Final Reflections

Today was our last class for this course (and my last class for the degree!!!). Some observations and my final thoughts:

Observations from presentations:

There was a lot of discussion about how discrepancy in technology between various schools can put kids at a disadvantage. Karen spoke of scrambling around the school to find accessible wireless, using her own iPad! Maureen and Tiffany showed the writer plus - which some schools use as their "technology". Outdated technology, or no technology at all is putting kids with learning needs at a disadvantage.

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We also spoke about discrepancy between school boards as well in terms of technology. Barb spoke of the fact that she would hand Karen's student an iPad mini to use, simple. That won't happen in our reality. With access to so much technology, much of which is inexpensive isn't it neglectful of us to withhold this type of technology from our students with learning needs?

Makiko's presentation made me terrified to take on a learning center job in the future! It sounds quite difficult to organize the students and EPA support. Am I fully prepared to take on a position like that? What if I have no other option? Scary!

The question "how will it work?" came up quite often. If we make progress with kids in one school year then how can we be sure that the progress continues year after year? Maureen and Tiffany spoke of resistance from a teacher regarding using technology in the classroom. It's a shame to think that work done in one year can be undone in the future.

Final thoughts:

This course, as well as the Assistive Tech I course from the summer, has been extremely eye opening in many ways.
Time - The use of technology is definitely a better use of teacher time and student time. As teachers we can create communication boards much faster than before as well as design other opportunities for learning more efficiently using various apps.  Students with learning difficulties often spend copious amounts of time trying to produce work with pen/paper. With technology they can spend much more time creating work in ways that are more suited to their learning style. Why waste time if we don't have to?!
Motivation - Kids are motivated by technology. It's a fact. We should spend more time working with it than against it. Rules regarding "no technology" are archaic and are not in keeping with 21st century learners.
Discrepancy - This course revealed many discrepancy's between boards and schools. It is a shame that the kids in our classes who have the highest learning needs are the ones that are at a disadvantage in terms of access to technology.
UDL - As an educator the whole point of my job is to help kids learn, grow and become well rounded, educated citizens. The use of technology in the classroom helps to develop a classroom that is designed for universal learning.

I have a lot of work to do to continue to learn about new technologies, strive to access those technologies in my classroom and continue to grow as an educator. This course has helped me realize how much is available to me to use in my classroom to make learning more efficient and effective for all.

Homemade Assistive Technology

Though the name of this course uses the word "technology" which automatically makes most people think about computers, we have come to discover that some of the handiest forms of assistive technology do not have to be high tech.  Check out some of these items that can be found on the shelves at your favourite grocery or dollar store - or even in your house already!

Broken glass and visually impaired? Use a wet cotton ball to pick up shards of glass easily without using your hands.







Motor skills/grip problem? Here are some ideas!

Use a milk jug handle to create a crayon/pencil/pen/marker holder.



Rubber bands can create grips for glassware.






You can use play-doh, or any modelling clay, to create a grip.







And there are so many more!  A search of homemade assistive technology, or even the term "life hacks" will bring up lots of useful, and easy, ideas for anybody!

Assistive Technology for People with Visual Impairments or Blindness

Check out the blog that Lacey, Mandy, Raeann and I designed for supporting people with visual impairments or blindness.
http://at4viandb.blogspot.ca/

It doesn't always have to be fancy!

Low Tech Solutions: with a focus on the English Language Arts classroom

Writing Solutions

Reading Solutions

An interesting list of reading/writing/math low tech supports can be found by following this link:
http://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/Families/IEPs/pubdocs/LowTechAssistiveTechnology.pdf

Something so simple

I recently went on vacation and observed a family who travelled on the same flight and to the same resort as I did. They had a teenage daughter who was (I'm assuming) Autistic. She wore an iPod on her arm during most of her holiday and I noticed that when she had to remove it to go through security at the airport, or during safety procedure on the plane, that she became quite agitated. I thought about how something so simple as portable music has likely made it possible for this family to travel together knowing that their daughter was happy and filtering out the noise that likely caused her to become agitated when the music was removed.
This, of course, got me thinking more about how other forms of technology can make our lives so much easier. For example, that something as simple as an app called PicCollage can help us to create ways for students at almost any level of ability to demonstrate their knowledge to us about almost any topic. With PicCollage (which is only one example of an app that can teachers can use for various learners) a teacher can create a board on any topic that students would be able to manipulate with the touch of a hand to demonstrate what they know.
Raeann and I created a number of PicCollage examples in class that could be incorporated into a number of classrooms, or settings, for students of just about any level of ability. Something so simple can save so much time and allow us to learn so much about our students.

This PicCollage could be saved on an iPad/iPod Touch for students who need reminders and personal strategies for calming down.

 

We created this one as an example of a character trait chart that older students could use. The original would be blank with just the headings: Likes, Dislikes, Traits and Goals for students to fill in with images or words that they create and find.

 

Our other examples include a sorting collage for students to demonstrate knowledge of healthy/unhealthy foods by moving the images to the correct half of the picture; a temperature collage for students to demonstrate knowledge by organzing images from coldest to hottest along the thermometer and a sequencing collage asking students to show the steps in making a sandwich.


What struck me about using PicCollage to create these various templates was that it was so simple to do, and could be used in so many ways to support students whether it be for their routine, expectations, demonstration of knowledge or even for personal enjoyment. Why use paper?!

Ruben R. Puentedura's Technology in Education: A Brief Introduction

This video proved to be very interesting to me - his views on utilizing technology to improve education all seem like common sense! Some key points from his introduction include:

Mobility - technology allows students to work in all locations in between school and home. Removes learning places and makes the world a learning space!

Research needs to be completed on what works in educational technology. The rich use of technology to allow students to explore, create and use technology in new ways.

Levels (models) of use - goes from substitution level (using technology to replace other lower levels of technology that were formally used in your classroom) up to the redefinition level (using technology to replace all old tasks with unique tasks using technology). At the redefinition level you could, for example, replace the traditional essay with video story. They can then teach other students and become mentors.


Digital Storytelling and Educational Gaming - can allow students to guide their own personal story and narrative in a manner in which they can "win" which makes them more inclined to go further with their learning.

 

Ruben also stresses that teachers need to work together toward a common goal to make technology work in their educational setting. There is currently some stress among staff at my school related to this. We all want to embrace technology in our classrooms, and we're hearing about the benefits all of the time. We have access to a limited number of iPads (making our school "technologically advanced") that are sometimes monopolized, making it difficult for all teachers to use them. Most teachers agree that using technology in the classroom is the only way to truly reach our students. However, without access to the resources we need we're ending up with a group of teachers who feel they are selling students short, and are beginning to feel less than successful in terms of their teaching practice. It's difficult to want to do something, yet not be able to.

Social Stories

I have limited experience with Social Stories - in fact, the first I heard of them was when I started this Masters program. I've never been aware of a student of mine using Social Stories, could this be because of the age level that I teach (junior high)? Are they mostly used with younger children who are learning new social skills related to school?
I can say that there are a couple of students that I teach this year who could certainly benefit from the use of this type of teaching method. I have one student in particular who often acts out near the lockers and refuses to stand up during O Canada. He has also expressed to his teachers throughout the course of this year that he is embarrassed by his own behaviour as he is starting to recognise that his social skills are "different" from his peers. I think using a social story about how to behave during O Canada and in the hallway at his locker would help this student understand how his behaviour has an impact on those around him. At his age (13) he could even be involved with writing it.
On the "Tip Sheet: Creating Social Stories" produced by the City of Toronto: Early Childhood Services Team the authors say that social stories should be presented to kids prior to the behaviour. Does this mean that they won't work after the behaviour has become an issue? This could create issues when meeting kids for the first time - how are you to predict what social stories the child needs, and how to individualise it for them?
Here is Carol Gray, creator of social stories, describing why social stories work:

Perhaps video modelling would be more appropriate for the student I am describing? It seems to be a strategy to model appropriate behaviour to more mature students. It was interesting to me that the authors of "Video Modelling: A Visually Based Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" suggest that using typically developing peers to help create scripts for videos. This would help make the scripts for the videos more appropriate to the child they are intended for as they will be worded in language that he/she is familiar with at his/her grade level.
There are a number of apps available to support creation of social stories and video modelling. This video shows an app designed to support video modelling and reinforcement (seems suitable for higher level grade students).

Other apps that could help support social stories and/or video modelling include:

Social Stories for iPad or iPhone $2.99









A series of apps developed by Touch Autism allow for creation of social stories and communication boards related to different themes - most run from $2.99-$3.99 for iPad and iPhone.