This has been a whirlwind of a course. I had never heard of most of the technologies we studied, and even for the few that I had heard of I had no detailed knowledge.
Take-away #1: I feel like my opinion of technology has undergone a radical shift.I still think that our society is over-reliant on screen media and that kids especially should limit their screen time . . . but I had never fully thought about how tech could help those who can't otherwise communicate. I added ideas about assistive tech to the projects I did in other courses as a result of all the learning I did here ( made a model daycare for another course and had originally envisioned it as tech-free; I made some key changes to reflect assistive tech in my imagined environment).
Take-away #2: I wish that the technologies we spent a lot of time on such as Book Creator and iMovie were available on technologies other than the iPads. I plan to allow more Bring-Your-Own-Tech in my classes as a result of this; even if only a few kids have iPhones or iPads, they can share in order to make use of these technologies.
Take-away #3: Assistive tech doesn't have to mean high-tech! I loved our Dollarama excursion; what an eye-opening experience. This was my favourite part of the course, because sometimes it feels like the problems of getting assistive tech to our students are insurmountable, and this was a reminder that we can actually make a huge difference with readily-available, inexpensive stuff.
I always have a hard time summing up my thoughts and feelings about any intense, high-learning process. Looking back over the course, I find what stands out for me, more than any specific lesson or technology, is the sense of discovery and applicability. This stuff matters, I kept thinking. This is relevant and real and urgent. I can go to my classroom in September and make use of everything I learned.
I'm going to try to add our video to this blog (apparently it takes forever to do that!)
TALK TO ME | Physical Disability Awareness
This video was recommended to me, and I chose it because it's so good for people to be reminded that someone with physical disabilities may be just as able to communicate and participate as those without disabilities. The reminder to speak to people with disabilities as you would speak to anyone else (not using "baby talk" or cutesy diminutives) is key.
To me, this video really summed up the take-aways of the course in terms of the attitudes and awarenesses we have learned. In our first class we touched on the idea of presuming competence, and that resonated with me because I feel like it's a huge piece of the puzzle that gets overlooked almost constantly. Watching Phoebe go about her day was a powerful reminder to presume the awareness, ability, and intelligence of the people we meet, regardless of their physical appearance. What's that joke phrase? "Assume = making an Ass out of U and Me"?!
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Book Creator -- Presentations!
Whew! That was a very hard activity for me, because I'm not much of a technology-user in my daily life and so have little skill with the physical aspects of the project (switching between screens, typing on the iPad, just the basic technological fluency of it all...) I was glad to get lots of help from Barb to put this book together; I thought we had great ideas, but we definitely struggled with putting the actual book together. I think this is something our students might find easier, since most of them are more familiar and comfortable with technology than I am.
Loved seeing all the different ideas people came up with. Lots of crossover, of course; I think many of us focused on explaining who's who in the school, as well as using Book Creator as a "welcome to our school" tool to explain rules, procedures, etc.
I really liked the first presentation's Eye Spy project idea; a great way to get kids accustomed to the school, and accessible to all.
I also liked the options for students who are absent; that they can stay connected using Book Creator and keep up with what they miss in the class.
Top 21 ideas that struck me as especially useful, interesting, and fun:
1. Family albums
2. Students introducing their family background and/or culture (especially international students, Mi'kmaq students . . .) -- showing diversity and cultural practices
3. News Flash similar to Harry Potter's Daily Prophet newspaper
4. Singing books! This was easily one of my favourites.
5. Video show-and-tell presentations
6. Using the stylus-pen in order to emphasize both physical writing practice and use the Book Creator technology
7. Job Interview skills could be taught with this app -- could go on as a reference book for the kids in future, too.
8. Video references for resumes! This was such an original idea! Videos of your resume reference-people saying nice things about you . . .
9. A professional poster advertising you, the student
Whew! Just sat back down after our presentation.I talk too much when I get nervous; I know we went over-time (please, folks, tell me to can it if you need to!), but I hope we did a good job presenting our ideas. Again, while I found the technology itself difficult to get a handle on, I loved the possibilities inherent in the app.
More ideas from other folks:
10. Tapping to hear French vocabulary using pictures and audio
11. Creating comic book with audio effects
12. Explaining fractions
13. Exploring planets and space
14. More space and science -- talking astronauts! Loved this one. A creative way to describe what you have learned, as well as to add interest to the instructions for the projects.
15. A pitch to get a new technology or service in the school (such as the "elevator pitch")
16. Dragon's Den project for a marketing class (present to actual entrepreneurs from the community)
17. School newsletter on Book Creator rather than on paper (being mindful of course of the "accessibility issues" caused by poverty and its potential technology-gap,if not all kids have iPads).
18. Interactive cookbooks with links to videos
19. Interactive non-fiction book, maybe about the kids in the class
20. Interactive Word Wall (more accessible for all students)
21. Demonstrating knowledge of patterns with audio and images/video
Everyone's presentations were unique and full of lots of unusual, unexpected uses for Book Creator. I don't have access to iPads in my classroom (at least not for anywhere near all my students), but I will find ways to try to use this app in my lessons when possible.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Sunday, July 17th, 2016
Accessibility Options
Each of these devices had so many,and such a variety,of accessibility options.I found the videos went by very quickly (especially on the iPad!), so I focused on recording the various options available to each device. Overall, I liked the PC laptop best only because it gave a personalized option, having users reply to a series of questions about their vision, hearing, physical mobility, etc., and creating a "personal profile" of accessibility-option recommendations. However, the Android tablet or iPad would be more portable, and therefore better for many users.
I've
been enjoying (also terrified by) playing around on the Book Creator app. Dave and I created a list of 20 or so ideas for ways to use this
app in the classroom; some of our ideas included wildlife charts for science
classes; “welcome to the school” books with descriptions of different staff and
students in a new student’s class; and “yearbooks” for a classroom which could include
voice-over readings of students’ blurbs as well as descriptions of each photo
when you tap on the photo.
While
I find the app intuitive in that it’s pretty obvious where to click to perform
which functions, I also find it very time-consuming and occasionally
frustrating. Dave and I really wanted to make each of our pages look
professional and well-put-together, but as we have no experience with this app,
we found it hard to create polished pages in a reasonable amount of time. Something
for me to keep in mind if I use this app in class, especially if I have
students who may have mobility or motor-skill challenges that could mean they
work more slowly.
All
in all, Book Creator is a great, very useful app with tons of application for everything
I teach. I posted all our ideas on Showbie but will also add them here; if anyone
is inspired for their classroom, or wants to elaborate on any of these for
their own project, feel free!
Quick, cute little video (not on YouTube so I couldn't just drop in the link):
And another good one (Book Creator part starts at about 50 seconds):
23.
Parent-Teacher Made Easy
Have each of your students make a page in Book Creator to talk about their
class: their work, the class community, their experiences . . . Use
videos,photos, text, read-aloud,and other functions to create a fully
accessible experience. Show the complete class book to parents during
interviews!
22.The
Wild Life
Log sightings of local wildlife. As a class or in small groups, have students
identify animals they have seen. Students should record the animal’s name,
family, and predators/prey roles on an “Animal Encounter Chart”. They can use
the various video, audio,text,and image functions to note each animal’s habits,
diet, migration etc, and answer questions such as: What does the animal rely on
for food in the wintertime? Does the animal live in this region all year round?
Have you ever seen one before? Which creature do you think is the most
interesting? Why?
21. But
Miss, I’m Too Nervous!
Some kids hate presenting in front of the class. Show their books instead, as
an alternative to standing-in-front-of-the-class presentations, for students
with anxiety issues
20.
Welcome To Our School
Students can create a photo-album about the school that can be shared with new
students (Primary students or new arrivals during the year). Students
collaborate to take photos and videos around the school (inside and outside --
including staff and classmates!) and use the audio recording function in their
explanations.
19.
Explorations!
Second-language (ie French Immersion) students can learn about a
French-speaking country by making a book in Book Creator. Students should use
written and/or audio French on each page to describe an image or explain a
cultural practise. Or, they might want to video-tape themselves speaking French
and include these videos in their books. At the end of the project, students
present their books to the class.
18. It
was a dark and stormy night . . .
Elementary-level teachers love sentence starters for student creative writing!
Working in pairs, students create a sentence or paragraph based on a sentence
starter. This can be text and audio to include all students! Students can
illustrate or import photos and videos for their page. When the pages are all
finished, the teacher combines them into one Book Creator book.
17.
Parlez-vous des images?
Picture books are wonderful language-learning tools. Students could make their
own dual-language picture book, with dual-language audio files and read-aloud
functions; alternatively, teachers could make these for student use.
16. Out
and About
Do you go on field trips? Have your students document their experiences with
text, video,audio,and photos. These can be presented back in class.
15. Mad
Scientists
Students can demonstrate their best explosions and potions (ok, and more
mundane science stuff) by video-recording themselves at work. They can then use
the videos, photos, diagrams, text, and audio to explain their work. Great for
Science Fairs, too.
14.
Portfolios
We all love portfolios as ways to keep and showcase work. Why not create Book
Creator portfolios? Students could make a page for a select number of their
best works, and present it to the class, or their families, at Parent/Teacher.
Of course, Book Creator isn’t all about writing; they could show off their work
with voice-overs, movies, read-alouds . . .
13.
Everybody Loves Picture Books (even high-schoolers)
Are your students doing a novel study? Are they (and you) bored of writing
essays? Does essay-writing exclude some of your students? Try having them show
their work by adapting a novel into a picture book and adding read-aloud and
voice-over features.
12. Then
and Now
Students can make Social Studies “Timeline” projects to show how this region
has changed over time. They could use photo-timelines with voice-over and/or
audio descriptions of the images -- as well as interviews with local residents.
11. Even
more gym class!
Students could carry the iPad and follow along with activity-instructions
during an adapted gym class
10. More
gym class . . .
Students with mobility issues could demonstrate their knowledge of the
techniques/steps of an activity necessary for gym class (a curriculum outcome),
using real videos of other students or of pro athletes, and accompany with text
and/or audio files
9. In gym
class . . .
Students can show their athletic creativity by creating and explaining,with Book
Creator’s visual and audio features, a new physical activity. Even students who
cannot themselves perform the activity could create and present one, with
instructions for the other students to follow.
8. Visual
dictionaries
Visual dictionaries are excellent in second-language classrooms,and with Book
Creator they could be even better. Images can be accompanied by audio
descriptions of the image, as well as audio definitions in both English and
French.
7. Math
can be fun, too (no, really!)
Students with math fears can learn to love the number-stuff if they can show
their work through the format of a fun, interactive story. Images, voice-overs,
and even music can help explain the math processes a student is engaged in, or
teach new math skills.
6.
“Social stories”
Some of our students have difficulty with appropriate/expected behaviours in
the school environment. A “social story” that explains the appropriate or
expected actions helps these students achieve their goals without
getting”sidetracked” by behaviour issues. These stories could involve not just
images but audio files and written text.
5.
Illustrate your writing!
Again for an English or Languages class, students can illustrate and present
their own short stories or poems.
4. Making
Predictions! for the ends of novels in English/French classes
A way students can show their reading comprehension is to predict the ending of
a novel or short story. This could be done, with images and audio files, in
Book Creator.
3.
Instead of research posters . . .
Posters can get boring, and they don’t work for those with visual or speech
impairments (too hard to read or present). Instead, create non-fiction
explanatory books. The images can be described with the audio function, and
descriptions can also be read aloud by the technology.
2.
Yearbook for your class
Create an interactive class “Story of Our Year”! Have photos of each student;
tapping on the photos gives a read-aloud of the student’s name. Each student
can write a comment and use the read-aloud function, and/or record their
comment as an audio file.
1. Visual
schedules for students with special needs
Velcro-strip PECS schedules are cumbersome and hard to move. Try putting the
schedule on Book Creator, accompanied by a read-aloud function and possibly a
description of the images. This would help students with cognitive delays, organizational
issues, and visual impairments.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
14 July 2016
Stations around the room:
All sorts of great technologies for increasing access for students with disabilities
So, we've gotten pretty comfortable with technologies like P2Go and, of course, the low-tech options we found at the dollar store. Today, we're looking at a variety of different technologies for increased access, including Eye Gaze, Livescribe Pen, and switch access.
We started by watching a video about the integration of students with special needs into our schools. The different roles of various "team members" (teachers, assistants, therapists, parents,etc) were examined and described -- who does what, who is responsible for which outcomes and how the team works together for student success. The film described how both the students with special needs and the other students benefit from full inclusion: the students without needs become more sensitive and compassionate; the students with special needs learn the skills that, as the film says "their peers take for granted" such as sitting independently and communicating with others. The film focused on the experiences of a variety of students: Michael, an elementary-school boy with Down's syndrome; Todd, a middle-level boy in a wheelchair with a variety of physical challenges; Justin, a high-school student who uses assistive communication technologies to participate in the activities of his classmates; Joy, an early-high-school student who is working on her social skills in preparation for her transition into the local community. The video described the ways in which challenges in the school (such as working a switch to sound a buzzer in gym class) motivate students with special needs to try new things and develop their skills.
I was struck by the changes in technology, especially communication technologies. I would love to somehow send a P2Go back in time for these students! Joy is very able to communicate,and if she had access to AAC technology she would probably be even more able to communicate with her peers.
One of the parents described the challenge of "seeing [her son's] friends decide they were too cool" to hang out with a boy in a wheelchair. She said that in elementary school her son had "great friendships", but that his friends drifted away as they got older. I think the first and most important counter to this attitude would be teaching the "regular" students about compassion, sensitivity, and the values of inclusion. This is essential regardless of the potential level of communication-skills of the student with special needs. Second, I think that the better we get at creating and implementing these technologies for AAC, the easier it will be for students with communication disabilities to form strong friendships (though again, students who are not able to communicate even with AAC should not be marginalized or excluded by their peers).
Station 7: Three high-impact videos about students with severe disabilities using AT
VIDEO #1. Mason, using technology to write in Braille:
So far, our focus on AAC has been heavily weighted towards the visual (use of images in P2Go, Eye Gaze, etc). I enjoyed seeing a form of assistive tech that did not rely on the student's use of his eyes, but rather allowed a blind student to participate in the regular classroom. This was a strikingly different technology than the ones we have examined so far, and Mason is a student whose needs are very different from those of the other students we have learned about.
VIDEO #2: Nick Brown, an entrepreneur who owns his own lawn-care business.
Nick uses assistive technology in the form of switch access to signal when he drives his van; his van is operated with a joystick rather than pedals;and his lawnmower is a ride-on type that Nick operates with his hands and arms. We chose this video because it shows someone with special needs being fully independent, and a very successful adult fully participating in his community. Often, I think we see our students with special needs as successful only because they are supported by us in the school community; it's great to see the ways in which someone was able to be successful outside of school.
Video #3; Elle O'Gorman
Elle is a teenager with cerebral palsy who uses a speech-technology called a Dynavox to help her communicate. We thought it seemed like a cross between P2Go and Eye Gaze.
Station 6: Android settings: Accessibility options. In Google Play store, what other apps are there to enhance performance for a user of an Android? Already on the device:
Add switch access
Add captions
Magnification/zoom
Captions
Large text
High-contrast text
Auto-rotate screen
Speak passwords instead of typing
Touch-and-hold delay
Colour inversion
Colour correction
Accessibility apps and options on Google Play: 1. Mercury Screen Reader (reads icons, news, and other things on screen) 2. Mercury Image viewer (helps you take a picture and zoom in on it ) 3. Mercury Page reader 4. Mercury Power Off (turns your device off automatically) 5. Autism AAC Speech 3D Symbols
********************************************************************************* Station 5: Alternate keyboard (Chromebook, Extensions, and Apps) -- enhances accessibility Portability: This key board was fairly portable -- less so than simply carrying a laptop or Chromebook, but not so cumbersome as to make it unworkable.
Accessibility Options:
Large-mouse cursor
High-contrast mode
Sticky keys (like shortcuts in the phone)
Spoken feedback (ChromeVox)
Screen magnifier
Tap-dragging
Automatically click when mouse pointer stops
Change time of delay before click, for automatic click
On-screen keyboard.
R&W for Google - what can a user do with this extension? Who would benefit?
Text prediction Hover speech Dictionary Picture dictionary Screenshot reader Speech maker Speech input Translator Highlighters in various colours Those are the various things you can do with this extension! These functions would benefit any student with speech, reading, or typing difficulties to better access and create texts.
********************************************************************************
Station 4: Eyegaze Demo.
How easy is this technology? Once the device is calibrated,it is easy to use and requires little physical ability on the part of the user.
What are the necessary skills to use this technology? Users must have head-control in order to calibrate the device.
What team-members are needed to support students in their use of this technology? Teacher, EA, occupational therapist, and Learning Centre staff.
What are the training needs of this team? As long as the staff was familiar with the software and the possible activities, very little training would be needed as the technology is fairly self-explanatory and easy to use. The staff would need to know which technologies were compatible with the tool.
Teachers and other staff would require some support in adapting current curriculum to the possibilities of the Eye Gaze. Collaboration with other teachers and team-members would be useful here.
Ten other activities that could be performed using this technology:
1. Multiple-choice selection for quizzes and tests
2. Text-to-speech technology (such as P2Go) could be manipulated on-screen using Eye Gaze
3. Typing using an on-screen keyboard to form more complicated words and phrases
4. Games/educational activities online or with software loaded on computer
5. "Look to Learn", a software with a variety of educational activities
6. Online research
7. Painting/colouring books online or with software
8. Watching TV (on the computer/iPad) and changing the channel
9. Playing music games such as Garage Band
10. Giving directions during an activity with peers
Optimal user: A person with physical disabilities who has difficulty with motor skills. This game teaches holding/letting-go skills, and helps to develop a student's facility with switch technology.
Advantages of offering this on the iPad: It's portable, and iPads are the "cool thing"to use in general and so a user with an iPad would not feel singled out by his or her device.
10 other switch-accessible iPad apps on iTunes App store:
1. Attainment Switch
2. "Dirty Duds" adapted play book
3. Catch the Cow
4. iSpeak button
5. "Hurry Hurry" adapted play book
6. "E-i-e-i-o" adapted play book
7. "Peanut Butter" adapted play book
8. iSpeak Sequences
9. Dexteria Fine Motor Skills
10. Learn Muscles Anatomy Reference
11. Naming Therapy: Word-Finding for Aphasia
12. SmallTalk Aphasia
Students with decent fine-motor skills, as they would be able to choose a key and click on the oversized mouse; however, they would not be able to use the actual computer keyboard to type. The size of the on-screen keyboard can be expanded to make it easier for students to click on individual keys. This would be helpful for students with visual impairments, as well as making it easier for students with motor difficulties.
2. Hover with trackball:
Who would access this technology?
Students with gross-motor skills, because they are able to hover over the appropriate letters, but low fine-motor skills because they are unable to click with the mouse.
The speed makes a huge difference, depending on the user; you don't want it to be too fast or too slow.
The Powerlink and switches are primarily useful for students with physical and mobility disabilities. The black button is very sensitive and could easily be manipulated by students who have difficulty moving or indicating what they want to touch. There is also a switch that you squeeze (also very sensitive),and a toggle switch that you can tap or wiggle to work. The yellow button is bigger, seems sturdier, and would probably take a higher-impact touch than the others.
Each of these switches requires different physical and cognitive abilities:
1. Black button:
2. Yellow button:
3. Squeeze tube:
4. Toggle:
10 other activities a student with disabilities could achieve with these technologies (besides turning on a fan!):
1. Use the button to signal while driving, as Nick did with his lawn-care van
2. Turn on and off computers
3. Participate in a cooking activity in Family Studies by turning their switches to turn on and off mixers, blenders, etc.
4. Turn on and off their own iPads; use the switches to control their own AT
5. Use the switches to indicate their wants and needs from a pre-set list
6. Use it to control water flow,in order to water plants or help with cleaning or cooking.
7. Control the speed of an audio book, in order to follow a story individually or when playing an audio story for a class.
8. Use it to control time in a game, for example sounding a buzzer in gym class
9. Participate in play with electronic toys (perhaps video games?)
10. The student with special needs could be in charge of the electric pencil sharpener in the classroom
