Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I am writing this entry as I am listening to the recording. I was not present for the class that night. I will  now do the classroom activities myself. I am catching up for a night missed. This blog entry may be finessed later.

 Assignments

5 Critiques on 5 Assistive Technology Assessment Models - at the end of this post..



1. Last webinar Presentation - New Apps for Learning Disabilities.
                                                                               Angela Delorey
                                                                               Lacee Lajeunesse
                                                                               Christine Scallion

The following is some of the main points I took away from the presentation.

                  See alot of LD in the classroom. "There aren't any icons to click" student looking up at chalk board. basically stating that much of our basic classroom technology still utilizes 18th century technology (at least with the chalkboard) - I'm not doing any more worksheets until someone invents the ipencil or ipen.



                         LD Definition - refer to a number of disorders which may affect the aquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or non-verbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning.My addition  to this -  A processing disorder. tend to have limited strategies to draw upon or can be inflexible in strategy use.

Technology is allowing kids with ld to achieve.

current available technology - most utilized in schools

ea or peers
lower level texts
kurzweil on a desktop with earphones.
scribing by ea or teacher
use of graphic organizers
dragon dictation

all of the above are very teacher intensive.

Apps reviewed in the seminar.

ibooks
readiris
vbbokz
prizmo
puffin
qwiki
iwordq
paper helper
papernote notes
book creator

panther math paper
panther calculator
long division touch
sticky notes sticky
dropbox

Favourites by this group;

Book Creator

combines photos video and text

in app voice recording
text size can be manipulated based on need or preference.

Paperport notes - for written ouput

digital note taking tool to combine documents

Dragon speech recognition
record audio over notes for struggling readers and writers.
scanned documents can be converted into editable text.
search and bookmarking tools

Prizmo - reading accessing information.

scan anything - an ad poster, note document, etc.
input through the iphone camera, camera, or from other apps.
export as pdf to icloud, google drive, etc.

text to speech with an adjustable speaking rate, where each word is highlighted while it is read aloud.
scan and read multiple pages of a document.

technology is helping student to get his assignments done.

Two questions from this groups survey;

1. What technology are you using in your classroom today?

smart boards
collaborative programs
byod
ebooks has increased male reading - more boys.
garage band
pocket band lite
star fall
tumblebooks
red rocket readers



2. Do you see this technology being beneficial to students and for students?

What they have learned - these apps can be accessible to all. they were not surprised by the number of apps available for students with LD, but were surprised at how each app could help students in multiple ways.
2 goals for the near future;
1. give teachers the support they need to explore and implement the apps
2. give students additional tools to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of content being explored.


Barb's presentation

Assistive Technology: the past, the present, and the future.

1. The Past  - a lot of desks, a lot of paper , stand and delivery model.

small print photocopy activity, short answer questions.

Still very common


2.The Present

Classrooms of today will have - ld, add, vision, adhd, mobility, and even some physical disabilities

use of assistive technology
Kids use Kurzweil to complete the Bell assignment.

Ipod with an italk. many years ago.

hand held magnifier to access

text to speech

ebooks

ipad touch

smart board, clickers

daisy digital book document players

weighted pencil

weighted vest for calming.

optical character recognition - text to speech, dragon dictate.

Assistive  tech is about providing access to a task and improving performance. When they do assessments.

look at skill sets and needs of students

the environment where it will be used - students and secondary users

the task the student is asked to perform

the characteristics of the technology itself - ease of use - simpler is better.
these factors are constantly and continually affected by each other and also by time.

how is the student affected by time.

- takes longer to complete tasks.
-  everything changes and things change.
 - learning needs change
- students grow up and get bigger
- social changes - adolescence, friends, etc.
- substitute teachers - transitions are not seamless.

The present - the ipad and ipod are fully accessible mobile devices.

Siri

Ipad air

The past - very expensive.

The present - everthing can be done with the ipad - $400.00

Apple tv and Airplay

investment in 21st century training is critical

relate  alex bell to steve jobs.

3. The Future

Let's  prepare for tomorrow. We have a convergence of technologies.

Assistive technology is about providing access to a task and improving the performance of an individual with a disability.

Five assessment models for choosing the right Assistive Technology - overview and (limited) evaluation

1.       Matching Person and Technology

The first model I have found is usually referred to as “Matching Person and Technology”. Within this model are considerations such as;

                                                               i.       The expectation of the user - students, teachers, and parents.

                                                             ii.      Economic considerations – from Barb’s presentation we see that many stand alone features that have not converged with other technologies tend to be expensive.

                                                            iii.      Environmental considerations – space, accessibility, size, etc.

                                                           iv.      Preferences of the user – based on needs and initial limitations

                                                             v.      The background of the user – how receptive to AT they have been

                                                           vi.      Family background and expectations – considerations that must be included – how receptive to AT have parents been – cost, etc.

Much of what I have researched includes terms such as Milieu, Person, and Technology which are assessed through questionnaires. Milieu will look at the setting in which the AT is to be used. Person will consider factors such as temperament and attitudes of the user. Technology addresses the technology itself in respect to cost (funding) and design (accessibility). Through the proper data collection process of interviews and questionnaires the desired outcome is that the matching of person and technology will result in a beneficial learning environment and not a premature abandonment of inappropriate AT.

2.       Lifespace Access Profile for Individuals with Severe or Multiple Disabilities (LAP)

This model is targeted towards those individuals with severe disabilities. LAP uses a set of assessment protocols that address the potential user of the AT across 5 key areas:

                                                               i.      Physical Resources - this area examines the individual’s general condition and motor capability to operate and access switches.

                                                             ii.      Cognitive Resources – the ability to understand natural cause and effect interactions and the ability to communicate.

                                                            iii.      Emotional Resources – tolerance, and adaptability to situations

                                                           iv.      Support Resources – the degree to which family members and professionals (EPAs) have training and the time to implement the AT.

                                                             v.      Environmental Analysis – exploring and analyzing an individual’s participation and interaction within certain environments (home, work, school) and the use of the AT in said environment.

3.       SETT

SETT is best described as a framework that focuses on 4 areas – student, environment, tasks, and tools.

                                                               i.      Student- identify abilities and needs

                                                             ii.      Environments – physical environments as well as instructional environments.

                                                            iii.      Tasks – the activities the student is expected to perform.

                                                           iv.      Tools – AT devices and services.

The outcome sought within this framework is the appropriate match between student, task, and technology within the setting (environment) that the AT is to be used.

4.       Education Tech Points

This model centers around 6 “Tech Points”. Each Tech Point identifies when AT should be considered during the special services planning process.

                                                               i.      Tech Point 1 – Referral – the process of identifying students in need of services.

                                                             ii.      Tech Point 2- Evaluation – looks at when the student needs AT – during instruction or during assessment.

                                                            iii.      Tech Point 3 – Extended Assessment – trial period for AT devices.

                                                           iv.      Tech Point 4- Plan Development – documenting the consideration of AT within a student’s program plan.

                                                             v.      Tech Point 5 – Implementation – student training, staff training, equipment management.

                                                           vi.      Tech Point 6 – Periodic Review – review the data from the implementation phase and determine appropriate changes.

As with the previous models, Education Tech Points main desired outcome is that the AT allows the student access to the curriculum and to meet the goals or outcomes of the student’s program plan.

5.       Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI)

The purpose of WATI is to provide a comprehensive assessment process of the proposed AT and the needs of the student.  There are 10 sections to this model

                                                               i.      Section 1 – an overview of the AT assessment and planning process

                                                             ii.      Section 2 – providing all the assessment forms

                                                            iii.      Section 3 – AT for writing and computer access

                                                           iv.      Section 4 – AT for communication – within this section the needs of 3 groups of users; the alternative language group, the expressive language group, and the supportive language group are addressed.

                                                             v.      Section 5 – AT for reading, studying, and math

                                                           vi.      Section 6 – AT for recreation and daily living

                                                          vii.      Section 7 – AT for positioning and seating

                                                        viii.      Section 8 – AT for vision and hearing

                                                           ix.      Section 9 – Fitting the AT within the student’s program plan.

                                                             x.      Section 10 – Laws and funding

The outcome of WATI is to match the appropriate AT with the student’s IPP and provide access to the curriculum.

Final Comparison –

                I am not a policy and procedures expert but I have read enough to see that each of these assessment models ultimately seeks the same outcome – the proper matching of the AT to the person, the person’s needs, the abilities of both support persons and professionals to help the individual utilize the AT, and the best fit in terms of longevity of use and practicality within the environment it is to be used. Certain approaches such as MPT are more student centred than say WATI which seems to focus more on the program planning and service delivery aspects of AT incorporation but they all appear to converge at the same end point. I would say that each one could be utilized in any educational setting but one may be more applicable than the other based on the policies, procedures, and protocols, of individual school board’s special services departments and board mandates and department of education goals in delivering curriculum.