Augmentative Communication

After working in a D75 classroom for children with severe and multiple disabilties, I have had much experience with augmentative communication devices. In our single classroom, we had multiple different kinds of communication devices (that were both lo and hi tech) including a GoTalk, PECS and a dynavox. These devices really allowed our students to participate and become involved in class discussions and lessons. If it weren't for these devices, it would have been extremely difficult for them to do so. We had students who were ESL learners in addition to not being able to speak or use their expressive language abilities, so these devices really served as instructional technology.

When considering whether a student used a communication device as either adaptational or instructional technology, I usually try to decipher whether or not they could learn without the device (instructional), or if it was simply just a modification that enhanced their learning (adaptational). With respect to my students they had varying disabilities. One of my students had Cerebral Palsy, so it was very difficult for him to maintain both fine motor control and receptive language expression. Therefore, his Dynavox very much aided him in an instructional way. I do not think he would have been able to participate without his Dynavox. Therefore, I would consider this an instructional technology.

However, for our student that implemented PECS, he also knew sign language and had limited expressive language abilties. Therefore, PECS really just helped him by enhancing his ability to speak. Therefore, I would say that this was an adaptational use of technology.

For my student who used the GoTalk, he used it in more of an instructional way. He did not speak and was not ambulatory, therefore without his GoTalk (which was implemented by hand over hand with his paraprofessional), he would not have been able to participate at all. In fact this was vital for his membership in the classroom, so we as teachers knew if he was OK or needed something.

As far as the learning profiles, Sarah, with ataxic CP, uses an augmentative communication device - SmartScan. I would also determine just from the summary that this serves as an instructional form of technology because it allows Sarah to participate, when otherwise she would not be able to.

Additionally, Sam, who as an expressive written language disability, could probably benefit from a computer or typepad. Could this be considered an augmentative communication device in this circumstance?

I think it is amazing how far technology has come, and how we are able to help our students who struggle with expressive communication! Without these devices, these students would really not be able to participate. They literally are life changing. It is exciting for what may happen in the future. what kind of devices do you think we may have in 10 or 20 years? Will more students be able to be accessed and involved?

Planning with Technology

This week's lecture began with an intriguing thought: that sometimes the best learners are the worst teachers. I think this statement holds much truth. I remember when I was in an 8th grade pre-calculus class and my teacher told me that he was a "math whiz" and he was a member of Mensa. He was simply brilliant, and I do not think anyone denied that. However, he was not very good at explaining things in more than one way. Also, I think certain concepts were so basic to him, that he found it either unnecessary or difficult to teach them to people who were not familiar with them. As explained, this phenomena is very important for special educators, especially in reference to using technology. Teaching children who need technology to communicate or learn, may seem impossible for us, because either we are saavy with certain modes of technology or Web 2.0 tools, that we do not know how to explain them to children, or because we do not know how to explain simple concepts using technology, because these concepts seem so basic to us. This is why we need to become familiar and organized with technology.

When we learn about technology, especially if we are unfamiliar with it, I think we really need to keep ourselves organized - perhaps we need graphic organizers!? I tend to confuse different modes or their adaptations, which will be detrimental to me as a teacher in the future. I think as a teacher I will need to figure out how to effectively allow each student access the curriculum, with each respective form of technology. By having this organized in the beginning, I can really focus my comprehension and studying of the different forms of technology to better accommodate my students. Also, after I know which form is effective for each student, I can do research on similar forms, to see which new forms of technology may be developing that could be even more helpful for my students.

It is important to consider learning technology for both adapatational and instructional methods. I think knowing which form, and which tool works best for each student is key to a successful teaching session. If one student would benefit from Kurzweil and another from Titanpad, from the very same lesson, it is the teacher's responsibility to try to incorporate both modes. The ideal teacher will figure out a way. Further, the teacher may need Kurzweil as an adaptational mode of technology for one student because the bubble notes can provide scaffolding or structure, while another student may benefit from Kurzweil in more of an instructional way because text can be read aloud to him, the teacher has to figure out how to provide both forms for the student.

It is easier to understand how to plan technology when examining examples like the learning profiles. If a student like Sarah who has ataxic cerebral palsy, she may benefit from a mode of technology like Kurzweil because text could be read aloud to her and she would not have to hold the book. However, for a student like Jack, with ADHD, Smartnotebook could really be beneficial in capturing his attention due to its different features.

It is important to note that using too many modes of technology at once is another obstacle. A teacher needs to be streamlined and organized when instructing his or her students. This is why planning is key. For instance, if you have a student like Jack, so many different forms of technology being accessed at once by different students could prove to be very distracting.

Overall, learning how to use technology is essential for successful special educators. Shouldn't this be a mandatory aspect of our education? How else can we become the best teachers if we do not have knowledge of how to use all of the tools out there? Furthermore, don't all students deserve this?

Assistive Technology

This week's articles, video and interview really impressed me with how far we have come in terms of technology. I realized how important technology is for students with disabilities.

Things that typical students make take for granted are things that these students need to be able to function in a classroom. I think this brings up a great point about the difference between instructional technology and adaptive technology. The circumstance completely depends on what technology could qualify as and why. The first video Assistive Technology: Enabling Dreams, and the article that accompanied it drove this point home for me. The children featured in the film all had very positive attitudes and explained to viewers that if they didn't have technology, they would not be able to be participatory students. For example, the girl who is featured who has cerebral palsy, uses computers to record all of her assignments and submit oral work. What if she didn't have a computer? What if her mom didn't "know how to get around all the red tape?" She is lucky she has a mother like that, but we as teachers need to make it easier for students to be able to participate.

It reminds me of the interview between Dr. Paweleski and Dr. Keller. UDL is what we are striving for and has to be not only the ideal but the expectation. Children are already built with a drive and a desire to excel. When we look at Lukas, he still wanted to play the horn. He wanted to pursue it even after it was stolen. It its because of the good graces of his family and the amazing innovations of technology that he is still able to play the horn and play it well. I was particularly amazed by the man that made the horn because apparently his family has been making adaptive instruments for a very long time do to his grandfather's accident. But this pertains to our class because it makes me question, should the school have horns available like the one Lukas plays? Is that UDL? I understand it is expensive, but isn't that the law? Where should we draw the line?

Dr. Keller brought up an interesting point about hi and low tech technology. As technology advances he said, things that used to be considered high tech, are now low tech. It is all relative. Moreover, if we shouldn't need technology to have ideal UDL, why should we even be labeling things as high and low tech. In playing devil's advocate I guess, why is it necessary to classify things? I thought it was extremely amazing that he has a color identifier. It made me really curious as to how it works. It just makes me think that this form of what a person with sight would call adaptive technology is actually imperative or needed technology for him. It would be more than an accomodation in class if he were being taught because he would be fulfilled by the lesson that much more. I think we really need to think about classifying things.

Another thing we need to think about, as teachers, is believing in students. The video about "adapting classrooms" really made me feel bad at certain points. I could not believe students were actually saying that they were not even given a chance in activities such as P.E. This really breaks my heart. This is where UDL should be at least attempted more often. Students are excited to do P.E. and simply because they might not be sighted should not only not limit them from an activity but should not be told to them that this is the reason they cannot participate. How are we supposed to instill confidence and independence if it is all going to be retracted in activities like this? There was one boy in a wheelchair who said he could play football, basketball and every sport in his wheelchair. His teacher is making the neccesary accommodations. All teachers should do this.

Assitive technology and adaptive technology, no matter how you label them, even if we label them as instructional technology - they are ALL necessary! That is what the label should indicate. Children and students needs these, children of all abilities. This is what UDL is. This is what our job is as teachers, it is a given - to make the world and curriculum accessible to them.

Kurzweil 3000

This week I explored Kurzweil. I actually ordered a disc in the mail and it arrived within 3 days! I was so surprised. Anyway I think Kurzweil is a fantastic program for kids with disabilities. It would work really well for students with expressive language disabilities (due to its feature of changing text to speech).

Kurzweil could be considered both an adaptational form of technology as well as an instructional form of technology. It could be considered adapatational because it could be used for one student as an aid, if that particular student has problems reading aloud. It could also be used as an instructional tool for a class of students that have severe and multiple disabilities, many of which that include expressive language disabilities.

As for the student learning profiles, there are a few for which Kurzweil would benefit. First, it would benefit Sarah, with ataxic cerebral palsy. Because Sarah loves impressing her teachers and is excited to try new things, learning how to use Kurzweil could extremely benefit her. Additionally, because she might have difficulty with balance or fine motor skills, Kurzweil could assist her by actually reading aloud the text. She would not have to actually hold the material or book, and it would be displayed on the screen for her. Additionally, text could be highlighted for her so that she would not have to use a highlighter when thinking that certain things are important. Furthermore, because she is non-ambulatory, Kurzweil would allow her to read the material without her having to hold the material and trying to use her wheelchair to navigate. Last, she already uses SmartScan, so she is already familiar with adaptive communication devices, and uses them successfully.

It would also benefit Michael, with Aspergers and SPLD. It would benefit him because he is a visual learner and really enjoys visual presentations. This is exactly what Kurzweil would provide for him. Although reading material could sometimes be difficult or abstract for Michael to understand, the teacher would be able to highlight certain pieces of the text in order to signal to him that she is aware of those parts and will explain it to him. She could also include a text bubble that re-words the text in more literal terms for Michael. He also adapts well, so being introduced to a new form of technology, would be received well by Michael.

Last, it would greatly benefit Luke, who has Dyslexia and Executive Function Difficulty. The text would be read aloud to Luke so if he did not read them correctly (or backwards), the program would read aloud the text correctly. Additionally, his Executive Functioning Difficulty might make it hard for him to read texts and focus, but perhaps if the text was presented in a different format and read to him (which is different from which he used to), it might be more entertaining.

Overall, Kurzweil is a great program and I plan to use it in my future classroom!

SmartBoard

This week we learned about SmartBoard. Even though I have already had experience using this program, I learned so much more about it! I think it's a great tool for the classroom if it is provided in the school. This is the biggest challenge, I think, it presents to taking advantage of what it has to provide for our students

As for student profiles. I think it could definitely be utilized by a couple different students. I think it could be really helpful for the hypothetical student Jack. Jack has ADHD, a fine motor disability, and a limited working memory. First, because we learned that SmartBoard is a form of resistant technology, it would be easy for Jack to interact even though he has fine motor disability. He could barely touch the screen and it would be activated. Also, SmartBoard has a lot of neat features (like being able to disassemble a cube, and making certain texts or features "disappear" and "reappear" by implementing layering). This would cater to his difficulty to concentrate by captivating his attention. Additionally, because slides are able to link non-linearally, his limited working memory would be scaffolded because SmartBoard allows for one slide to link to another not in any certain order.

I also think it could be really helpful for hypothetical student Sarah who has ataxic cerebral palsy. In fact, I have seen this in action at a school called John Coleman for students with severe disabilities who are mostly non-ambulatory, work really well. Even though Sarah may have trouble with balance or motor abilities, as mentioned above, SmartBoard is a form of resistant technology and would not let this get in the way. Additionally because she is always motivated and excited to be involved in class, I feel like she would be eager to get involved and learn how to use and react to this new form of technology.

On a different note, I think SmartBoard is a form of both adaptational and instructional technology. It is a form of adaptational technology because it could be used to modify or adapt materials to enlarge or make this interactive for a specific student. It could also be used as a form of instructional technology because it could be used as a tool to teach the entire class instead of using a powerpoint or lecture or another form of teaching.

I guess what plagues me most is that I wish I had SmartBoard for my classroom. How can we make this more accessible to all? How can we keep up with the ever increasing trend of technology while not implementing it in our classroom? Is it solely up to fundraising or do we need to continue to increase the public's awareness about its importance?

Titan Pad

This week we learned how to use a few different kinds of Web 2.0 programs that would be helpful for teaching. I actually also learned what Web 2.0 programs were - programs that facilitate interaction! I did not know that programs like Facebook and G-talk both therefore qualified as Web 2.0 programs. Overall I agree that these programs that can facilitate interaction are so important for classrooms, so that teachers can communicate and share ideas among themselves, and more importantly so we can make our curriculum accessible to all of our learners.

One of the new Web 2.0 programs we were introduced to, that really stuck with me was the Titan Pad. I see this both as an instructional and adaptational technology. It is instructional because a teacher can use this to disperse ideas to her class, in an easy manner. It can be the medium of the lesson. It can also qualify as an adaptational technology because some students can use titan pad to facilitate their learning, while others do not.

I think overall, it was a fun and interactive program. It allows all participants to communicate simultaneously, and the document continues to change as the participants are sharing. At times, because every participant's comments appears in a different color, and the font is constantly flashing when someone adds, it can be a bit overwhelming and overstimulating for some learners. Some of my students who have been diagnosed with ASD, might find this program to be too much sensory input. However, other students who may have trouble focusing or attention deficits, may find this program entertaining and captivating.

With respect to the student learning profiles, I think Titan Pad would work best for students like Michael, or Finn. For a student like Michael who has Aspergers and SPLD, this program would work well because he is a strong visual learner and is very enthusiastic to learn and excel in class. Therefore when presented with Titan Pad, I feel like he would be motivated to try something new and try his best in order to excel. Additionally, he can ask as many questions as he wants, at once, while the rest of the class does the same. Titan Pad would then essentially let him express himself freely and perhaps he would encounter less teasing by the other students because the entire class would be writing as much as they want.

For a student like Finn, with an auditory processing disorder, this program could work excellently. Finn would not have to worry about mishearing the teacher or listening to directions, he could simply visually take in the information presented. Perhaps he would function faster and complete tasks with more efficiency. It seems like the reason guiding questions and group work are challenging for Finn is because he has to listen for instructions and understand it. But what if he just read the information presented, like in Titan Pad?

Titan Pad is a great technology for the classroom. I think it would be even better if it could be voice activated! If students like Sarah, with Ataxic CP, could speak into Titan Pad and have her thoughts transcribed, she too could benefit!

Is there a technology that anyone knows of, that is exactly like Titan Pad and is voice activated? How would this technology function without distracting other students in the class who do not need this piece of technology, but also need to direct their attention to the conversation?

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