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.

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.

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.

Week 5-Reading Remediation Programs

The reading remediation programs explored in class this week provided me with a new understanding of all the small elements of language that are required to become a reader at any proficiency. Furthermore, by examining a variety of the programs that I work with on a daily basis as an Elementary Program Support teacher I have gained a further appreciation for the skills these programs are developing.
Programs like earobics, Simon Sounds It Out and WordMaker reinforce the fact that there are no quick fixes in the remediation process for reading. Furthermore, the variety of Assistive Technology programs highlights that there is not a universal fix for a struggling reader due to the complex nature of reading. For students at the Elementary level Assistive Technology programs along with Program Support interventions such as LiPS, Reading Recovery and often Speech-Language programming over a process of several grades must be combined to support the reading process and its development.

Week 4- Class Presentaions

The presentations this week highlighted the many applications Kurzweil can have across a wide variety of academic settings. As I listened and viewed each presentation I realized how for some students this could be the key to them experiencing success at every level of their academic career.
Initially, when Kathy and I began our unit at a grade one level we were sceptical to how the program could be used successfully since so much of our material is typically covered through group-shared experiences such as class discussions, teacher-read stories and hands-on exploration. However, just like with all Assistive Technology programs we realized that there could be specific students that would benefit from Kurzweil even at our lower elementary level.
At the upper elementary level the potential of the program really begins to be revealed. I was disappointed there were not more presentations at this level since these are the gradesl were the decision between remediation and supporting the needs of the student is often made. Through the few upper elementary activities that were shared, the potential at this level was highlighted. As an Elementary Program Support teacher this year, I am beginning to use the program with a grade six student. She is keen to use Kurzweil and feels more independence and success when using the program. During the upper elementary presentations I could not help but reflect upon the various aspects of the overall curriculum that we (student, teacher and PST) have yet to apply Kurzweil to for further independence and success.
As a former Program Support and classroom teacher at the Junior High school level I knew that Kurzweil would be a powerful tool for the middle and secondary levels. The various presentations across curriculum areas highlighted the many applications Kurzweil has within the secondary level. However with each of these presentations I wondered what it must be like for a student at the secondary level who may have Kurzweil implemented in only some of their courses due to teacher participation and acceptance of the program. While I understand, it is important for the student to learn self-advocacy and I am sure that Program Support teachers are advocating the use of the program across all subjects, the reality may be for some students the program is not being implemented to the same degree in all subjects. For students experiencing great success with the program it would be very frustrating to have a course in which your needs (and therefore your independence/success as a student) were not being fully met due to your Assistive Technology recommendations not being completely implemented.

Further questions that I have at the secondary level are:
-How can students approach an educator if they feel their needs are not being met?
-What roles do the teachers and support staff at the school need to take to remedy the situation when Assistive Technology recommendations are implemented at varying levels?
- Are students being taught that they have a channel available to use when they feel the program is not being used effectively by a teacher?

Week 3-Kurzweil- When to start using it?

This week we spent a great deal of class time exploring the many elements of Kurzweil. Through the step by step process, I was able to reflect upon how this program could be very powerful in many different situations and for many different students. This program can be easily integrated into the classroom and furthermore will provide independence for students requiring additional supports.

At the higher elementary and secondary levels Kurzweil can enable students, who have difficultly decoding to still have the opportunity to be exposed to the more difficult texts and the content embedded within. Furthermore, these students using Kurzweil are able to excess information embedded in a variety of texts including via the internet. For many of these students who have consistently struggled with decoding the ability to hear the information enables them to broaden their scope of material available when they are completing research projects and assignments.

Over the past two classes we have discussed when the shift in programming should take place between remediation and providing assistive technologies for coping. With the powerful options available in Kurzweil I cannot help but wonder if it would not be beneficial to students at all grade levels who are struggling with the reading process to have access to the program in order to complete their grade level work and not fall further and further behind. While I understand remediation can help students to achieve success and can lead to more independence further in their education career, I wonder if it should be combined with programs designed to help with meeting outcomes across many subject areas. Since decoding is related to the Language Arts program especially at the lower elementary level, why should students struggling with this element be further penalized in Social Studies or Science just because they may not understand the question being posed in a text only format. Introducing Kurzweil could assist even these young students in having success and furthermore at increasing their confidence in an educational setting.

Understanding the Pieces of the Literacy Puzzle-Week 2

The question of ‘nature versus nurture’ is constantly present in unravelling the mysteries of how the brain functions across various key stages of development, including in understanding how a person not only learns to read but how they become successful and confident readers.
For many families reading is deeply entrenched in their routines from bedtime stories to the morning newspaper, children see others reading, are read to and are encouraged to explore the process themselves, however this nurturing does not guarantee their success with being literate. Beneath the nurturing, there are complex biological aspects which must occur in correct succession in order for the process of being literate to be successful.

Throughout my teaching methods courses in Language Arts the theme of ‘nurture’ was continually covered and reflected upon, however the roots to successful literacy were never examined carefully from the perspective of ‘nature’. In my opinion, the ‘nature’ elements behind literacy are extremely important to understand since educators should be aware of the complex biological process that is literacy. Reading, as noted in class, requires vision, short-term memory, attention and long-term processing skills. Difficulties at any of these levels will make the process of reading more difficult and potentially impossible. Understanding the reasons behind a person’s struggle with gaining literacy skills is first element in this ‘best fit’ model, yet as a new educator I was not exposed to a clear understanding of these processes or the influence these processes would have on learning to read.

In my opinion, it is important to educate the teacher, student (at a developmentally appropriate level) and family to the reasons why the student is struggling with mastering literacy skills. With a clear understanding of what is happening to impede the reading process, the implementation of intervention will be more empowering for all individuals involved. While a diagnosis may be viewed by some as stigmatism, I believe it should not be but rather viewed as a key to allowing others to understand the students’ experiences.

The website “Misunderstood Minds” (sponsored by PBS) supports the notion that understanding the students experience and diagnosis is the key to providing meaningful support to the student. Through the website I was able to reflect upon the ease at which I learned to read, attend and compute. I was also able to gain a clearer understanding of the laborious process reading, writing, attending and mathematical computing can be for others. I could not help but reflect upon the various students I work with daily who have received diagnoses of dyslexia, disgraphia, attention problems or unknown learning problems. For these students, especially at the upper elementary level, I realized even more the importance of incorporating effective Assistive Technologies to assist them in completing their daily work. Furthermore, I have gained a further understanding of the importance of empowering these students to advocate for the incorporation of their aids across all aspects of their lives.

During class, the question of when remediation for a learning problem should be replaced with providing strategies and technologies to deal with the learning problem arose. After examining the website, reflecting upon the film “The Secret Life of the Brain” and the various students I see as a classroom and Program Support teacher I feel students in early elementary should receive as much remediation as possible to assist them in developing strategies to deal with their learning problem. For example, students identified as having difficulty with phemonic awareness should have access to programs like “Simon Sounds it Out” and direct instructional programming like LiPS to assist in providing another “wiring” input system for the brain. However, I believe by upper elementary students should be focusing on strategies which will enable them to complete their class work in an efficient and productive manner. I think by upper elementary students should be introduced to programs which will assist them in reading, and effectively expressing themselves with their writing such as “Kurzweil” and portable writers. The focus of support at this level should shift to learning how to use the programs, how to incorporate these into their everyday classroom needs and providing students with associated supports like learning to quickly type.

Overall, both ‘nature and nurture’ are key elements to developing literacy skills. It is important however not to over emphasize the importance of ‘nature’ in the process. I believe students diagnosesed with learning problems require explicit teaching of skills and appropriate Assistive Technologies which reflect their strengths and areas of need.

Defining Assistive Technology (Class 1-Sept.24th, 2008)

Generating a clear definition of what is Assistive Technology (AT) can be very complicated since there are so many variations and components to what AT looks like for each individual accessing the services. Developing a working definition of AT requires a person to examine the various categories and degrees of assistance available and acknowledging the variations of need within the group which access AT services. Furthermore, an AT definition must include an examination of the impact of the AT services on an individual level.

My personal working definition of AT has grown as a result of reflecting upon the various elements presented in class. For me, AT is a variety of tools from low to high technology which enables individuals to learn and live more independently throughout their lifetime. AT is furthermore a variety of strategies specifically selected to meet each individuals needs using a 'best fit' model. AT can be as simplistic as enlarging text on a screen to as complicated as text to speech computer program. While technology is an integral aspect of the definition is at its most basic through complex elements. Some technologies are as simple as pencil grips while others are as complex as advance computer programs and motorized wheelchairs.

With a working definition and understanding of AT beginning to develop further questions arise concerning how to teach and integrate these technologies into my students lives at a level which will be the most beneficial and least restrictive in the present and the future. I look forward to exploring and learning about various AT strategies and how to empower students to use these strategies both within the classroom and their world.