Week 10- Case Study Presentations Part 2

The final week of presentations was very insightful and inspiring. I enjoyed hearing about the various programs and the implementation experiences others have had. Throughout all of the presentations there were some common shared experiences which I believe were worth noting.
The first experience theme which was common in all presentations was that AT must be able to fit into the lifestyle of the person. The person must be willing to try, be aware of how the AT will assist and be willing to change their current coping strategies in order to make the programming success. Furthermore, for students at the middle and high school level it is important to introduce and select programming which will not make the student stand out or be different from their peers.
The second theme which was common throughout the presentations was the importance of introducing and supporting the technology over a period of time. With all case studies the emphasis of having the right resources coupled with having time to explore and understand the program with the students were consistently noted.
Overall, the presentations have taught me the importance of reflecting upon all perspectives involved in the introduction and continued use of AT. Through the presentations I was able to see the continuums of supports available and the flexibility of many AT programs to meet the needs of various students at a variety of levels.

New Cell Phone

Has anyone else seen the interest piece on CNN concerning a cell phone which can read a wide variety of documents. I missed the brand name of the phone but it scan and type of text and converts it to speech. The clip featured a man with a visual impairment using it to read menus, books, newspapers and signs in a store. The phone retails for $1600 US.

Week 9- Case Study Presentations Part 1

Having the opportunity to learn of other technologies and implementations of AT by our peers is wonderful. Each presentation has changed my perspective of the possibilities of Assistive Technology.
I enjoyed the life span perspective Sue provided in her presentation. As a PST, I am always trying to foresee the impacts of having or not having the technology my have on my current students in their years to come. Reflecting upon the great improvements that have been made over her brother's life span in respect to technologies available to assist in daily living for a deaf person, I am now sure that further improvements for all challenges will continue in great strides.
The iTouch presentation was inspiring. The student has found their "voice" and that must be the most empowering experience for the student and his teachers. Ian and Paula along with the rest of the student's team must be greatly commended for taking on the challenge and working through the various devices and programs to make it a success for the student!
I enjoyed Kathy's presentation on Simon Sounds it Out. Simon Sounds it Out is a program I am only beginning to use in the Resource room. Hearing someone else's opinion and experience with the program will assist me in designing an effective way to use the program with my students.

Bookshare-An Student's Experience

Week 8-Applying Cloze Pro and Clicker 5

Creating meaningful programming using Clicker 5 and Cloze Pro was the goal for this week’s class. The many steps involved in the process however I did not completely understand until attempting to apply the programs. When creating activities I believe it is important to know the student. The student’s interests and abilities are important elements to ensure success and engagement with the programs. I think some of the difficulties my group experienced while creating the activity were directly related to not knowing the student. Having a profile which lists the strengths and challenges of a student without having personal experiences means some guessing and generalizing about their interests and abilities.
The assignment for the week has made me realize that proficiency in any program will take time and patience. Knowing what a program is capable of and making the program function in that manner are two elements which take time to understand and will not be apparent after only a few hours of exploring the program. Overall, I found Cloze Pro easier to use, perhaps because I am slightly more familiar with the program

Week 7-Clicker 5 and Cloze Pro

Again I am surprised by the many features each Assistive Technology program introduced in the course has. Clicker 5 and Cloze Pro offer so many possibilities to students struggling with literacy and other areas of the curriculum. The potential to provide further independence to the students is endless with these programs. Also, with many activities already available to download and use the programs become that more accessible in the school setting.
I am most excited about the Cloze Pro program and creating interactive social stories. The potential of reinforcing skills being taught through the technology is enormous. The social story book my group created at the end of class I will be using with a grade 1 student with Autism, to reinforce who she may and may not hug.

Week 6-The Writing Process

Working as a Primary/One teacher provides insights into the learning process for many skills that adults who have mastered the entire process take for granted. Writing, for example, has many stages in a grade Primary and One classroom. Some students complete all writing through drawing pictures, others are generating their own symbols for meaning while others have mastered sound/symbol correspondence and are working on generating full thoughts with these symbols.
Writing is a complex and intensive process requiring the working of short and long term memory, fine motor skills and acute understanding of a variety of complex rules related to grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. For students, that are struggling with writing the process it is usually tedious, laborious and frustrating. Therefore, it is important for educators to identify potentially reluctant and struggling writers early on in order to provide intervention and support strategies to enable students to become effective writers.
Inspiration is a program that assists students with organizing their ideas in the first stages of writing. Through Inspiration students are no longer required to use their memory to recall symbol formation, or symbol identification (if pictures are used). The program also enables students to brainstorm the various ideas they have related to the topic they are writing about and therefore provides a way to later review and plan their writing sequence. Both Kidspiration and Inspiration have easy to use interfaces which allow students to stay on task. I believe the program can assist all writers in the Elementary classroom and not only those who are reluctant or struggling.