviours in common social interactions look like and they need it modelled for them so they can learn what it looks like and also learn how to do it themselves.
The Early Childhood Services team of Toronto put together a tip sheet for creating Social Stories that I thought most useful to share part of, as the language used in writing a Social Story is very important so that the message to the student is direct, clear and contains all necessary pieces to learn the behaviour. Here is the example they gave:
There should be at least double the amount of DESCRIBE sentences as DIRECT sentences.
This is an example of a Social Story: My name is Matthew (line leader).
I love playing with the big, yellow truck (descriptive).
Jonathan likes to play with the yellow truck, too (perspective).
Jonathan pushes the truck on the floor and puts blocks in it (descriptive).
He likes to make “beep-beep” noises when he pushes the truck (perspective).
When Jonathan is playing with the truck, I can say, “Can I have a turn please?” (directive)
I wait until he is finished his turn (directive).
It is OK to wait (affirmative).
My teacher will help me stay calm while I wait for my turn (co-operative).
My teacher is happy when I wait for my turn (perspective).
When Jonathan is finished, it is my turn (descriptive).
I have fun playing with the truck (descriptive).
I can remember to ask Jonathan for a turn and to wait (control).
Descriptive = 4 Perspective = 3
Co-operative = 1 Affirmative = 1
Directive = 2 Control = 1
TOTAL DESCRIBE = 4 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 9
TOTAL DIRECT = 2 + 1 = 3
I feel this is a valuable tool for every classroom teacher as we all deal disruptive behaviours on a regular basis. Having this model will enable you to make your own social stories that are relevant to your students and their situations.
We had class online today class, not because of another snow storm (that was earlier this week), but because the instructor, Barb, was sick. How many times have we been feeling under the weather, but drag ourselves to work? Blackboard gave Barb the ability to stay home and rest while still allowing us the opportunity to have class. Programs such as Blackboard allow sharing of information and exploring together from the comfort of our own homes. There are days I wish I could teach class from home!
After reviewing examples of case studies (I am really looking forward to the presentations next class) we watched a video on low tech solutions for those with visual impairments and then went off to find more videos demonstrating the ways low tech can be useful at school and home. Here are a few videos with some great ideas!
There are some great tools that many of us commented we would like to use in our own homes- I particularly liked the clips as legs for the keyboard- at school it always seems like one on each keyboard is broken off, as well as the hair clips to wrap around cords and keep them from being a tangled mess. I realised today it is about looking at things with a different lens.
I know that I am a very literal person. Today my mind was stretched as I was shown items, that I see as having a certain purpose, be used in completely new and different ways. When I saw a whiffel ball being used a pencil grip, bread ties that help keep sandals from breaking, toilet paper roles to keep wrapping paper together, and Doritos being used as kindling, I realised I am going to have a difficult time shopping at the Dollarama and picking a few items off the shelf to use in new and inventive low tech ways. When I see a creative idea I can recognise it as being awesome, but coming up with one myself will be a challenge for sure. There is no structure with this assignment, there is no right answer to achieve; it will be interesting to see how long it takes me to figure out a new use for a common item.
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OK I went to the Dollorama tonight and I bet I looked like a dear in the headlights...I was slowly pacing the isles looking at the hundreds of items, trying to figure out how any one of them could be used in another way... As I made it through all of the isles, with nothing coming to mind, I realised I had to think about this assignment in another way. Instead of trying to pick an item to use in a different way, I need to think of a problem/issue I have and find an item in the store that would work as a solution.
Problem #1: Some students need sensory stimulation but stress balls have been rolling away and causing more of a distraction.
Solutions: Put Velcro strips under the lip of the desk so students can have a tactile sensory release when at their desk and fill balloons with play dough so it is similar to a stress ball but wont roll away and they can be made small enough to fit in a pocket and be used at our meeting space. I have found the balloon stress balls were a novelty at first and were a bit of a distraction because they were so squishy, but after a few days the students who needed them where using them appropriately. The Velcro is used on a continual basis by a few students, while I have another student who I noticed only uses it when they are feeling anxious.
Problem #2: The students' desks are always shifting and moving around and I spend a few min at the end of each day getting the kids to move them back, or I do it, to their "correct" spot (straight lines mean a lot to me and are hard to come by in a grade one classroom).
Solution: Use cable ties around the legs of the desks to keep them together. I tried this and it is awesome! A group pf desks may get a slight bend, but that is as far as it can go. :)
Problem #3: A few students in my class have a very difficult time rolling a dice for math games. It always seems to either roll away from them, or fall our of their hand, or land on the same number repeatedly because they are not really shaken it up.
Solution: I found little containers for holding beads or other craft supplies. A dice fits in it perfectly. Now students can shake the container (easier to manipulate) and the dice moves, but does not roll to the floor or bounce off the desk. I have a class set now since it worked so well and this week it saved me the headache of hearing 24 dice bouncing. Worth every penny!
That was as far as I could stretch my brain this trip, but I look forward to trying again next time and reading other Blogs to get more ideas!
Although this is the last class in the technology course, it is just the beginning of my drive to continue learning how to integrate a variety of technoloy in the classroom to support all the diverse learners.
Case Study Presentations:
Today we all presented our case study of students who we attempted to further assist, using appropriate high, mid and/or low technologies for their needs. Presentations covered using technologies from special pencils to assist with grips, templates to assist with writing, pool noodles to create a slanted work surface, apps (majority of them free) that cover fine motor skills/communication/relaxation/speech to text, Apple devices and the accessibility options that they already have built in, as well as a variety of learning games.
A few points that were brought to light and hit home are:
- The importance of following adaptations, they were developed for the benefit of the student. Frustration can set in for the student when the student is expected to do something they are not capable of. It is not fair to the student to ignore strategies that have already been proven to help.
- Access resources from the board such as Assitive Tech. that can help us and the student by providing access the most optimum products for you and the student
- The goal is to empower the student. We have to ask, "What can we do to help them become more independent/be able to communicate more efficiently?"
- Everyone needs to be on board, training and modelling for all (Teachers, EPAs, parents, etc.) is needed
- We have to be fluid and flexible! Make adjustments as we go/as necessary!
When putting my Power Point presentation together, I kept going back to one slide in particular, the slide that has a picture with the student holding up his work to show me and dawning a smile as wide as he was tall.
I wish I could post the photo here to show you the pride and sense of accomplishment this 6 year was beaming with. As I went through the presentation to make sure I covered everything I realised, in the big picture it does not matter if my presentation covers everything, what matters is the ground my student has covered and the impact the assistance I have provided has has on him. All of this is evident in that one photo.
This assignment pushed me to take the time to really get to know the student and his needs, not that I wasn't aware of them and working on them before, but because of all I am learning in this course I took a closer look at a greater variety of technology to assist him. I was constantly reevaluating my methods to ensure I was meeting his needs the best I could. Another lesson I take away from this assignment is to treat every student as a case study. Whether enrolled in a course or not, I need to continue learning so that I can provide the best possible assistance to my students.
This course has provided me with a plethora of "tools" for my toolbox to assist students in their development. Having my own Blog, and access to the Blogs from everyone else in the class, will give me the opportunity to revisit my discoveries and reflections as well as those made by others. One, of the many, great features about the Blogs we have done is that we can all go back to them each year as we encounter new students who have their own unique needs. It is also a place I can continue to document my learning to refer back to and share with others.
We all have students who need some "extras" to assist them along the way, be it extra resources, extra time, extra help, etc. As this, my last course of this Inclusive Education M.Ed, comes to end I find an important link to the first course of this degree I started two summers ago. The lesson carried throughout this degree is that we have to take the time to really get to know our students and what they are carrying around with them in their "virtual backpack" each day.
