That works with Falls Church. Um, a little bit about myself. I taught in the classroom, self
contained setting with special ed for four years, and then I have since
been working in school systems as an assistive technology specialist. I love working with students, love
working with this population, and love working with Falls Church. And just heads up, I do plan on making
this presentation a bit interactive, so I might ask a couple of questions, and
if that's the case, and you have some ideas or
thoughts, just Mention that you
have a thought in the chat or raise your hand with a little emoji and we will
call on you and get everyone involved. Okay. All right. So, today, um, our objectives are just
to really define assistive technology, um, to gain an understanding of the AT
decision making process, to differentiate the different levels of AT, to understand
how it can be used and how it can be used. In the classroom, and then to also discuss
how powerful it can be used at home as well, a
nd fun, how powerful and fun. All right, so just out of curiosity, um,
how many of you all are familiar with the term or with assistive technology? Um, again, you can raise a hand,
um, you can just come off mute. Uh, I see Melissa has a
thumbs up, awesome, okay. All right, I see Elizabeth also
has a thumbs up, beautiful, okay. All right. Very cool. Um, does anyone want to share
your, um, experiences or your thoughts or any, anything that you
know about assistive technology? Does anyone feel comf
ortable? This is Melissa. I'll just say, excuse me,
that I know of the term. I don't know all that much about it. We're sort of just getting
started and introduced to it. So I love your objectives. They are spot on for what. Yeah, I'm hoping to get from this today. Awesome. Very cool. Okay. Alright, let's move on. Awesome. Okay, so the truth is, um, we've all
interacted with assistive technology at some point in our lives, whether it's Um,
using laptops, using our phones, um, just the text with
the word prediction feature,
um, using laptops, using spell check, using the grammar checks, those are all
different forms of assistive technology. Um, we may not think about that
when we think of it in a school model, um, but all of that is
considered assistive technology. Um, but we do want to focus on how it
can be used with our students today. All right, so the formal definition
of assistive technology, I always like going over the formal definition, is
any piece of equipment or product or s
ystem, whether acquired commercially or
off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain,
or improve functional capabilities of a child or adult with a disability. Um, we really use assistive technology
to support a student in, um, working. a deficit or something that they may
struggle with on their own, and using AT to bridge that gap, whether it be by
communication, whether it be a mobility tool, whether it be just computer
access, maybe that student doesn't have the f
ine or gross motor ability
to maintain access of a computer, so they might need the support of a tool
or a specific type of keyboard, um, there's a variety of different things
that we can use, um, to support and improve the functional capabilities. Um, so typically we have students in the
school setting, we consider assistive technology to see how we can support
them with their academic instruction. That could be through communication,
that could be through giving them access to a word processin
g device that
might help with their written output. It could be as simple as a piece
of equipment that might help with PE, adaptive PE, anything Support
them in the school setting and those things are considered in the IEP. Every year, the students have annual
IEP meetings and assistive technology is something that is considered. And at that point, the team will
discuss whether or not the child is struggling to do something
academically or complete a task. And at that point, we'll discuss
any po
tential assistive technology that might support that student. Just be the best they can be
and, and access all things in the school environment. Okay, so now we're going to talk
about the who, what, when, where, and how of assistive technology, okay? So who can use assistive technology? Um, so typically a student who's
not making progress, um, towards their academic goals or objectives,
um, or is having challenges. For example, um, if you have a fifth
grade student and they're struggling with le
arning to read, um, or doing a
single digit addition or subtraction fact, Um, that could be something that we
may then look at AT to see how we could support that student, um, or a student
who requires access, physical access due to an orthopedic impairment, um, or
just general access to the curriculum, um, a student who has restricted use
of his or her arms and may need support turning a page on a book, um, any of
that, we would look at AT to support. Where can students use AT? So we at school
use it in any environment
that they are a part of, whether that be PE, the classroom, the cafeteria,
any space in the school building that may occupy that child's time, we want
to make sure they have access to all things that they need to be successful. If it's the cafeteria and the child needs
adapted equipment to be able to eat lunch independently or some type of Specific
chair that might allow them to be a part of the cafeteria table, whatever the
student needs in order to participate in thei
r customary environment. Um, we also consider home a customary
environment because oftentimes students do have homework and they do when,
when they do come home from school. We wanna make sure they also have the
appropriate tools and access to be able to be successful in continuing
their learning from the school day. When do teams consider
assistive technology? Uh, and this is a bit of a complex
question, um, but typically when barriers exist that impact the
student's access to the curriculum. S
o if we have a student who, um, is
excelling in all areas of the curriculum and their physical needs are being met and
their environmental needs are being met. We typically wouldn't look at AT,
but if there's anything that we can do to improve their performance in
the classroom, we then typically see if there's anything we can do to
bridge any type of gap or barrier. For a student who may
need that extra support. So that's when we would come to the
table and consider AT for a student. And as I m
entioned, every year, it's
considered as a part of a child's annual. All right, and why do we use AT? To level the playing field. So, oftentimes we have children
who have communication challenges, physical challenges, academic. Learning disabilities, and we
use AT to try to get them to the point where they are able to be. In an environment where they can learn
with their peers and not have those deficits or challenges impair their
ability to be a part of the classroom. And so, how do we decide
t
hat a student needs AT? So, this is generally a
collaborative team decision. Um, I love to get the AT, myself, the AT
specialist, the other assistive technology specialist who focuses on communication. Speech pathologist, OTs, PTs, uh,
special education classroom teachers. It could be art teachers. I like to get everyone involved,
uh, just so that we can look at the student from all areas and make sure
that we're providing the best amount of information that really speaks
to who the student is,
where they're successful, um, what types of things
you're trying to get that student to do in the school building and, and where
we could support them using technology. All right, and what might be considered
assistive technology specifically? Um, so I mentioned a couple of things,
but there are specific writing tools, um, there's time management devices, there's
built in accessibility features, there are communication devices, um, there's
note taking tools, there are reading tools, uh, hearing
aid could be considered
an assistive technology support. Um, we've got research tools,
magnifying glasses, all kinds of things. Okay, um, and we break our assistive
technology into different categories. So we have no tech, low tech,
or mid tech, and then high tech. So something like a communication device
that is on an iPad or on a high tech computer system, um, that displays a
software that allows a student to access alternative communication would be high
tech versus a pencil grip or, um, an e
nlarged graph paper or Um, you know,
a binder that might be raised for a student to elevate their computer, that
would be no tech or light tech, okay? Um, and it really doesn't matter
whether it's low tech, mid tech, or high tech, we really just try to give the
students anything that could support them to be successful in the classroom. Alright, so here's a couple
more examples of technology that we might use in the classroom. Okay. All right. Thinking outside the box. So I mentioned, um, some t
ools
that we could use in the classroom. Um, I mentioned, uh, there's graph
paper, that there's, uh, pencil grips, there are communication devices, um,
something that is really new and now in assistive technology is VR, um,
Which is virtual reality, and I really love VR because it allows students to
experience things that they may not be ready to experience, um, in the outside
world or, um, really a learning tactic. So, and I see a question in the chat,
I will take a pause after this one and get
into answering questions. But VR is, as I mentioned, virtual,
virtual reality, and it uses artificial intelligence and computer systems
to pretty much give a student like a mini TV in a goggle frame, and
within that mini TV, they can see and experience different things. Um, I've worked with students who
are learning how to use street signs appropriately in the community, but due
to behavioral, um, concerns, they may not be ready to go out in the community yet,
but it is still an IEP goal as the
student is working on academic life skills. So something like a VR set could
support them with really experiencing walking around and getting to
interact with the street signs, but not having to specifically go
out in the environment quite yet. Um, there are students who work on hand
eye coordination and, and working on just depth perception with VR because it gives
them different abilities to play different games that involve depth and involve hand
eye coordination and all kinds of things. It'
s, it's really cool and we actually
have VR sets now in Falls Church, so that's something that we would like
to get our students involved with. Um, I see there's a question in
the chat right now realizing. Yep. Awesome. I, I see someone saying, I'm now
realizing that we've been using AT for years, just not calling it AT. Absolutely. So many different things
are considered AT. Low tech, high tech, mid tech,
just a computer in itself is AT. Um, and typically our students will use
AT in the classro
oms to participate in. Just writing activities and reading
activities and, um, just using speech to text and text to speech, and I'm going
to get into some of that and how we can incorporate it into the home environment
and make it fun for our students. So, if we go to the next slide, okay, we're going to discuss
how it can be used at home. Awesome. So one tool that we use that our
students have access to in Falls Church is called Read& Write. I love Read& Write because it's a very
user friendly
tool for our students. We have many students using
it with success regularly. And it essentially is a toolbar of
different supports for students. It lets you use text to
speech on the internet. So if a student is working on
reading a book online, It provides them with the ability to use text
to speech to listen to that book. Um, it also allows them it to pause
and maybe define a word that they don't need with a picture dictionary,
or excuse me, a word that they don't know with a picture diction
ary. For example, if I'm reading about U. S. history and I stumble upon a word I don't
know, I can highlight it, and then it'll provide a picture, and then a definition. Um, it also lets me use a screen
masking window, so if I've got, you know, a page of 50 lines of words,
it'll, it will allow me to pretty much highlight specifically one line at a
time to kind of block out the extra words just to help me with my pacing. Um, and just a thought of a way
this could be used for fun at home. Um, givi
ng the child an opportunity
to use and explore the toolbar, um, to assist with a creative writing activity. So, using the word prediction feature
or using speech to text, which are both tools in that toolbar, um, we can get
our students to maybe write a creative story or write about their dream vacation
or write about what they want to do over the weekend and just really play around
with the toolbar and use some speech to text and then when they're done, okay,
let's Let's re read what you wrote,
and let's use the text to speech feature now
to listen to everything that you typed out, and then we're going to see if we
can correct any errors and just hear how our work sounds, um, and make sure
our work looks as the way we want it to. Um, so here is just a list of the
different things in the toolbar, and I think Um, you can have kids use,
use it to make interactive journals. Um, you can use it to have kids do,
uh, read different fun articles. Um, so that could be a cool
way to use Read& Wr
ite at home. Next slide, please. Awesome. So, this tool is called Poplet. Um, and just FYI, all of these tools
are free and readily available. So at the end of this presentation,
I've attached links with resources on how to download, um, or just
how to find these different tools. Um, so Poplet is a awesome tool that is
essentially an online graphic organizer. Um, and it's very picture based, but
it also allows you to include words. So if a student is working on learning
their ABCs in their alpha
bet, they can, you know, pick a letter, say
they're working on the letter C. Well, let's think of all the different
things around the house that we could, um, write about that start with C. Oh, I see you found a cup. There's a car. There's a, there's corn. Um, there's a cloth. And then they can use this organizing
tool to add images and add, uh, uh, different graphics to go along with
the letter that they're learning. So that's a way that
it can be used at home. Um, It's very much an easy tool t
hat can
be downloaded in any app store, whether it's whether you're an Android or an Apple
user, you can just download that app. And then it's free to use. Um, if you have a student who's
learning about earth space science, you can, you know, use this tool to. Um, have them explore and expand their
different ideas on, um, Earth and then have them describe it and use this
tool to really, um, add their thoughts. And then this is a super
support for the writing process. So once you have your inform
ation
on the graphic design and organizer, you can then use it to create a
longer written task or assignment. All right, so something that we also
use in Falls Church is called Kami, and Kami is an online annotation
system, um, and it essentially allows you to take a PDF, and edit it. Um, so something that a student could
use this for is to create and complete online scavenger hunts, word searches,
fillable, um, wish lists, or anything that they are excited about at home. So if you, as a parent,
want to get
You know, download a, um, a worksheet that's fun for them to do or some
type of game that involves, you know, editing or modifying a document. They can then, um, use Kami to
circle things and to highlight things and to write on a document. So that's, um, a fun way
that we can use Kami at home. So that our next tool is called SnapType. This is an app that you
would use on an iPad. And it allows you to take a picture of a
worksheet, and then once you've collected that picture, you can
then type directly
on the screen to complete that worksheet. Um, so while at home, a student can
use an iPad or a phone to take a picture of a fun paper based activity,
a word search, crossword puzzle, and then complete that on the iPad. So, a tool that we use, um,
to support students who are reading is called ReWordify. Um, and ReWordify uses artificial
intelligence, which is a buzzword these days, but it uses artificial intelligence
to reduce the language intensity of a story or a piece of li
terature. So, if I'm giving a student, uh, a text
at an eighth grade level, I can type a paragraph or a couple paragraphs, uh,
I can copy and paste it into ReWordify. And it will reduce it
to a first grade level. And this just helps our students
who, you know, may be accessing grade level curriculum, um, may need
that extra support so that they can work on their comprehension skills. Um, it allows them to just still
interact with that grade level material. But at a rate that they can
understand
it, maybe at their academic instructional level. So this is something that
you can explore at home. Maybe if you guys are talking about
current events in the house, um, and you, you know, are working with your
child to find an article or find some type of story about a current, a current
event, um, you can copy and paste the literature and the text from that current
event and then paste it into our search rewardify engine and then it'll reduce. Um, the text complexity so that the child
can then
understand it a little better. All right, speech to text. So this is something that many of us
use on our phones when we're on the go. Um, speech to text allows you to
speak into the computer or into the phone and then it'll Generate your
words based off of your dictation. Um, so it's essentially voice typing. So while at home, students can dictate
creative writing stories or practice writing about things they're looking
forward to, fun memories, maybe, um, just a recap of what they did over the
weekend
or something they're looking forward to. Um, if you open up a Google document,
you can then go into tools, select voice typing, and then at that point, you just
go ahead and start speaking, um, and it'll provide a dictation of whatever
you're saying, um, and I think that if you have children who are working on
writing at home, maybe diary entries or just creative writing or writing for fun
and letting students know that they can write for fun, um, I think that this is
a cool tool that c
an assist with that. Audiobooks. So we have a couple of different
systems that we use for audiobooks. Learning Ally is one that is free,
and children can just really get into reading for fun and reading for pleasure. Oftentimes, our students find reading to
be a daunting task, especially when they have to turn the pages and, you know,
work on just fluency and all of that. So Audiobooks and ebooks really just allow
them to remove having to decode and work on fluency and just listen to the stories
. Um, and often times these online
Ebook systems have images to go along with the books, which also
help with the comprehension. So while at home, if you have a student
pick out a type of book that they would like, you can just go into the
Learning Ally library, find that book, and then it'll provide an audio book, audio books in the library. So you can still have your child
go and explore and have fun in the library, and when they pick out a
book, oftentimes the physical books are also availabl
e in audio book form. KiwiWrite is a fun tool as well. So this is a math tool. Um, and if you have a child who, um,
has issues with legibility or issues with, um, just kind of organizing their
math, um, in a row or just making it look neat on paper, KiwiWrite allows
you to just do the math work digitally. Um, also if, again, your
child has fine or gross motor challenges where just writing is. Um, and then there's a barrier. Um, this can really alleviate that. Um, and in order to use KiwiWrite, y
ou
would just, um, Select the numbers that you want to use and then select the signs. And it really does a lot of the
work for you when you just select. The different signs that you want to use. So that's a fun tool. Um, if your child has a worksheet at
home, you can practice, um, Completing that worksheet using KiwiWrite and, um,
See if it is a bit of an easier process. This is another great one, typing. com, um, 100 percent free, and it provides
different games and activities that allow childr
en to work on their typing speed. Um, working on typing speed may, can be
made into a game at this point, and then children can just work on, you know,
competing against themselves to get a better score than they had the first time. It'll give your typing speed and then
it'll kind of collect data of how quickly you're improving with typing or
different areas that you need to practice. It is very guided and they have different
games like driving the race car with typing or popping balloons or jus
t
really interactive fun that you can work on while you're practicing your
finger placement and and the speed. Seeing AI is another tool that is free,
and it's primarily used for children who have visual impairments, but
it essentially allows you to take a picture or a photo of any item in the
environment, whether it's something out of the pantry, whether it's a book, a
different, a chair, anything that might be in the environment, even a face, and
then it'll read whatever it's looking at. So, i
f I take a picture of a cup, it'll
then Uh, say cup, black cup on a table, or it'll say, um, man with beard and
hair, and it'll just read whatever, um, is being displayed in that picture. And that really helps children who
struggle with reading small text or, um, who have trouble identifying
small things in the environment. Um, and if you have a child who may
benefit from this, um, just getting them to have fun with this tool in the
house, um, getting them to take pictures of different things in
the environment
and practice, you know, household items, games, toys in the house, um, and just
see how, you know, taking a picture of it, you can really hear, um, hear what
is going on in that environment where you might have a visual challenge. Adaptive toys. So we have some children who have
challenges with fine and gross motor, and there are many toys that we
can use for these children just to keep them engaged and to keep them
having fun in the home environment. I have linked several adapt
ive toys
that are for all different ages, but adaptive toys really allow
children to be able to participate. Um, in their home environment,
still getting to do fun things. I've got some students who use
Playstations and Xboxes and, um, Nerf guns and water guns and, um, playing
card games all with adaptive toys. Many of them are switch powered,
um, meaning they're operated by tapping a switch and then that,
uh, allows the, the game to start or to move or to be controlled. Okay. Um, and it's impor
tant to
remember that assistive technology is not one size fits all. There are many tools out there,
um, and we really want to show our children that assistive
technology isn't always daunting. It's not always going to be more work. Um, when you're at home using
these tools, it can be made fun. Um, as I mentioned, using them to
create creative writing pieces, to do diary entries, to do, um, creative
reading, fun reading for literature. Um, any of that would be great
ways to incorporate assistive
technology in the home environment. Um, assistive technology is growing
and changing and it's everywhere. It's here to stay. So, it's, it's really important that
we get our kids involved with the technology and allow it to be as fun
and, um, a great experience for them. And I have some takeaways. Assistive technology, our goal is
to always level the playing field and give our children access, um, to
different things that they can use in their environment and at home. All right, and so I wanted
to
open up the floor for questions. I know I went over a lot of information
and I just wanted to hear if you guys have any questions for me about any of
the different tools or any of the decision making process for assistive technology. I think everybody's quiet this afternoon. Thank you so much for all
the great information. I see that someone's mic is not
working, but they might have a question. Here we go. Oh, no, he says our mic isn't working. Okay. Uh, you might be able to put your question
in the chat if you're having a mic challenge, if that, if that would, okay. Um, when would you recommend for a
student who has an, okay, so what would you recommend for a student
who has an emotional disability? Um, that's a great question, and
it really just depends on how that emotional disability is impacting, uh,
their participation in the classroom. Um, mindfulness apps, absolutely,
mindfulness apps to just kind of work on emotion regulation. Huge impact on students, um, giving
them, there
are many different tools that specifically work on, um, just controlling
and working on emotions and, and putting, yeah, games that have children, um, work
on different scenarios that they could, uh, respond in different situations. Um, I can put a couple of them at
the end of my presentation so that you can then have access to them. Um, but there are definitely a couple
of different apps that can benefit. Um, I'm also thinking there are
different, it really just depends on what specific, um, b
arrier the
emotional disability is causing. Awesome. Alright. Any other questions? All right. Well, thank you all for spending,
um, the, after a little bit of your afternoon with us. If you have signed up, we will send
the link of the recording out to you, as well as a copy of Kiara's
presentation that will have all the links and the information about
the resources that she shared. And I will also add some information on
different mindfulness apps and different things that we can use with childr
en
who do have emotional disabilities. So, thank you all so much for
being with us this afternoon. Have a great evening. Thank you. This was great. Thanks so much.
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