Friday, 18 July 2014
One Last Blog
I almost forgot - I made a class website for my afternoon course, and tried to use Universal Design for Learning. It has a Tellagami in it! Check it out at http://windsorforks4.weebly.com
Final Reflections
So...as you can see from reading this blog, I came in with a great deal of skepticism about the use of the iPad in the classroom. I felt that it was just one more fun gadget, and I certainly had not seen it being used much except as a source of games. What this course made absolutely clear is that the iPad is, beyond any doubt, the device of choice for anyone with learning difficulties. It is cost-effective, it is flexible, it is portable and it is far more effective at actually helping these students than any devices we have had until now. The other thing this course has made clear is that to be fair to our students we must employ Universal Design for Learning in all of our courses. Now that the technology exists, we have no excuse not to make our programs accessible to all.
The course has also shown how the iPad is a game-changer not only for students with learning difficulties but also for learning in general. There is something quite astounding about the ease with which you can do so many creative things - like make movies and animations - that were tedious before. It opens up a lot of new creative opportunities that will, beyond any doubt, change the way we do education. It is a disruptive technology.
I continue to have many questions about the broader issues: How do we control the increasing amount of screen time that our students are getting in class? Should all students be using iPads? Will we all move away from traditional print media and what will be the effects of this? What will be the long-term costs of having private interests so heavily involved in the education system? What about the environmental costs?
Despite my own questions...which I have about all kinds of things, anyway...I will be using the iPad extensively in my class next year. Having taken this course, and knowing how this technology can give my struggling students full access to the Grade 4 curriculum, it would be unprofessional, in fact, it would be unethical, to deny them this opportunity.
Thanks for a great course, Barbara!
The course has also shown how the iPad is a game-changer not only for students with learning difficulties but also for learning in general. There is something quite astounding about the ease with which you can do so many creative things - like make movies and animations - that were tedious before. It opens up a lot of new creative opportunities that will, beyond any doubt, change the way we do education. It is a disruptive technology.
I continue to have many questions about the broader issues: How do we control the increasing amount of screen time that our students are getting in class? Should all students be using iPads? Will we all move away from traditional print media and what will be the effects of this? What will be the long-term costs of having private interests so heavily involved in the education system? What about the environmental costs?
Despite my own questions...which I have about all kinds of things, anyway...I will be using the iPad extensively in my class next year. Having taken this course, and knowing how this technology can give my struggling students full access to the Grade 4 curriculum, it would be unprofessional, in fact, it would be unethical, to deny them this opportunity.
Thanks for a great course, Barbara!
Thursday, 17 July 2014
July 17th Part 2
Before making our iMovie trailer, we had a chance to play around with Clicker and CoWriter. Clicker is an app that I would use with some of my IPP students, who typically participate in the class with the help of an E.A. They do some of the same written activities as the rest of the students, but in a highly modified manner, relying heavily on their E.A.'s for writing out the words and directing them where to put them. What I like about Clicker is that it helps create the so-important element of independence for these students. Once the app is set up, the student can create his project more or less independently! I like the fact that I can slowly add more complexity to the tasks, encouraging these emergent literacy skills while including the special needs child in the regular classroom.
CoWriter is more for my students with suspected or diagnosed learning disabilities who are capable of the same degree of thought and description as their peers, but who struggle particularly with writing. They need to have prerequisite skills. They need to have the vocabulary in their heads that they want to use, and they need the rudimentary spelling skills to prompt the app to bring up those words. CoWriter provides advance word prediction - using topic dictionaries that you can build yourself or get the app to build - so that students can type their thoughts fluently.
Christie and I were wondering whether using CoWriter would discourage a child from ever learning to write. Two responses to this. First, If CoWriter allows struggling writers to get their thoughts on paper freely, without all of the frustrations of pen-and-paper, they will end up having far more practice with the writing process - with fleshing out ideas, organizing, revising - than they would ever have had without it. So they will actually become better writers because of this. And second, once these students start using it, they will have access to CoWriter or a similar technology for the rest of their lives. There is no teacher, parent or administrator who would deny a child access to this technology after seeing the child herself use it fluently. And as an adult, the student will be able to use whatever technology she wants to make her work easier. So lets make sure she learns to write well with technology - to have the same degree of expressive clarity that we expect from all good writers.
CoWriter is more for my students with suspected or diagnosed learning disabilities who are capable of the same degree of thought and description as their peers, but who struggle particularly with writing. They need to have prerequisite skills. They need to have the vocabulary in their heads that they want to use, and they need the rudimentary spelling skills to prompt the app to bring up those words. CoWriter provides advance word prediction - using topic dictionaries that you can build yourself or get the app to build - so that students can type their thoughts fluently.
Christie and I were wondering whether using CoWriter would discourage a child from ever learning to write. Two responses to this. First, If CoWriter allows struggling writers to get their thoughts on paper freely, without all of the frustrations of pen-and-paper, they will end up having far more practice with the writing process - with fleshing out ideas, organizing, revising - than they would ever have had without it. So they will actually become better writers because of this. And second, once these students start using it, they will have access to CoWriter or a similar technology for the rest of their lives. There is no teacher, parent or administrator who would deny a child access to this technology after seeing the child herself use it fluently. And as an adult, the student will be able to use whatever technology she wants to make her work easier. So lets make sure she learns to write well with technology - to have the same degree of expressive clarity that we expect from all good writers.
July 17th Part 1
Today we used iMovie to make a trailer about what we have learned in this class. It was really fun! What a great device for introducing students to the medium of film-making...a way of showing understanding that involves a completely different set of skills from those used in traditional literary projects. What I liked about this app was that it was so EASY to USE! Really, even a newby like me can use the app to create something entirely satisfying...in 45 minutes. I can absolutely use this app in my classroom, with the regular students and those with learning disabilities together.
I often have book clubs in my reading class. My students are grouped according to their reading levels, so the strong readers get to read exciting novels that they have chosen...while my weak readers traditionally get stuck with a book that I have chosen...that they labour through. And a lot of time, their books aren't long enough or complex enough to do much with. So..new plan. While I will keep doing small-group remedial reading instruction with the students who need it, when it comes time for book clubs, they will choose books based on interest. The struggling readers will have options for compensatory assistive technology so that they can enjoy the same, grade-level novel as their peers. And then the groups will make iPad trailers about their novels. Done!
I often have book clubs in my reading class. My students are grouped according to their reading levels, so the strong readers get to read exciting novels that they have chosen...while my weak readers traditionally get stuck with a book that I have chosen...that they labour through. And a lot of time, their books aren't long enough or complex enough to do much with. So..new plan. While I will keep doing small-group remedial reading instruction with the students who need it, when it comes time for book clubs, they will choose books based on interest. The struggling readers will have options for compensatory assistive technology so that they can enjoy the same, grade-level novel as their peers. And then the groups will make iPad trailers about their novels. Done!
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Autism Angel - Carly Fleischmann
Here is a link to the Carly Fleishmann video mentioned in the Leslie Broun article...
AT and UDL: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning:Two Sides of the Same Coin
David H. Rose,Ted S. Hasselbring, Skip Stahl, and Joy Zabala
This article discusses the relationship between these two concepts. Assistive technology, on the one hand, is designed for individuals. Whether it is a pencil grip, a wheelchair or a particular text-to-speech solution, AT begins with an assessment of an individual's particular difficulties and needs. Universal Design, on the other hand, is concerned with all users. It is a global application of accessibility features right from the beginning, like buildings with wheelchair ramps, or classrooms with LCD projectors to allow projection of videos.
What the authors point out is that one cannot work without the other. Assistive Technology without Universal Design would be like having a wheelchair, but no wheelchair ramps. Universal Design without Assistive Technology would be like having wheelchair ramps on every corner but no wheelchair to fit the individual who needs it. In the field of education, Assistive Technology needs to intersect with the curriculum at the point which provides the simplest, most cost-effective solution, and which reaches the largest number of learners. While there will always be a need for very particular and expensive devices designed specifically for severely disabled individuals, there is also a real need to move the whole curriculum towards greater accessibility for all.
What is interesting is that when you design for special needs, the whole population benefits. Wheelchair ramps are used by parents with strollers, the elderly with walkers and commuters on bicycles as much as they are used by people in wheelchairs. And so in the classroom, having multiple means of representation, presentation and engagement can benefit students with attention difficulties, ESL students, and any students whose preferential learning styles are not print-based.
The authors go on to discuss changes in copyright legislation that are making it easier for publishers to produce digital texts. I have no doubt that the the very near future will see all textbooks digitized, with accessibility features - video options, text-to-speech options, touch screen features - designed into them from the very start.
THOUGHTS
I think that there has been general trend towards Universal Design for Learning in our schools over the past few years, without necessarily giving a name to it. We all pair written and verbal explanations with visuals; we all show videos of concepts we wish to teach, and use our interactive Smartboards to provide greater engagement. We have moved towards the use of many more varied means for students to show their knowledge, from designing posters, making sketches and videos, to participating in group discussions. When UDL is paired with AT, however, it opens up whole new possibilities for enriching the classroom environment, not just for whole-class instruction, but for the students' silent reading time, writing time and research time, to name a few.
curriculum to
Diagnosis and Intervention for Disorders of Written Language
Diagnosis and Intervention Strategies for Disorders of Written Language
Margaret J. Kay, Ed.D.
Margaret J. Kay, Ed.D.
This article is another summary of written disorders and interventions to support students. A couple of interesting facts are that dysgraphia causes losses of up to 30 million dollars a year to the U.S. economy in lost output (how did they calculate that?) Also that writing is the last and most complex skill to develop, and therefore is most susceptible to being compromised some way or another. The term "developmental output failures" is one that I have heard of in the learning disabilities field. "Output failure" is certainly a problem that I have seen frequently in my practice.
The author goes on to look at various types of dysgraphia: dyslexic dysgraphia, which is related to specific learning disabilities; dysgraphia due to motor clumsiness; and dysgraphia due to a defect in the understanding of space. She discusses the assessment and diagnosis of students with writing disorders.
One of the things I found interesting was the discussion about teaching philosophies and dysgraphia. The author mentions trends in literacy education such as allotting less time to practising writing, and abandoning the formal teaching of mechanics and handwriting, as possible causes of dysgraphia. At the same time, she mentions research that supports an approach of teaching writing through real-life projects requiring the writing process. This article really makes it clear that an accurate assessment of exactly why a students is struggling, is essential before planning remedial or bypass (compensatory) actions.
There is no date on this article, but I guess that it is fairly old as there is no mention of compensatory strategies from more advanced computer software or from iPads.
As I was reading this, I was thinking about how we are certainly not teaching the mechanics of writing to the extent that it was done in our parents' generation...and as a result, many in our generation are not as good at handwriting, spelling and grammar as previous generations. But the question is...does it matter?
July 16th
Today we had class wherever we wanted to, using Blackboard Collaborate. It was a good experience for me. I found it was a little more intense than a regular classroom, because having the computer and the headphones forced me to concentrate on the class only. As soon as I took off the headphones, I started noticing the space around me, the quality of the light, the sound from outside, the fan. So that really made me think about my students for whom those external stimuli are overpowering, and how having a computer and headset can help them to focus on their tasks. But the flip side, for me, was that the focus can take over. You have to resurface from that digital world from time to time.
We had a nice debrief after the course (Lindsey, Mark, Simon and I), and discussed the classroom of the future. When one child has an iPad for AT...then everyone in the class will want one. And how can we deny them these tools, when they will clearly benefit everyone, not just students with diagnosed learning disabilities? And what are the ramifications of that? Will we eventually lose our ability to read and write? Will that matter?
The class content was on apps for helping writing. We started out with a summary of the writing process. Just like reading, it is hugely complex, and students can have difficulties at any of the stages. I found the Occupational Therapy videos interesting - how children need to have good core strength and posture before they can have good handwriting. We then looked at some more of the apps. There is a student who I had last year, who I will have again next year, who is exactly that creative, idea-filled, vocabulary-filled writer...who can't spell well enough for anyone except me to read what she has written. Co-Writer is the solution for her!
After class, we messed about with the speech recognition software on our computers. If you speak clearly and remember to say "period" and "new paragraph" in the appropriate places, it does a pretty good job of writing what you say. It is on all of our computers...who would have known?
Good day - I enjoyed the class!
We had a nice debrief after the course (Lindsey, Mark, Simon and I), and discussed the classroom of the future. When one child has an iPad for AT...then everyone in the class will want one. And how can we deny them these tools, when they will clearly benefit everyone, not just students with diagnosed learning disabilities? And what are the ramifications of that? Will we eventually lose our ability to read and write? Will that matter?
The class content was on apps for helping writing. We started out with a summary of the writing process. Just like reading, it is hugely complex, and students can have difficulties at any of the stages. I found the Occupational Therapy videos interesting - how children need to have good core strength and posture before they can have good handwriting. We then looked at some more of the apps. There is a student who I had last year, who I will have again next year, who is exactly that creative, idea-filled, vocabulary-filled writer...who can't spell well enough for anyone except me to read what she has written. Co-Writer is the solution for her!
After class, we messed about with the speech recognition software on our computers. If you speak clearly and remember to say "period" and "new paragraph" in the appropriate places, it does a pretty good job of writing what you say. It is on all of our computers...who would have known?
Good day - I enjoyed the class!
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Assistive Technology and Writing
Assistive Technology and
Writing
Deborah Newton, Southern Connecticut State University
Amy G. Dell The College of New Jersey
This article deals with the many assistive technologies available to help struggling writers.
For children with handwriting difficulties, there are simple low-tech adaptations such as pencil grips and slanted writing supports. If the handwriting impairment is more significant, there are "portable word processors" - a term that sounds archaic now, in the time of iPads! However, while many schools are not able to provide iPads for all students who may need them, most schools have keyboarding devices. For students with severe handwriting impairments, there are various types of speech-recognition software that are now found on most computer operating systems. I'm going to look for the one on my computer!
The other aspect to writing is the whole process of written expression, which involves organizing ones thoughts to get them down on paper in a comprehensible form. This is what we teach when we teach the writing process in school. The authors describe computer programs and iPad apps that can help struggling writers in all the stages of the writing process.
For pre-writing, Kidspiration and Inspiration provide graphic organizers that help children to get their ideas down quickly, and then arrange them to see patterns and connections. Then there is a program called Draftbuilder that helps children go from the graphic organizers to an outline. WordQ will help students type more quickly, without worrying too much about spelling mistakes. For revising and editing, there are programs such as Ginger and WriteOnline.
Throughout all of these steps the authors mention the use of speech-to-text and voice recording in instances where the physical act of writing is getting in the way of a student's expression. They also mention the importance of text-to-speech. Often, students may write something but may have trouble reading it back. Being able to "hear" their writing read aloud will often help a child to notice errors and omissions, or to get ideas for revision.
Finally, the authors noted the power of multimedia for inspiring children to express themselves more fully, using a combination of text and other media.
In all, an interesting article. What I like is that I already have most of these programs in my classroom, on our Netbooks! And here is one limitation of the iPad: typing on a keyboard is a lot easier than typing on an iPad!
Take the Pencil Out of the Process
Take the Pencil Out of the Process
by Leslie Broun: Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol 42, No. 1, pp. 14 - 21.
What an interesting article! The author begins by discussing difficulties with printing (dysgraphia) and handwriting (dyscriptia) associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She summarizes the latest research which finds that the same neuroanatomical differences that are linked to ASD are also linked to the motor impairment that makes handwriting difficult. Thinking back, my students who may not have a full diagnosis of autism but who exhibit signs of ASD are often the ones with the "atrocious" handwriting, as Hans Asperger pointed out.
The author gives a compelling argument for getting children who struggle with handwriting onto a keyboard as soon as possible. Like reading disabilities, there are some children with writing disabilities who will always have trouble with this skill, despite the best remedial work in the world. And just as students who have weak reading skills cannot improve their vocabulary along with their peers, so students with weak writing skills actually start to think in fewer and fewer words. They may actually lose vocabulary. As well, all of their focus is on trying to form the letters properly and not on the content they are producing. Not only do they fail to communicate what they know, they resort to poor behaviour and a systems-wide shutdown. How often have I seen this in writing class!
The author points to the really compelling examples of Carly Fleischmann and Amanda Baggs, individuals with autism who had no way of showing the world that they even had independent thoughts, until they were introduced to a keyboard. How many of our students are not producing the creative, knowledgeable products that they may be capable of, simply because the pencil is in the way? And how can they practise their writing skills: being creative, shaping their thoughts in a literary manner, adding details and examples...when it takes all class for them to get a sentence down? I can't count the number of times I have written on a student's report card, "He has wonderful ideas, but he can't get them down on paper." Well, now I really need to look at how AT can help with that.
This article discusses the simple use of keyboarding as a starting point to address these difficulties, something that we can all easily employ in our classrooms.
July 15th
Today we worked on our iTunesU course on "Apps for Reluctant Readers". I guess I can see the use of iTunesU, and, once we figured out how it works (and I did really watch the tutorials!) it was easy to use. But the assignment itself was frustrating. It was all about quantity over quality. Must have: at least 20 apps, videos, pictures, tutorials, and text. So we spent the class bundling all these things into our course, without taking any time to check, try or review them. The result is a confusing pile of material, some of which may be good, some of which may be bad...who knows? So I am going to spend some time sifting through and sorting, to get some sort of cohesive structure.
The question that comes to mind is: at what point is it no longer useful to have a "course"? If all of the information is available anyway on the Internet...if anyone who wants to know about "Apps for Reluctant Readers" can just Google it and find some iTunesU courses, some tutorials, some videos, some testimonials about apps...then why would anyone want to take my course? Particularly if my course is chock-a-block full and requires sifting yet again to get to anything useful? If I really wanted to have a course that was useful for my colleagues, I would keep it as simple as possible: A short video background, and six apps: two for phonological awareness training, two for comprehension and organization, and two general compensatory text-to-speech / speech-to-text apps with tutorials on how to use them. And I would make sure that I, as the "author" of the course, really knew all about those six apps.
The question that comes to mind is: at what point is it no longer useful to have a "course"? If all of the information is available anyway on the Internet...if anyone who wants to know about "Apps for Reluctant Readers" can just Google it and find some iTunesU courses, some tutorials, some videos, some testimonials about apps...then why would anyone want to take my course? Particularly if my course is chock-a-block full and requires sifting yet again to get to anything useful? If I really wanted to have a course that was useful for my colleagues, I would keep it as simple as possible: A short video background, and six apps: two for phonological awareness training, two for comprehension and organization, and two general compensatory text-to-speech / speech-to-text apps with tutorials on how to use them. And I would make sure that I, as the "author" of the course, really knew all about those six apps.
Monday, 14 July 2014
July 14th
Today we learned about some more compensatory apps - making knowledge accessible to all learners despite any disabilities they might have. As before, the idea of UDL - Universal Design for Learning - is central. The apps must be easy to use, and easy to incorporate into a curriculum right at the planning stage.
As I mentioned in my last blog, the features of the iPad itself (and now we are at iOS 7) are key to its successful integration in the classroom. We learned how to use the accessibility options in the settings tab to change voice over, zoom, speak selection, closed captioning and guided access functions.
I have to say I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with all the apps, especially since now we are learning that the apps we talked about just last week have already been supplanted by newer, better ones! I am definitely going to use iPads in my classroom next year, with selected students. But my time to download, learn - and then have my students learn - new apps is very limited. I would like to have just one or two really good apps that we use in a consistent, regular fashion.
In our i-Tunes course on Apps for Reluctant Readers that we are creating, it is tempting to suggest hundreds and hundreds of apps, since there are hundreds out there, and they have already been sorted out and described on many websites. Instead, we are going to focus on just the 20 that we think are most useful.
Sometimes, less is more.
As I mentioned in my last blog, the features of the iPad itself (and now we are at iOS 7) are key to its successful integration in the classroom. We learned how to use the accessibility options in the settings tab to change voice over, zoom, speak selection, closed captioning and guided access functions.
I have to say I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with all the apps, especially since now we are learning that the apps we talked about just last week have already been supplanted by newer, better ones! I am definitely going to use iPads in my classroom next year, with selected students. But my time to download, learn - and then have my students learn - new apps is very limited. I would like to have just one or two really good apps that we use in a consistent, regular fashion.
In our i-Tunes course on Apps for Reluctant Readers that we are creating, it is tempting to suggest hundreds and hundreds of apps, since there are hundreds out there, and they have already been sorted out and described on many websites. Instead, we are going to focus on just the 20 that we think are most useful.
Sometimes, less is more.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
July 11th Part 2
Well, there you go..this webinar addressed some of my questions from the last one! This webinar - Exciting New Apps for LD - talked specifically about apps to support reading and writing in students with learning disabilities. My key take-home from this webinar was that in fact many of the most useful "apps" are just features of the latest iPads themselves. I can see that a great place to start would be to become very, very familiar with the device itself and use it to its full potential. After that, a person could download apps as necessary to supplement what the device can do.
For example, the iOS6 can read aloud any text, and can highlight words. Very important in the educational setting is the guided access feature, which allows a teacher to restrict the user to just one app. I was going to ask about that...I could imagine problems with children wanting to go to their favourite apps or sites again and again and not getting their work done. So that question has been answered!
Also on all the iPads is the Google app, which includes the very useful feature of being able to have material presented in simple English language. This will revolutionize research projects for my students! And, related to that, is the website Qwiki, which presents search results in a format that will be very usable for my students.
Top three apps:
1, I know this has been mentioned in class already, but I would say Prizmo has to be my top app for its simplicity and usefulness. To be able to scan any text and have it read aloud seems to be the easiest way to make the great books that are already in my classroom accessible to all.
2. In terms of supporting writing, it would seem that Siri Dictation might be be useful. This is a voice-to-text app that can be used with any other app that requires typing. I understand that some training would be required first, but the whole process of having the students organize their thoughts first with a graphic organizer, and then have to speak clearly enough to be understood is a good exercise in itself.
3. Again, this is not a "new" app in terms of this course, but I have to say that Book Creator stands out for its potential to really make research projects a reality for my students with reading, writing and executive function difficulties. As I mentioned in my last blog, completing all the steps of a research project is really difficult for many of my students. If they have the chance to use Book Creator, they can overcome reading difficulties by having results of their Google (or Qwiki, or Shmoop) searches read aloud. They can overcome writing difficulties by dictating their thoughts and using the voice-to-text function. They can overcome organizational difficulties simply by the fact the the book is like a big template. I am really excited to use Book Creator next year with my research projects!
For example, the iOS6 can read aloud any text, and can highlight words. Very important in the educational setting is the guided access feature, which allows a teacher to restrict the user to just one app. I was going to ask about that...I could imagine problems with children wanting to go to their favourite apps or sites again and again and not getting their work done. So that question has been answered!
Also on all the iPads is the Google app, which includes the very useful feature of being able to have material presented in simple English language. This will revolutionize research projects for my students! And, related to that, is the website Qwiki, which presents search results in a format that will be very usable for my students.
Top three apps:
1, I know this has been mentioned in class already, but I would say Prizmo has to be my top app for its simplicity and usefulness. To be able to scan any text and have it read aloud seems to be the easiest way to make the great books that are already in my classroom accessible to all.
2. In terms of supporting writing, it would seem that Siri Dictation might be be useful. This is a voice-to-text app that can be used with any other app that requires typing. I understand that some training would be required first, but the whole process of having the students organize their thoughts first with a graphic organizer, and then have to speak clearly enough to be understood is a good exercise in itself.
3. Again, this is not a "new" app in terms of this course, but I have to say that Book Creator stands out for its potential to really make research projects a reality for my students with reading, writing and executive function difficulties. As I mentioned in my last blog, completing all the steps of a research project is really difficult for many of my students. If they have the chance to use Book Creator, they can overcome reading difficulties by having results of their Google (or Qwiki, or Shmoop) searches read aloud. They can overcome writing difficulties by dictating their thoughts and using the voice-to-text function. They can overcome organizational difficulties simply by the fact the the book is like a big template. I am really excited to use Book Creator next year with my research projects!
July 11th Part 1
The first webinar was about executive functioning and apps to support students who struggle with this. Executive functioning refers to a whole set of processes that have to do with managing one's own actions. Like the conductor of an orchestra or the CEO of a company, the executive functioning processes help with deciding which tasks to attend to, initiating tasks, managing time and controlling emotions. In short, executive function helps us to THINK - DECIDE - ACT.
In school, students with executive functioning disorders may learn new material adequately, especially in a very structured classroom. This is because the teacher, acting like a conductor, is actually mediating the executive demands of the task. It is when the student is asked to demonstrate learning - to produce something on his own - that problems arise. Students with executive functioning deficits typically have trouble with tasks such as independent writing, completing projects, completing homework, and managing their belongings. Diagnosed conditions such as ADHD, oppositional-defiant disorder and autism spectrum disorders all involve deficits in executive functioning, which is located in the frontal lobe of the brain.
Three apps that I would like to review from this webinar are:
1. The i-Book Store which provides access to enhanced books and enhanced textbooks. I picked this because I think it is one which I would likely use. It seems to me that in applying UDL to my planning, I need to have quick, easy access to texts in alternative formats which will allow better engagement for my students with executive function disorders. I have a number of students who display difficulties in reading comprehension, in part due to difficulties with attention. Digitized texts, while not the only answer, can certainly help engage these students in the reading process.
2. Pictello I can see the use of this app in helping students with executive function disorder complete book reports, research projects and other writing tasks, since it allows students to record their voices, download pictures and in other ways organize and present their learning. I can also see its use for creating social stories.
3. Sock Puppet I can see that my students would love this app, and I can see all kinds of uses for it, not just in the case of social stories for students with AST but also for my general class. It could provide a good, quick opportunity for cooperation and group work - I can see using it for some aspects of health class - and also for such things as French class.
THOUGHTS
I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the apps in general. When I think of my students who display signs of executive function disorder, I think of two areas in particular in which they struggle: the writing process, and cooperative group activities. Tools4Students and Inspiration are designed to help with initiating the writing task by providing graphic organizers to plan writing before doing it. Doesn't having many different graphic organizers on an i-pad just add one more layer of complexity for the student? "First I have to decide on my graphic organizer...and its colour and style and size..." If I, the teacher, select the graphic organizer first- and I find it works better to just have one, which we use all the time - then it is a lot easier for me to just have it on a piece of paper. Or just in a word format on the computer.
Also, in completing research projects, my students with executive function disorder have trouble with the whole deal of making a plan, reading for meaning, taking notes, transferring the notes to printed text, editing, etc. While enhanced books will certainly help with step one, I can imagine a whole lot of trouble getting student to move out of the enhanced book to step two: taking notes in some format. I hope that having some combination of the enhanced book and then a voice recording function in Pictello will help with this.
For cooperative group work, I suppose that the apps that help make social stories might be helpful. But it would be nice to see some more apps specifically designed to help lead groups of students through cooperative activities.
Finally, many of the apps do, virtually, what can be done simply, easily and successfully in the real world. All of the apps for emotional regulation, anger management, playing games, can be done so much better with real things. How sad that we would use more unnecessary screen time for these things! What a sad world when a child has to play four-in-a-row by herself on her i-pad instead of the real game with a friend! What a sad world when a child retreats to a corner with her i-pad to calm herself down instead of going to watch the fish, pat the dog, sit under a tree or be taught some TRULY portable strategy that can live within herself, however simple it may be. What a sad world when I de-stress by throwing my negative thoughts into a virtual shredder instead of by going for a walk or a run! I am not just being facetious here. In a time when there is increasing evidence that too much screen time actually LEADS to stress and mental health disorders in children, surely we should be using the i-pads judiciously, when they really are necessary for UDL, and look for ways for increasing direct human-to-human contact when they are not.
In school, students with executive functioning disorders may learn new material adequately, especially in a very structured classroom. This is because the teacher, acting like a conductor, is actually mediating the executive demands of the task. It is when the student is asked to demonstrate learning - to produce something on his own - that problems arise. Students with executive functioning deficits typically have trouble with tasks such as independent writing, completing projects, completing homework, and managing their belongings. Diagnosed conditions such as ADHD, oppositional-defiant disorder and autism spectrum disorders all involve deficits in executive functioning, which is located in the frontal lobe of the brain.
Three apps that I would like to review from this webinar are:
1. The i-Book Store which provides access to enhanced books and enhanced textbooks. I picked this because I think it is one which I would likely use. It seems to me that in applying UDL to my planning, I need to have quick, easy access to texts in alternative formats which will allow better engagement for my students with executive function disorders. I have a number of students who display difficulties in reading comprehension, in part due to difficulties with attention. Digitized texts, while not the only answer, can certainly help engage these students in the reading process.
2. Pictello I can see the use of this app in helping students with executive function disorder complete book reports, research projects and other writing tasks, since it allows students to record their voices, download pictures and in other ways organize and present their learning. I can also see its use for creating social stories.
3. Sock Puppet I can see that my students would love this app, and I can see all kinds of uses for it, not just in the case of social stories for students with AST but also for my general class. It could provide a good, quick opportunity for cooperation and group work - I can see using it for some aspects of health class - and also for such things as French class.
THOUGHTS
I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the apps in general. When I think of my students who display signs of executive function disorder, I think of two areas in particular in which they struggle: the writing process, and cooperative group activities. Tools4Students and Inspiration are designed to help with initiating the writing task by providing graphic organizers to plan writing before doing it. Doesn't having many different graphic organizers on an i-pad just add one more layer of complexity for the student? "First I have to decide on my graphic organizer...and its colour and style and size..." If I, the teacher, select the graphic organizer first- and I find it works better to just have one, which we use all the time - then it is a lot easier for me to just have it on a piece of paper. Or just in a word format on the computer.
Also, in completing research projects, my students with executive function disorder have trouble with the whole deal of making a plan, reading for meaning, taking notes, transferring the notes to printed text, editing, etc. While enhanced books will certainly help with step one, I can imagine a whole lot of trouble getting student to move out of the enhanced book to step two: taking notes in some format. I hope that having some combination of the enhanced book and then a voice recording function in Pictello will help with this.
For cooperative group work, I suppose that the apps that help make social stories might be helpful. But it would be nice to see some more apps specifically designed to help lead groups of students through cooperative activities.
Finally, many of the apps do, virtually, what can be done simply, easily and successfully in the real world. All of the apps for emotional regulation, anger management, playing games, can be done so much better with real things. How sad that we would use more unnecessary screen time for these things! What a sad world when a child has to play four-in-a-row by herself on her i-pad instead of the real game with a friend! What a sad world when a child retreats to a corner with her i-pad to calm herself down instead of going to watch the fish, pat the dog, sit under a tree or be taught some TRULY portable strategy that can live within herself, however simple it may be. What a sad world when I de-stress by throwing my negative thoughts into a virtual shredder instead of by going for a walk or a run! I am not just being facetious here. In a time when there is increasing evidence that too much screen time actually LEADS to stress and mental health disorders in children, surely we should be using the i-pads judiciously, when they really are necessary for UDL, and look for ways for increasing direct human-to-human contact when they are not.
Saturday, 12 July 2014
I-Pads for Students with Developmental Disabilities
iPads as instructional
tools to enhance
learning opportunities
for students with
developmental
disabilities: An action
research project
Therese M Cumming
School of Education, University of New South Wales, Australia
Iva Strnadova
́
School of Education, University of New South Wales, Australia
Sylvia Singh
Computers/ICT Integration, Moriah College, Australia
This paper described an "action research" project that involved giving I-Pads to four high school students with developmental disabilities, and providing five special education teachers with training and support to integrate the use of these I-Pads into the students' programs. The team documented the experiences of both the teachers and the students as they used these tools for learning both in the special-needs and general classroom.
As the authors stated, I-Pads are being used more and more for students with intellectual disabilities and autism. This study was an attempt to find some empirical evidence supporting their widespread use. It was also a part of a self-directed PD project for the participating teachers, helping them to increase their own knowledge of the technology.
During the study, the teachers found many ways of using the I-Pads. There were apps such as "Pancake Flipper" that allowed the students to practise life skills before actually doing them in the real world; research apps such as Youtube and Google; remedial reading and spelling apps; compensatory reading apps to allow them to access course materials; apps developed especially for children with autism to help them learn such things as facial features; and speaking apps for non-verbal children.
The teachers followed a structured approach to presenting the apps and documenting their experiences with them. At the end of the study, the teachers felt that the I-Pads had made it easier for them to differentiate instruction, and easier for the students to participate in the general classroom. They also felt that students had become more engaged and more independent, and that in general their work quality had improved. Importantly, they noted increased communication between the special needs students and their peers and teachers.
Some of the frustrations the teachers felt with using the I-Pads was the lack of high-interest, low-level age-appropriate materials for their students; some technical difficulties in syncing the I-Pads; and the lack of commitment to using the I-Pads from general classroom teachers outside of the research study.
During the study, the teachers found many ways of using the I-Pads. There were apps such as "Pancake Flipper" that allowed the students to practise life skills before actually doing them in the real world; research apps such as Youtube and Google; remedial reading and spelling apps; compensatory reading apps to allow them to access course materials; apps developed especially for children with autism to help them learn such things as facial features; and speaking apps for non-verbal children.
The teachers followed a structured approach to presenting the apps and documenting their experiences with them. At the end of the study, the teachers felt that the I-Pads had made it easier for them to differentiate instruction, and easier for the students to participate in the general classroom. They also felt that students had become more engaged and more independent, and that in general their work quality had improved. Importantly, they noted increased communication between the special needs students and their peers and teachers.
Some of the frustrations the teachers felt with using the I-Pads was the lack of high-interest, low-level age-appropriate materials for their students; some technical difficulties in syncing the I-Pads; and the lack of commitment to using the I-Pads from general classroom teachers outside of the research study.
The conclusion from the study was the I-Pad is a very useful, good-quality instructional tool, and that it fits in very well with the concept of UDL (Universal Design for Learning). The teachers felt that through this PD they had improved their ability to implement UDL in their practice.
In my school, the I-Pads are used primarily to support students with developmental disabilities. I had a student with autism in my class for two years who used his I-Pad for his daily schedule, for documenting his work both within and outside of the regular classroom; and for his actual lessons, through apps for autism. The E.A.'s were adept at taking pictures with the I-Pad and using them to make social stories and other learning materials. This year, I had a non-verbal student in my classroom who used Proloquo2Go to communicate.
For both students, the I-Pad had definitely become an essential tool that allowed them to communicate more and participate more in my general classroom. On the flip side, I did not see much transfer from the virtual world of the I-Pad to the real world. For example, a student who could easily sequence the steps to doing a procedure on the I-Pad could not always do that procedure in real life. A student who could point out symbols for the weather on her I-Pad could not point to those same symbols on my wall.
I am definitely interested in becoming more aware of ways to improve the use of the I-Pad for these students.
In my school, the I-Pads are used primarily to support students with developmental disabilities. I had a student with autism in my class for two years who used his I-Pad for his daily schedule, for documenting his work both within and outside of the regular classroom; and for his actual lessons, through apps for autism. The E.A.'s were adept at taking pictures with the I-Pad and using them to make social stories and other learning materials. This year, I had a non-verbal student in my classroom who used Proloquo2Go to communicate.
For both students, the I-Pad had definitely become an essential tool that allowed them to communicate more and participate more in my general classroom. On the flip side, I did not see much transfer from the virtual world of the I-Pad to the real world. For example, a student who could easily sequence the steps to doing a procedure on the I-Pad could not always do that procedure in real life. A student who could point out symbols for the weather on her I-Pad could not point to those same symbols on my wall.
I am definitely interested in becoming more aware of ways to improve the use of the I-Pad for these students.
Learning From Text
Learning from Text
by Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D.
I thought that this was an amazingly clear article about the problems facing children when they move from Grade 3 to Grade 4 - my students - and go from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn. For years now, I have dutifully noted the adaptations I am supposed to be making for the students who cannot read at Grade level. Pair them up with a reading buddy. Extra time. Preferential seating at the front of the class. Pair reading with visuals. They go off to intensive resource...and come back with marginally better decoding skills. But still they cannot comfortable and fluently read the material in their math, social studies and science books, and independent reading time is a constant battle between them picking a big novel that they want to read, and me insisting that they read the "just right book" that doesn't interest them.
What this article made perfectly clear is that we need to address the "remediation" vs. "compensation" question much earlier and much more explicitly than we do now. Presently, at least in my practice, it is a vague understanding that somewhere along the line, perhaps in middle school, these students will have access to some compensatory strategies. In the meantime, we will force the child to read as much as possible in the classroom, because if she is not reading, then she's not practising her reading skills.
Edyburn suggests that we need to actually come up with a reasonable balance between remediation and compensation in Grade 4 or earlier. On a systems level, school boards need to come up with guidelines for each grade for what percentage of our effort should be devoted to remediation, and what percentage on compensation. On a school and personal level, there is no reason this question cannot be addressed at IPP and informal student meetings.
The author then laid out a systemic approach to making text accessible. He came up with a table of text modification strategies based on the student's actual functional difficulty which I have pasted here (and I printed it out) because I found it so useful:
Finally, he suggested low-tech and high-tech resources for each of five compensatory strategies: bypass reading, decrease reading, support reading, organize reading with graphic organizers or guide reading.
As I read this article I thought of the many, many students I have taught through the years who have these reading difficulties. My own nephew is one of them, and will be entering Grade 4 next year. Although teachers bemoan the fact that we don't have enough I-Pads, we do have computers, and this article lists many useful computer programs. Also, many student have their own I-Pads, and many parents are willing to buy them. I am thinking of a student I had last year, who begged me to let her use her I-Pad in class, but I never did because all I ever saw her do on it was play random games. This student displayed classic signs of dyslexia, and we were waiting for her to be assessed. Now I know that I can justify the careful, planned integration of the I-Pad into her school program.
Thursday, 10 July 2014
July 10th
Today we had a discussion about the reading process, drawing on the research readings, several interesting video links, and of course Barbara's - and class members' - extensive experience in resource. It is amazing, given all the processes that must be activated, that anyone can read at all. The system is so complex, and depends on so many systems working simultaneously. My "take-home" from this class was the importance of attention and focus throughout the reading process, which in turn depends on adequate regulation of sensory and emotional input. You cannot read if you cannot filter out all of the many distractions competing for your attention.
I made the following graphic to try to summarize what we learned:
I made the following graphic to try to summarize what we learned:
I put the main processes in boxes - affective aspects (emotional connection to text), auditory processing, visual processing, comprehension, and physical aspects. Mixed in are various forms of memory: short-term. long-term, working memory, and visual and auditory memory. Behind it all I put the focus, emotional regulation, and sensory regulation, as well as the automaticity which must accompany all of these processes in order for them to be effective. The arrows represent the connection between these processes, which I believe has to do with executive function: coordinating all of this! The diagram is by no means complete!
In the last part of class we got a snapshot of some of the reading apps that are available. We also discussed remediation vs. compensation, and when to do each. I have always thought that we work hard on remediation in the younger grades, and move to compensation in middle school, once the student has been diagnosed with a learning disability. But it is now clear to me that we should begin a process of compensation much earlier! As soon as a student is losing out on learning due to his or her disability...then that is when we should be bringing in Assistive Technology to help them access the learning material that their peers are accessing. This doesn't mean that we don't still remediate in the meantime, but we do it along with compensating.
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Ban the Average
We watched a video in class called the Myth of Average. We were asked to use an app. to present our three main take-away points from this video. With much difficulty, I downloaded VideoScribe to my computer, figured out how to use it...and made a great VideoScribe of my main points. Trouble is...the free trial I got won't let me save it or upload it! So may I describe it?
First, with moving background music these words were written with a black marker:
BAN THE AVERAGE
Then the marker drew a cat being squashed into a square box.
Then the words continued:
DESIGN FOR THE EDGES.
Then the marker drew another cat, this time a fat cat in a science lab.
Finally, the music changed to something more aggressive, and these words slid in:
THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES. WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY NOW.
So...you will have to imagine this all happening, because I am not going to pay $29.00 a month to have this app on my computer, however great it is.
What a wonderful thing YouTube is, though! Simple, and free. And what a flowering of creativity, from all over the world, it has engendered! The Myth of the Average was a compelling cry for the reform of our educational system - that we have been talking about for many years - to actually happen. It is no longer OK to say that we will just plan for the average student in our class, because that student does not exist. Furthermore, we don't NEED to rely on standardized textbooks and lesson plans anymore. We already have the capability, with easily-available technology, to plan for accommodating and including all learners, right from the beginning.
What is the "adjustable seat" in my classroom? In reading, everyone is reading something different, at his or her own level. Some of the students may be reading with buddies and some may be listening to a CD. In math, some students are asked to complete more questions, some students fewer. When we did our speeches, some students got to say their speeches to the whole school, some to the class, and some to me alone, if that is where they felt most comfortable. And so on. We have a range of "adaptations" which we are required to use and to document for students in our class who learn differently. But I can see already that this is not enough. These are still adaptations "after the fact", like trying to take that average seat and make it adjustable.
First, with moving background music these words were written with a black marker:
BAN THE AVERAGE
Then the marker drew a cat being squashed into a square box.
Then the words continued:
DESIGN FOR THE EDGES.
Then the marker drew another cat, this time a fat cat in a science lab.
Finally, the music changed to something more aggressive, and these words slid in:
THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES. WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY NOW.
So...you will have to imagine this all happening, because I am not going to pay $29.00 a month to have this app on my computer, however great it is.
What a wonderful thing YouTube is, though! Simple, and free. And what a flowering of creativity, from all over the world, it has engendered! The Myth of the Average was a compelling cry for the reform of our educational system - that we have been talking about for many years - to actually happen. It is no longer OK to say that we will just plan for the average student in our class, because that student does not exist. Furthermore, we don't NEED to rely on standardized textbooks and lesson plans anymore. We already have the capability, with easily-available technology, to plan for accommodating and including all learners, right from the beginning.
What is the "adjustable seat" in my classroom? In reading, everyone is reading something different, at his or her own level. Some of the students may be reading with buddies and some may be listening to a CD. In math, some students are asked to complete more questions, some students fewer. When we did our speeches, some students got to say their speeches to the whole school, some to the class, and some to me alone, if that is where they felt most comfortable. And so on. We have a range of "adaptations" which we are required to use and to document for students in our class who learn differently. But I can see already that this is not enough. These are still adaptations "after the fact", like trying to take that average seat and make it adjustable.
July 9th
Today we presented our APP SMASH I-books.
Angela and John started. Angela noted that she was a bit of a "dinosaur" in terms of technology, and that she had a real sense of accomplishment from completing this project. Me too! Angela and John defined "presumed competency" in terms of assuming that your students are understanding when they are not, but they also mentioned the importance of "presuming competency" in students with learning disabilities. Barbara interjected to emphasize the point that it is especially important to presume competency in non-verbal students who are not able to verbalize their understanding. We also discussed the difference between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction. UDL allows ALL students various means of accessing learning through various means of representation, expression, engagement...designed INTO the curriculum right from the beginning.
Nice work, Angela and John! Neat work merging apps, like the PicPlayPost and Telegami smashed together.
Ainslie and Ashley took the creative aspect a little further with a curly haired theme! Great opening trailer! The sock puppet app was really fun - I can see my students really liking this. Ainslie mentioned the fact that has not until now felt that she wanted to put the time into learning new technologies because she always felt something new would come along. But the I-Pad is so versatile that it is hard to imagine anything that will supplant it. Maybe this is the technology that will stick around for a while. There will be improvements to it...but maybe nothing to disrupt it will come along for a while. I hope so!
Shauna and Liz had a cool video that they made using the trailer function of I-movie..great job! Often it is the movie functions in which people are finding the best outlet for their creative genius! They had written definitions and then narrated them, to provide a choice for how learners could access the information.
Mark and Darah also felt they had learned a lot from this activity. Strip design seems to be a common app...I don't think we used it. The video of Ella gave a compelling example of how AT can give a voice to children who cannot speak on their own. I was impressed with their use of VideoScribe to make their Convergence of Technologies page!
Janet and Lindsay asked the question, "How do we get I-Pads in the hands of students?" They have accessed their school board PDF funds with project-based proposals to get I-Pads. They have also managed to get I-Pads into the hands of Grade 7 students for math class. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before all students will be given I-Pads in our schools. I liked their definition of presumed competency: judgments about what a student can and cannot do.
Simon and Eleanor talked about how Assistive Technology really goes hand-in-hand with Universal Design for Learning. Good basic book...more use of the creative trailer app (I-Trailer). Again, a good definition of presumed competency: "If the student can't...then do the modification!" Powerful video about assistive technology narrated by Stephen Hawking. Think about how this man has been able to communicate so powerfully because of AT. Eleanor praised "Popplet" as a good graphic organizer app. Simon wondered if there was a way of using voice command to access apps on the I-Pad...
Ashley and Natalie had an app called "ExplainEverything" that allows you to get a film onto your I=Pad without having to just hold the I-Pad to the computer screen. Also EduCreation which allows you to draw over vidoes and images. Useful for students who need to take notes by speaking...they can speak over their images.
Meaghan and Candice used many of the same apps that the rest of the class had used. They had an app called "Download" to allow downloading videos from the Internet to the I-Pad. Much better than trying to film the computer screen. Again, the statement, "Please presume my competence" was meaningful for me. They noted that they had had trouble with recording longer clips using Tellegami, which only allows 30 seconds of speaking.
Christie's book was very cohesive..starting with diverse learners, looking at the possibilities for perceiving, creating, communicating...then going through the different terms. She presented a quote by Douglas Biklen: "Presuming competence is nothing less than a Hippocratic Oath for educators." It really seems as if we are moving to a place where this idea can become more than a vague understanding to something that is really put into action. Christie gave an in-depth description of Universal Design for Learning, and also took the idea out of the school and into the community. For disruptive technology, Christie talked about a new movement to use Educational Games, and something called "Able Gaming" to involve people from all over the world in a new way of participating in the world.
THOUGHTS
Overall, this was a great activity to introduce us both to many different I-Pad apps and the five terms that are use in this field today!
Angela and John started. Angela noted that she was a bit of a "dinosaur" in terms of technology, and that she had a real sense of accomplishment from completing this project. Me too! Angela and John defined "presumed competency" in terms of assuming that your students are understanding when they are not, but they also mentioned the importance of "presuming competency" in students with learning disabilities. Barbara interjected to emphasize the point that it is especially important to presume competency in non-verbal students who are not able to verbalize their understanding. We also discussed the difference between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction. UDL allows ALL students various means of accessing learning through various means of representation, expression, engagement...designed INTO the curriculum right from the beginning.
Nice work, Angela and John! Neat work merging apps, like the PicPlayPost and Telegami smashed together.
Ainslie and Ashley took the creative aspect a little further with a curly haired theme! Great opening trailer! The sock puppet app was really fun - I can see my students really liking this. Ainslie mentioned the fact that has not until now felt that she wanted to put the time into learning new technologies because she always felt something new would come along. But the I-Pad is so versatile that it is hard to imagine anything that will supplant it. Maybe this is the technology that will stick around for a while. There will be improvements to it...but maybe nothing to disrupt it will come along for a while. I hope so!
Shauna and Liz had a cool video that they made using the trailer function of I-movie..great job! Often it is the movie functions in which people are finding the best outlet for their creative genius! They had written definitions and then narrated them, to provide a choice for how learners could access the information.
Mark and Darah also felt they had learned a lot from this activity. Strip design seems to be a common app...I don't think we used it. The video of Ella gave a compelling example of how AT can give a voice to children who cannot speak on their own. I was impressed with their use of VideoScribe to make their Convergence of Technologies page!
Janet and Lindsay asked the question, "How do we get I-Pads in the hands of students?" They have accessed their school board PDF funds with project-based proposals to get I-Pads. They have also managed to get I-Pads into the hands of Grade 7 students for math class. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before all students will be given I-Pads in our schools. I liked their definition of presumed competency: judgments about what a student can and cannot do.
Simon and Eleanor talked about how Assistive Technology really goes hand-in-hand with Universal Design for Learning. Good basic book...more use of the creative trailer app (I-Trailer). Again, a good definition of presumed competency: "If the student can't...then do the modification!" Powerful video about assistive technology narrated by Stephen Hawking. Think about how this man has been able to communicate so powerfully because of AT. Eleanor praised "Popplet" as a good graphic organizer app. Simon wondered if there was a way of using voice command to access apps on the I-Pad...
Ashley and Natalie had an app called "ExplainEverything" that allows you to get a film onto your I=Pad without having to just hold the I-Pad to the computer screen. Also EduCreation which allows you to draw over vidoes and images. Useful for students who need to take notes by speaking...they can speak over their images.
Meaghan and Candice used many of the same apps that the rest of the class had used. They had an app called "Download" to allow downloading videos from the Internet to the I-Pad. Much better than trying to film the computer screen. Again, the statement, "Please presume my competence" was meaningful for me. They noted that they had had trouble with recording longer clips using Tellegami, which only allows 30 seconds of speaking.
Christie's book was very cohesive..starting with diverse learners, looking at the possibilities for perceiving, creating, communicating...then going through the different terms. She presented a quote by Douglas Biklen: "Presuming competence is nothing less than a Hippocratic Oath for educators." It really seems as if we are moving to a place where this idea can become more than a vague understanding to something that is really put into action. Christie gave an in-depth description of Universal Design for Learning, and also took the idea out of the school and into the community. For disruptive technology, Christie talked about a new movement to use Educational Games, and something called "Able Gaming" to involve people from all over the world in a new way of participating in the world.
THOUGHTS
Overall, this was a great activity to introduce us both to many different I-Pad apps and the five terms that are use in this field today!
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
The Education of Dyslexic Children From Childhood to Young Adulthood
The Education of Dyslexic
Children from Childhood
to Young Adulthood
Sally E. Shaywitz, Robin Morris, and Bennett A. Shaywitz
This is again a very well-written, clear summary of dyslexia. The current definition of dyslexia is this:
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
The authors pay particular attention to the notion of fluency: in the past, diagnosis and remediation for dyslexia often centered on word-coding ability only, thus missing many struggling readers who had somehow learned to "read words" but were doing so very inefficiently and with low comprehension. The authors also focus on the neurobiological basis for dyslexia and on the fact that, despite good intelligence, good motivation and good instruction, some people cannot learn to read fluently, because of the way their brains are wired.
The authors talked about the importance of early detection of dyslexia, because intervention programs are more effective when they begin earlier. There is a problem with the current method of diagnosing dyslexia - that is, in finding a significant discrepancy between a child's IQ and his or her reading ability - because one must wait until about Grade 4 to see a significant gap between these two emerge. Other strategies for earlier detection include programs that offer good quality reading instruction and frequent testing to all children in Grade one, to better find the students who fail to respond to this instruction.
As in the previous paper, the common remedial interventions for dyslexia are frequent, structured programs to teach phonological awareness. However, since dyslexia is a persistent condition, accomodations must also be made for students with dyslexia. They must be given the opportunity to learn course content and experience age-appropriate literature through recorded texts; they must have access to assistive technologies including speech-to-text and text-to-speech software; and they must be given additional time on examinations to fully show their learning.
THOUGHTS:
Good article - lots of repetition from the previous one, though.
How the Special Needs Brain Learns
How the Special Needs Brain Learns by David A. Sousa
Chapter 5 Reading Disabilities
This book chapter gives a clear overview of reading disabilities. The author starts by explaining that reading is, by its very nature, a difficult task for which we do not have any "coded" genes. That is, reading is not hard-wired into our brains like spoken language, and must be taught.
Reading is certainly related to speaking, and difficulty with speaking is often a precursor to reading difficulties, but reading involves much more. It involves phonological awareness (the understanding that oral language can be divided into smaller components), and phonemic awareness (the ability to understand and manipulate the sounds in words). It involves understanding the alphabaic principle (the association of sounds with written symbols) and the complex rules for spelling English. It also involves complex systems for making meaning out of text.
The author explains how reading involves three neural networks: visual processing, auditory processing, and the executive function to put these together for comprehension.
He goes on to outline common causes for reading disabilities. There may be social and cultural causes related to differences in a child's home language environment as compared to the language of school. There may be linguistic causes such as phonological deficits; a lag between visual processing ("seeing" a letter) and auditory processing ("hearing" the sound); deficits in working memory; structural differences in the brain; lesions in parts of the brain used to decode text; and genetic mutations in certain areas of the brain. There are also causes related to visual and auditory processing independent of linguistic systems. This would include difficulties in hearing sequential sounds in words, and difficulties separating letters in a word.
The author summarizes findings in brain-imaging related to reading. In general, the areas of the brain that are active during reading are different in children with dyslexia from those in fluent readers. Fluent readers use the back of the brain; struggling readers use - with more effort - the front of the brain.
The author discusses ways of identifying students who may have reading disabilities, and then outlines good remedial programs, most of which involve highly structured, intensive programs that focus on building phonemic awareness. There is evidence that good remedial programming can actually alter the brain function to a more efficient state.
The author concludes by drawing up a list of strategies that should be used by all teachers when working with children with reading disabilities.
THOUGHTS
Having worked with children with reading disabilities, the material in this article was quite familiar to me. However, the author did a good job of summarizing the latest research in the field, and, as always, it was a good reminder for me to always be very aware of how my different learners experience reading. Just as I am totally confused when someone shows me how to fix an engine, many children have that same sense of confusion when someone is showing them how to read.
Chapter 5 Reading Disabilities
This book chapter gives a clear overview of reading disabilities. The author starts by explaining that reading is, by its very nature, a difficult task for which we do not have any "coded" genes. That is, reading is not hard-wired into our brains like spoken language, and must be taught.
Reading is certainly related to speaking, and difficulty with speaking is often a precursor to reading difficulties, but reading involves much more. It involves phonological awareness (the understanding that oral language can be divided into smaller components), and phonemic awareness (the ability to understand and manipulate the sounds in words). It involves understanding the alphabaic principle (the association of sounds with written symbols) and the complex rules for spelling English. It also involves complex systems for making meaning out of text.
The author explains how reading involves three neural networks: visual processing, auditory processing, and the executive function to put these together for comprehension.
He goes on to outline common causes for reading disabilities. There may be social and cultural causes related to differences in a child's home language environment as compared to the language of school. There may be linguistic causes such as phonological deficits; a lag between visual processing ("seeing" a letter) and auditory processing ("hearing" the sound); deficits in working memory; structural differences in the brain; lesions in parts of the brain used to decode text; and genetic mutations in certain areas of the brain. There are also causes related to visual and auditory processing independent of linguistic systems. This would include difficulties in hearing sequential sounds in words, and difficulties separating letters in a word.
The author summarizes findings in brain-imaging related to reading. In general, the areas of the brain that are active during reading are different in children with dyslexia from those in fluent readers. Fluent readers use the back of the brain; struggling readers use - with more effort - the front of the brain.
The author discusses ways of identifying students who may have reading disabilities, and then outlines good remedial programs, most of which involve highly structured, intensive programs that focus on building phonemic awareness. There is evidence that good remedial programming can actually alter the brain function to a more efficient state.
The author concludes by drawing up a list of strategies that should be used by all teachers when working with children with reading disabilities.
THOUGHTS
Having worked with children with reading disabilities, the material in this article was quite familiar to me. However, the author did a good job of summarizing the latest research in the field, and, as always, it was a good reminder for me to always be very aware of how my different learners experience reading. Just as I am totally confused when someone shows me how to fix an engine, many children have that same sense of confusion when someone is showing them how to read.
July 8th
Today we opened with a commercial. Beautiful images from all over the world, of people using their I-Pads in all kinds of amazing ways, in all kinds of amazing places. In the Great Barrier Reef. On a hang glider. On the side of a mountain. Moving soundtrack in the background. We want these devices. We need these devices.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Touching the Virtual, Touching the Real
Touching the virtual, touching the real: iPads and enabling literacy for students
experiencing disability
Rosie Flewitt and Natalia Kucirkova
University of London
David Messer
The Open University
This article gives an interesting theoretical analysis of the role of touch in literacy development. The authors begin by discussing "haptics", which is the system by which we experience the world through touching and manipulating objects, a system that involves both the actual sensations on the skin as well as the movement of muscles. They talk about how touch, gesture and pointing have always been important means of communication in the world. They talk about how both real touch and vicarious touch (such as watching someone touch an object) can activate mechanisms in the human brain which allow people not only to understand the objects they are touching but also to understand the the gestures of others. The authors also discuss how gestures are the seeds of both speaking and writing, and how touch is integral to the aquisition of literary skills. Even in the absence of a disability, touch is used to signal joint attention to an object, an image or a word; it evokes a particular sensory-motor experience, it allows a "reciprocal relationship" between the learner and his or her environment.
The authors then studied the use of touchscreen technology in a school for children with disabilities. As well as the low-cost and portability benefits of the I-Pads, the authors discovered that the touchscreen function itself had a benefit. It gave the students a sensory access to literacy, and allowed them to show their understanding with just a simple gesture on the screen. The teachers reported a very strong motivation on the part of students to use the I-Pads, and talked about the students using touch even to show their enjoyment of the devices (by stroking them, cradling them). What is very interesting is that even when students were unable to touch the screen themselves, they were still highly engaged, suggesting again a link between touch experienced physically and touch experienced vicariously through the actions of others.
They talked about how the IPad could facilitate writing for students with motor impairment since only the lightest of touches could produce a big result, and how various apps brought about very strong affective responses from the children. They talked about how the touchscreen allows a more immediate response than a computer. With a computer, the learner must manipulate a complex keyboard, and divide his or her attention between the screen and the keyboard.
Finally, the authors discussed ways in which touch, through the i-Pad, allowed many learners to access not only the material of their classes but also the virtual and social world available through the World Wide Web.
I found this article intriguing. It provides justification for the use of the i-Pad in particular, because of its touchscreen format, to facilitate learning for students with diabilities. It also made me reconsider the role of touch itself in learning - something I had not thought much about. Indeed the touch screen is a game-changer - a disruptive technology - that may well bring about whole new ways of thinking about literacy.
July 7th
Alright...it is just a little ironic that class was cancelled today because there was no power. The Acadia Campus was not closed, and our devices are all portable, so might we not have been able to practise distributed learning around the Town of Wolfville?
In the spirit of critical thinking, I'd like to offer this video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jid2A7ldc_8
In the spirit of critical thinking, I'd like to offer this video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jid2A7ldc_8
Sunday, 6 July 2014
A Breakthrough for Josh
A Breakthrough for Josh:
How Use of an iPad Facilitated
Reading Improvement
By Barbara McClanahan, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Kristen Williams, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Ed Kennedy, Grandview Public School, OK and Susan Tate, Swink Public School, OK
This article is about the use of an I-Pad to facilitate reading development in a student with ADHD and a significant delay in reading. The student was paired with a pre-service teacher who was able to work with him twice a week for 20 minutes, for five weeks. The teacher created an extremely well-planned tutoring program. She started with a pre-test to determine the student's exact areas of need, and developed tutoring sessions that used research-based methods to address those areas. The tutoring sessions were highly structured, with a mini-lesson on a particular skill, a reading passage that allowed the skill to be practised, and a follow-up assessment.The pre-service teacher found that using traditional methods to teach skills, such as paper-based matching of compound words, was not effective, mostly because the student was not able to focus. When she used similar activities on the I-Pad, the student was engaged, and reported that he understood the concepts better. At the end of the tutoring sessions, the student had improved one year in his reading level.
I found this article interesting because the student, Josh, reminded me of many students I have had in my own classes. That combination of ADHD with low literacy skills is a common one, as is the difficulty of remedial work due to the lack of focus from the student. What interested me, too, was how the I-Pad was seen at the beginning as simple a "reward". If the student worked well in the first part of the session, he would get to play on the I-Pad in the second part. It was only when the pre-service teacher started using the I-Pad as an instructional tool in itself that she started seeing progress. In our school, the I-Pads are often used for games, as rewards, by the students. This article made it very clear that there is a strong educative function to the I-Pad. The pre-service teacher was able to download many programs from the Internet which specifically addressed the student's reading deficiencies, and did so in a way that was clearly engaging for that student. The conclusion was that it was the I-Pad itself, with its touch-screen functions, use of visuals and sound, and immediate feedback, that made the difference. In particular, there was a program that allowed the student record his own voice while reading, that forced him to think about what he was reading, and how he was reading, that had a strong effect on his comprehension.
What is also very clear from this article was that the student's progress in reading was the result of a combination between the use of the I-Pad and a structured, one-to-one tutoring program. In the absence of the one-to-one guidance, the I-Pad would not have been effective. And since there was a sample size of exactly one, the results from this "study" cannot be extrapolated at all. I can give you many examples of individual students who have responded extremely well to various sorts of one-to-one or small-group tutoring sessions, using a variety of methods, with and without technology. To use this study as justification for the purchase of I-Pads for a school without a concurrent investment in human resources would be misguided.
I would be interested to learn more about the use of the I-Pad in small-group reading sessions that could eventually proceed with only marginal support from a teacher. We do have six I-Pads in our school. So if we could have just a few very well-designed and easy-to-use programs on them, I could envision having a small group doing twenty minutes of I-Pad work while I read with another group.
Conference Day
We had three sessions for the Friday Conference Day. The first, the keynote address, was by Cheryl McLean, on the importance of the creative arts in interdisciplinary practice. She was talking about the ways that the creative arts - visual arts, theatre, dance - can be powerful tools for change, and need to be incorporated into things like community development projects, medical research and education along with the more traditional science and business models. She talked about her experience doing an art-based project in a nursing home, for example. I couldn't agree more. Some of the most powerful learning experiences I have had in my life have been through the arts - for me, mainly music - and I have seen this effect over and over again through various projects in which I have been involved: a project in the north in which Inuit students were given cameras to document their lives; a NFB project in which Inuit youth were given the tools to make a film about their village; a puppet project in which youth wrote and performed their own play; various projects here in the Annapolis Valley in which artists have come into the schools to either facilitate or work with others to document or celebrate or investigate problems and issues in the lives of the students. The arts can involve people, can get at the heart of problems and can suggest solutions in a way that a purely scientific approach cannot. I don't think that this is a new idea, but I do feel that our schools have marginalized the arts in recent years, and I hope that administrators will take heed and work to return the arts to their proper place of importance.
The second session was a discussion of race with Dr. Michael Corbett and Martin Morrison. Martin is the Race Relations, Cross Cultural Understanding and Human Rights coordinator for the Tri-County Regional School Board. The question he was asked was: why do you define yourself by your race? If race is an artificial construct, why do we have this position that brings race to the forefront? Why can't we all just be colour-blind? Martin's response was that white people may think that we live in a colour-blind world, but the reality for visible minorities is that the world is not colour-blind at all. He told us that, even in Nova Scotia in 2014, he keeps his receipts on him when he is in a store, just in case he is accused of stealing something. He is aware that he is judged as a black male in a way that people who are white males are not. We watched a clip by someone called Michael Kimmel who quoted, "Privilege is invisible to those who have it." Those of us who belong to the dominant race have the privilege of never having to think about race. I have experienced in a very small way what it is like to be a minority, when I lived in a Northern aboriginal community. I didn't like being judged as a "Quallunat". And this was only a little taste of it, in a small part of my days. Even in this tiny community, the outside world was ever present through the mainstream media, a world of culture, images, science, education and values that largely reflected my own.
To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the third session, as it was an overview of the counseling program, which doesn't have much to do with me. But the session was surprisingly interesting. In a quiet, logical and humble manner, Dr. John Sumarah presented to us the fundamentals of the program. He talked about the history of counselors in Nova Scotia schools, and the current models for counseling today. Some of the things that I was surprised to learn were that counselors do not try to "solve" problems but rather to help their clients discern their problems clearly and come to their own solutions...that counseling involves a mutual exchange between the counselor and the client, and that the counselor is as vulnerable as the client in this relationship...that counseling involves a recognition of the importance of intuition, both in the counselor and the client. ...that the issue of whether to disclose allegations that may come up in a counseling situation is complex, and that counselors are bound to do what is in the best interest of the client, even if this sometimes means withholding information from the parents...and that the Masters of Counseling Degree requires many more courses than ours, along with a supervised practicum! Finally, Dr. Sumarah left us with this quote: "School is not simply a preparation for life and work...it is the "stuff" of real living now." We are all - classroom teachers, specialists and counselors - involved in the same enterprise, that of educating the whole child. And this means having a school which addresses all the needs of the child, both on the outside and on the inside.
The second session was a discussion of race with Dr. Michael Corbett and Martin Morrison. Martin is the Race Relations, Cross Cultural Understanding and Human Rights coordinator for the Tri-County Regional School Board. The question he was asked was: why do you define yourself by your race? If race is an artificial construct, why do we have this position that brings race to the forefront? Why can't we all just be colour-blind? Martin's response was that white people may think that we live in a colour-blind world, but the reality for visible minorities is that the world is not colour-blind at all. He told us that, even in Nova Scotia in 2014, he keeps his receipts on him when he is in a store, just in case he is accused of stealing something. He is aware that he is judged as a black male in a way that people who are white males are not. We watched a clip by someone called Michael Kimmel who quoted, "Privilege is invisible to those who have it." Those of us who belong to the dominant race have the privilege of never having to think about race. I have experienced in a very small way what it is like to be a minority, when I lived in a Northern aboriginal community. I didn't like being judged as a "Quallunat". And this was only a little taste of it, in a small part of my days. Even in this tiny community, the outside world was ever present through the mainstream media, a world of culture, images, science, education and values that largely reflected my own.
To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the third session, as it was an overview of the counseling program, which doesn't have much to do with me. But the session was surprisingly interesting. In a quiet, logical and humble manner, Dr. John Sumarah presented to us the fundamentals of the program. He talked about the history of counselors in Nova Scotia schools, and the current models for counseling today. Some of the things that I was surprised to learn were that counselors do not try to "solve" problems but rather to help their clients discern their problems clearly and come to their own solutions...that counseling involves a mutual exchange between the counselor and the client, and that the counselor is as vulnerable as the client in this relationship...that counseling involves a recognition of the importance of intuition, both in the counselor and the client. ...that the issue of whether to disclose allegations that may come up in a counseling situation is complex, and that counselors are bound to do what is in the best interest of the client, even if this sometimes means withholding information from the parents...and that the Masters of Counseling Degree requires many more courses than ours, along with a supervised practicum! Finally, Dr. Sumarah left us with this quote: "School is not simply a preparation for life and work...it is the "stuff" of real living now." We are all - classroom teachers, specialists and counselors - involved in the same enterprise, that of educating the whole child. And this means having a school which addresses all the needs of the child, both on the outside and on the inside.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
July 3rd
Today we learned about many apps for our I-Pads. As usual, it felt like shopping. Look at THIS new app...isn't it amazing? And THIS one - isn't it cool? And now this one, it can do this and this and this. You'll LOVE this one, and you'll never go without THIS, once you start. I am wondering: is this the new paradigm for learning? Will it be an unending series of new things, fitting in so perfectly with our consumer mentality? If you just get THIS, your classroom will be transformed.
Most of the apps seemed to be somewhat similar. A picture and some words in some configuration. A picture and an avatar. Words arranged in different ways. Most of them also felt a little limiting: for example, in PollEv, you could only write words, not sentences. In the photo-text app you could have up to ten words only. I will be very interested to see whether we will be able to use these apps to grapple with difficult questions or to create products with some depth. I am sure people do.
There is no doubt that good tools have changed the lives of many disabled students. And, I suppose, those tools would never have been invented if the rest of us weren't also infatuated enough with technology to make it all cheap and easily accessible. But I can't help wondering: what happened to the notion of sustainability? What happened to reduce, re-use, recycle? And will the day ever arrive when an app has a shelf life longer than a year?
Most of the apps seemed to be somewhat similar. A picture and some words in some configuration. A picture and an avatar. Words arranged in different ways. Most of them also felt a little limiting: for example, in PollEv, you could only write words, not sentences. In the photo-text app you could have up to ten words only. I will be very interested to see whether we will be able to use these apps to grapple with difficult questions or to create products with some depth. I am sure people do.
There is no doubt that good tools have changed the lives of many disabled students. And, I suppose, those tools would never have been invented if the rest of us weren't also infatuated enough with technology to make it all cheap and easily accessible. But I can't help wondering: what happened to the notion of sustainability? What happened to reduce, re-use, recycle? And will the day ever arrive when an app has a shelf life longer than a year?
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