Assistive Technologyin the Classroom
Session 8Assistive Technology
in Action
Presentation AgendaIntroduction
Diana – Kindergarten student with quadriplegia
Meagan – Grade 1 student with cerebral palsy
Aaron – Grade 3 student with Down syndrome
Samuel – Grade 6 student with cerebral palsy
Nick – Grade 7 student with FASD
Ilyaz – Grade 9 student with visual impairment
Rebecca – Grade 10 student with LD
Introduction – Think about this…
What are the important concepts to remember when implementing AT with students?
Diana
Kindergarten student with quadriplegia
Limited facial movements only
Requires constant physical support
Can communicate verbally
Literacy focus in her educational program
Schedule includesReading, writing and mathematics activities
Diana’s AT Solution
Laptop with ‘Sip and Puff’ mouse control
Onscreen keyboard / literacy and math software
Meagan
Grade 1 student with CP – basically non-verbal
Severe physical challenges – gross and fine motor issues
Can reliably hit a 1” target when asked
Needs to be able to communicate
Schedule includesCircle time, “All About Me” theme, Buddy Reading, Centre Time
Meagan’s AT Solution
Boardmaker for low tech AAC system
Aaron Grade 3 student with Down syndrome
Knows the alphabet and 30 Dolch words
Interested in books but not able to handwriteLaboured and non-conventional size, spacing
Gap between Aaron and peers is growing
Schedule includesMorning Meeting, “Dragon” theme, Math (basic computation), Science “Growing” unit
Aaron’s AT Solution
Clicker 5 to support reading and writing
Samuel Grade 6 student with cerebral palsy
Has fine motor control difficulties
Difficulties with handwriting
Completing Grade 6 academic program
Schedule includes assignments inSocial Studies
Science
Language Arts
Samuel’s AT Solution Fusion
Nick Grade 7 student with FASD and LD
Grade 2 writing / Grade 3 reading level
Very distracted, few reading or writing strategies
Strength is auditory processing
Schedule includesLA (poetry “Belonging”)
Math (Fractions)
Computer class (website analysis)
Social Studies (“Ancient Rome”)
Nick’s AT Solution SOLO to support reading / writing in content areas
Learn more about SOLO
Break Time!
IlyazGrade 9 student with ASD and visual impairmentNo vision at allDistracted by speech outputDifficulty with auditory processingDifficulty with organizationModified program
Ilyaz’s AT SolutionPacMate for file storage and braille display
PacMate connected to laptop
See another student use her braille notetakers
RebeccaGrade 10 student with Learning DisabilitiesDifficulty completing writing assignmentsDifficulty remembering content of what she readsGrades much lower than would be expectedGood verbal abilitySchedule includes
English (individual novels)Science (“Cellular structure”)History (“Canadians who made a difference”)
Rebecca’s AT Solution
Kurzweil 3000 to support writing and reading
Session ActivityThink back to the beginning of the session presentation when you considered the important concepts when implementing assistive technology with students – one of the most important is matching technology features to student need. On the chart in your session handout, summarize the needs of the various students you met here and what technology features the team selected to meet those needs.
Discussion ForumYour final discussion task is to design an Educational Assistant’s AT Toolkit
The AT Toolkit should contain what you think are the essential tools that no EA should be without
Specific technologies
Resources
Examples
Discuss what you would put in the toolkit with your group
Report back to the whole group
Session Summary ActivityLink to Session 8 Summary Activity
Session 8 Summary Activity
Will be emailed to you after this session!
