Learn how to design and develop an inclusive learning environment by adopting a process of selection and implementation of augmentative/alternative communication systems using a multi-tiered system of supports.
Learning Objectives
Define the Specific Language System First Approach to AAC
Explore the evidence base for adopting and implementing the Specific Language System First Approach to AAC
Examine the connections between a Multi-Tiered System of Supports and the Specific Language System First Approach to AAC
Thank you to everyone who read The New Assistive Tech. In that book, I shared how embracing learner-centered approaches like project-based learning and growth mindset works to support students with disabilities. I provided guidance on how to plan and execute educational experiences using technology centered around the needs of students with disabilities. And I shared strategies for how to select technological supports based on the specific needs of an individual student with a disability, and how these strategies can then be used to create a roadmap for inclusive practices.
Building on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, this edition explores ways to support students, especially learners with disabilities, through distance learning, and how adopting personalized learning principles can help facilitate a smooth transition regardless of where the learning takes place.
Designed to be read one day – and page – at a time, this book offers 365 strategies for implementing technology to design inclusive experiences.
Educators across the world are working to design individualized instruction that empowers every student to become experts at learning. Technology and instructional interventions designed to support students with disabilities often eventually become mainstream and used by the masses. These practices provide a pathway for designing inclusive, equitable and accessible educational experiences that meet the needs of every individual learner.
This engaging book includes daily strategies accompanied by examples of tools that can be implemented immediately to design meaningful instruction. Topics covered include role-playing games for social-emotional learning, building literacy through captioned video, coding to teach early literacy, text-to-speech for math and reading, and much more!
Each daily strategy includes:
• Explanation of how to use the strategy to design inclusive educational experiences.
• Examples of tools that can be used to implement the strategy.
• Alternative ways to use the strategy to extend student learning.
• Images illustrating the strategy or tool.
• Identification of relevant ISTE Standards for Educators and ISTE Standards for Students.
• Related resources.
The heart of the book is the shift in mindset that occurs by exploring a different practical, inclusive strategy each day and infusing these strategies into everyday practice.
Also, I’ll be presenting at both FETC 2019 and ATIA 2019. See you there!
FETC 2019
25 Ways To Improve Your Inclusive Practices
with Mike Marotta
Learning need not be a chore for everyone, including those students with IEPs or 504 plans. Join the fun as we explore 25 methods that engage and empower ALL students to take charge of their own learning. Infuse your classroom or school with these inclusive practices to design educational experiences that meet the unique needs of every learner. From apps to browser extensions to web tools — let’s find supports to promote active learning for every student in this BYOD workshop.
Escape The Room With Inclusive Strategies
Work individually or divide up into teams to see if you can Escape the Room! Collect the clues, decipher the riddles, and solve the puzzles to claim your prize! Along the way you’ll experience a variety of instructional strategies useful for designing inclusive and accessible educational experiences. Leave with a list of practical tools, resources, and ideas to help teach every learner. Even if you fail, you win! Will you ESCAPE THE ROOM? Note: This is not a Breakout EDU Session. This is a customized experience to showcase functional and practical tools to enhance inclusive and universal design.
Meet The Author
FETC is hosting a “Meet the Authors” Booth in the Expo hall at the Orange County Convention Center. Come meet authors of best-selling education technology books, take selfies, ask questions, get your books signed, purchase books and discuss hot topics.
Today’s technology, including everyday tools designed for the mainstream market and specially designed assistive technology tools can support individuals who struggle with note-taking and organization of resources or text based information. This full-day session will examine a variety of note-taking and organizational tools accessible on a range of platforms, including Chrome, iOS, and Android, as well as tools that help students move back and forth between paper and digital notes. We will approach the issue of note-taking from multiple perspectives and offer solutions to meet the diverse needs of all learners. Explore a range of AT tools designed for notetaking along with everyday technology tools to support all learners, including apps, websites, specialized notebooks, and audio recording pens.
25 Ways To Improve Your Inclusive Practices
with Mike Marotta
Learning need not be a chore for everyone, including those students with IEPs or 504 plans. Join the fun as we explore 25 methods that engage and empower ALL students to take charge of their own learning. Infuse your classroom or school with these inclusive practices to design educational experiences that meet the unique needs of every learner. From apps to browser extensions to web tools — let’s find supports to promote active learning for every student in this BYOD workshop.
Make Learning Awesome By Designing Personalized Experiences For All!
with Beth Poss
The very nature of education is changing to become more personalized and learner-centered. In this interactive presentation, participants will discuss how to design accessible learning experiences using technology in the era of Personalized Learning, Universal Design for Learning, The Growth Mindset, Project Based Learning, The Maker Movement, Bring Your Own Technology initiatives, and open educational resources. Together we’ll discuss a process for assessing student abilities and knowledge, strategies for targeting areas for instruction, integrating accessible digital content in a way that engages the individual by utilizing student choice, enticing students to reflect on their own learning, and using the data collected from these lessons to design future experiences. With guidance from the instructors, participants will generate a list of strategies to be used in different areas of instruction including Environmental Design, Digital Content Integration, Student Agency, and Evidence Based Decision-making. Bring your devices to participate in this learning event.
AAC Agreements: Establishing Evidence-based Universal Truths For Consideration and Implementation
with Shaun Pearson & Chris CichoskiKelly
What are universal truths that every practitioner should know when working with a person using an AAC device? In this interactive session, participants will learn existing universal truths known as AAC Agreements which exist in draft format created during collaborative discussions from sessions at previous ATIA conferences. Participants will then engage in their choice of an activity to either find evidence that supports (or refutes) an existing agreement, or to develop a new, potential, evidence-based agreement. Participants will collaborate online to create a robust and valuable resource for the AAC community. Participants will discuss how to develop a process for continued contributions and how to develop a system for content review. Participants will leave aware of existing agreements, knowledgeable about research-based methodology to support (or refute) a claim, and part of a larger community of those interested in evidence based practices for AAC selection and implementation.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Spotlight: Addressing Challenges to AAC Implementation
with Carole Zangari, Gail Van Tatenhove, Vicki Clarke, Caroline Musslewhite
How can we best address some of the most impactful challenges to strong AAC implementation? The AAC Strand Spotlight will be a moderated panel with presenters from private practice/consultancy, school, and clinical settings. The session will begin with some remarks regarding issues and trends in the AAC field. Each panelist will then discuss their current thinking on best practices in implementing AAC tools and strategies. Panelists will identify two challenges to AAC implementation and discuss approaches to addressing each one.
App Smackdown
with Beth Poss, Mike Marotta, Karen Janowski
Sharing is everything right? Wouldn’t it be nice if a group of people could just sit down and share different apps that can be used on iOS, Android or Chrome? If you answered ‘yes,’ then this session is for you! Join us for this year’s edition of the App Smackdown. In this session, participants will share with each other different apps that can be used with and/or by individuals with disabilities. Come join us for a fast-paced and exciting experience for sharing your knowledge and learning with others. Bring your devices with you to share because this session is all about YOU!! The hour flies by so come ready to learn. The facilitators will compile list of shared tools for future reference.
PD Smackdown
with Beth Poss, Mike Marotta, Diana Carl
Want to learn about innovative ideas for professional development? Join us for this interactive, newly formatted Smackdown! We will provide 4 interactive discussion groups to brainstorm and discuss the ideas in the various stages of PD (Prepare, Present, Practice & Performance). All participants will have an opportunity to give input in these stages. Then there will be a 20 minute report to share with the entire audience. This session is only as good as the participants who bring the ideas, programs and share their experiences! Through our facilitators, we will share the outcomes from each group. All session ideas will be collected via shared online resource which will be available after the session.
Starting the week of July 9th, educators around the world will be discussing questions related to The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome For All using the hashtag #atchat on Twitter. Each week a new question will be posed inviting readers around the world to participate in the discussion. Questions will also be posed on Flipgrid. The password to enter is atchat18. Participants are invited to respond using the modality of their choice!
Join the conversation, engage with others, and help others transform into Educational Experience Designers!
And, just in case you’re like, “What the heck is this book about?” Here’s more info about The New Assistive Tech!
This book:
Provides a methodology for transforming educators into experience designers by adopting a mindset of inclusive practices.
Details how an educational team can effectively request assistance to determine technology needs.
Explains how to provide assistance by coaching an educational team through a process to make informed decisions about technology needs.
Describes a proactive approach to professional development for individuals and for those who train others on the use of technology.
Assists individuals or teams in creating an action plan for developing a culture of inclusion.
Interweaves stories, songs, games, activities and other exciting features to make the experience of reading the book fun!
The New Assistive Tech is a catalyst for breaking down walls between special education and general education, and will help all educators realize they have tech knowledge (and can build upon that knowledge) that can be used to support all students, including those with disabilities.
School districts often struggle to develop consistent practices for meeting the assistive needs of students receiving special education services. This fun yet professional book will help PK-12 educators learn a process to improve how they consider, select, and implement technology to help all students!
This book:
Provides a methodology for transforming educators into experience designers by adopting a mindset of inclusive practices.
Details how an educational team can effectively request assistance to determine technology needs.
Explains how to provide assistance by coaching an educational team through a process to make informed decisions about technology needs.
Describes a proactive approach to professional development for individuals and for those who train others on the use of technology.
Assists individuals or teams in creating an action plan for developing a culture of inclusion.
Interweaves stories, songs, games, activities and other exciting features to make the experience of reading the book fun!
The New Assistive Tech is a catalyst for breaking down walls between special education and general education, and will help all educators realize they have tech knowledge (and can build upon that knowledge) that can be used to support all students, including those with disabilities.
School districts often struggle to develop consistent practices for meeting the assistive needs of students receiving special education services. This fun yet professional book will help PK-12 educators learn a process to improve how they consider, select, and implement technology to help all students!
This book:
Provides a methodology for transforming educators into experience designers by adopting a mindset of inclusive practices.
Details how an educational team can effectively request assistance to determine technology needs.
Explains how to provide assistance by coaching an educational team through a process to make informed decisions about technology needs.
Describes a proactive approach to professional development for individuals and for those who train others on the use of technology.
Assists individuals or teams in creating an action plan for developing a culture of inclusion.
Interweaves stories, songs, games, activities and other exciting features to make the experience of reading the book fun!
The New Assistive Tech is a catalyst for breaking down walls between special education and general education, and will help all educators realize they have tech knowledge (and can build upon that knowledge) that can be used to support all students, including those with disabilities.
This year the International Society for Technology in Education is hosting its first ever People’s Choice Award style contest for presentation proposals to the annual conference. Mike Marotta (@mmatp) and I have teamed up to put together a proposal for a session called 25 Ways To Improve Your Inclusive Practices. We need your help to get accepted!
Are you going to the Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference in Orlando, Florida in February of 2018? If so, join AT Makers for AT Maker Day! There will be activities where AT Maker groups share their projects, sessions where you learn new maker skills, and opportunities to brainstorm problems and project ideas. AT Maker Day is a free event! Don’t just make stuff! Make stuff to HELP others!
Sadly, I won’t be at ATIA 2018, so you need to go for me! I need to hear all about it!
New Book Update!
The book has gone to the copy editor! The title and cover design will the announced soon! I’m super excited to bring it to you!
I’ve moved the audio files associated with the A.T.TIPScast from Cyberears to Podbean. If you experience any interruptions to how you access the A.T.TIPSCAST using your podcast application, re-subscribe! You can access every episode from http://attipscast.podbean.com/. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Every episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST has been converted into a video and uploaded to YouTube. You can access a video version of every episode from the YouTube Channel.
New content for the A.T.TIPSCAST continues to be on hold, but that doesn’t mean new content isn’t being produced! I’ve partnered with Lucas Steuber from SpeechScience and Rachel Madel to create a new podcast called Talking with Tech! The new podcast features discussions about technology related to communication and beyond!
New Book Update!
The book has gone through the first round of peer reviews! It is time to use their feedback to tighten some things up and move some things around to make it the best it can be before its ready to be released into the wild.
This week I was invited to present an hour long webinar for YappGuru University’s AAC After Work series. The series featured a number of internationally known presenters who work in the field of Augmentative/Alternative Communication and Assistive Technology. I presented Five Necessary Components of Effective AAC Implementation. You can find the slide deck by going to http://bit.ly/ygu5aac.
The webinar was recorded and can be purchased through YappGuru University by going to http://bit.ly/ygu5aaccourse. YappGuru University offers .10 ASHA CEUs for successful completion.
Below are some of the comments from some live participants:
“OMG I love the house/door thing!!! I need to use this with current parents!”
“These memes!!! I love it!”
“This was one of the best, most effective presentations I have seen!”
“Most excellent presentation! Loved it!”
“Thank you for all the information that was great!”
Back at ATIA 2017, I was invited to record a video for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation as part of their ongoing video series. I chose to talk about a concept called the Least Dangerous Assumption authored by Anne Donnellan and expounded upon on Cheryl Jorgensen in a follow-up article. The Foundation then took my raw footage and turned into something watchable (and, I hope if you like it, also shareable). Here’s the final cut! I hope I did the concept justice.
Here’s a big thank you to the Foundation for inviting me to record the video and to Karen Janowski for connecting us! Thank you Karen!
Where the heck have you been? There hasn’t been any new updates to the A.T.TIPScast in awhile. What’s the deal? While you’re busy explaining things, here’s another question for you. The Practical and Fun Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools turns 7 years old in April. Are there any plans for another book? Do you have any plans to do anything else? Whatchya working on? What’s keeping you busy these days?
Thanks for keeping us in the loop,
Everyone
Dear Everyone,
Thank you for the questions. Believe me, no one is itching to get back to producing new podcast episodes more than me! I miss it! As for now though, the A.T.TIPScast is on vacation as number of different projects have taken precedence. Recently, I participated in an interview with Mai Ling Chan who recently launched YappGuruU, a new online learning platform specializing in courses for professionals working with people with disabilities. In the interview, we discuss some past events like the TEDxAshburn presentation but then dive into what’s been going on currently. Here’s a link to watch the video over on Facebook Live.
But, for those of you like me, List Lovers, here’s the breakdown of what’s up…with bullets!
Episode YouTube Conversion Project – Every episode of the A.T.TIPScast is being converted and archived in YouTube. Check out the progress over at the A.T.TIPScast YouTube page.
Presentations & Coaching – Whether in person, via video conference, or through a webinar, I’ve been busy presenting. I’ve also been coaching teams working to bring about change in their educational institutions with regard to technology implementation for people with disabilities. You can see an entire list of presentation here.
YappGuru University Course – Once the A.T.TIPScast episodes are loaded in YouTube, I’ll be working to put them together in a way where people can get professional development credit for listening to them through YappGuru University.
NEW BOOK! – I’m busy writing a new book to be published by the International Society for Technology in Education. The book is an entirely new work focusing on creating practices and programs built upon educational experiences designed for every learner using contemporary technology considerations.
So, that’s what’s going on with me! If you’re reading this, then it’s because of you I have all these opportunities to make a change in the world.
By now, you’ve probably heard of the Mannequin Challenge. The concept is simple. For no good reason, create a scene where everyone holds completely still as another person walks through the scene filming it. Then, post your video to entertain or inspire others. Here’s a link to some of the more popular ones which have already been created – http://time.com/4565174/mannequin-challenge-ranking/
How does this relate assistive technology?
Let’s gather together to participate in a Mannequin Challenge to raise awareness for the use of technology to support people with disabilities. Let’s do an Assistive Technology Mannequin Challenge.
When: Friday, January 20th at 6:30pm ET
Where: At the launch of EdcampAccess at the 2017 Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference in Orlando, Florida
What to do: Creatively show off a concept, principle, practice, or piece of technology used to support a person with a disability by holding a pose for approximately 1 – 2 minutes. Someone, likely me, will slowly move through the crowd filming it.
Once recorded, I’ll edit it together with some music and post it to YouTube. Then we can all share it with everyone we know!
If you have any questions, let me know!
Hope to see you there!
UPDATE! The Mannequin Challenge Happened! Here is the video we made together!
Episode #155 features a recording of a conversation between Chris and his wife Melissa which takes place during a baby sitting session. The episode explores early language development and describes the strategy of Aided Language Stimulation (ALgS) necessary for teaching language to a user of augmentative/alternative communication.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #488: Model on the AAC device.
Also, here’s a video that explains Aided Language Stimulation:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #154 features a discussion on the concept of using motor plans and motor memory to become automatic at using an AAC device.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #486: Plan for motor memory right from the onset of device implementation.
A.T.TIP #487: Don’t mess with the motor plan once established.
Attribution Notification – Portions of the following musical tracks were used in this episode:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #153 features a discussion on which vocabulary to target when teaching language to a student who uses an augmentative/alternative communication device. This is the episode for Better Hearing and Speech Month of 2016.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #484: Use open-ended questions rather than closed questions. Try this exercise to practice!
A.T.TIP #485: Converse with device users in such a way that allows them to respond using the most frequently used vocabulary.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #152 is a discussion on how to teach language by breaking it down into component parts and structuring lessons around language concepts.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #481: Developing a plan to target one or two words per week (or so) building up to more complex/grouped language concepts.
Sample Planning Sheet
Targetted Word – Put
Numbers in Language Opportunities column are minimum opportunities
to use the targetted word
TIME
ACTIVITY
LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES
8:00 – 8:30
Morning Circle
Attendance – Where to put others (5)
Calendar – Where to put # day (5)
Weather – Where to put clothes on character (5)
8:30 – 9:00
Science
Plants – Soil in cup (3), seeds in soil (5), water in soil (2), plant near window (1)
9:00 – 9:30
Storytime
Story w/ “put” – Grocery shopping. Put in basket (3), put on belt (3), put in bag (1) put in car (1), put in house (1), put away (3)
9:30 – 10:00
Snack
Plate on table (1), cup on table (1), Put on plate (5), put in cup (5), put in hand (5), put top on (1), put in mouth (5), put away (1)
10:00 – 10:30
Art
Paper on table (1), paint on table (3), brush on table (1), water in cup (1), water on table (1), smock on (1), paint on brush (5), brush on paper (5), brush in water (5), paper away (1), paint away (3), brush away (1), water away (1), smock off (1)
10:30 – 11:00
Maths
Addition – Squares on board (10), Group squares (10), Numbers to match squares (10)
A.T.TIP #482: Plan for at least 100 structured experiences to expose and use the targeted word or language concept.
A.T.TIP #483: Teaching language is more like building a house than unlocking a door.
There is not an A.T.TIPSCAST Episode associated with this post.
BACKGROUND INFO
Before I begin, I want to make it clear that what you are about to read is not meant to be a criticism but rather a call to help me, and likely others, understand more about what is apparently a confusing topic.
Recently, the Open Educational Resources movement has picked up a head of steam with the announcement of the Open eBooks initiative championed by Michelle Obama and The White House. At the forefront of this initiative was the launch of a new Open eBooks app. Like so many, I was initially excited. Open sourced materials have the potential for providing greater and more varied learning opportunities to everyone including people with disabilities, so what was not to be excited about?
Many of the people in my extended network of educators (Marvin Williams, Mike Marotta, Jamie Martin, etc.) working for and with people with disabilities began exploring the app for its accessibility features, including myself. The results were concerning as many discovered that the registration process to utilize the app was cumbersome and a barrier in itself, requiring educators to input demographic data that isn’t necessarily readily accessible to them. Once past the registration process, some necessary features were not universally available on every book within the app. Features such as text to speech, text to speech with dual highlighting, and image descriptions were simply not present ubiquitously.
These findings spurred an outcry (encapsulated in this blog post by June Behrmann), which, I think, led to the accessibility features of the Open eBooks app to be a topic of #ATchat on March 2nd. Andrew Marcinek, the Open Education Advisor to the Office of Educational Technology was an active participant in the chat and addressed the concerns.
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
But, here are the questions that have been plaguing me. Why does another app need to exist in the first place? Could open educational resources be created, organized, and shared in such a way that are device agnostic? Or, to put it simply, could open educational resources be made available in such a way that the user chooses which application he or she wants to use to experience the content? Could the government, rather than backing an additional app with a limited library of materials, support a structure where a user could search the entirety of open educational resources and then, select and open a file using whatever tool they want?
Currently, a person might need to maintain multiple apps to get to a specific piece of content. Each app has its own UI experience and accessibility features. Users need to maintain all of these apps, navigate the differing UI experiences, and mitigate varied features of the different apps, which makes for a giant ball of confusion.
A typical user experience might be as follows:
“Hmmm…where can I find this title? Let me check this app. Nope, that title is not there. Now let me check this other app. Nope, that title is not here either. Now, let me check yet another app! Huzzah, the title is here but this app isn’t an app that has the accessibility feature I need (or even prefer).”
If I’m a user who already has trouble reading and possibly has executive functioning difficulties, adding yet another library for me to check likely adds a barrier rather than knocks one down.
Instead of asking users to search multiple libraries individually could the government help provide one central place where all users go to get the content in the format they choose? Instead of backing yet another new app, could the money be spent building a tool which ties all the existing open educational resources together to make them searchable?
TRANSPORTATION AS A MODEL
Consider how the government works to facilitate transportation in the US. As part of the nation’s infrastructure, the government contracts out the companies to build roads. The government doesn’t contract out to companies to build cars that go on these roads. The government provides regulations for the construction of the cars but doesn’t manufacture them.
Could the same model be applied to open educational resources? Like the building of roads, the government could contract out to a company to build a searchable structure tying all open education resources together. When a user is looking for a resource, they could just go to this one place. The user could search the database and results could come back with all the file formats available. The user could then select the file format to open in the app of her or his choice (Open in…). To ensure accessibility and compatibility, the government could provide regulations about the criteria necessary for that file to be found in the search, just like what currently exists for the creation of automobiles regarding safety and environmental regulations. “If you’re going to sell a car in the US, it needs to meet these safety and environmental parameters. If you’re going to share a resource in the National (Open) Educational Resource Database (NERD, for short! Yes! How great is that?!?!) it needs to meet these accessibility standards.”
I fear the time, effort, and money spent creating the Open eBooks app was like building a car when what was really needed was a road. As a driver, I want to be able to choose my car knowing no matter which I choose, I’m ensured some base level of safety. As a reader, I want to be able to choose my reading application, knowing no matter which I choose, I’m ensured some base level of accessibility. I shouldn’t need to have multiple cars in order to get to where I want to go just like I shouldn’t need to have multiple eBook applications in order to read the materials from which I want to learn.
All that written, I could be completely backward on this. I’m open to the idea that I’m completely and utterly wrong, which is why I started this post asking for a call to further my understanding. Please comment below to further the conversation!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #151 is a discussion of the philosophy of Spontaneous Novel Utterance Generation (SNUG) and what the term “Presuming Competence” means in relation to teaching language to users of augmentative/alternative communication.
A.T.TIP #480: http://bit.ly/aacagreements – A list generated at Edcamp at ATIA 2016 by professionals working in the field of AAC outlining 12 agreed upon principles.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #150 is a review of the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens from an educational perspective.
This is a blog only post. There is not an A.T.TIPSCAST Episode associated with this post.
If you haven’t heard about it before, there is this event coming up in a few weeks called The Assistive Technology Industry Association conference. It happens every year. I’ve been before and, unfortunately, I have to be there again. For me, it is too late. I must go. You, however, might still have a chance to avoid it, which I HIGHLY recommend you do based on the following top ten reasons…
10. You’re sick of learning new stuff. Learning new things is so 2015. Why would you want to learn about the latest innovative approaches to using technology to help people with disabilities? It’s better to stay home and binge watch some show on Netflix.
9. It’s in Florida in January. The weather is horrible. The glare from the sun can be blinding. That much sun can have a drying effect on your skin let alone the risk of sunburn. Better stay home, especially if where you live is cold. If you really need a place to go in January, consider Buffalo. I hear they need your help shoveling. You could do way more good to the world there than by learning how to be better at your job of educating others (not to mention build some muscles).
8. Pre-conference overload. If your supervisor is forcing you to go to ATIA, whatever you do, DO NOT GO to the pre-conference sessions. Why spend even more time in Florida? What a waste! Especially avoid any pre-conference provided by Beth Poss and that guy she presents with sometimes (I forget his name, handsome though). They are doing something on UDL and 21st Century Learning. No one who has ever gone to one of their sessions before has come out happy, enthusiastic, or inspired to try the new tools and approaches they experienced. Who wants to learn best practices for engaging contemporary students? Pish posh. Long live worksheets! Afterall, that’s how I done learned all the things I done learned. Do not click on this link to sign up for their session – http://bit.ly/atia16precons Avoid it like you avoided spoilers for The Force Awakens.
7. MEGA pre-conference overload. Just who do these organizers of ATIA think they are? Offering the choice between two-one day pre-conference sessions and one two-day pre-conference sessions is ridiculous. I can’t decide what I want to eat in the morning let alone choose from all these different types of sessions. Don’t they know people want less choice, not more? Just tell me what to go to already! But whatever you do, don’t sign up to learn about how to establish, maintain, and grow your team from actual people who have established, maintained, and grown a team. Members of the Loudoun County Public Schools AT Team are the last listed pre-conference session on this page – http://bit.ly/atia16precons. Your team is already strong enough, large enough, and operates with practices streamlined enough that you don’t need to work with them to learn innovative service delivery design methodologies. If you’re like me, you’re too busy working harder to work smarter. Skip it like hopscotch.
6. It’s boring. Sessions are just borzzzzz. Sorry, fell asleep just thinking about all the face-to-face conversations I’ll be forced to have with professionals from all around the world who do what I do. Why, it’s absolutely mind numbing to think of the conversations where we’ll be talking about strategies and techniques that actually work for people. Choose to do something more interesting with your time, like watching paint dry.
5. Camping is not my idea of a vacation. Last year there was this free event AFTER the conference (like I wasn’t already completely drained from the experience of the actual conference) called Edcamp. It’s done in an informal “unconference” format where people just show up, throw ideas on a board, and then go to designated rooms to talk together about those ideas. What a nightmare! Who wants to sit around in large circles discussing the most important issues impacting people with disabilities…for free? This year, the organizers have the gall of doing it again and, get this, they are informally calling it “EdCamp After Dark” because it is in the evening. No. I’m sorry. I’d rather go clubbing than sit around talking with some of the “names” in the field about the issues that matter most. Avoid clicking here to register – http://bit.ly/edcampatia16 Call me an Uber and dial up the Taylor Swift. This guy is off to get his dance on.
4. Obnoxious vendors and their wares. Why do I need to float through the vendor hall touching hundreds of actual products, pushing the buttons, and interacting with the people who develop those products? I CAN GOOGLE IT! Vendors stand over their booths like trap door spiders waiting for prey to walk by so they can leap out and snatch them. Then, once they have you ensnared, they show you all the stuff their product can do to help all the people you’re supposed to be serving. Who would want to learn about the latest innovations and updates? They don’t want to hear about our practical consumer needs. They just want to further develop their products based on guesswork, not actual feedback from real people like you and me. If you have to be at ATIA, do yourself a favor and avoid the vendor hall altogether. Learning about products, new and old, from the people who actually make them is about as fruitful as punching yourself in the face. Instead, spend your time scrolling through your Facebook feed to see what your old high school buddies think about Donald Trump.
3. The facilities are disgustingly horrid. The constant sound of the waterfall pouring into the pool is irritating. The pool is surrounded by palm trees which provide way too much shade. There is even this tropical bird outside sometimes that makes this abnormal screeching sound reminding you that you’re not in Kansas anymore. What are you, a pirate? ARRRRGGHHHH!!! Don’t be fooled into thinking this is enjoyable, fun, or relaxing. It is just so stressful to have to decide how and where to position the lounge chairs. Avoid the hassle and stay inside, or better yet, home.
2. There’s a hashtag! It’s 2016 people! Haven’t you heard that conferences are passe’ and that you can learn everything online? Why BE at the conference when so many nerds will be posting their experiences using the #atia16 hashtag? You don’t need to actually be there interacting in person with people! Instead, you can just follow along online. People who have done that in the past have never ever stated a feeling of FOMO. They all say that it is just like being there. If it is just like being there, then why go? Prove the administrators right who said that you don’t need to travel to learn new things. They need the ego boost.
1. The selfish people. If you’ve been to ATIA before then you know the absolute worst part of the entire experience is how selfish the people are who attend. Presenters talking the entire time in their sessions telling you how great their ideas are is just one example of how conceited and stuck up people there can be. Without any respect for YOUR time, people interact with you to bring about real change in the lives of others. Some might think they do this out of a genuine concern and compassion for others; a desire to make the world a better place. But really, they just want to get their names out there. When you’re sitting is sessions, chatting in the hall, networking by the pool, and sharing meals with anyone at ATIA, just remember that they probably have some sort of secret agenda. They’re most likely looking out for number one, trying to manipulate you in some way, and have no genuine interest in actually helping you or people with disabilities.
I hope you heed my warnings. I hope I’ve convinced you to stay far away from Central Florida in early February. I have to be there but it might not be too late for you! You don’t have to click this link to register – http://bit.ly/atia16registration. You don’t have to sign up for the “awesome” pre-conference sessions. You don’t have to meet and hobnob with others in the field. You don’t have to succumb to the pressures of the pool. You don’t have to go at all, do you?
Unfortunately yours,
Chris
Some Upcoming Live Presentations
The Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference in Orlando, Florida – February 2016
One-day Pre-conference –Evolution of an AT Team: Real World Experiences Shaping Practices (with Sally Norton-Darr, Stacy McBain and Mark Nichols) REGISTER NOW!
ISAAC Conference in Toronto, Canada – August 2016
AAC Practitioners in the 21st Century: Leveraging Our Efforts through Social Media and Digital Technologies (with Carole Zangari)
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #149 explores the idea that the cultural perception of school is a miserable experience that people need to trudge through rather than actively enjoy and suggests ways to change that perception.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #476: The C.U.R.R.E acronym (Curiosity, Uniqueness, Risk-Taking, Real World, and Enjoyment)
One-day Pre-conference –Evolution of an AT Team: Real World Experiences Shaping Practices (with Sally Norton-Darr, Stacy McBain and Mark Nichols) REGISTER NOW!
ISAAC Conference in Toronto, Canada – August 2016
AAC Practitioners in the 21st Century: Leveraging Our Efforts through Social Media and Digital Technologies (with Carole Zangari)
The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools
Episode Overview –
Episode #147 features an interview with Marjee Chmiel, the Associate Director of Curriculum and Communications for Smithsonian Institution, to discuss the launch of “Good Thinking! The Science of Teaching Science” — a free, engaging and entertaining new web series designed to support science educators which addresses the need for accessible professional development tools that help teachers break down barriers to understanding scientific principles and increase their classroom skills. A first-of-its-kind series, “Good Thinking!” comprises short, animated videos that explore pedagogical ideas across a range of subject-matter topics like energy, cells, and gravity as well as cognitive research findings on topics like student motivation or the myth of left- and right-brained people. “Good Thinking!” shines a light on the classroom and pedagogical challenges teachers face, and provides solid, science-based ideas that keep their teaching on track. The series enhances K-8 science education and deepens understanding of STEM topics, for teachers and students alike.
Melissa Bugaj, a special education teacher who team teaches in a Conceptual Physics class also participates as a special guest host! Watch the entire Google Hangout below
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Easy Grade, the EZ Grader that does half points! Replace your cardboard EZ-Grader with the Easy Grade app available for FREE on both iOS and Android.
Episode Overview –
Episode #146 features more answers to questions from listeners who have written e-mails over the past few years. There are a few more movie quotes thrown in for fun. Can you name the movies?
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Easy Grade, the EZ Grader that does half points! Replace your cardboard EZ-Grader with the Easy Grade app available for FREE on both iOS and Android.
Episode Overview –
Episode #145 features answers to questions from listeners who have written e-mails over the past few years. There are a few movie quotes thrown in. Can you name the movies?
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Easy Grade, the EZ Grader that does half points! Replace your cardboard EZ-Grader with the Easy Grade app available for FREE on both iOS and Android.
Episode Overview –
Episode #144 features a description of three tools useful for supporting reading by minimizing distractions, providing statistics, and helping to decrease the complexity of difficult vocabulary within bodies of text.
Tucker (Age 9) used the Minecraft Pocket Edition App to create a replica of the U.S.S. Arizona for one of the book projects mentioned in the previous episode.
PAST Center for Technology and Disability Events
Free Tools to Support Reading and Writing Recorded Webinar
Multiple Means of Professional Development Recorded Webinar
Upcoming Center for Technology and Disability Events
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #143 features a description of different engaging tools and strategies used by a 9 year old in fourth grade to complete monthly book study projects. Each month the student was assigned a genre of book to read. After reading the book the student was asked to complete a worksheet of questions, some form of graphic organizer, and then create his own artifact demonstrating that they understood the book.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #142 features a discussion of different ways educators can support the writing abilities of students by crafting authentic writing opportunities.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #141 features a discussion of how collection and analysis of student data can be simplified and streamlined using Google Forms.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #457: Data Collection Using Google Forms
Sample of Google Form for Collecting Data on Progress Toward Student Goals
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #140 is a Christmas present from Chris’s wife, Melissa Bugaj, not only to Chris, but to all of you! Melissa surprised Chris with a recording of her describing a tool she uses in her high school reading class.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #139 features three song parodies from The Nightmare Before Christmas. My apologies to Tim Burton and Danny Elfman. As you listen, please keep in mind that I’ve never had one singing lesson, ever. In case you’d like to sing along, I’ve added the lyrics below.
This is Technology
Boys and girls of every age
wouldn’t you like to see something strange
Come with us and you will see,
our use of technology
This is technology, this is technology,
students scream when they see its sight
This is technology, everybody make something,
click or press to squeal with deeeelight,
It’s our time, everybody scream,
in this time of technology
I am the one you hold in your hand
screen gone dark and battery glowing red
I am the one sitting in your lap,
keyboard up and ready for your tap
This is technology, this is technology, nology, nology, nology, nology
Press the button to go home,
everyone post things all day long
Its our time, don’t we love it now,
everybody’s waiting for the next surprise
Pinch that corner, then,
zoom in if you can,
that gadget only weighs an ounce and don’t break the..
screen,
this is technology,
front and back and going green,
Aren’t you wired?
Well, that’s just fine,
say it once, say it twice,
take a chance and hold the mice,
write while you type, yeah it’s alright
Everybody scream, everybody scream,
its our time for technology
I am the boy with the tears on his face
gone in a flash with a tablet in place,
I am the girl who you need to teach
I am the one who you need to reach,
I am the teacher trying to get it right,
Making their futures nice and bright
This is technology, this is technology, nology, nology, nology, nology
slender tablets everywhere,
make it fun so we all care,
that’s your job, know what I mean?
in our time of technology
In this time don’t we love it now,
everyone’s waiting for the next surprise
A.TTIPSCAST
helps you with the facts
will help you learn just how to be
Give you tools so students win!
This is technology, everybody scream!
Please make way for a very special guy
Our man Chris is king of the Tipscast,
everyone hail to the tipscast Song
Now, this is Technology, this is Technology, nology, nology, nology, nology
In this time we press home everyone hail to the techno song
On on on on turn it on on on on on on on
—————————————————————————————————-
Chris’s Lament
There are few who deny,
That technology is the best,
For it’s benefits are renowned far and wide
When it comes to surprises
With a backlit light
We make things without even trying
With the slightest little effort
using hashtags and alarms,
Twitter helps teachers find what they seek
With a mic in your hand
And a dulcet tone,
Podcasts swept many listeners off their feet!
Yet year after year,
It’s the same routine
And students grow so weary
when we lecture things.
And I BET!
They like making things,
But they’ve grown tired of the same old thing…
Oh, somewhere deep inside their bones
An emptiness began to grow,
There’s something out there in the wide unknown,
A longing that they’ve never known
They can master it alright,
with strategies out of sight
teachers guide them rightwhen others can’t
They might think it’s yucky or they’re super unlucky
that they’re learning more in Finland, what’s the chance?
And since they have read, they can fill others’ heads
To spread technology integrations.
Any woman or man can learn like they can
But hurry ‘cause we need those educations
Oh you there please do understand
That the song I sing should make you grin
you’d lose that frown,
if you only understood
We can’t give it up,
that wouldn’t be good
We can’t fill that empty place all alone
Students need to explore the great unknown
Give praise and praise year after year
Makes students smile from ear to ear
——————————————————————————————————-
What’s This?
What’s this? What’s this?
There’s tools everywhere
What’s this?
There’s strategies in the air
What’s this?
I can’t believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Chris, this isn’t fair
What’s this?
What’s this? What’s this?
There’s something that I dig
What’s this?
There’s students making things
What’s this?
The schools are lined with
Little children laughing
Everybody seems so happy
Have I possibly gone appy?
What is this?
What’s This?
There’s children using tech
Instead of using pens
They’re busy building joys
And absolutely no one’s ever sad
There’s apps on every screen
Oh, I can’t believe my eyes
And in their bones I feel the choice
That’s coming from inside
Oh, look
What’s this?
They’re putting things online,
they post!
Why they looks so engaged,
inspired!
They’re gathering around to share a story
Roasting worksheets on a fire
What’s this?
What’s this?
In here there’s so much that is free,
how queer!
And who would ever think
And why?
They’re creating unique things
Let’s see what this electric gadget brings
And there’s a smile on everyone
So, now, correct me if I’m wrong
This looks like fun
This looks like fun
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What’s this?
Oh my, what now?
The children are amazed
But look, there’s something underneath
All tools, no glitches here to block them or ensnare them,
very little mobile things
Secure them in their dreamland.
What’s this?
The worksheets are all missing,
the nightmares can’t be found
And in their place there seems to be
Good feeling all around
Instead of screams, I swear
I can hear learning in the air
The spark of thoughts and reason
Are absolutely everywhere
The sights, the sounds
They’re everywhere and all,
around!
I’ve never felt so good,
before!
This empty place inside of me is
filling up
I simply cannot get enough
I want it, oh, I want it
Oh, I want it for my own
I’ve got to know
I’ve got to know
What is this place that I have found?
What is this?
UDL? Hmmmm???
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #453: Song Parodies to Represent Content for Learners
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #138 features a recording of a Google Hangout on the concept of Universal Design for Learning. Derek Kaufman, a Google certified educator in Northern Virginia invited me to say a few words describing Universal Design for Learning. To our surprise, two leaders in the field of assistive technology and Universal Design for Learning showed up to participate in the discussion! Luis Perez and Marvin Williams added their own insights and experiences to help explain why developing curriculum and lesson plans using a Universal Design for Learning approach is necessary in contemporary education. The entire presentation was recorded and can be found below.
Episode #137 is sponsored by Texthelp. This episode features a recording of a Google Hangout interview with Jason Carroll, the Global Product Manager at Texthelp.com. We discuss the features of the popular Read&Write literacy support software for students who are struggling with reading and writing including an analysis of how to implement some of the most popular and well-utilized features. Features like text-to-speech, word prediction, highlighting, highlight collection, voice notes, picture dictionary, and vocabulary list maker are all discussed.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #136 features a description and tutorial for the free game Spirit Animals by Scholastic.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #135 is the 2014 Halloween episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST.
Be A Digital Detective with Beth Poss– 12:45pm – 3:00pm on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Twitter 101 with Beth Poss– 10:15am – 11:15am on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Technology Driven Data Collection: Using Digital Tools to Document Progress – One-Day Pre-conference – January 28th, 2015. Assistive Technology Industry Association One-Day Pre-conference. Register Now!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview –
Episode #134 questions the usage of the phrase “able to” when reporting on the abilities of students. This is the Season 8 premiere.
Be A Digital Detective with Beth Poss– 12:45pm – 3:00pm on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Twitter 101 with Beth Poss– 10:15am – 11:15am on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Technology Driven Data Collection: Using Digital Tools to Document Progress – One-Day Pre-conference – January 28th, 2015. Assistive Technology Industry Association One-Day Pre-conference. Register Now!
This bonus content of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner above to learn about the amazing Read&Write products. Texthelp will continue to sponsor the A.T.TIPSCAST with new episodes starting in the Fall!
New Content Coming Soon –
As mentioned in previous episodes, I was forced to cut back on the number of episodes produced during the 13-14 school year. Kids getting older, selling our house, moving, and all the rest of life’s adventures forced a truncated Season 7 with 12 new episodes rather than the typical 20. The A.T.TIPSCAST will return in the Fall with at least 12 new episodes spanning the 14-15 school year. See you then!
You’ve Got Questions About Universal Design for Learning? – Google Hangout – September 25th, 2014. Google Education Group of Northern Virginia. Sign up to attend!
Be A Digital Detective with Beth Poss– 12:45pm – 3:00pm on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Twitter 101 with Beth Poss– 10:15am – 11:15am on November 18, 2014. PATINS 2014 Conference.
Technology Driven Data Collection: Using Digital Tools to Document Progress – One-Day Pre-conference – January 28th, 2015. Assistive Technology Industry Association One-Day Pre-conference. Register Now!
Carole Zangari from the PrAACtical AAC blog wrote to ask me if I could create a brief tutorial on how to access audio content via podcasts so she could better direct readers to some of the A.T.TIPSCAST episodes featuring communication strategies.
This is a step-by-step guide for anyone interested in learning how to search, listen, and subscribe to podcasts.
Sponsor Information –
This bonus content of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products. Texthelp will continue to sponsor the A.T.TIPSCAST with new episodes starting in the Fall!
New Content Coming Soon –
As mentioned in previous episodes, I was forced to cut back on the number of episodes produced during the 13-14 school year. Kids getting older, selling our house, moving, and all the rest of life’s adventures forced a truncated Season 7 with 12 new episodes rather than the typical 20. The A.T.TIPSCAST will return in the Fall with at least 12 new episodes spanning the 14-15 school year. See you then!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE20 to get
20% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires June 30, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #133 features the third in a series of episodes which share stories of how educators supported the needs and preferences of students by selecting accessible instructional materials. This episode focuses on purchasing materials that are accessible so one doesn’t have to modify materials after implementation. You are encouraged to share your own stories in the comments below! This episode also marks the end of Season 7.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE20 to get
20% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires June 30, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #132 features the audio from a Google Hangout held with Lindsey Hill from Evanced Solutions discussing their free application, Wandoo Planet; the world’s first kid-powered interest genome project. Students make selections based on their interests to discover associated media suggestions (books, movies, etc.). Lindsey also describes activities students might encounter when they are visited by the Banish Boredom library tour.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE20 to get
20% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires June 30, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #131 features the second in a series of episodes which share stories of how educators supported the needs and preferences of students by selecting instructional materials that were provided in a digital format. This episode references materials based on a question from an educator working at the secondary level. You are encouraged to share your own stories in the comments below!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE20 to get
20% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires June 30, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #130 features the first in a series of episodes which share stories of how educators supported the needs and preferences of students by selecting instructional materials that were accessible. You are encouraged to share your own stories in the comments below!
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #418 – Planning to use text-based materials that are already available in a digital format.
A.T.TIP #419 – Check your local public library for digital versions of text
Upcoming Presentations –
ISTE SIGML Second Life and TweetChat –
Mobilize your Productivity with iOS7 Accessibility Options – Tips and Tricks for All! – Monday, March 24th 8:00pm – 9:00pm ET Second Life Presentation with Mark Nichols (SLURL to VSTE Island: http://bit.ly/17zxhaZ) & 9:00pm – 10pm ET Tweetchat (Follow the hashtag #sigml)
VA Training and Technical Assistance Center Region 5 –
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE10 to get
10% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires March 31, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #129 features a reading of the blog post below which outlines challenges with the current definition of an assistive technology device and proposes a new way to define the term. I didn’t want to wait to record the audio to get these ideas across so the text below came out one day before the audio was posted.
Redefining “Assistive Technology Device”
by Christopher Bugaj
There is a problem with the definition of an assistive technology device. I am, someone who hosts a podcast, has co-written a book, authored an app, has a job title, and works in a profession which all use the common term “assistive technology” in the title, and yet I wonder if we either need to eliminate the term or, at least, redefine it.
Let’s start by quoting the definition of an “assistive technology device” as it stands with regards to education.
An “assistive technology device” is defined by education law as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.”
Let’s focus on the verb. I believe the verb is the crux of the problem with the definition. The verb in question is “used”.
Let’s put that into play with a made up example juxtaposing two students; one with a disability and one without. For the purposes of the example, I’m going to use a made up piece of technology and a generic task, because the tools and task don’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether the tool is high tech or low tech in relation to the definition.
Here’s the example:
“A student without a disability uses a flibbertyjibbet to learn math”. – We call the flibbertyjibbet “technology”.
“A student with a disability uses a flibbertyjibbet to learn math”. – We call the flibbertyjibbet “assistive technology”.
Both students are using the flibbertyjibbet to increase, maintain, or improve his or her functional math capabilities. The only difference between the two is that one has a disability and the other does not.
When used in this way, the term “assistive technology” spotlights the disability and is ultimately discriminatory.
Now, how about a real example, with a real piece of technology (just in case I lost you with the flibberyjibbet)?
“A student without a disability uses a keyboard to author his essay.” – We call the keyboard “technology”.
“A student with a disability uses a keyboard to author his essay.” – We call the keyboard “assistive technology”.
The only difference between the two students using the device, whatever that device might be, is that the student with the disability might require the device to complete the task where the student without the disability might not require it.
That is, a student with a disability might NEED the keyboard to author the essay where the student without the disability might only prefer to use the keyboard to author the essay despite having the ability to complete the task in other ways.
The need to use a tool is the difference.
So, what do we do to fix this problem with the definition?
I think there are two potential solutions.
Option 1 – Abandon the use of the term “assistive technology” and just call it “technology”. I tweeted a similiar message on Super Bowl Sunday of 2014 immediately after the Microsoft #empowering video aired.
You can watch the ad at http://bit.ly/msempoweringvideo. The point of the ad, besides selling Microsoft products, was to demonstrate how technology can be used to empower individuals, whether you have a disability or not.
The option to eliminate the term “assistive technology” would be hard pressed and wrought with pitfalls. I’m not saying it would be impossible, especially if everyone agreed this was the correct thing to do in the long run, but entire organizations, institutions, careers, professions, and college programs have been built around the term. It is an established “thing” and “things” are hard (not impossible) to change. Myriad questions about funding sources arise as well, as pointed out by some colleagues with whom I correspond via social media. If the term is too well established to be abolished, what else can be done?
That brings us to Option 2.
Option 2 – Redefine “assistive technology device” to use the verb “requires” or “needs”. What if the definition of an assistive technology device read “Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is required to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.”?
Wouldn’t that be a better definition?
Using this definition, any item used by a student, whether they have a disability or not, would just be considered “technology”. Any item necessary to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of the student would be considered “assistive technology”.
Are there repercussions I’m not thinking of when proposing the change in the verb in the definition from “used” to “requires” or “needs”?
At the very least the definition should be changed because the nouns “technology” and “device” are synonyms, making the term “Assistive Technology Device” redundant, right? 🙂
What are your thoughts? I’d love to read them publicly in the comments below or you can e-mail me privately at attipscast@gmail.com.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #417 – Redefining “Assistive Technology Device” swapping the verb “used” for the verb “required”.
Upcoming Presentations –
ISTE SIGML Second Life and TweetChat –
Mobilize your Productivity with iOS7 Accessibility Options – Tips and Tricks for All! -March 24th with Mark Nichols
8:00pm – 9:00pm ET Second Life Presentation, 9:00pm – 10pm ET Tweetchat
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE10 to get
10% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires March 31, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #128 features a reading of Chris’ automatic email reply message while he is away at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference which features app review resources and strategies for teaching reading of multisyllabic words.
A.T.TIP #410 – Georgia Tech Tools for Life App Review site – http://bit.ly/gatfl
A.T.TIP #411 – AppoLearning is an app by Appolicious that showcases the five best educational apps for school-aged students as selected by teachers and app experts across 150 different subjects – http://bit.ly/appolearning
A.T.TIP #412 – Using a mirror to count syllables
A.T.TIP #413 – Highlight vowel sounds in words to count syllables
A.T.TIP #414 – Put syllables on index cards or cells on a graphic organizer to make them easier to manipulate. Drag them around to make words.
A.T.TIP #415 – Place syllables on full pieces of paper and hop to them to make full words.
A.T.TIP #416 – http://arflashcards.com – Winner of the 2013 Edublog Award for Best Mobile App
Also Mentioned In this Episode –
The votes have been tabulated for the 2013 Edublog Awards!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE10 to get
10% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires March 31, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #127 features a discussion of the benefits of inviting secondary students to listen to audio fiction.
This episode features a bumper from David Jackson from Lafayette, Indiana.
The A.T.TIPSCAST has been nominated in the category of “Best Podcasts or Google Hangouts“. Also, ATEval2Go has been nominated in the category of “Best Mobile App“! Please vote to bump them up the rankings. Share with your colleagues, friends, and family!
Click the logos to vote!
Click on the little arrow below the A.T.TIPSCAST or ATEval2Go logos to vote! You should see the number go up by one. See the image below.
The 2013 Edublog Award nominations are out! The A.T.TIPSCAST has been nominated in the category of “Best Podcasts or Google Hangouts“. Also, ATEval2Go has been nominated in the category of “Best Mobile App“! Please vote to bump them up the rankings and share with your colleagues, friends, and family!
Click the logos to vote!
Click on the little arrow below the A.T.TIPSCAST or ATEval2Go logos to vote! You should see the number go up by one. See the image below.
Even if you don’t vote, take some time to explore all the fantastic nominees. The reason they are nominated is because these resources have earned the respect of their peers. These resources have made a lasting impact on people resulting in authentic invigoration, innovation, and inspiration. One or more of these resources might have the same impact on you! You can view them all here.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE10 to get
10% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires March 31, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #126 features a recording of the first draft of the “Classroom-based Technology Tools” chapter for the book Technology Tools for Students with Autism published by Brooke’s publishing. The chapter was authored by Christopher Bugaj, Melissa Hartman, and Mark Nichols. When the chapter was first drafted, it was written as a story following a fictional student with Autism named Mike through his day describing the tools he and his classmates used to accomplish different tasks. Unfortunately, when the chapter was pieced together with the other chapters in the book it just didn’t seem to flow properly. The chapter was re-written to follow a more traditional, essay-like approach. This episode features a reading of the original chapter, which the authors believe still has its merits as a useful way to help people learn about different ways to implement technology in the contemporary classroom for students with Autism. In this episode we hear about Mike’s afternoon following lunch which starts with a sensory break followed by math, recess, science, and concluding with packing up for the day.
This episode is once again hosted by two of the co-authors of the chapter, Melissa Hartman and Mark Nichols.
This is a blog-only post. There isn’t any new audio, or official A.T.TIPSCAST episode, associated with this post. This post outlines my nominations for the 2013 Edublog Awards. In my experience, most educational bloggers, podcasters, and Tweeters do so on their own time, after work hours because it is their passion. They aren’t asked to do it. They aren’t paid to do it. Yet, we all benefit from the many hours they put into their craft.
The Edublog Awards provide a way to recognize these enormous efforts. Here are my nominations for the 2013 Edublog Awards:
Best Individual Blog –
Teaching All Students by Patrick Black – (www.teachingall.blogspot.com) – Yeah, I nominate this blog every year and will continue to until 1. A better blog of its type surfaces or 2. It wins (and even then I might re-nominate it). Fresh ideas, multiple resources, and practical solutions for making instruction accessible to EVERY student. Recent blog posts include apps people should be checking out and how/why to use them. When it comes to implementing technology for every student, this blog is a MUST read.
Best Teacher Blog –
Speech Techie by Sean Sweeney– (www.speechtechie.com) – The winner of the 2010 Best New Blog Edublog award has maintained its status as the premiere blog focusing on the topic of using technology in the practice of speech-language pathology. The beauty of the blog is that the strategies shared are for every educator, not just for those working as speech-language pathologists.
Best Group Blog –
Microsoft Partners-in-Learning Network Hot Topic AccessibilityBlog by Dr. Cindy Feist and Dr. Tara Jeffs (http://www.pil-network.com/HotTopics/accessibility) – It’s sort of a simple concept. If you make your product accessible to everyone, anyone can use it. Likewise, if you make your lessons accessible to everyone, in benefits every learner. Weekly blog posts every Sunday from respected guest bloggers in the field of education present useful and practical perspectives on how to become more inclusive and to propagate learner variability.
Best New Blog –
Heck Awesome by Carrie Baughcum (http://carriebaughcum.com) – Although Heck Awesome wasn’t Carrie Baughcum’s first foray in to the world of blogging, it may be her best. Recently, Carrie, a middle school special education teacher, combined all of her various projects into on central hub called “Heck Awesome” where she blogs about the tools she is using, her “tech ninjas”, how she is growing professionally, and much, much more. It’s technology implementation with a “this is good for everyone” flavor, which of course, is awesome!
Best Ed Tech / Resource Sharing Blog –
Design Make Teach by Josh Ajima (http://designmaketeach.com) – Inspiring students to use their innate creativity to generate useful solutions is the future of education. The Design Make Teach blog provides a philosophy, process, strategies and examples to spark the creator in any student. Josh shares practical, easy-to-replicate, activities spanning creations using low-tech, household items to fabricating materials using 3D printers. Make something!
Best Educational Use of Audio/Video/Visual/Podcast –
The Edceptional Podcast by Deb Truskey, Tricia Lazarro, and Patrick Black (Edceptional on iTunes) – The Edceptional podcast hit the ground running as part of the EdReach Network and hasn’t looked back! The podcast features reviews and discussions of the latest news, blogs, and resources associated with students who have special needs in school. The varying fields of the hosts and guests makes for well-rounded discussions and well-explained resources that examine all the angles of a topic. If audio is your preferred modality for receiving content and you’re interested in topics related to educating ALL students, then this is the podcast for you! People can listen to the podcast, watch the recorded video on YouTube, or participate LIVE! during the actual recording!
Best Educational Wiki –
The UDLTechToolKit by Karen Janowski & Joyce Kazman Valenza (http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/) – Simply the best collection of tools on the web for differentiating instruction and infusing options into every lesson plan. The days of handing every student a worksheets and expecting every student to do every task the same way are coming to an end. The UDLTechToolKit provides educators with tools which they can immediately implement in their classrooms to provide students with engaging options for how best they can receive information and express what they know.
Best Open PD, Unconference, or Webinar Series –
VSTELive! Webinar Series (http://www.vste.org/index/learn/webinar) – VSTELive! webinars (Virginia Society for Technology in Education) are always engaging, informative, and cutting edge which gather insights from experts on contemporary topics in the world of educational technology. When you participate in a live VSTE webinar you are certain to have an enjoyable experience while learning new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. Keep ’em coming VSTE!
Best Twitter Hashtag –
#atchat– For years I’ve lurked, following along on different educational Twitter chats but it is only recently that I’ve actually started to participate. It was #atchat on Wednesday nights led by Karen Janowski that got me to switch from passive reviewer to (occasional) active participant. Engaging, timely, and relevant topics are discussed almost every week leading to the sharing of practical tools and strategies that work to help every educator provide more options to students.
Best Free Web Tool –
Read&Write for Google by Texthelp (http://www.texthelp.com/north-america/readwriteforgoogle) – Yes, Texthelp is a long time sponsor the A.T.TIPSCAST (Full Disclosure!) but that isn’t why I’m nominating this tool. Access to text-to-speech is crucial for students growing up using digital tools. Although the toolbar has lots of great features if you purchase it, the text-to-speech feature remains functional even after the 30 free trial runs out. If your students are using Google Docs, there’s no reason (or excuse) not to have it. If you’re not convinced yet, I did an entire A.T.TIPSCAST episode on how to use the tool that you can listen to for more information.
I hope you check out these fantastic resources and, if you agree with my choices, consider voting for these creations, projects, and initiatives to recognize the dedication of these individuals.
My nomination alone does not guarantee that these fine folks will be officially nominated. If you agree with my nominations, consider writing a blog post of your own featuring these terrific educational resources. They deserve your time! Find out more information about how to participate over at The Edublog Awards.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #125 features a recording of the first draft of the “Classroom-based Technology Tools” chapter for the book Technology Tools for Students with Autism published by Brooke’s publishing. The chapter was authored by Christopher Bugaj, Melissa Hartman, and Mark Nichols. When the chapter was first drafted, it was written as a story following a fictional student with Autism named Mike through his day describing the tools he and his classmates used to accomplish different tasks. Unfortunately, when the chapter was pieced together with the other chapters in the book it just didn’t seem to flow properly. The chapter was re-written to follow a more traditional, essay-like approach. This episode features a reading of the original chapter, which the authors believe still has its merits as a useful way to help people learn about different ways to implement technology in the contemporary classroom for students with Autism. In this episode we hear about Mike starting his day on the bus to school, completing his morning work, participating at the writing station, going to art, and then transitioning to lunch.
This episode is hosted by two of the co-authors of the chapter, Melissa Hartman and Mark Nichols.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #390 – Social situation stories
A.T.TIP #391 – Calming music for self regulation
A.T.TIP #392 – Mini-offices
A.T.TIP #393 – Thicker pencils
A.T.TIP #394 – Graph paper for lining up math columns
A.T.TIP #395 – Visual timer on Interactive White Board
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #124 features a recording of the events that transpired when Chris and his wife, Melissa, went on a romantic, rustic retreat only to discover an iPad in an abandoned cabin in the woods.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #123 features a recording of a statement by the spokesman for N.O.T.S.I.C.K., the faux National Organization for Training and School Improvement in Classrooms for Kids, pertaining to the outbreak of the PD2.0 virus. A text version of this statement including additional visuals can be read at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Hot Topics Accessibility blog.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #376 – Automatic reply e-mails to share professional development resources (See a sample at http://bit.ly/emailreply)
A.T.TIP #377 – E-mail signatures to share professional development resources
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #122 features an original short story written for the Closing The Gap Solutions publication about a frustrated assistive technology specialist who is ready to throw in the towel and look for a new career due to the number of reports she is writing. During a serendipitous meeting she finds two colleagues who offer suggestions as to how she might solve her problem. A big thanks to Melissa Bugaj for narrating the story. If you prefer to read the text version of the article complete with illustrated comics you can subscribe to Closing The Gap Solutions.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #375 – A Consultation First Model of Service Delivery
One was on professional development and the other was on daily classroom tools.
The book is now available for pre-sale.
Upcoming Presentations –
Chew the P.H.A.T – Policies & How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 9th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Get Your Body Moving – Adventures in Gesture-Based Learning with Karen Dietrich & Dr. Tara Jeffs – 8am on October 10th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Multi-modal Professional Development with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 11th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
How often do you go to workshops, learn about new tools but upon returning home, never have time to develop your skills with the tools in order to use them successfully?
Don’t Sit N’ Get!
Do More. Learn More. Create More. Accomplish More.
We created a two day session which provides you with the opportunity to dig deep, learning how to use various digital applications with guidance and support. Come with an idea for an initiative, program, lesson, or activity that you’d like to start in your educational institution to propagate a change. Brainstorm, cultivate, and formulate that idea into something tangible and actionable using digital tools. Create a resource with the tools to take back home to use with students, clients, colleagues, or other staff. Use the time in this session to see your idea all the way through to fruition with guided practice from the facilitators. This session will minimize talking at you and maximize hands on doing!
NEED IDEAS? CONSIDER CREATING ANY OF THESE:
Strategy-A-Day Calendar
Multimedia Professional Development Workshop
Blog
Social Media Presence (using tools like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Pheed, LinkedIn, SnapGuide, etc.)
Podcast
Video Channel
App Review Resource
Online Professional Development Workshop
Multimedia Slideshow Series
Wiki
eBook
Comic Strip Series centered around a particular topic
(ex. 5 Comics to Teach Core Vocabulary, 5 Comics to Teach UDL, etc.)
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #121, the first episode of Season 7, features an article written for the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s (ATIA) newsletter about the implementation of digital games to target educational goals. A big thanks to my wife, Melissa Bugaj, for narrating the article. If you prefer to read the text version of the article please enjoy the ATIA newsletter. Some paid games were mentioned in the article. Free-to-play games are listed below as A.T.TIPS.
Chew the P.H.A.T – Policies & How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 9th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Get Your Body Moving – Adventures in Gesture-Based Learning with Karen Dietrich & Dr. Tara Jeffs – 8am on October 10th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Multi-modal Professional Development with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 11th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The A.T.TIPSCAST is happy to announce that Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions, will continue sponsorship into Season 7! New episodes of the podcast are currently in development.
Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Thank you Texthelp for helping to keep this podcast alive and free to the public!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and Texthelp’s suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires July 31, 2013.
Episode #120 features a discussion of tools and strategies that can be used to review and reinforce vocabulary skills. This is the second part of the two part episode (started with Episode 115). This episode is also laced with sound clips from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.
This is the final episode of Season 6 of the A.T.TIPSCAST. The A.T.TIPSCAST will return in the Fall with more episodes!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and Texthelp’s suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires July 31, 2013.
Episode #119 features a review, including spoilers (you have been warned), of the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, and how it relates to contemporary assistive technology and educational practices.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and Texthelp’s suite of web apps click on the banner below!
The Scratch “logo” and mascot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Episode Overview-
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and Texthelp’s suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Episode #117 features an interview with Keith Hicks, technology resource teacher at Woodgrove High School in Purcellville, Virginia who describes Scratch; a free website created by MIT where you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and Texthelp’s suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #116 features a description of how and why to use core vocabulary (high frequency words) as the basis for an augmentative/alternative communication system.
The entire episode was generated using only “Frequently Occurring Home and School Words” from the list generated in the article “Vocabulary-Use Patterns in Preschool Children: Effects of Context and Time Sampling” by Christine A. Marvin, David R. Beukelman, and Denise Bilyeu published in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Volume 10 in December, 1994.
The episode demonstrates that using only high frequency words users can still elicit complex, generative language.
A.T.TIP #355 – When using core vocabulary, give students the opportunity to make requests by labeling descriptors (adjectives) or qualities rather than naming an object.
A.T.TIP #356 – Give students the opportunity to direct others to allow them to realize they have an impact on how others perform or behave.
A.T.TIP #357 – When it comes to functional augmentative alternative communication (or any communication for that matter) meaning trumps form (syntax). The meaning of a message is more important than how it is said.
Also Mentioned in This Episode-
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!
Learn more and get involved by going to
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #115 features a review of a few resources and strategies useful for learning, practicing, and reinforcing vocabulary.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #114 features a reading of the extended version of an article written by Beth Poss and Chris Bugaj for the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s April Newsletter. The article describes effective professional development practices useful for any institution.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #113 features a description of the implementation of the free screen mirroring tool Screenleap.com
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #111 features a recording of a live presentation by Christopher and Melissa Bugaj at the 2012 Virginia Society for Technology in Education Conference about commonly recommended, evidence-based reading solutions. Access the entire presentation from http://bit.ly/vste12literacy.
FREE Webinar: The Great Eightwith Sally Norton-Darr for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 13th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Xbox 360 & Avatar Kinectwith Dr. Tara Jeffs, Karen Dietrich, and Mark Nichols for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 20th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Can You Hear Me Now? Integrating Audio in the Classroomwith Melissa Bugaj for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 6th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.Postponed due to inclement weather. Rescheduled for Wednesday – April 10th, 2013 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm ET
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #110 features a discussion about coming together to create a centralized repository of resource slides from which people can draw upon to create their own Strategy-A-Day Calendar.
This episode also features a bumper from Amy Braddock, the assistive technology specialist for West Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota
A.T.TIP #320 – The Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research’s ongoing Tip of the Day images accessible from http://bit.ly/icater and from their daily Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/IOWA_iCATER.
FREE Webinar: The Great Eightwith Sally Norton-Darr for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 13th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Xbox 360 & Avatar Kinectwith Dr. Tara Jeffs, Karen Dietrich, and Mark Nichols for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 20th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Can You Hear Me Now? Integrating Audio in the Classroomwith Melissa Bugaj for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 6th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.Cancelled due to inclement weather. Rescheduled for Wednesday – April 10th, 2013 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Episode #108 features my 4 year old daughter taking listeners on a tour of her pre-kindergarten program describing aspects of stations including the Discovery Area, the Music Area, the Dramatic Play Area, the Puzzle Area, the Building Center, the Sensory Table, and the Book Corner.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #307 – Peace Object
Students touch or hold an object together as they discuss their differences as a reminder that even though they had an argument, there can be a peaceful resolution.
A.T.TIP #308 – Speaker Object
A student touches or holds an object to indicate he or she is speaking. This object also serves as a visual reminder to the listener to be respectful to the one who is talking.
A.T.TIP #309 – Labeling Stations
Placing a visual representation with corresponding text at each station.
A.T.TIP #310 – Digital Pictures of Students to Represent Location
Students move visuals of themselves and place them at the station to indicate where they plan to spend their time. When all of the spaces on the visual chart are filled no other students may join in that area. The visual representation of individualized location tends to decrease roaming.
A.T.TIP #311 – Defining a Space
Tape can be used to define an area to provide students with a visual cue to help them understand and respect physical boundaries.
The A.T.TIPSCAST has been nominated in the category of “The Best Podcast Series” for the 2012 Edublog Awards. The podcast was a finalist (came in 5th place) for the 2011 Edublog Awards for Best Use of Audio/Video/Podcast”! This year, I wanted to “walk the talk” as it were, so I used a number of app/Web resources to try to spread the word in an effort to get people to rock the vote. These tools are also great to use with students! Below is a list of the various marketing ploys.
If you’re reading this before 11:59pm, December 9th 2012… it’s not too late to vote!
Even if you don’t vote, take some time to explore all the fantastic nominees. The reason they are nominated is because these resources have earned the respect of their peers. These resources have made a lasting impact on people resulting in authentic invigoration, innovation, and inspiration. One or more of these resources might have the same impact on you! You can view them all here.
The 2012 Edublog Award nominations are out! “The A.T.TIPSCAST” has been nominated in the category of “The Best Podcast Series”. The podcast was a finalist (came in 5th place) for the 2011 Edublog Awards for Best Use of Audio/Video/Podcast”! Where will it place this year?!?! That’s up to you!
The following are a list of ways you can help:
1. Vote once per day from work.
2. Vote once per day from home.
3. Vote once per day from your smartphone (if you have one).
4. Ask your friends, family and colleagues to vote once per day at home, work, and from a smartphone.
Even if you don’t vote, take some time to explore all the fantastic nominees. The reason they are nominated is because these resources have earned the respect of their peers. These resources have made a lasting impact on people resulting in authentic invigoration, innovation, and inspiration. One or more of these resources might have the same impact on you! You can view them all here.
Episode #106 features a brief discussion of a number of assistive technology tools Chris is thankful to have access to use for himself, to share with educators, and the can be used with students.
This is a blog-only post. There isn’t any new audio, or official A.T.TIPSCAST episode, associated with this post. This post outlines my nominations for the 2012 Edublog Awards. In my experience, most educational bloggers, podcasters, and Tweeters do so on their own time, after work hours because it is their passion. They aren’t asked to do it. They aren’t paid to do it. Yet, we all benefit from the many hours they put into their craft.
The Edublog Awards provide a way to recognize these enormous efforts. Here are my nominations for the 2012 Edublog Awards:
Best Individual Blog –
Teaching All Students by Patrick Black – (www.teachingall.blogspot.com) – Yeah, I nominate this blog every year and will continue to until 1. A better blog of its type surfaces or 2. It wins (and even then I might re-nominate it). Fresh ideas, multiple resources, and practical solutions for making instruction accessible to EVERY student. When it comes to implementing technology for every student, this blog is a MUST read.
Best Teacher Blog –
Speech Techie by Sean Sweeney– (www.speechtechie.com) – The winner of the 2010 Best New Blog Edublog award has maintained its status as the premiere blog focusing on the topic of using technology in the practice of speech-language pathology. The beauty of the blog is that the strategies shared are for every educator, not just for those working as speech-language pathologists.
Best Educational Use of Audio/Video/Visual/Podcast –
The Edceptional podcast by Anne Truger, Deb Truskey, Tricia Lazarro, and Patrick Black (Edceptional on iTunes) – Boom! The Edceptional podcast hit the ground running as part of the EdReach Network and hasn’t looked back! The podcast features reviews and discussions of the latest new, blogs, and resources associated with students who have special needs in school. The varying fields of the hosts and guests makes for well-rounded discussions and well-explained resources that examine all the angles of a topic. If audio is your preferred modality for receiving content and you’re interested in topics related to educating ALL students, then this is the podcast for you! Recently, they’ve switched formats recording over Google Hangout giving people even more options to participate. People can listen to the podcast, watch the recorded video on YouTube, or participate LIVE! during the actual recording!
Best Educational Wiki –
The UDLTechToolKit by Karen Janowski & Joyce Kazman Valenza (http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/) – Simply the best collection of tools on the web for differentiating instruction and infusing options into every lesson plan. The days of handing every student a worksheets and expecting every student to do every task the same way are coming to an end. The UDLTechToolKit provides educators with tools which they can immediately implement in their classrooms to provide students with engaging options for how best they can receive information and express what they know.
Best Open PD, Unconference, or Webinar Series –
VSTELive! Webinar Series (http://www.vste.org/index/learn/webinar) – VSTELive! webinars (Virginia Society for Technology in Education) are always engaging, informative, and cutting edge which gather insights from experts on contemporary topics in the world of educational technology. When you participate in a live VSTE webinar you are certain to have an enjoyable experience while learning new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. Keep ’em coming VSTE!
Best Twitter Hashtag –
#atchat– For years I’ve lurked, following along on different educational Twitter chats but it is only recently that I’ve actually started to participate. It was #atchat on Wednesday nights at 8pm ET led by Karen Janowski that got me to switch from passive reviewer to active participant. Engaging, timely, and relevant topics are discussed each week leading to the sharing of practical tools and strategies that work to help users of assistive technology tools.
Best Mobile App –
Flying Books App (Free – Flying Books App) This free storybook app provides users with a unique reading experience. Rather than focusing on the bells and whistles, the app provides users with an opportunity to record narration of the story which results in an increase in reading abilities of the user. You won’t find random, unnecessary interactive components that distract students from the story in the Flying Books app. Instead, the Flying Book app provides users with the ability to listen to text read aloud or record themselves reading the story. Although the books in the library require a purchase, the app also allows students to create their own book complete with full audio recordings for free. It is a great way to practice re-telling of a narrative and/or reading fluency.
I hope you check out these fantastic resources and, if you agree with my choices, consider voting for these fantastic creations, projects, and initiatives to recognize the dedication of these individuals.
My nomination alone does not guarantee that these fine folks will be officially nominated. If you agree with my nominations, consider writing a blog post of your own featuring these terrific educational resources. They deserve your time! Find out more information about how to participate over at The Edublog Awards.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST features a recording of the events that transpired in the attic of the Bugaj household on a stormy night in October 2012 which involves electricity, a tablet computer, some spare parts, and (of course) some strategies that can help students.
Episode #103 of the A.T.TIPSCAST describes ATEval2Go; an iPad app designed to help professionals conduct assistive technology consultations and evaluations.
Episode #102 of the A.T.TIPSCAST features a brief discussion of technical and practical uses of the digital storytelling site Britely.com. Miss Mel (Chris’s wife) stars in a guest segment where she describes the uses and benefits of Britely.com.
Programming Note (2/13/13) – Britely was acquired by Groupon. All content using this site will be deleted on 2/18/13. Oh well, it was a good tool while it lasted!
A future episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST will focus on digital storytelling. Britely.com is one site that can be used to easily create digital stories. The future episode will focus on the why’s, how’s, and how-to’s related to the implementation of digital storytelling for students. In the meantime, my wife created a few fun, comedic, and inspiring digital stories to be used as examples. The first is titled A Toddler’s Guide to Pumpkin Carving and the second is titled Finding My Way. They both work just like a slideshow with full screen images containing overlayed text. We hope you enjoy them! If you do, please like it, share it, pin it, tweet it, email it, and/or comment on them. We hope you enjoy the story!
Episode #101 of the A.T.TIPSCAST features a brief discussion about what comes next in one’s personal quest to learn more about the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning framework. Download a .PDF Transcript of this episode.
This is the first episode of Season 6 of the A.T.TIPSCAST!
Episode #100 of the A.T.TIPSCAST features an audio version of all of the Assistive Technology Movie Reviews done so far, previously only available as blog-only posts. These include all of the following:
This episode also features a bumper from Dr. Joy Zabala, the director of technical assistance at the Center for Applied Special Technologies and the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials who invites you to check out all the resources at http://aim.cast.org and let’s you know you are listening to the A.T.TIPSCAST!
A.T.TIPS in this Episode-
A.T.TIP 287 – Random.org – Random Number Generator
Episode #99 features a brief discussion of how digital literacy skills and appropriate technology practices can be ingrained into the habits of young students by introducing them to fictional stories at an early age. The episode also includes an interview and review by a rising second grader who read each of the books.
This episode also features a bumper from Sandy Hanebrink, from http://touchthefuture.us who shares information about the organization which is located in the south eastern part of the United States.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode-
A.T.TIP 286 – Piano and Laylee Learning Adventure Series
Piano and Laylee Go Online
Piano and Laylee Text Message
Piano and Laylee and the Cyberbully
Piano and Laylee Help a Copycat Become a Creative Cat
Piano and Laylee Learn About Acceptable Use Policies
Share the Piano and Laylee books in some way and let me know about it by June 27th, 2012 at 11:59pm. I’ll keep a list of all entries. Then, on June 28th, I’ll use a random number generator to select the winner of a complete set of Piano and Laylee books!! Each different way you share counts as one entry, so share as many different ways as you can! Tweets, status updates, e-mail notifications, posters hung on bathroom stalls…whatever! Tell me about your sharing so I know to add your entries to the list!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #98 features a discussion of how literacy skills can be improved by simply turning on the captions while watching television and other videos.
A.T.TIP 285 – Turn on Closed Captioning while watching any video to improve literacy skills
Read Captions Across America Campaign – The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) initiative launched in association with the National Education Association’s (NEA) annual “Read Across America” campaign meant to spread the word about the benefits of captions for all readers.
captionsforliteracy.org – Research, posters, and instructions pertaining to the benefits of turning the captions on for learners
I’m a super hero geek and proud of it. I didn’t just grow up reading comics. I played games about super heroes, watched super hero cartoons, created robust fight sequences and narratives (often in that order) with super hero action figures, and pretended I was the one taking down the bad guys.
It was “Super” fun!
Today, I get to relive those adventures with my two little ones by fighting giant robots, thwarting the plans of treacherous villains, and protecting the lives of the innocent baby dolls scattered around the room.
This is “Super” fun!
Over the past few years, the folks at Marvel have been releasing movies starring some of their most popular super heroes. Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor have each had their own summer blockbuster movie (Iron Man actually had two). These movies set the stage for the ultimate super hero team up, bringing all of them together in The Avengers.
Without even asking me about it, my wife made babysitter arrangements and pre-purchased the opening night tickets. She had watched all these movies with me, loving the Iron Man movies the most. She wasn’t nearly as excited as me to see The Avengers but when I told her it was directed by Joss Whedon, creator of her favorite show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she was all in.
As you can probably guess, on the night of the big event, I found myself grinning from ear to ear, mesmerized for over two hours. Despite the fact that I was ten years old again, I couldn’t help but draw some parallels between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and contemporary practices in the world of education and assistive technology.
SPOILERS FOLLOW YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
The Tesseract as Curiosity and Engagement-
The movie starts with an action packed sequence of events where the villain of the movie, Loki, steals the Tesseract; a powerful energy source with the potential for creating sustainably clean energy for the planet. Loki plans to use the Tesseract to create a portal into space through which he can bring an invading alien army.
It comes to light during the movie that Loki has not been the only power looking to use the weapons for less than peaceful purposes. S.H.I.E.L.D. (a government agency) works to exploit the power of the Tesseract to create its own set of unique weaponry which can be used to keep the peace. Good intentions to be sure, but by keeping this fact a secret they cast a nefarious shadow of doubt over the entire organization.
The Tesseract is unharnessed energy, not unlike the enthusiasm of students entering school. Have you seen the overflowing brightness behind a kindergartener’s eyes before the first day? It is brimming with hope, eagerness, curiosity and a desire to learn. The raw energy is palpable. Students come to school, en masse, already engaged. Therefore, keeping them interested in school should be as easy as saying some incredibly cool catch phrase. Unfortunately, somehow, it’s not.
Educators, throughout the entire span of students’ educational careers, have the massive responsibility of helping students continue to feel engaged in their learning. It is not the fault of the Tesseract that people are trying to exploit it. Likewise, it is never the students’ fault if and when they become disengaged with learning.
Students DO NOT CHOOSE to be bored.
The power of the Tesseract is like that of curiosity in students. Curiosity can be kept flowing through students by providing them with options about how they’d best like to learn. Curiosity will continue to drive student’s engagement when they get to make choices about how they’d best like to learn.
For now, the curriculum is set, static, and determined, but the ways for students to experience that content is changing, dynamic, and flexible. By providing students with options, you give them freedom, much like an Avenger keeping the world safe from a race of invading aliens. If educators approach each lesson plan by saying, “What’s the best way I can engage each learner?” and then successfully execute those lessons, they will have taken a heroic first step.
A Group of Individuals Does Not a Team Make –
The Avengers brings together a group of individuals, each with his or her own set of unique traits and abilities which add something to the whole. Each character has a skill set that makes them a valuable asset and which makes them vital to the success of the mission. When an Individualized Education Program is being developed, individuals from different disciplines and perspectives come together for a common purpose. Each individual member brings his or her own set of talents to the table to formulate a plan which outlines the instructional needs of a student. However, a group of individuals working toward the same cause does not necessarily make it a team.
Throughout the course of the movie, the Avengers learn that individual feats of strength and demonstrations of skill might be impressive (and fun to watch) but don’t necessarily equate to getting the job done. It isn’t until the end of the movie, setting egos aside and learning to work together, do the Avengers truly form a team. Likewise, when developing and implementing an Individualized Education Program, the team should work synergistically, not separately. It is not the job of the speech therapist to work on goals related to communication, the job of the occupational therapist to work on fine motor goals, the job of the physical therapist to work on gross motor goals, the job of the parent to work on things at home, the job of the general and special education teachers to work on academic goals, or the job of the administrator to ensure that everything gets done. Rather, it’s the job of everyone, to work on every aspect of every goal, collaboratively. When this happens, the individual skills of professionals blur into something cohesive, a true team forms and the student is the one who ultimately wins.
Character Before Technology–
Each hero in the Avengers utilizes a weapon that matches their individual set of skills. Captain America uses his iconic shield. Iron Man is outfitted with a suit of armor. Thor wields Mjolinir, a mighty hammer. Hawkeye shoots a bow. Black Widow uses acrobatics and firearms. And the Hulk is a weapon all unto himself.
In this movie, just like in all of the other Marvel movies, the focus is on the character, not the tools they use. The weapons support the characters, not the other way around. In this way, the weapons used by the heroes are similar to the process of selecting a device or strategy for a student.
When Steve Rogers was becoming Captain America, the plot wasn’t the discovery of some shield made of Vibranium and how someone could use it. Rather, it was about a man who stays true to himself while facing incredible circumstances. In Iron Man, the story isn’t about a man who sets out to develop an invincible suit of armor but rather, creates one out of necessity. Thor’s hammer serves as a symbol for doing what is right, but the story of Thor centers around humility. Bruce Banner’s main conflict comes from an internal struggling for control not about the ramification of experimenting with gamma radiation. In truth, what gets to the core of all of these characters has nothing to do with the tools they use, but rather, who they are as people.
Device selection happens in much the same way. When selecting an intervention for a student or class, the question should be centered around who the student is and what they needed to accomplish, rather than the idea of having a tool and wondering who could use it. For Marvel, it’s not “We have this shield, suit of armor, mystical hammer, gamma radiation, bow, etc. We should give them to someone”. Instead, it’s “There’s this complex character who faces intense problems. What type of tools should we provide this person to help solve these problems?” For selecting specific assistive technology for students, it shouldn’t be “Look at this shiny cool tool, who should use?” Instead, it should be “This student (or groups of students) has a problem. Which tool(s) can this student (or these students) use to help address that problem?” When devices are selected based on the character of the student, rather than the other way around, one can be sure that the student is getting what is needed.
Sacrifices –
Agent Coulson has been described as the glue that holds the various Marvel movies together and helps to maintain continuity. The character makes an appearance in many of the other Marvel movies. He is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who helps to bring the individuals together because he believes in the idea of forming a cogent team of Superheroes. Agent Coulson makes the ultimate sacrifice to provide the final catalyst for driving the group to work together as a team.
Many educators do this too. Many live for their students, providing countless hours way beyond the limits of the typical work day to provide the very best service they can. They believe they are making a difference, investing in the future, and truly impacting the lives of students in a positive way. Coulson died because he believed in the Avengers. Educators sacrifice money, resources, and (most importantly) time to the idea that students, no matter their ability, can and will learn.
Also like the Avengers, educators perform these selfless tasks with mixed levels of support. At the end of the movie, the director makes the point to show how the public reacts differently to the knowledge that heroes exist. Some embrace the heroes, thanking them diligently. Others question their true intentions. Some even outright blame the heroes for the invasion. Educators, despite their passion and sacrifices, receive this same mixed response from the public at large, however, educators shouldn’t be chastised or scorned. Rather, they should be respected and revered for being the heroes they are.
Fun–
Overall, the Avengers is a fun, action-packed thrill ride that brings a helicarrier-load of laughs and smiles. Engaging characters drive a compelling plot all supported by the backdrop of a fascinating universe. Working in the field of education is much the same. Teaching, and supporting students, is one of the most enriching and rewarding professions. It is filled with memorable, meaningful, jaw-dropping moments that leave an impression, move you to tears, and can make you feel like you’re the hero you always wanted to be.
This episode also features a bumper from Mike Marotta from Advancing Opportunities in New Jersey. Check out their website over at http://assistivetechnologycenter.org
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #96 defines and examines the benefits of a language-based curriculum and discusses strategies for how teachers can implement this approach into their classrooms.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #95 features a discussion of implementation strategies and tools for accessing technology using switches.
This episode also features a bumper from Kirk Behnke, from the Texas Assistive Technology Network, who offers an invitation to the statewide assistive technology conference coming up in June.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode:
A.T.TIP 277 – Using a Switch to Cause a Human Reaction
A.T.TIP 278 – Favorable Tactile Textures on Switch Surfaces
A.T.TIP 282 – OneSwitch.org.uk – Blog with information about accessibility including switch accessible materials.
Also Mentioned in This Episode-
Can you guess what caused the damage to the piece of furniture in the picture at the top of this blog post? Leave your guesses in the comments section of the blog or contact me using the links below with your guesses.
HINT: It is related to the content in this episode.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #94 features a recording of a live event from the Loudoun County Public School’s ActivLoudounPlus conference. Kevin Hale, an Algebra teacher at Loudoun County High School, explains how an accommodation outlined in one student’s IEP blossomed into a strategy accessible to any student.
This episode also features a bumper from Cheryl Wooline, an assistive technology coordinator from Florida. Cheryl encourages everyone to share the A.T.TIPSCAST with other teachers! Thanks Cheryl!
A.T.TIPS in this Episode:
A.T.TIP 276 – Creating a Do-It-Yourself Video Library
My wife doesn’t read books. She devours them. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was no exception. I, however, find it difficult to read a book during the school year. My literature consumption primarily takes place in the form of audiobooks or podcasts during my commute. That said, when my wife circled last Friday on the calendar and said, “We’re going to see The Hunger Games” I felt the urge to read the book before seeing the movie.
As luck would have it, my in-laws came to visit the weekend prior to the movie coming out. In an effort to give them some alone time with their grandkids, I barricaded myself in our bedroom and went to town on the novel.
I knocked it out in two days; a record for me.
I was eager to experience the phenomenon in the same way as my wife so I could have something intelligent to say when the inevitable discussions comparing the film adaptation to the literary work occurred.
Once again I couldn’t help but see correlations throughout the story to the implementation of technology following a Universal Design for Learning framework.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
The story, which is mostly the same between the book and the film, is, at its core, one of rebellion, defiance, and self discovery. It involves 24 children between the ages of 12 and 18 placed within a large, outdoor arena to fight to the death for the purposes of entertaining the masses. This annual death match, known as The Hunger Games, was established to keep the working class in line as a reminder of the power of the ruling class. The contestants in this gladiatorial bloodbath are known as “tributes.”
The tributes in the story have a diverse set of backgrounds, skills, and traits, making each one unique and special in some way. My brain immediately equated the tributes to students within a classroom, struggling to survive through the arena of school, trying to win at education, competing with one another for acceptance into college or for scholarships. Just like in the story, despite the cut-throat competition, alliances and friendships are formed. In both the story and within schools, individuals realize that collaboration and teamwork prove more successful than standing alone.
If the tributes in the arena represent students, then the supplies and weapons used to kill opponents would represent the technology necessary to complete a task. The tributes make decisive choices about what tools they need to accomplish their objectives of staying alive and killing others. Likewise, students within an environment following the principles of Universal Design for Learning utilize an array of tools to accomplish their mission of learning the content and achieving educational goals. In the arena, the wrong set of tools could equal pain, suffering, or even death while the correct set of tools matched to an individual’s skills could prove most effective. In school, choosing the wrong set of tools could equal the loss of precious time but the right set of tools, matched to an individual’s abilities, could make a significant impact in student performance.
Blazing hot days, freezing cold nights, swarms of deadly insects, wild mutated animals, and poisonous vegetation are just a few of the hazards prevalent throughout the arena. These conditions are controlled by the gamekeepers in order to provide the maximum entertainment value for the audience. Like in the arena, the school environment itself can be manipulated to shape the challenge facing a student. Educators should engineer environments with the educational goals of students in mind. For instance, if a student has a language goal of making requests then placing desired objects out of reach provides the student with an opportunity to communicate. Likewise, if a student is physically having difficulty accessing something within his environment, like a computer or interactive whiteboard, the educator must manipulate the environment to provide access. Either way, the educator molds the environment in a manner conducive to the needs of every learner.
The protagonist of the story is a character named Katniss, a 16 year old girl thrust into the midst of the carnage. She is provided a mentor named Haymitch who has the primary task of preparing her for the battle royale. During the actual event, Haymitch is also responsible for garnering “sponsors” for Katniss who will fork up cash to provide additional necessary tools not already in the environment.
In this way, Haymitch works like an assistive technology trainer guiding students in ways to successfully utilize the technology already present within the environment. Likewise, when that technology proves too restrictive or limiting, it is up to the assistive technology trainer to provide additional possibilities for the student. Haymitch goes to sponsors asking for additional supplies while an assistive technology trainer goes to vendors looking for tools that might meet the needs of students.
When Haymitch obtains a sponsor who provides supplies, he sends it to Katniss via parachute with a note attached with advice on how to best use it. In similar fashion, when assistive technology trainers acquire a new device to help students they provide training and tutorials.
In the end, Katniss teaches the establishment of the ruling class a lesson that despite attempting to control the chaos, something unpredictable can occur to upset the rhythm of the status quo. Educators attempting to provide and implement a variety of technology options to students should recognize this very same fact. A universally designed classroom strives to provide an atmosphere of controlled chaos and insulated entropy. Students provided with a multitude of choices about tools and activities they wish to use to best demonstrate their knowledge or which best engages them in the learning process might get messy. Almost always, something can go wrong. The unexpected will occur. Unlike the Gamekeepers in The Hunger Games, educators should expect this. Even more so, they should embrace it.
Providing a universally designed environment, at times, might feel like a difficult task, but remember no one is alone. Anyone can call out to others, like the song of a Mockingjay, to ask for help. Perhaps a model of a peer is all that is needed for the spark to begin Catching Fire within a colleague. Educators across districts (way more than the 12 outlined in the story) are working toward accomplishing similar goals. Sharing accomplishments and demonstrating successes is the best way to spread the culture of universal design for learning.
As you move forward, continuing on your own mission to provide options for students, I only have these words of encouragement: May the odds be ever in your favor.
Example 1 – Students create their own avatars based on the traits in the picture.
Example 2 – Students use uploaded picture to learn about an emotion. By practicing how to create the emotion, students learn how to identify the emotion represented in the picture.
A.T.TIP 275 – ThinkPort.org – Educator tools including downloadable graphic organizing templates, how-to tutorials, a lesson plan builder, and more.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #92 features a number of easy-t0-implement strategies to help students learn to be better spellers and to correct spelling errors.
The Spelling Bee – An audio story about a fourth grade boy who practices for the school spelling bee using a variety of creative ways involving both low and high tech tools.
As soon as I saw the trailer for Moneyball I added it to the Netflix queue. I didn’t feel compelled to see this movie in the theater because a) I’m not a big fan of baseball and b) I tend to spend theater dollars on movies laden with impressive special effects to maximize the big screen experience. I was, however, interested in learning how mathematics and statistics could be applied in an formulaic approach to change how people think. When it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar I bumped it up in the queue.
Like in the last blog post about a movie, I wasn’t expecting to find correlations between a mainstream film and contemporary educational philosophies like Universal Design for Learning. My apologizes to my wife for the frequent pausing of the DVD to take notes. I couldn’t help it. Ideas just kept pop flying into my head.
The movie, based on a true story, stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, a former baseball player turned general manager for the Oakland Athletics. The movie opens at the end of a successful season for the Athletics. Instead of celebrating however, Pitt finds that his star players have left to take higher paid contracts on other teams. Faced with replacing these high profile names within a limited budget and frustrated with a staff using traditional scouting methods, Pitt begins looking for a different approach to fill the missing roster spots.
The scouts, in my view, echo the mindset shared by some educators that “this is the way we’ve always done it and it has worked out fine so far.” To some extent, this might be true. For sure, I grew up filling out an exorbitant amount of worksheets and I feel like I received a decent education. But, could it have been done differently? Could my educational experience been even more meaningful? I think so. More importantly, does this traditional approach of providing worksheets to practice a concept work for everyone? I think not.
The movie demonstrates, in glaring fashion, that change is difficult. People who have been doing something the same way for years, no matter the profession, resist change. Pitt’s character proposes a shift away from tradition and it meets with opposition.
Moving education away from a continuous flow of worksheets following a rigid, one size fits all philosophy into a new world where students are provided with choices as to how best they’d like to engage in their own learning would yield better results.
On a trip to negotiate with the Cleveland Indians Pitt meets a Yale grad, played by Jonah Hill, who pitches a radical new theory of player evaluation. Hill suggests that a wide range of individual variables can each be given numerical values and a quotient can be calculated from these numbers. This quotient can then be used to get the most productive players for the money available. The final quotient they use to evaluate a player’s value, the one of paramount importance to Pitt and Hill’s characters, is tendency to get on base.
For years I’ve thought that a merit-based system of pay would be a benefit to education. The theory is simple. Pay teachers based on performance. The most poignant argument against a merit-based system is how to make it equitable based on all the variables present in a classroom. Once I tried to make a list of all the variables that would need to be considered if a merit-based system were to exist. The list was as big as the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
Hill’s character in the movie quantified each relevant variable and generated a formula which he used to boil it down into one number. To me, if this exists for all the relevant variables present on the baseball field, then this same approach could be applied to evaluate, and thus pay, teachers according to a quantified value. The approach, as applied to baseball, is called sabermetrics. It would an interesting project for a class of individuals studying statistics to try to duplicate these efforts applying them to contemporary classroom variables. The result might just produce an equitable system for paying educators based on productivity rather than solely on a traditional step approach.
Once Pitt’s character implemented the new approach I leaned over to my wife and said, “If this works right off the bat (pardon the pun) it is going to be a really short movie”. Predictably, the new approach didn’t work right away and the nay-sayers felt justified in their negative prognostications. In the movie, things go awry for Pitt and Hill but they stick to their failing approach, dedicated to see it through to the end.
To me, teachers implementing different or varied technologies in their classrooms to meet the needs of the different and varied learners in their classrooms should understand that sometimes things don’t work the right way, right away. Chaos might ensue. Like Pitt and Hill’s characters, stick to it. One loss on the baseball field doesn’t mean the entire season is a wash. Likewise, one lesson where the technology didn’t work correctly or where students got confused doesn’t mean the approach isn’t solid. If you make an error, letting the proverbial ball roll between your legs, that’s okay. Brush off the dust and use it as motivation to hit a home run at your next “at bat”.
Furthermore, in some instances technology might work to help a student the instant it is put in place. However, in most cases, it usually takes time to successfully implement a technology tool. Consider the examples of implementing word prediction for a student with spelling difficulties or an augmentative communication device for a student who has never used one before. Although these tools can be powerful and life-altering when used overtime, it usually takes some time for a person to learn to use these tools effectively. It typically takes patience, practice, training and time for a student to truly integrate these tools to make a difference in their lives. Therefore, like Pitt and Hill’s characters, stick to it. If the decision to place a device was founded on solid evidence, then it is likely to work. Don’t give up. Chances are, you won’t strike out.l
Faced with a doomed team at the bottom of the standings, the duo move out of their introverted comfort zones to enact the help of the players. Once the players are educated about the philosophy and brought on board as partners in the approach , positive results begin to occur. The Athletics, remarkably, begin to win against teams that can afford much higher paid players. In this same way, students should be made aware of the teacher’s educational philosophy and be accepted as cohorts in the approach. Like the players on the team, students will work to improve (and help each other to improve) if they have a shared vision, outlook, or campaign to get behind. Set and share an obtainable and collaborative classroom goal. Authentically involve the students in as many decisions as possible in an attempt to reach that goal. Refer to it and reflect on it together so no one starts striking out on bad pitches.
Likewise, this same approach of establishing and sharing a common goal works for any group or people working together. Grade levels teams, assistive technology teams, school wide and system wide faculties, or any group of people working to achieve a common goal will produce better results if everyone has taken ownership of that goal.
In baseball, the general manager doesn’t necessarily need to fix a flaw in a batter’s swing, he just needs to create the environment in which the player himself can grow to make adjustments. In this same way, a teacher does not need to dictate solutions to solve every problem students encounter, but rather, provide the proper guidance and support to let the students develop their own solutions.
In the end, of course, Pitt, Hill, and the Athletics go on to prove that their system works. The movie claims that professional baseball, steeped in tradition and history, changed forever after that season. In the following years every team changed to adopt Pitt’s new statistical approach to player evaluation and acquisition. The profession, and the economy surrounding it, was forever altered largely due to the ideas and efforts of two men.
Educators can have that same impact on their chosen profession. Whether looking at education globally or at each of its subsequent parts (like assistive technology), long standing practices should be challenged, turned over, and re-examined to see if they are truly effective. We might find that embracing new approaches, and showing the determination to stick to these approaches, could result in an effective grand slam for education as a whole.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #90 features a discussion of tools that can be used to summarize text.
Episode #89 features a look at the free fraction tools provided by ConceptuaMath as well as a few other tools useful for visualizing, representing, and understanding fractions.
Despite having seen all the previous Mission Impossible movies, when I saw the preview for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol I thought, “Ick.” Then, when I heard from a few Twitter friends how much they enjoyed it, saw some additional television spots playing that catchy theme music, and noticed that it was directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant, etc.) I changed my mind. Still, I was thinking I’d add it to the Netflix queue and get around to seeing it a year or two from now.
Over the winter break my in-laws came into town giving my wife and I an opportunity to have a day out together. We did some shopping, grabbed a bite to eat, and went to see Mission Impossible for the heck of it. As it turns out, we both really enjoyed it.
What I found most interesting about the movie were the parallels in the story to building and maintaining an assistive technology team. Without providing any spoilers, the movie centers around a small team of professionals who use technology to overcome problem after problem in order to achieve their objectives. The team utilizes their different talents to assess each situation by analyzing their environment and then implementing technology to address the issues.
To me, this is exactly how a team of educators considers assistive technology for a student. The team analyzes the situation, determines what goals need to be met, and then decide what tools are necessary to address those goals.
Approximately half way through the movie the team of good guys realize that they will not be able to acquire any more resources. They are forced to find solutions using only what they have available to them. When implementing technology for a student, educators should first look to what they already have in their environment. Technology that is present and available to every student is always the best place to start and typically these tools are considered the least restrictive solutions. Furthermore, in the current fiscal environment of shrinking budgets, using what’s freely available first, before looking for external solutions that cost money, helps to keep funds available for when a student absolutely needs something to be purchased.
As the events of the plot unfold, the team finds that technology fails them…over and over again. As the technology fails, the team is forced to improvise to continue on their mission. Unfortunately, this holds true in the world of education as well. Technology breaks down and back-up plans needs to be implemented so students aren’t left floundering without the supports they need to help them achieve their goals. When the technology goes down, it’s up to the educational team to review, revise, and react, often in innovative ways, to make sure students succeed.
At the end, it’s no surprise, that Tom Cruise’s team is victorious. As team leader he gives a short speech explaining how proud he is of the team for their resiliency, collaboration, and never-give-up attitude. Even if you think the mission in front of you is impossible, whether it be stopping a terrorist from enacting his nefarious plot or assisting a student in achieving his or her educational goals, the edict is the same- failure is not an option.
Providing necessary technology to help students achieve their educational goals is your mission, and if you’re a good educational team, your only choice is to accept it.
This is Chris’ wife, Mel. I am hijacking his blog. How I got in here isn’t important . Let’s just say it took some gum, a ferret, and an accomplice to help me break in. Whew, I am feeling like a fish out of water in WordPress. It is fancy in here. Why am I here, you ask?
IT’S CHRIS’ BIRTHDAY!!!
Happy Birthday Chris! As part of your present, I collected some audio birthday messages for you! You will find the links below to hear them:
Voting ends on December 18th, 2013
Episode #118 features an interview with Michael Milliman, a 
The Compendium Blog of The A.T.TIPSCAST 