Student: The target student used for this assignment was selected because of his unique background, disability and learning style. Also, he has an upcoming IEP. Adding assistive technology should be considered by the IEP team so student reaps full benefit of his educational experience.
Target Student: The target student selected for this assignment is a 20 year old hard of hearing young man enrolled in a county-run deaf/hh special day class. The classroom has a academic/vocational life skill focus. All students are certificated out of the program. The target student is both delayed in language and cognitive development. His home language is Spanish, although he speaks in English and supplements his speech with loose signs. He is a unique learner because he was not recognized as hard of hearing until relatively late in his academic career. He is also unique because, despite his moderate hearing loss, he is an auditory learner.
The student loves pictures and text. He, through exposure to language, print and rote practice, has some phonemic awareness. He can sound out the first letter and second letters of a word, but often, because of his hearing ability (final consonant deletion) has difficulty with word endings. He becomes frustrated because he has extreme difficulty retaining sight words to the level where he can read a book. This student would benefit with the use of assistive technology in the classroom. Specifically, text to voice computer programs. Text to voice would allow the target student access to a world of information that he otherwise would not be able to access.
The technology would require the student to wear headphones to listen to the voice as well as have a computer with a high volume capacity.
Technology: One of the several applications below could be used to aid the student in classroom learning.
http://www.apple.com/education/accessibility/technology/text_to_speech.html
http://www.tni.be/products/text-to-speech-software-start.php
http://www.tniinc.com/english/products/docreader.html
Environment: Voice to text technology will be used while the student is in the classroom.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Notes from Class 3/20
Notes from Class March 20
Resources for Assisted Technology in Education
SETT framework
http://sweb.uky.edu/~jszaba0/JOYZabla.html
This website is by Joy Smilely Zabala.
One this website there are down loadable forms that help you measure the students strengths.... almost like an IEP. How do you use these forms into an IEP and make them usable.
GPAT Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (Georgia??? Technology?? What happened California?)
Look under Resources AT definitions and devices are there for download. Free.
There is a huge difference between considering assistive tech and there being assistive tech. The forms available on the GPAT website will help you be able to determine if the student will be benefited by assistive tech.
WATI- Wisconsin Assistive Techology Initiative
Go to products. There are many free materials to download
Really Good Stuff
Onion Mountain Technology
Slater Software, Inc- Picture It and Picture Writer
Literacy Support Pictures
EASY IEP- similar to SEIS. How do you write tech into the IEP?
http://ets.freetranslation.com/- This is hands down the COOLEST thing ever!!! I am SOOOO happy to know about this.
Resources for Assisted Technology in Education
SETT framework
http://sweb.uky.edu/~jszaba0/JOYZabla.html
This website is by Joy Smilely Zabala.
One this website there are down loadable forms that help you measure the students strengths.... almost like an IEP. How do you use these forms into an IEP and make them usable.
GPAT Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (Georgia??? Technology?? What happened California?)
Look under Resources AT definitions and devices are there for download. Free.
There is a huge difference between considering assistive tech and there being assistive tech. The forms available on the GPAT website will help you be able to determine if the student will be benefited by assistive tech.
WATI- Wisconsin Assistive Techology Initiative
Go to products. There are many free materials to download
Really Good Stuff
Onion Mountain Technology
Slater Software, Inc- Picture It and Picture Writer
Literacy Support Pictures
EASY IEP- similar to SEIS. How do you write tech into the IEP?
http://ets.freetranslation.com/- This is hands down the COOLEST thing ever!!! I am SOOOO happy to know about this.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Reflections from 3/10
As I mentioned in my class assignment from last week, I have learned about the immense number of technological resources there are to support my teaching and classroom curriculum. The difficult part is figuring out how to apply these resources and use them to enhance student learning. This has been a challenge for me. I have spent the last several days racking my brain trying to figure out my technology-based, group lesson. Finally, I have one that will be attempted on Monday. It is not that I am nervous to use technology in my teaching. Not at all. The concern is applying technology and making it relevant to what is going on in the classroom already. That is where I am getting stuck.
I teach in themes and we will study a particular subject for a long time. For math we were doing integers for a very long time. In history we have been studying slavery and the civil war. Thus, I want to use the subjects that I have been covering to enhance the student's comprehension through technology. Tomorrow we will find out how that goes.....
I teach in themes and we will study a particular subject for a long time. For math we were doing integers for a very long time. In history we have been studying slavery and the civil war. Thus, I want to use the subjects that I have been covering to enhance the student's comprehension through technology. Tomorrow we will find out how that goes.....
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Five things I have learned from this class so far...
Five things I have learned from this class
I apologize for presenting this in the form of a list.
1. The most obvious thing I have learned about in this class is the multitude of resources there are out there that I was previously unaware of. This has been a remarkable learning that I am so grateful for.
2. The next thing that I am still in the process of learning is how to apply the resources I am gathering to my teaching. Using the resources to enrich my curriculum will be the real benefit of this class.
3. I have learned how people with disabilities use technology to assist and serve them in their daily life.
4. I saw last week in the video how people can be further disabled by society, insurance companies, and expectations. I also saw how people were able to overcome there obstacles and be empowered. I saw a guest lecturer at my school today with cystic fibrosis. He drives a car, has a good job and is an independent, contributing member of society. This young man's life is positively impacted by technology.
5. Finally, I learned how much more I need to learn about technology and education. The more you learn the more you realize how much more there is to learn.
Infinite Thinking Machine- http://www.infinatethinking.org/
Moving at the Speed of Creativity
Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Google Earth
Sketchup
Firefox
http://homepage.mac.com/torres21/)%20)%20)%20torres21%20(%20(%20(.html
Assignment:
Kids need to work together
Involve technology
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Notes from class 3/6
Videos
The Karamaza Brothers
The first gentleman in the video was disabled by a bullet that hit his spinal cord. The man used technology to start his own company and become more independent. He is on his computer all day and is able to work and help others.
The second man was disabled because of a stroke and heart attack. He cannot type the same way he could before and uses voice recognition technology.
The third scene shows people with all different disabilities talking about their particular disability.
Question: are our students experts about their disability or do we need to teach them?
A young woman who is blind is the fourth person featured. She talks about the technology that she uses to assist her. One is a braille typewriter, voice-assisted typing and voice email. She does not think that her life would be the same without technology.
The next person is a deaf high school student. She does not use sign to communicate. In class she uses a note taker on the computer as well as reads lips. She says that technology helps her .
A man who is a para/quadriplegic. He is an information technology specialist. He has made a website and database for people who have spinal cord injuries so they can communicate. The site also has a link to services and items that are developed specifically for people with spinal cord injuries.
Michael Williams is an author and consultant. He writes a new letter called Alternatively Speaking. He uses a communication board. He also uses email, fax machine and a letter board. He uses the communication board to establish himself as a human in the communicate. He is able to participate in a meaningful way in society. He was born before technology was used to assist people with communicative disabilities. When he was younger he used his grandfathers typewriter to communicate.
You can follow all of the guidelines that are required through ADA but until people's attitudes change not much can happen.
(paraphrased) The biggest disability is a bad attitude. (this is wonderful if you work with teenagers)
Freedom Machines
The woman in the video uses voice recognition to use the computer. She is a ref for soccer games. In high school the school did not want to give her a laptop. The computer did not want to spend money on the disabled- they wanted to spend it on the abled.
Technology that assists people with disability.
A keyboard was designed that a little girl could use with her closed fist.
A man who is a quadriplegic uses a stick to type.
Hearing aide with a T switch
A young woman uses a magnifier for her textbooks.
Book scanner which reads books
Braille notes and display
70% of people with disability are unemployed and 1.6 million are in nursing homes.
The system is not working because the laws are not backed up with the funding!!!!!
$65,000 to put someone in a nursing home and $25,000 will help someone get the technology to be independent.
The majority of people with disabilities live at or below the poverty level.
RESOURCES
Redefining Literacy for the 21st century David Warlick
Differentiated Instruction Teachers, change your bait.
Making Technology work for for learners with special needs by Gene Alman
Computer Resources for People with Disables
Assistive Technology access for all students
Reaction to video: The videos we watched in class have stayed with me all week. I was blown away by some of the facts that were shared in the second video regarding people with disabilies living below the poverty level. The other thing that really shocked me was when I learned that insurance will pay for some things only if a person lives in assisted living/ nursing home. I do not understand the logic of this- doesn' that make a person more disabled and dependent on society? The vidoes were eye opening and, in some instances, tragic. I am so so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn about different disabilies, how their disability impacts some people's everyday life, and how those people use technology to make life a little easier. A very powerful class.
The Karamaza Brothers
The first gentleman in the video was disabled by a bullet that hit his spinal cord. The man used technology to start his own company and become more independent. He is on his computer all day and is able to work and help others.
The second man was disabled because of a stroke and heart attack. He cannot type the same way he could before and uses voice recognition technology.
The third scene shows people with all different disabilities talking about their particular disability.
Question: are our students experts about their disability or do we need to teach them?
A young woman who is blind is the fourth person featured. She talks about the technology that she uses to assist her. One is a braille typewriter, voice-assisted typing and voice email. She does not think that her life would be the same without technology.
The next person is a deaf high school student. She does not use sign to communicate. In class she uses a note taker on the computer as well as reads lips. She says that technology helps her .
A man who is a para/quadriplegic. He is an information technology specialist. He has made a website and database for people who have spinal cord injuries so they can communicate. The site also has a link to services and items that are developed specifically for people with spinal cord injuries.
Michael Williams is an author and consultant. He writes a new letter called Alternatively Speaking. He uses a communication board. He also uses email, fax machine and a letter board. He uses the communication board to establish himself as a human in the communicate. He is able to participate in a meaningful way in society. He was born before technology was used to assist people with communicative disabilities. When he was younger he used his grandfathers typewriter to communicate.
You can follow all of the guidelines that are required through ADA but until people's attitudes change not much can happen.
(paraphrased) The biggest disability is a bad attitude. (this is wonderful if you work with teenagers)
Freedom Machines
The woman in the video uses voice recognition to use the computer. She is a ref for soccer games. In high school the school did not want to give her a laptop. The computer did not want to spend money on the disabled- they wanted to spend it on the abled.
Technology that assists people with disability.
A keyboard was designed that a little girl could use with her closed fist.
A man who is a quadriplegic uses a stick to type.
Hearing aide with a T switch
A young woman uses a magnifier for her textbooks.
Book scanner which reads books
Braille notes and display
70% of people with disability are unemployed and 1.6 million are in nursing homes.
The system is not working because the laws are not backed up with the funding!!!!!
$65,000 to put someone in a nursing home and $25,000 will help someone get the technology to be independent.
The majority of people with disabilities live at or below the poverty level.
RESOURCES
Redefining Literacy for the 21st century David Warlick
Differentiated Instruction Teachers, change your bait.
Making Technology work for for learners with special needs by Gene Alman
Computer Resources for People with Disables
Assistive Technology access for all students
Reaction to video: The videos we watched in class have stayed with me all week. I was blown away by some of the facts that were shared in the second video regarding people with disabilies living below the poverty level. The other thing that really shocked me was when I learned that insurance will pay for some things only if a person lives in assisted living/ nursing home. I do not understand the logic of this- doesn' that make a person more disabled and dependent on society? The vidoes were eye opening and, in some instances, tragic. I am so so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn about different disabilies, how their disability impacts some people's everyday life, and how those people use technology to make life a little easier. A very powerful class.
Monday, March 5, 2007
What kind of mark do you want to leave on your students?
What kind of mark do you want to leave on your students?
School starts, lesson plans, IEPs, goals, journals, spelling tests, homework, meetings, paperwork, grades.... it is easy to forget this most important question. What kind of mark do I want to leave on my students? This was something that I thought a lot about when I first became a teacher, but it is easy to forget about when you are immersed in your work.
On a daily basis if I make one small difference in a student's world I consider my day a success;I feel I have made my "mark". What are these daily "marks"?
It's about seeing students become confident and more self- assured.
Showing them how they are able as opposed to disabled.
Letting them know they are smart
Seeing the ah-ha in their eyes when they finally get something
Telling them their thoughts are important
Making student's feel valued as individuals
Helping them become more independent.
and finally,
Teaching them that they have something to give.
As students leave everyday I stand at the door and shake each one of their hands. I do this first of all because I was taught early of the importance of a strong handshake. But really this ritual exists because I want my students to know that I see them as individual contributing adults, worthy of respect and regard. I can only hope that this leaves a lasting mark and makes a small difference in who they will continue to become.
School starts, lesson plans, IEPs, goals, journals, spelling tests, homework, meetings, paperwork, grades.... it is easy to forget this most important question. What kind of mark do I want to leave on my students? This was something that I thought a lot about when I first became a teacher, but it is easy to forget about when you are immersed in your work.
On a daily basis if I make one small difference in a student's world I consider my day a success;I feel I have made my "mark". What are these daily "marks"?
It's about seeing students become confident and more self- assured.
Showing them how they are able as opposed to disabled.
Letting them know they are smart
Seeing the ah-ha in their eyes when they finally get something
Telling them their thoughts are important
Making student's feel valued as individuals
Helping them become more independent.
and finally,
Teaching them that they have something to give.
As students leave everyday I stand at the door and shake each one of their hands. I do this first of all because I was taught early of the importance of a strong handshake. But really this ritual exists because I want my students to know that I see them as individual contributing adults, worthy of respect and regard. I can only hope that this leaves a lasting mark and makes a small difference in who they will continue to become.
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