Last Class and Presentations!!

Today is the last day of class for this Assistive tech class. I've learned so much in this course and once again, I'm excited to apply and try some of the things I've learned about in the classroom next year!

The case study was a great project and it's always great to hear what colleagues and others are doing around tech in their classrooms and schools. 

I really enjoyed listening and viewing everyone's experiences and it was great to see the successes of the students and also to reflect on what still needs work in terms of incorporating Assistive technology into their pedagogy and practice. 

Case Study Reflections: 
Here is a re-cap of the presentations that were done. I chose to keep them short and sweet and in my jot-note form as this is what I was thinking at the time of the presentation and I feel I recorded what caught my interest or attention the most during each presentation so here goes:

Amanda Vandenbrand
-Read and Write-JH
SETT framework--love the link to our website! 
-Having also worked with this student this year, it has been great to see his progress throughout the year. He is a good candidate for read and write and it will be interesting to see how he develops next year when he has a teacher that isn't as willing to incorporate tech into her class...


Jenn Dickie
-grade 3 student
-student struggled to write from the beginning
-adaptations in place early on
-fallen a bit below reading level---strong comprehension
-good ideas for content in writing
-Picture in Writing program to develop vocab
-Play, pause, stop function allowed student to realize he needed punctuation and helped him revise and edit better


Melissa Jones
-grade 1 student
-from busy home life, attention seeking 
-persistence and preserving issues
-literacy issues--low reading level, reluctant writer, motor skills
-Hearbuilder was used for phonemic awareness and practice
-Abc magic 1- decoding and stretching
-Montessori crosswords-phoemic awareness
-Word wizard
-Squiggle park is something we've used at our school this year and her student reminded me of someone who may benefit from this program. 
















Nicole Cox
-Tellagami and Student C
-student interested in tech
-grade 5--academics getting harder, more challenging
-good to focus on one thing--having a product in form of presentation in front of class--amazing for a student who really wants to present but can't...anxiety too high
-book challenge presentation...
-great UDL tool!
-easily accessible and able to be uploaded and sent to teacher and shared 
-student showed resilience and persevered through frustration
-would love to try this app!
















Sara McFarlane
-grade 2
-like how she color coded the purple (representation), blue (action and expression), and green (engagement) to link to the UDL chart
-google read and write...process of learning how to do it all.
-seemed to work for engagement for this student
-used highlighter tool to correct and revise what he had written before he moved on to the new writing task
-reevaluate pedagogy
-google forms...for daily math tests, this seems like a neat idea and a way for students to become more accountable for their learning


Bethanie Smith
Lex-grade 2-trauma, complex needs developmentally
-IPP-started last year in grade 1--growth seen as goals being changed
-writing from pictures, good engagement tool and able to get ideas out
-Sentence builder-drag and drop sentence into the right spot-able to take pictures and build sentence
-Bitsboard-sight word
-Wordplay--endless reader and writer
-Book creator
-having all apps in one folder ready for student to choose but all work on goals increases independence--I think this is a great idea!
-tried Google Read and Write and Voice memo on the ipad...using the picture to guide her as she tells her story as a guideline




Wendy Brackett-Hill
-Co-writer
-student retained in grade 2
-needs to have independence in busy classroom
-main challenge of articulation-speech to text would be frustrated
-even with limited fine motor, output has increased.
-student has really rich life experiences but would only ever write simple "I like..." sentences
-front-load support with lots of modelling sessions and practice
-get classroom teachers involved in modelling and then support through the process
-Co-writer gives immediate feedback to listen by going back, makes sense, is it what you want to say?
-Loved the videos of this little guy! Nice to see Co-Writer in action!


Emily McKenney
-Student B-grade 2
-provisional diagnosis of ASD
-retained in Primary
-incorporated ipad and chromebook to remediate and compensate
-Writing wizard
-Sentence builder
-Moose reading
-Endless reader
-Book creator
-Simplex spelling phonics
I liked how she commented on each app the rationale as to why they chose these apps. It gave us a good background and also gave us a starting point if we wanted to choose the same apps to support students in the future



Allison Rand
-grade 2/3 
-adhd, anxiety, perfectionist tendencies
-fear of looking different, social connections have been difficult
-very artistic child, a lot of detail in pictures, a lot going on but no words...very critical of his own ideas
-I really liked how she went through compensation and remediation during writers workshop...it was so clear and well thought out and allowed us to really understand how the student is doing with the tech
-daily sticky note---generate writing...one sentence, uncomfortable words, finishing a story--feel like this is similar to the student I chose to do for my case study
-loved how she included the students' reflection on using the tech! I've had similar conversations with my students, I think it's so important for students to be able to reflect on their own learning 

Kate Williams 
-Book creator
-grade 7, "V"
-creative, trauma background
-very capable academically, loves technology
-a little shocking she was placed in an isolated environment by herself to do the grade 6 work before moving on...went to grade 7 classroom in November
-student is able to transition to classroom after improving this year, needs to be independent
-replacing a non-preferred task with preferred task
-good explanation of what Book Creator provides for this student in particular
-amazing student work and clearly she is able to produce work and knows how to communicate what she learned

Denise Bauckman
Sam-
-ADHD 16 year old immigrant, adaptations in place. Currently in grade 9. Living in Canada with sisters
-very interesting background, a lot of work to do
-like how she used her project to introduce Read and Write to the student!
-great tool for this student and sounds like it will help him to show what he knows


Eric Bauckman

-Amanda, grade 10
-writing anxiety and clearly can articulate how writing makes her feel, said she feels a disconnect between her head and hands
-no adaptations and parents unwilling to support...
-showing her text to speech function
-liked how he was showing how he used the tool with her, giving her pointers and a tutorial of sorts. Such an important piece to the tech puzzle
-kind of interesting (scary) that no other teacher has thought to introduce this student to read and write? 
-so nice to see the student reflecting on her experience with the tool and to see her confidence build


Jennifer MacDonald
-Grade 6
-trauma background, neglect
-student from BC not a lot of background or information for teachers here
-very busy student with trouble accepting help, "it's good enough"-engagement for student very important
-merge cube and worksheet provided using Read and Write (PDF)-education decision making flow chart--I liked this visual--good to share with colleagues
-Liked the student's POV slide vs her POV, nice to see the reflection on both sides
-would love to trial this and try it with my students!



             

Second Last Class!

Second Last Class!

Excited to be almost done but also excited to still learn more in the last two classes!

First up today, we began with a presentation relating to the paper we read this week on teaching reading comprehension to Autistic children.

Teaching Children with Autism to Read for Meaning: Challenges and Possibilities

Judi Randi, Tina Newman, and Elena L. Grigorenko

Reflection on Paper:
-Goal for teaching comprehension would be to have children with ASD move beyond just decoding skills and to have them "shift cognitive resources to meaning-making." 

-Children with ASD can use their strengths, like attention to detail and ability to accomplish tasks and learn how to navigate comprehension activities..."Based on the cognitive profiles of children with ASDs, it is reasonable to expect that they may have different ways of accomplishing tasks than typically developing children." (Randi, Newman and Grigorenko, 2011)

-Could benefit from visual cues, or other cues during reading process in order to better understand relationship between what they are reading...reading and understanding narrative writing pieces may help to improve children's social and pragmatic skills where as these are reflective of life experiences. 

-Reading comprehension strategies have been typically not emphasized whereas phonics has been a focus

"Teaching children to read for meaning is no easy task as reading comprehension involves a complex set of skills and processes and is sensitive to individual differences, often requiring different kinds of instruction for different learners." (Randi, Newman and Grigorenko, 2011)

"Future research might investigate whether or not instruction in concept formation may guide children with ASDs to more abstract forms of reasoning and category formation based on prototypes. Thus, children with ASDs may be able to acquire more abstract reading comprehension skills through guided instruction that refocuses attention where it matters and provides appropriate models for imitation." (Randi, Newman and Grigorenko, 2011)

-Through Direct Instruction, Collaborative Learning, and Computer-Assisted Instruction children with ASD can benefit and be taught to use the cognitive processes that are used for reading for meaning.

Reflection on Video Presentation:
I love how Yvonne started out her presentation to us by looking at and considering a strength based view of Autism. I feel like this is the best practice when considering any student, and after going through her list, it's clear to see why it is the most apporpriate place to start when considering programming and technology for students with ASD. 

-I also really appreciated her dispelling the common myths surrounding Autism and thought this would be helpful for people to realize what "Autism is not..." 
-Some of the main points I'd like to remember here are:

• Autism is a complex neurological difference, not a mental illness.
• Autistic brains operate differently but that they sill operate!
• Autism is not related to parenting!

-Theory of Mind- Simon Baron-Cohn
-'mind-blindness" lack of perspective taking and social cognition
-prediction and inferencing...hard for children with ASD to put themselves in those positions.

-Central coherence and Comprehension:
























Executive functioning
-High level cognitive functions that help us organize behaviour over time...plan and organize activities, sustain attention and persist, manage emotions and monitor thoughts in order to work efficiently and effectively.

-Students are able to process text at a sentence level and understand better with visual cues and images.

-Reading and understanding expository texts may be a way for children to understand better

Suggestions and Recommendations to support students with comprehension:
-UDL UDL UDL! Planning for all will help ALL students in the classroom. The things you will do to teach Autistic children is really just good teaching!

-Direct teaching of these things will help ASD students and everyone else in the class...perspective taking skills, socialization, emotion coaching or teaching, direct teaching of idioms, have students create their own visuals in response to a story.
-Teach text structures, use film as a preview to a story
-Visuals, use real concrete objects to match items to create visual memory
-Color-coding, checklists, electronic dictionaries, graphic organizers...

After the presentation, we posted to a collective discussion board in class on Showbie to share our ideas about apps that are available to help students with ASD in supporting reading and literacy comprehension. A very informative list was made! One thing that is so great about this class is the quick and amazingly comprehensive list of things that can come together and be shared in such a short amount of time. It's awesome!

Second part of class..

-We were introduced to a few VR tech tools that really excited everyone in the room. These were relatively inexpensive, tangible things that would for sure be an amazing engagement tool to use in the classroom. 

-We first looked at something called a Merge Cube. This is a virtual reality tool, used with an iPad or iPhone. The merge cube is held and by viewing the app through the device, the user is able to see images and different information in a 3-d picture on the screen. It was very engaging and eye catching. 

-We first looked at a picture of a brain and I immediately thought of teaching Mind Up in grade 5 this year and how this type of technology would be extremely engaging and helpful for students to be able to visualize what areas of the brain we discuss in the program. 

-Students with ASD do better with use of visuals paired with information they are receiving so having a merge cube available to further explain and allow the student to explore a topic in greater visual detail would be a great way to improve comprehension. 

Quiver-interactive hard copy coloring pages that students can color and then using the app, can see their pictures come alive. I think this is a really amazing technology. All students would be able to appreciate the "cool" factor of having a picture come alive in front of them. This would be a great engagement tool as sometimes, students are not interested in coloring so this could be a way to reach those students. 

-Students will ASD would again benefit from the visual component here and would be able to connect to the material being learned in a different way. 

3d-Merge 360 Educational Videos- My first thought was tech time gone wild! I think this would be such a fun engagement tool to use in classrooms with all students. 

Part B to Assignment #2 -We (Amanda, Allison Wendy and I) created an iMovie trailer to pitch this Assistive Tech class for future colleagues to take. It was a very fun and involved everyone's input and personal style. It was really fun to watch all of the trailers afterward and it was a great hands on learning experience for people to see how iMovie trailer can be a great tool in the classroom. 

-I am currently working with some students who are creating both iMovies and trailers to complete a project after having read the book 'Wonder' in their grade 5 class. It is amazing to see their creativity come out with it and they love using the technology to show what they know!

Stay tuned for the final class blog!

First Post- Main Takeaways

First Post: Main Takeaways

Back for another round of Assistive Technology and happy to be diving in and learning some new things and solidifying some old! I had the opportunity to take my first Assistive Technology course this past fall and it was enlightening and has really helped me in my role as a learning centre teacher this year. The more I learn about technology the more I am realizing how empowering it can be for students on all levels.

For my first post this round:

Three main takeaways from the video "The Myth of Average":

1. The analogy of comparing classroom seats to those in a fighter jet cockpit and that these are the "seats" of our economy. The fact that more money is spent now and there has never been a time of seeing less results. There are declining test scores and high drop-out rates. In the US, 4% of drop-outs are intellectually gifted and that means each year, 50 000 of the brightest minds are being lost in the system or pushed out of a system that is just not set up to meet the needs of most. We blame the students, teachers and parents for the failures, but how much of this problem is just bad design?

2. Currently, the design of learning environments and curriculums are based on an "average student", such as the concept of age appropriate learning, but no student is able to fit into that mold. Every student has a jagged learning profile. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. If you base learning environments on "average", you are creating them for no one, essentially. These environments will not nurture individuals.

3. Designing on the idea of "average", destroys talent. People can be talented in one specific area but needs can't be met to say for example, learning to read at grade level alongside same age peers. A student with this profile can become disengaged, get bored and drop out. Current curriculum design and education structures mean weaknesses will make it hard to see and nurture talent properly. Someone could be exceptionally strong in one area but below "average" in another key area, like reading, and so if a text book is written for a student being an"average reader", that student who is talented is lost because they can't access the course material the way it's currently organized and taught. We need to be able to nurture talents and interests and meet students where they are.

One way to do this is through technology. We need to use technology to meet the needs of students. In the last few years, education has gone digital. There is no turning back so we must decide what we want technology to be and to do for us in education. Technology must be the learning equivalent of adjustable seats like in a cockpit of a fight jet. There is a chance to use technology that can make learning environments truly flexible to meet every need of students. We need to design to the edges, rather than the "average".

Class #4

Class #4
Today we jumped right into a few activities and completed a group assignment...it was very productive, fast paced and informative!

I am choosing to give an overview of the three activities we did as well as a description of our group assignment. Here goes...

Activity #1
We were directed to go to the website simulator.seenow.com using our phones. The website is a simulator that allows people to see what it is like to have 4 different types of eye conditions:

1. Glaucoma
2. Cataracts
3. Macular Degeneration
4. Diabetic Retinopathy

It was very interesting to see what may happen to your vision if you develop one of these eye conditions. For each we were able to slide a severity meter up or down and I have to say, it was distressing to see what it would be like to have these conditions. I was imagining what it would be like to be going through your day like this and on top of it all, if you were a child, in a busy school environment, what it would be like to navigate that. 

Here are the screen shots I took with the simulator...

Glaucoma-Severity Level (max)                  Glaucoma-Severity Level (mid)

                                                                                                                       











Cataracts-Severity Level (max)                        Cataracts-Severity Level (min)               

                         

                                         

                                              
                 


Macular Degeneration-Severity Level (max)      Macular Degeneration-Severity Level (mid)
                                                                

Diabetic Retinopathy-Severity Level (max)                



                 
                                             


















Diabetic Retinopathy-Severity Level-(mid) 












I chose to show these varying levels of the impairments as I was thinking about how a child may develop and throughout their schooling, their vision could deteriorate to the max level.


Upon reflection and in thinking about how classroom or school environments/ materials could be adapted to suit the needs of someone with these visual impairments, this is a short list:
1. Access to environment and materials in the classroom
2. Adapt books and materials (make tactile, interactive books)
3. Digitize text for the student!
4. UDL needs to be in place and being implemented for all, especially when considering 

***A note about the formatting of these pictures...For some reason, they did not format properly when I published the blog so still learning how to navigate this technology thing I guess!!

Activity #2
https://abledata.acl.gov/
--able to search devices assistive tech wise--what's out there besides digitizing text to support students with visual impairments---
Top 3 AT devices found here---talk about one in particular.


Note Taker:
-Designed for students with low visual impairments to listen, watch and take notes simultaneously.
-Has a split-screen that can allow students to watch a live video pf presentation and their notes. 

-Requires no installation in classroom and is user friendly, easy to set up and is a portable device.

Animated Educational Animals:

-Designed for students with cognitive, communication, physical or visual impairments. User activates a capability switch and the toys will speak and say facts about the animals

-This product made me think of the "Blue Bee Pal" that speaks pre-recoded messages or songs for students.

-Easy to use, playful and children would love to interact with the product, high interest product

Street Sight:

-Go pro type interface design that uses GPS

location to let user know where they are,

what street they are on or address they are

approaching

-Takes photos and sends to a phone every 2-3

seconds that users can then zoom in on (street signs,

car plates, schedules)

Activity #3

Describe the Visual Impairment:

Nystagmus- Is a condition where the eyes make repetitive, uncontrolled movements. The movements can cause reduced vision and depth perception, affecting balance and coordination.

How would this affect students?

-Cannot be cured and glasses can help but not always (magnification can help)

-Reduced vision, depth perception, affecting balance and coordination (danger factor)

-Environment of classroom design in a way that could support the student (open space, being aware of chairs and tables, positioning of big furniture pieces, classmates)

-Alternate space where student could complete arrival/departure routines safely

What to do to support students?

-Larger print availability

-Increased lighting

-Magnifying devices

Video about CVI
-The video was watched was from perkinslearning.org and it focussed on CVI (Cerebral or Cortical Visual Impairment). Perkins is a school for the blind that has an elearning component or capabilities for people to access. 

Main points or takeaways:
-Research focus has been concentrated on learning about the brain and brain function and how to apply research as to how images are being processed in order to better plan, program and assess how to teach children with visual impairments.
-Red and yellow text--infuse color into things: we want children to look at, highlight words and things we want children to see what we are showing them
-Movement is an early visual behaviour so sometimes children will only be able to see something and pay attention to it if it is moving
-Latency problems...leave materials in location for long enough time for student to actually turn head and eyes and attend to it
-Need to use visually stimulating products 
-Auditory processing also plays a factor in child attending to visual processing...
-Child needs to be anchored in space, feet on floor or harnessed properly to be able to attend to visual tasks
-Lighting placed behind or use light to instruct child.
-Playing with an item at the same time as looking at it, this is extremely difficult or nearly impossible
-Early intervention is very helpful and people have varying degrees of CVI and can benefit and do improve with intervention. 

Assignment! 
--->Create an adaptable book for a user with visual impairments using widgits (images and words) from widgitsonline. We also had to add audio to the book and think about a particular student profile for whom we were making the book for. 

My group (Amanda, Wendy, and Allison) created an "I like Cats" book. We decided to focus on teaching colors with this book as well as an added literacy feature of the sight word or core vocab word "like". Our student was a six year old grade one student with astigmatism. 




We chose to do our book on google slides and found some inspiration on the website 
Tar Heel Reader for the story. Google slides was very easy to use and adapt and add widgits into. We had a glitch of not being able to out an audio file into the slide so we had to take a video with no picture (covering the camera)  and do it that way. 

-After we presented we were discussing in class other ways to make this type of book on google slides accessible with audio and it was suggested that we could enable Google Read and Write to read the book to the student if we typed the words to the story into the slide and then put the widgit picture into the slide after instead of all at once. Great to troubleshoot these things right away!

The other groups that presented did a book using adobe spark, book creator and keynote so it was really nice to see 4 different applications of the same assignment and gave me lots of ideas to try!