TGIF !!!!! So we are here at our last class. I have really enjoyed this class and have learned alot. I also liked the class being 2 weeks - "Quick and Dirty" ha ha..... The field trips to the AT room at the library and Leach were very educational. I also liked the guest speaker from DATI - he seems very dedicated to what his company does.
So as a quick review - I'm going to go over our main topics from this course:
-Intro to AT - any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of children with disabilities. Categories: stability, mobility, self-care, communication, computer access, recreation.
-Legal Mandates - IDEA, section 504 (students are entitled to accommodations), section 508 (electronic access), ADA, and the Tech Act.
-Determine student's needs - IEP meeting, SETT (student, environment, technology, task), function areas: stability (body support), mobility and travel, self-care, communication, education and therapies, recreation and sports, and environmental interactions.
-UDL - design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
-Software - 7 developmental stages, evaluate: flexibility, feedback, layout, technical quality, technical support, relevant sounds, support for AT devices, modification, etc.
-AT for reading and writing - NCLB, match technology to task, low tech options: raised lined paper and pencil gripper.
-Alt. control interfaces - I am now a pro on switches ha ha
-AAC - symbols, display and organization, and VOCAs (Voice-Output Communication Aids).
-Web accessibility - usability, accessibility, Section 508 and ADA have legal requirements, guidelines, and web evaluation tools.
-Funding - Head Start, IDEA, section 504, early intervention IDEA, medicaid, Tech act, and medicare.
-Built in accessibility options in computers - narrator, on-screen keyboard, mouse keys, and sticky keys, etc.
-QIAT - 3 parts to consider: student, environment, and technology. Analyze data and make changes accordingly.
Thanks for this class!!!! That's a wrap!!!!
-Julie
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
July 19th Thursday
Wow, I can't believe that 2 weeks have almost gone by. I am a little nervous about the quiz, even though it is open notes and open computer, there just seems to be sooooo much information. Well most of this information is new to me.... like I said my first blogs, first wiki's, first time seeing switches, etc. The only thing I new about AT before this class was the low tech boardmaker program. And well I may have seen one dynovox at DAP sometime in the past but most of our kids use PECS. I forgot to mention something yesterday, the AT guy at the library said that low tech devices are usually easier and more simple to operate. I have never really thought about that advantage but that sure does make sense and in some cases, you would want a very simple device for a particular student
It was fun watching all the presentations. The Living Books, Author's b-day, seemed pretty neat and fun to play. I like how students can interact with the items and characters in the story. The Living Books Collection seem very educational as well.
I think word prediction devices, such as the Co:Writer should only be used for students who have cognitive disabilities and/or very poor spelling habits. I think that if normal functioning kids rely on word prediction then they will lack practice in spelling out the words for themselves and may never develop adequate spelling skills. In addition, I think regular ed kids should be able to use spell check only after they have attempted to successfully spell words on their own.
It was fun watching all the presentations. The Living Books, Author's b-day, seemed pretty neat and fun to play. I like how students can interact with the items and characters in the story. The Living Books Collection seem very educational as well.
I think word prediction devices, such as the Co:Writer should only be used for students who have cognitive disabilities and/or very poor spelling habits. I think that if normal functioning kids rely on word prediction then they will lack practice in spelling out the words for themselves and may never develop adequate spelling skills. In addition, I think regular ed kids should be able to use spell check only after they have attempted to successfully spell words on their own.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
July 18th Wednesday
So today we went over boardmaker. This is pretty much as "techy" as we get at DAP. We rely on boardmaker for just about each and every student. I think it is a great program but I would like to see more variety in items and choices. Or, for example, a little more user friendly, because I typed in pepsi and then coke and it did not give me any pictures.... I needed to type in drink to get a picture of a soda can. So maybe the search menu needs to be upgraded an encompass more pictures when you type in a word even though that picture my be labeled differently in the program.
Then we walked over to the AT pod in the library. This is where we saw pictures in a flash, smart view (enlarges print), magic program to enlarge text on the screen, kurzwell's, braille embosser, and a pack mate. I thought Liz and her dog are great. It is amazing that Liz has not let her disability stop her and that she wants to live in the city. Living in the city is a little scary for me....She is one brave young woman. No....she is inspirational!!!! People complain all the time about little things but here we have a woman who has every right to complain about things not being accessible but she makes the best of it/ or fights to change accessibility of technology on campus for people with special needs.
I thought the braille embosser was awesome. I tried to run my fingers over the braille words and I could hardly tell where the dots were located. They all just felt like random dots here and there. I guess reading braille is an art form!
Then we walked over to the AT pod in the library. This is where we saw pictures in a flash, smart view (enlarges print), magic program to enlarge text on the screen, kurzwell's, braille embosser, and a pack mate. I thought Liz and her dog are great. It is amazing that Liz has not let her disability stop her and that she wants to live in the city. Living in the city is a little scary for me....She is one brave young woman. No....she is inspirational!!!! People complain all the time about little things but here we have a woman who has every right to complain about things not being accessible but she makes the best of it/ or fights to change accessibility of technology on campus for people with special needs.
I thought the braille embosser was awesome. I tried to run my fingers over the braille words and I could hardly tell where the dots were located. They all just felt like random dots here and there. I guess reading braille is an art form!
July 17th Tuesday
Today we went to Leach school. I was so impressed with the morale of the school and the amount of technology used. When we went into the OT room I thought, "Wow, we just hit the mother load"!!! This is because our OT room is about a quarter of that size at DAP. The pool and library were great, again we do not have either facility at DAP. The modified swings and wheelchair access jungle gym were great too. I thought if I ever have a child with physical disabilities or cerebral palsy, I would be sure to move, or do whatever I had to do, to make sure that they could go to that school or a school like that. That is the place to be!!!! I even thought for a hot second what it would be like to work there.....maybe it's in my future (:
I thought the head array, on the wheelchair, was awesome. That little girl who was trying to learn how to use the head array was so very cute. I would love to see how customized retainers, eye gaze, and eye blink devices work. Technology can really do anything...it is so important to give the gift of technology to people with disabilities. I think about how difficult life was in the past, before computerized technology, for people had cognitive abilities with physical disabilities. These people probably felt trapped in their bodies, not able to speak or communicate clearly. That saddens me. I feel we are all fortunate to live in this day and age were technology can only get better.
I thought the head array, on the wheelchair, was awesome. That little girl who was trying to learn how to use the head array was so very cute. I would love to see how customized retainers, eye gaze, and eye blink devices work. Technology can really do anything...it is so important to give the gift of technology to people with disabilities. I think about how difficult life was in the past, before computerized technology, for people had cognitive abilities with physical disabilities. These people probably felt trapped in their bodies, not able to speak or communicate clearly. That saddens me. I feel we are all fortunate to live in this day and age were technology can only get better.
Monday, July 16, 2007
July 16th Monday
Well I really enjoyed our guest speaker today. He was from DATI and seemed very passionate at what he does. I think that allowing people to "test drive" AT devices before purchasing them is a beneficial service. Also it was so helpful to see and hold the devices he brought in such as: the AlphaSmart, Vanguard, and the Dynovox. I also liked Marvin's perspective when he said, " The curriculum has the barrier, not the student. We need to tailor the education to the student, not tailor the student to the education". Also, it was very disturbing to find out that it takes an average of 18 months to get a book back in braille. The expense, weight, and waiting time of the braille book can make it a grueling investment. Thank goodness for other technology such as a text scanner that has vocal output!!!
So the screen reader simulation task was a powerful yet frustrating experience. I tried and tried and tried to make my way around that page to find specific info and could not locate one of them. I got on the contact info page and on the history page but I was not able to maneuver around those pages to find the answers. I even peaked a few times but to no avail. This really showed me the difficulties faced by people with vision disabilities while trying to access web pages. For those who use screen readers, I give them alot of credit and admire their patience.
So the screen reader simulation task was a powerful yet frustrating experience. I tried and tried and tried to make my way around that page to find specific info and could not locate one of them. I got on the contact info page and on the history page but I was not able to maneuver around those pages to find the answers. I even peaked a few times but to no avail. This really showed me the difficulties faced by people with vision disabilities while trying to access web pages. For those who use screen readers, I give them alot of credit and admire their patience.
Friday, July 13, 2007
July 13th Friday
So today I finally got to learn about switches. Even though I have been in the special education field for about 5 years now, I have never seen or learned about switches until now. At the Delaware Autism Program, I have never seen a student (from afar) use one of these devices for anything.
It was very helpful to see how each switch was used on different software programs. I think the easiest program to use switches for were the Creature and Edmark programs (Millies math house etc). For the Creature programs - students can push the switch for something to happen to teach them cause and effect. For the Edmark programs - students can watch the computer scan each item and when it touched an item that they wanted to click - they could just press the switch.
The joystick roller was fun and very easy to use to use. I liked the fact that the teacher can change the object on the stick to meet the needs of different students. For students lacking sharp fine motor skills, there is a big yellow ball that can be placed on the stick, which would make grabbing and moving the stick easier.
The little version of Big Red was cute. I called that one "Little Red".
The intellikeys - well I feel the same way as others did in the class. I thought if a student can use the pad that was on the demo - then why couldn't they use a regular keyboard??? I understand that these pads can be customized and simplified. But the intellikeys pad on the demo looked as complicated as a regular keyboard. Maybe when we go to leach, I will be able to see how and who uses this type of assistive technology.
The switch that can be used as a chin tap (I did not get the name of this one) was very cool. And the ribbon switch was sensitive to the touch but flexible enough to withstand a hard whack by a student.
I have such a better understanding of what switches are now and how they work.
It was very helpful to see how each switch was used on different software programs. I think the easiest program to use switches for were the Creature and Edmark programs (Millies math house etc). For the Creature programs - students can push the switch for something to happen to teach them cause and effect. For the Edmark programs - students can watch the computer scan each item and when it touched an item that they wanted to click - they could just press the switch.
The joystick roller was fun and very easy to use to use. I liked the fact that the teacher can change the object on the stick to meet the needs of different students. For students lacking sharp fine motor skills, there is a big yellow ball that can be placed on the stick, which would make grabbing and moving the stick easier.
The little version of Big Red was cute. I called that one "Little Red".
The intellikeys - well I feel the same way as others did in the class. I thought if a student can use the pad that was on the demo - then why couldn't they use a regular keyboard??? I understand that these pads can be customized and simplified. But the intellikeys pad on the demo looked as complicated as a regular keyboard. Maybe when we go to leach, I will be able to see how and who uses this type of assistive technology.
The switch that can be used as a chin tap (I did not get the name of this one) was very cool. And the ribbon switch was sensitive to the touch but flexible enough to withstand a hard whack by a student.
I have such a better understanding of what switches are now and how they work.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
July 12th Thursday
So today we learned about instructional software and there seems to be alot of different products available, especially on the Internet. It was very informative to be able to review two software programs today. The first one I reviewed was Creature Feature and it was designed to increase visual, auditory, and attention skills specifically for students with severe cognitive disabilities. The program can be used for cause and effect training or for reinforcement for good behavior. I thought it was cute to be able to pick your creature and then see a funny animated story about it. A switch would work very well with this game. It seems very easy for students to play this program. And also, the program records the number of prompts each student needs to play the cause and effect game(click mouse or switch and object moves). I think this program is very basic and the teacher cannot choose levels for each individual student, but it would be a fun and useful program in a class of students with moderate to severe autism.
The second program I looked at, I was not too impressed. It was Hip-Hop reading and it looked like it was put together by amateurs instead of a company. It was direct instruction on phonics and the directions were not always clear. The students had to put together a sentence on the first page to determine the level to start on. And then as they worked through the program, they could not go back to redo a lesson, and they could not skip forward if they knew the information. The teacher could not even pick the level to start to student on. Also the sentences did not make sense, for example: Pat bat mat. So if the sentences do not make sense, they should not be in sentence format. I think they should just be a series of words with no period. Now I think it's ok to have small sentences for beginning readers but I think the sentences should make somewhat sense. For example what is wrong with: The cat is fat. ??? (the students would previously know how to read the and is)
So I think software is great for students but I think they should offer settings for the teacher to change and options to pick for individual students.
The second program I looked at, I was not too impressed. It was Hip-Hop reading and it looked like it was put together by amateurs instead of a company. It was direct instruction on phonics and the directions were not always clear. The students had to put together a sentence on the first page to determine the level to start on. And then as they worked through the program, they could not go back to redo a lesson, and they could not skip forward if they knew the information. The teacher could not even pick the level to start to student on. Also the sentences did not make sense, for example: Pat bat mat. So if the sentences do not make sense, they should not be in sentence format. I think they should just be a series of words with no period. Now I think it's ok to have small sentences for beginning readers but I think the sentences should make somewhat sense. For example what is wrong with: The cat is fat. ??? (the students would previously know how to read the and is)
So I think software is great for students but I think they should offer settings for the teacher to change and options to pick for individual students.
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