Class 4 Reflections

The webinar presentations shared A LOT of very useful information about iPad Apps that can support the diverse learners in our classrooms.  I appreciate the effort each group put into sharing what they felt were the highlights of the webinar viewed.  Below, I have highlighted Apps, insights, and connections I made while listening and viewing the presentations.

New Apps for LD - Keisha and Donalda

I could really relate to Keisha and Donalda's excitement about the FREE Paperport Notes App!  It provides a great option for those students that have difficulty with output and/or organization, and possibly a motivating tool for students who simply prefer tech to paper/pencil tasks.  The option to scan documents, like worksheets, so that students can complete it on the iPad is excellent, and the voice to text option and recording option are added bonuses as well.  I am excited about incorporating this App into my classroom, and I have already shared it with my colleagues!  I also really appreciated when they said, "Technology opens up a wealth of new opportunities and support for all students, not just those with learning disabilities".  This perfectly sums up why Paperport Notes, and many of the other Apps discussed as well, are excellent tools that promote active engagement of all learners in the classroom and beyond - wherever the mobile technology takes them!

Top Free Apps in Special Education - Mary, Courtney and Amy


I really liked the way these ladies incorporated fluidsurveys.com as a method for collecting their data!  Although I haven't done so yet, I intend to incorporate this into my classroom soon.  I really think it has great possibilities for the classroom!   One App shared that stood out for me was PocketPond. It was identified as being helpful for students with autism, with sensory processing difficulties, and as a calming strategy for students with behavior issues.

Apps that Enhance Performance of Individuals with Extreme Autism - Evan, Maralyn, Karen and Nicole
     



This group shared a lot of interesting apps that are helpful for students with autism.  They talked about apps like Touch Trainer, which is designed help anyone who is learning about touch screen technology.  It also helps teach fine motor skills, and cause and effect.  Fluid2 is a great app that is similar to Pond Pocket.  It is useful for calming, transitions, and self-regulation.



New Apps for LD - Michelle, Jeremey, Clarissa and Joey

I really appreciated this group's discussion about the swift change in technology.  The iPad has only been around since 2010 - and what an amazing impact it has had on education!  I also appreciated their acknowledgement of the fact that there seem to be 'have schools' and 'have-not' schools, and the need to remedy this issue before this excellent technology can really be embraced and used to help develop the learners in all of our classrooms.  It really is a tool that is accessible to all, and once the technology is in place it is important to have support (AT consultants, mentors) to help integrate it into the classroom.  A few times people have mentioned (and I agree!) how overwhelming it can be to learn about what's out there - SO MUCH - and it is imperative that supports continue to be in place to help us keep up with the newest and most useful technologies available to our students.  This is a difficult task for educators to do in isolation and without expertise in the area.  With the proper technology and supports in place, we can then truly ensure that students are "not only using it - but using it to learn"!

Executive Function - Victor, Janice and Sheri
"Our students don't just want mobile learning - they need it!"  This group defined executive function as "a set of mental processes that help to connect past experience with present actions and situations".  They shared a variety of apps that can assist students with executive function difficulties - including those with ADHD, ODD, autism, and various forms of LD.  One app that I thought was especially interesting, and also different from many of the others shared, was the Shredder app.  I can really see this app being helpful for certain students.  I think having a student who is experiencing frustration or sadness write down their thoughts and shred them could be very therapeutic!  I am excited to try this when the situation arises where it might be useful.  I also think it is something I could talk about in Health class as a way for managing stress or relationship problems.  Another app they mentioned, that I already like to use in my classroom, is the iMovie app.  In the winter, I had all of my class engaged in creating iMovies for science class.  My students were really excited about it, and they were all over the school making their movies - and the only comments I got about this were about how engaged the students were in what they were doing!  It was wonderful to see!

Presentation Add-Ons

Below is a video about a 1 to 1 iPad tablet case study at Humphrey Perkins School.

I like the following video that shares a view of iPads in Education.

Class 3 Reflections

This week, I was unable to attend class, as I was in Fredericton attending my niece's graduation.  As a result, my "class 3" occurred over the weekend, and I worked alone rather than in a group for the first assignment.  I included the quote above because I really do feel that teamwork is essential to working towards a unified goal - in this case, our learning about AT - and in this situation I am working independently, but still contributing to our unified goal through my individual presentation.  The option to be able to work on my own due to circumstances is, in my opinion, a great example of how technology can allow us to have more flexibility in the completion of assignments. 

When I think about the content of the webinar I viewed  - "Exciting New Apps for LD" - I am slightly overwhelmed.  There was such a vast amount of information shared in such a short period of time, and the capabilities of just those few apps are incredible and far-reaching.  Suddenly, doors have opened up for students that were once firmly closed.  Inaccessible text, accessible.  Impossible research assignments, possible.  Inconceivable writing tasks, conceivable.  What's even more exciting, is that these mobile devices can be used as a source of engagement for ALL learners, so students who may need the Apps blend in with their classmates who may not. 

In preparation for my presentation, I came across the following TEDtalk from a young person who has dyslexia.  Her early experiences perfectly demonstrate why I am so excited about the use of iPads in the classroom.  Below the video is a website that shares examples of Apps that may benefit students who have dyslexia.

http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/tools/apps

"Engaging Students with Learning Differences Early On"

As I was searching for a video to include in my presentation, I came across this rather interesting PBS News Report about engaging students with learning differences early in their school careers.  I thought it was too long to include in my presentation, but I thought you might enjoy taking  a look when you have a chance.  This school has a good philosophy about inclusion, and I appreciated several aspects of  their organization - including the incorporation of technology, and co-teaching.  Take a look if you have a moment, and please let me know what you think if it struck a chord with you as well!

UDL Video: From the students' perspective

It's always important to view things from different perspectives, and I think this short video does a great job of sharing the principles of UDL from the students' point of view.  In watching this video I am also reminded of the need for curriculum reform that supports the type of 21st Century Learners in our classrooms today - regardless of their learning challenges. If we shift our focus to UDL, we engage ALL learners. If we could re-focus our curriculum to better reflect the information-rich world we live in, then I believe we would engage more educators in utilizing the principles of UDL more fully in their classrooms.

Class 2 Reflections

I really enjoyed the set-up of our 2nd class, and was reminded about how students in my own classroom want to learn: they want to do - they need us to engage them.  My own learning style - one that might be presumed to differ greatly from my young students - requires interactive, ongoing, independent, technology-rich, problem-based learning.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to reflect upon the first class in the 'fluidsurvey', and I would like to adapt this starter for use in my own classroom - perhaps using  that website, or another means of technology - like my Moodle site.  I appreciated the opportunity to reflect upon what we had discussed the week before, and the fact that we were encouraged to access information if we needed to made it even better!  Students would have the opportunity to self-assess what they know, and could access the information again to reinforce or remind them of what they are required to know.

In viewing the accessibility options on the iPad, I was reminded once again of what a powerful tool the device is.  Those options, coupled with the thousands of Apps that can help all students (people) make my wish for 1:1 ratio of,iPads:students even stronger.  With that wish, comes the reminder that social justice issues  play a  role here as well, as acknowledged in the class discussion and chat box.  How do we create more equitable distribution of this important technology?  How do we ensure access for all?  I had a parent/colleague recently state that her children both have iPads, and she would happily send them to school - BYOD.  She also indicated that those that couldn't afford the device could have it provided by the school/board.  This is a  great solution - but does it solve the equity issue, or create a different divide?  Regardless of these issues, I value this tool immensely, and am excited about the implications in my own classroom.

In my class, I had some students play with the iPads while their classmates finished an assignment.   I wanted them to explore the App "Educreations", and I asked them to find the best video to demonstrate the use of a spring scale for measuring force.  These students were on task, engaged in the activity, and learned how to use the App and how to use a spring scale - all independently.  One  of the students is a young girl who struggles in school.  She is on an IPP for Math, and will likely end up on one for ELA as well.  This student also completed  the task independently - with an extra one-on-one explanation of the task - and she had tremendous success with the Educreations App.  I am committed to getting the few iPads we have (all teachers/EAs have one, and 7 remain in a cart for sign-out) into my classroom more frequently so we can explore more Apps that might assist my students in accessing information and representing their learning as we wrap up our year together.

Amanda Baggs: In My Language

Wow!  I am literally blown away by this video.  AT has enabled Amanda to share with the world a powerful message about presuming - or not presuming - competence.  This provides a really eye-opening perspective on generating assumptions about people with disabilities, and Amanda makes it clear that her actions, and interactions with the world are valuable and purposeful.  Unfortunately, we don't work hard enough to understand her language - but she has done a tremendous job of making us think and gain perspective about people whose communication differs from our own.

Assistive Technology: A necessity in our classrooms

This is an interesting clip that provides a glimpse into how we can engage, motivate, and increase success for students through proper integration of assistive technologies.

Class 1 Reflections

It is clear to me that this course will be an interesting one to journey through, and I anticipate much learning that will be brought back to my classroom.  This is, of course, the most practical type of course – one that applies directly and immediately to the classroom setting, and one that significantly impacts the students that I work with.

Some of the vocabulary discussed during the first class is new to me, including UDL – Universal Design for Learning.  As someone expressed in class, the principles of UDL are not necessarily new to me, but the terminology and research surrounding it are.  The idea of presenting students with multiples means of representation and assessment is so important, and that this leads to a more engaging learning experience for students seems somewhat obvious.  Providing students with the opportunity to learn in the way best suited to them, and to show that learning in their own way is integral to engaging our 21^st Century learners, many of whom we are ‘losing’ or ‘failing’ in today’s classrooms.

The following link shares interesting information about UDL, including a brief video clip introducing the concept to the viewer. 

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl/3principles

Aside from being interested in the integration of UDL principles and Assistive Technologies in my classroom, I also have an interest or motivation to learn that stems from the difficulties my nephew has in school.  He has a diagnosed learning disability, and has to work extremely hard to succeed in school.  He is currently in Gr. 11, and has, to this point, managed to take a regular course load, with learning centre support.  His difficulty with reading and writing has had a major impact on his confidence – he often states “I can’t read that – I’m dumb”.  I’m not sure to what extent he really believes that  - with his supports in place he usually makes 70’s and 80’s in school – but he states it enough that I know his challenges bother him.  Worse yet, he feels limited in what opportunities are available to him upon graduation.  He told me once that he wished he could go to university, and it breaks my heart that he thinks he can’t.  I try to encourage him and tell him that with the appropriate supports in place, he has more options than he thinks, but I sometimes wonder – does he?  I don’t really know the answer.  In hearing about the Apps that can be used to scan a text and read it aloud, I wondered how this might help my nephew.  I have already spoken with my sister about it, encouraging her to look into this technology as a tool for him.  I can’t wait to learn about more Apps that might assist him in achieving goals that he thinks are unreachable.

In January, my students used iMovie to create movies about their learning in our Science unit.  I have a particularly 'busy' and somewhat challenging group - certainly challenging to motivate.  During the 'production phase' - when I had students all over the school, I had many comments about how engaged they were in the assignment.  Success!  In addition, I was able to witness my students who are on IPPs become involved, excited and included in their group's production.  One student's mother shared how her child had come home talking about the activity and (more importantly) sharing her learning as she explained what the movie was about.  Repeating her lines over and over as they took retakes had assisted her in retaining some new information that typically would require tremendous effort, possibly with no/little success.  Awesome!  I think some of the conversation in class has encouraged me to give more freedom with the choice of App used to share their learning.  It's time to let go of the (usually well-intended) need to control what all students are doing, so they can let their creativity take them to places I couldn't even imagine.  Sir Ken would be proud.