Hi all,
Just in case anyone is curious about our final project, I thought I would share the details with you here. Working with Ms. Chiu at the Cooke Center, a school for children with special needs, my group designed a multimedia strategy that would allow her to use video, audio and visual materials to supplement her existing curriculum. Ms. Chiu designs her units in 2-3 week intervals based on various values and life skills that the students in her class need to obtain.
Feel free to peruse our strategy and associated resources.
-Robin
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Edutopia
On December 3, the UN appoints Stevie Wonder as the new Messenger of Peace on International Disability Day. This is a great step in the right direction towards accessibility for all.
To that end, I wanted to introduce you to Edutopia, the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Their mission is to highlight what works in public education and focus on six areas of development: Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Project Learning, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Development and Technology Integration.
They have a huge collection of videos that profile teachers, students and other models of successful education. Here are few inspiring stories related to assistive technology. But, there are lots more so check out Edutopia!
To that end, I wanted to introduce you to Edutopia, the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Their mission is to highlight what works in public education and focus on six areas of development: Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Project Learning, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Development and Technology Integration.
They have a huge collection of videos that profile teachers, students and other models of successful education. Here are few inspiring stories related to assistive technology. But, there are lots more so check out Edutopia!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Quotable Quotes
For my final blog posting (for this class anyway), I was asked to provide a quote that reflects my view of technology. Well, I couldn't choose just 1 so here are my top 5 quotes.
*Came from a slideshow on Education & Technology quotes. I picked two but there were lots of great other quotes which are also relevant.
- "This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology which now constitute the slave of man - if man is not enslaved by it." ~Jonas Salk
- "The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential." ~Steve Ballmer
- "Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer, deserves to be." ~David Thornburg*
- "If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." ~John Dewey*
- “Students today are raised on technology, fundamentally changing the educational environment and how students interact, learn and share. Continued focus on eliminating barriers to education by leveraging technology and the network will help bridge the digital divide and deliver world-class education to everyone. Today's students are the leaders of tomorrow and it is our duty to provide the education they need to shape the future.” ~Scott McNealy
*Came from a slideshow on Education & Technology quotes. I picked two but there were lots of great other quotes which are also relevant.
Funding and a collection of AT resources
Before you can implement many of the suggestions made throughout this blog, you'll need money. Lots and lots of money. So, here a few links that address funding issues to get you started.
- How to get Medicare funding for AAC Technology
- Grants for hospitals, education & libraries
- Funding sources from Disability.gov
- Using mini-grants to fund AT
- Oprah's Book Club - Oprah just did her first "global webinar" for a book called "Say You're One of Them" about stories from Africa.
- Animusic - a content creation company focused exclusively on computer animation of music.
- Abilities! and the Kornreich Technology Center - an assistive technology demonstration, education, and evaluation center.
- Closing the Gap - a conference on assistive technology.
- Microsoft Accessibility Newsletter
- Sony Wonder Technology Lab
- Tikatok - Let's kids become authors.
- Evaluating Websites for Accessibility - How to get started.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Adaptive Technology for Classroom Use
There are so many interesting topics in the area of Adaptive Technology that it's hard to know where to start. But, the important thing is that you DO start. Listen to this video of several students explaining why it is so important to figure out how to include all students in the classroom. See the list of AT devices referred to in the video.
So, what is the best way to start thinking about AT devices that are appropriate? A general rule of thumb is to look at low-tech and mid-tech options first. Some good places to start include:
Beyond this, there are some higher tech AT devices which may be appropriate. It's always important to remember, however, that each student should be evaluated prior to AT recommendations to ensure the correct match and effectiveness. Trial usage of AT devices should also be encouraged, as available. There are two main categories that I will discuss with regard to AT devices: Adaptive Input & Augmentative Communication.
Adaptive Input - These AT devices generally include alternatives keyboards and mice, and other input methods. There are also Adaptive Output devices such as screen readers and braille printers. Check out this interactive presentation highlighting many of the available adaptive input devices. Here are some additional resources on the subject:
To introduce what I mean by Augmentative Communication, here is a video from one teacher explaining how technology has helped her improve the ability of her students to learn and communicate:
Adaptive and Augmentative Communication (AAC) - This area of AT devices encompasses the technology that allows students to be more active participants through alternative means of communication. This 30 minute AAC video highlights many of the devices available today. Other resources include:
To wrap up, you can find lots more resources at NATRI, the National Assistive Technology Research Institute including a segment on how AT services can go awry. This is useful as you prepare to utilize these technologies in the classroom. Another great resource is this Assistive Technology Implementation Plan that should be used as part of an IEP to ensure that students get what they need to be successful.
So, what is the best way to start thinking about AT devices that are appropriate? A general rule of thumb is to look at low-tech and mid-tech options first. Some good places to start include:
- The Assistive Technology Online Training Project
- Susan Fridie's Kaboodle list of Low Tech Writing Aids
- This keyboarding vs handwriting checklist
- Microsoft's AT Decision Tree
- Mid-tech Writing Aids like the Neo
- Form Pilot for completing paper forms through typing
- The Kurzweil for read-aloud of paper and electronic documents
- PhotoStory for presenting content in multiple ways
- Susan Fridie's video about low-tech writing aids. Part II.
Beyond this, there are some higher tech AT devices which may be appropriate. It's always important to remember, however, that each student should be evaluated prior to AT recommendations to ensure the correct match and effectiveness. Trial usage of AT devices should also be encouraged, as available. There are two main categories that I will discuss with regard to AT devices: Adaptive Input & Augmentative Communication.
Adaptive Input - These AT devices generally include alternatives keyboards and mice, and other input methods. There are also Adaptive Output devices such as screen readers and braille printers. Check out this interactive presentation highlighting many of the available adaptive input devices. Here are some additional resources on the subject:
- Susan Fridie's Kaboodle list of alternative keyboards & mice.
- Free Screen Readers
- Braille technologies & Braille keyboard
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking - voice recognition software
- Microsoft's Accessible Technology Guide
To introduce what I mean by Augmentative Communication, here is a video from one teacher explaining how technology has helped her improve the ability of her students to learn and communicate:
Adaptive and Augmentative Communication (AAC) - This area of AT devices encompasses the technology that allows students to be more active participants through alternative means of communication. This 30 minute AAC video highlights many of the devices available today. Other resources include:
To wrap up, you can find lots more resources at NATRI, the National Assistive Technology Research Institute including a segment on how AT services can go awry. This is useful as you prepare to utilize these technologies in the classroom. Another great resource is this Assistive Technology Implementation Plan that should be used as part of an IEP to ensure that students get what they need to be successful.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Kurzweil
This exercise asked us to explore a popular tool in the world of literacy and learning support known as Kurzweil 3000, or just "The Kurzweil". You can request a 30-day demo CD from their website. So, I took it for a spin.
First of all, I was quite frustrated with the installation process. The first time I tried to install it I was told that I had to restart my computer before it would work. Well, I have about a dozen different things open that I was not prepared to shut down. So, I tried my backup computer but alas I have no speakers on that computer and it didn't want to work through the sound card. Then, I tried my laptop but I didn't have enough space on C and it wouldn't let me install to D. So, back to the first computer, write down what's open, shut everything down, install, restart and finally use Kurzweil.
I then opened the Reading for Math.kes file provided by our teacher, a document that had already been scanned in. I went through the tutorials provided which basically showed me how to move around the tool bars and then began the process of trying to add a text note. The tutorials did not go through that so I checked the help menu. The help menu said to go to the "Study Skills Training" tool bar. Guess what? That's not where it is. It's actually under "Test Preparation". Anyway, I added several text notes to indicate where the student should fill in the form and what data was being requested. The text notes were next to name and questions 1-3, 5 & 6.
Question 4 asked the student to circle items in the picture shown.
The question is: How can a student do this within the program (or can they?). And, the answer is, yes they can but only after some edits are made by the teacher. As is, the student would not be able to use the circle tool on the "Basic" toolbar because the picture is not one of the zones. So, using Zone Edit (which I learned about from the video) I made the crayons into a zone. The students would now be able to circle the number of crayons the question is asking for.
So, yes it's possible. Finally, I added a bubble note to be read before the first question. This allowed me to review the task and ask the student to consider the appropriate strategy to use to solve the problems. The bubble note allows you to request input from the student but doesn't provide a mechanism for stating whether the selected answer is correct. Another flaw that I noted is that while you can slow the speed at which the program reads, there seems to be no way to add appropriate pauses or interjections. It just continues to read as if it were one long block of text.
I think that more exploration of this tool would be necessary to use it in real classrooms with actual students but I do see potential for this as a useful tool for some.
First of all, I was quite frustrated with the installation process. The first time I tried to install it I was told that I had to restart my computer before it would work. Well, I have about a dozen different things open that I was not prepared to shut down. So, I tried my backup computer but alas I have no speakers on that computer and it didn't want to work through the sound card. Then, I tried my laptop but I didn't have enough space on C and it wouldn't let me install to D. So, back to the first computer, write down what's open, shut everything down, install, restart and finally use Kurzweil.
I then opened the Reading for Math.kes file provided by our teacher, a document that had already been scanned in. I went through the tutorials provided which basically showed me how to move around the tool bars and then began the process of trying to add a text note. The tutorials did not go through that so I checked the help menu. The help menu said to go to the "Study Skills Training" tool bar. Guess what? That's not where it is. It's actually under "Test Preparation". Anyway, I added several text notes to indicate where the student should fill in the form and what data was being requested. The text notes were next to name and questions 1-3, 5 & 6.
Question 4 asked the student to circle items in the picture shown.
The question is: How can a student do this within the program (or can they?). And, the answer is, yes they can but only after some edits are made by the teacher. As is, the student would not be able to use the circle tool on the "Basic" toolbar because the picture is not one of the zones. So, using Zone Edit (which I learned about from the video) I made the crayons into a zone. The students would now be able to circle the number of crayons the question is asking for.
So, yes it's possible. Finally, I added a bubble note to be read before the first question. This allowed me to review the task and ask the student to consider the appropriate strategy to use to solve the problems. The bubble note allows you to request input from the student but doesn't provide a mechanism for stating whether the selected answer is correct. Another flaw that I noted is that while you can slow the speed at which the program reads, there seems to be no way to add appropriate pauses or interjections. It just continues to read as if it were one long block of text.
I think that more exploration of this tool would be necessary to use it in real classrooms with actual students but I do see potential for this as a useful tool for some.
Interactive Whiteboards: Markers & Chalk Be Gone!
Interactive Whiteboards, often referred to by the brand name "SmartBoard", are the greatest thing since desks and notebooks in the world of education. When I first heard about them, I wasn't sure about them being more than a glorified projection screen. But, that was until I saw them in use. Now, I can't imagine classrooms without them.
One of the things that makes these SMART Boards so powerful is the SMART Notebook software that accompanies it. The first thing you should do is download the software and play around with it, although you'll need to get a license number from your school for the installation. There is a plethora of training materials that will help you get started on the Smart technologies site. To learn more about effective uses in the classroom, check out this great review of recent literature on the use of Interactive Whiteboards in education. Also, check out this profile of a district in Westchester using SmartBoards.
In addition to the standard tools that come "out of the box" with SMART Boards, there are a number of companies that are making tools and software that compliment the system. Check out TEQ's Education Resource Center for an assortment of complimentary tools and visualizers by Samsung. There are many manufacturers of these document cameras but the Samsung visualizer is one of the smallest. There are also "clickers" that work in conjunction with these interactive whiteboards. SMART Response and SMART Response LE (formerly Senteo) are available from SMART Technologies. These clickers provide a more interactive environment for students and allow teachers to assess student's prior knowledge or effectiveness of a lesson. Finally, it might be useful to consider a projector mount
(again, many manufacturers make these) if you have an older SMART Board without the projector built in. This will help ensure a safer and more effective classroom environment if your facility is capable of wiring the connected computer through the ceiling tiles or other concealed areas.
Finally, there is a reason that I chose to name this post "Interactive Whiteboards" rather than "SmartBoards." SMART technologies can be expensive which is a serious consideration for schools and districts with limited technology budgets. An alternative favorite of mine is the Wiimote Interactive Whiteboard that you can create yourself. If you check out Johnny Lee’s website he describes the project (Low-Cost Multi-point Interactive Whiteboards Using the Wiimote). I actually created a lesson plan for an engineering class around this where they make the pens themselves. However, if you don’t want to take the time or effort and are just looking for a cost-effective alternative to SmartBoards there are plenty of pens you can buy yourself. Penteractive sell pens and other accessories. Smoothboard.net sells software similar to SMART Notebook. There is actually a whole development community around this project so there is lots of exploration you do. Check out the Wiimote Project Forum for more information.
For our final project, my group has decided to present a multimedia strategy to the teachers at Cooke Center in the form of a SMART Notebook file. See a future post for information on how we created this file, how it can be shared with other teachers, and how it can be used to create interactive lessons.
One of the things that makes these SMART Boards so powerful is the SMART Notebook software that accompanies it. The first thing you should do is download the software and play around with it, although you'll need to get a license number from your school for the installation. There is a plethora of training materials that will help you get started on the Smart technologies site. To learn more about effective uses in the classroom, check out this great review of recent literature on the use of Interactive Whiteboards in education. Also, check out this profile of a district in Westchester using SmartBoards.
In addition to the standard tools that come "out of the box" with SMART Boards, there are a number of companies that are making tools and software that compliment the system. Check out TEQ's Education Resource Center for an assortment of complimentary tools and visualizers by Samsung. There are many manufacturers of these document cameras but the Samsung visualizer is one of the smallest. There are also "clickers" that work in conjunction with these interactive whiteboards. SMART Response and SMART Response LE (formerly Senteo) are available from SMART Technologies. These clickers provide a more interactive environment for students and allow teachers to assess student's prior knowledge or effectiveness of a lesson. Finally, it might be useful to consider a projector mount
(again, many manufacturers make these) if you have an older SMART Board without the projector built in. This will help ensure a safer and more effective classroom environment if your facility is capable of wiring the connected computer through the ceiling tiles or other concealed areas.
Finally, there is a reason that I chose to name this post "Interactive Whiteboards" rather than "SmartBoards." SMART technologies can be expensive which is a serious consideration for schools and districts with limited technology budgets. An alternative favorite of mine is the Wiimote Interactive Whiteboard that you can create yourself. If you check out Johnny Lee’s website he describes the project (Low-Cost Multi-point Interactive Whiteboards Using the Wiimote). I actually created a lesson plan for an engineering class around this where they make the pens themselves. However, if you don’t want to take the time or effort and are just looking for a cost-effective alternative to SmartBoards there are plenty of pens you can buy yourself. Penteractive sell pens and other accessories. Smoothboard.net sells software similar to SMART Notebook. There is actually a whole development community around this project so there is lots of exploration you do. Check out the Wiimote Project Forum for more information.
For our final project, my group has decided to present a multimedia strategy to the teachers at Cooke Center in the form of a SMART Notebook file. See a future post for information on how we created this file, how it can be shared with other teachers, and how it can be used to create interactive lessons.
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