Final Post!

WoW! What a great couple of weeks this has been!

I have been very impressed with all of the material we have looked at in relation to assistive technology. My opinions and thoughts have certainly changed over the past two weeks. I was amazed to learn about how difficult and how many processes actually go into reading and writing. It gives me a new appreciation for the task and I believe will help me be more patient and understanding with students who are struggling. It has been great to see so many different applications that are available to assist students in this area of student. As a consultant for the board, I often hear from teachers who have students struggling in these areas and are looking for ideas to help. I now feel that I can at least point them in a few directions that I was unable to do in the past. I by no means feel I am an expert in the field but am now more comfortable addressing the issue and working with teachers to find solutions.

Teaching is a difficult task and must be approached in a variety of different ways. The use of assistive technology helps teachers differentiate their teacher and provide students with the means to achieve their goals. Assistive technology helps students reach a level playing field and provides them with the independence they need to thrive and succeed in school.

I am very glad that I decided to take this course as an end to my masters. I felt that many of the courses I have taken have had central themes that overlap and began to become redundant. This course provided me with information, methods, and ideas that are new to me and useful in my career. Finishing with this course reminded me of why I enrolled in a masters degree in the first place, to help the students.

Thank you Barb for this wonderful experience!

Wednesday July 16th

Today we looked at the writing process online through blackboard collaborate. I have done meetings online before so was aware of how this process would go. I don't mind online meetings and I can certainly see the advantage of having one but still think that face-to-face is much better.

In terms of the writing process.....wow. When we looked at the reading process I was amazed as to how much actually goes into it. I am blown away by how much more in depth the writing process is in comparison. Looking at all of the processes and skills that are required to work together in order for an individual to write makes it so much more clear as to why it can be a problem.

After looking at the process itself we then looked at forms of assistive technology that exists. I find it interesting to look at the low tech forms of assistive technology as many people do not usually think of them as being "assistive technology". In a previous blog post, I shared some images of low tech as well as some higher tech assistive technologies. 

I was also very interested in the fact that posture can have such a great effect on the writing process. This was not something that I really thought about. When it comes to typing, I do know that posture affects your ability to do so but never connected that back to writing by hand. 

We finished the day by talking about a few apps that we will experiment with tomorrow. 

I liked the idea of cowriter and its ability to predict words that will be used. I would like to investigate this app further on my own to gain a better understanding of its capabilities. 

UDL & AT

Universal design for learning and assistive technology go hand in hand. The article describes universal design as "a process for designing general products or structures in such a way as to reduce barriers for any individual and to increase opportunities for the widest possible range of users." It is important to realize that UDL takes place in the planning process and is not done after the fact. Assistive technology on the other hand can be incorporated into the planning stage but can also be added into the mix at any time. Assistive technology takes over when UDL begins to fall short for some students.

As you can see from the diagram used in the article, there certainly is an overlap between the two systems but UDL is from the beginning. UDL is a process in which assistive technology can be used to help progress.

The following video explains UDL in detail. It really shows that UDL is an approach to education to challenge a variety of diverse learners with or without disabilities. UDL can certainly incorporate assistive technology to to do but is definitely a separate concept.

Take The Pencil Out Of The Process/ AT and Writing / Dysgraphia

The idea that modifications should be made in a classroom so that all students have equal access to learning seems to make sense to me. Clearly this is not the case in general. The fact that this article exists proves just that. I don't understand why students would not be given the assistive technology to perform a task that otherwise cannot be pro formed. To me this brings up the question of what are we really teaching and why are we doing it. Are we teaching students that the writing process must be learned/completed at some point using a pencil? Why? If education is preparing students for the real world then why would we place this stipulation in the process?

Is there really a difference in this picture? Does the use of the tools on the left make you more proficient in literacy? Why do we treat our students as if it does?

The second article discusses the use of assistive technology in writing. The article mentions that there are different degrees of AT to use in the writing process depending on student need. Low tech solutions modify the writing process by making the traditional methods more accessible.

Mid to high tech solutions incorporate the keyboard and computer assistive technology to aid the student through the process.

The point to me is that the technology exists and has been created to aid students in the literacy process and not take over the process for them. Students will still learn the importance of literacy and obtain the skills required to progress through the process.....in their own way.

The final paper discusses dysgraphia and some interventions that can be taken. The basis of the article is that writing disorders exist and assistive technology has been developed to help combat the problems. It is our job as educators to show our students that options do exist and that they are capable of being successful. They just need to find their own way of doing things.

Monday July 14th

Today we looked deeper at some of the apps discussed in Friday's webinar. It was great to see the apps being used first hand and get a chance to play with them ourselves. Readiris was my favourite in conjunction with ClaroPDF. Together these two apps open up so many doors for students with a variety of learning difficulties. They allow students to become more independent, gain a better understanding of their work, and improve their self esteem. To me that is a win-win-win.

We finished the class by beginning to look at our iTunes U course. It seems like there is going to be a lot of work but it will be great to investigate some more of the great apps that are out there for literacy.

iPads As Instructional Tools

This action research project further supports the idea that iPads, when used correctly, can greatly improve the learning environment for students in the classroom. The article points out that one of the biggest problems with iPads in the classroom is teacher's reluctancy to use them. The article goes on to suggest that teachers need PD based around the iPad and time to "play" with them before the students have access. I completely agree with these points. All too often in our educational system, new initiatives are rolled out but teachers are not given the time nor proper PD to truly appreciate what they are being given. This is what has been happening with the iPad. I know of one school in my school board in which every teacher was given an iPad this year. I have heard many of them complain about the waste of money as they have no idea what they will or can do with an iPad. The problem here is that they were given the iPads and no further instruction. The teachers want to help the students the best way they can but do not understand how this technology can aid in that goal. Professional development is needed in order for tho initiative to be successful.

The article points out a lot of positives that can come from using the iPad with students. The key is to find and use apps that will assist a student overcome their difficulties. For a teacher, this again comes with PD.

Here is a great video that I came across presented from the point of view of a teacher.

Friday July 11th

Executive Functioning

Driven by frontal lobe

Responsible for behavioral regulation and time management

Set of processes

Stop and think, look at choices and decide on one, then act

Self awareness, self evaluation are EF processes

Impact

Deficiencies in Frontal lobe functions are evident in every psychiatric disorder (ADHD, ODD, ASD for example)

Students demonstrate knowledge used executive functions – this is where a deficiency can cause a big problem

Students are inconsistent with their performance

EF is woven into every process in the act of reading, writing, and math

APPS

Tools4Students – pre made graphic organizers to use on the iPad

Reminders – create reminders on any calendar date and choose when to be reminded by a sound on the iPad

Take A Chill – helps to reduce stress and get you grounded before you begin a task – need good reading ability to use the app

Let Panic Go – Good reading ability and working memory needed – helps calm down students by providing calming activities

Sound curtain – helps to sustain attention – adjusts sound depending on ambient noise – use with headphones – app tries to mask ambient sound

iBooks – regular books and interactive books and activities (enhanced textbooks)

Visual Timer –

StudentLife Organizer – calendar to schedule list of events etc, can also add courses and group things in each course (homework etc)

iRewards – set to one child or use for multiple – keep track of reward points and use to cash in for rewards chosen from a list you create

pictello – mobile powerpoint – create a story using pictures, videos, etc

Sosh – shredder – type negative thoughts etc and sent them through the shredder

Inspiration – graphic organizer

Worksystem – visual schedule

Sock puppets- create a story using puppets

ReadIris – document scanner – scans documents and converts them to editable files

vBookz PDF Voice Reader – As it sounds (reads PDF files)

prizmo – take a picture of a document, whiteboard, etc , converts the document to text to read aloud or edit

Puffin – allows access to flash applications (web browser)

Qwiki – search for information and have it read aloud with visuals etc