Kurzweilin' Out

I never had any experience with assistive technology really before this course. I had encounters with students in my student teaching placements who used computers for word processing purposes because of their motor deficits, but not for communication or for understanding material. I think Kurzweil is an interesting and easy to use tool that can benefit not only students with special needs, but also those typically developing students in the general education classroom. I mentioned this in the discussion on the HBSE 4005 Wiki, but I'll mention it again here. Many of my special education professors here at TC have said on various occasions that strategies that work for special education classrooms certainly work in general education classrooms. This is not to say that the needs of students in general education are comparable to those of students with special needs in special education classrooms, but it is safe to say that having access to materials and technology that enhances the learning experience is important for all learners--with or without disabilities.


In that same vein, I have seen that many of my colleagues have posed questions about state testing for general education students. Assistive tools like Kurzweil software will not be available for students in the general education track who will participate in standardized tests. For this reason, for students without special needs, Kurzweil can be used as an enhancement strategy for teaching note-taking and comprehension skills. Students can use Kurzweil as they learn the strategies they need for the standardized tests. However, at least in my case with my 6 students with autism ALL participating in NYSAA this year (oh, the stress!), this will not be a problem.


With all that said, I am eager to continue working with the Kurzweil software because I do believe that it is an interesting piece of technology that can truly enhance the learning experience. I think all students should be able to have access to it as they are learning to become more independent with their reading, and as they learn to self-monitor their own needs and levels of understanding.

Oh How I Wish...

I could have a Smart Board in my classroom! There are so many things that can be done with the Smart Board, and as I get to know my students more and their interests, I wish I could have a Smart Board to have a more interactive classroom. I currently have an iPad cart which I try to break out with my students and have them do activities as a whole class. We're currently studying different Spanish-speaking countries for Hispanic Heritage Month, so we've been looking at the satellite image on Google Maps of each of the countries and their characteristics (mountains, beaches, big cities, etc.). It would have been so much better to be able to have a Smart Board and have students manipulate the maps on the board. It would add a bigger "WOW" factor to the maps, and it would also get the kids out of their seats.


There are so many interesting interactive websites out there, especially for students with special needs, that would be so much more enhanced and meaningful with an interactive Smart Board in the classroom. There is only one room in the school that has one, and I am so jealous of the teacher who has it--she doesn't even want it in her room! I can think of a million and one things to do with my students using a Smart Board. 


So, even though I wasn't in class on Monday, I have been exposed to Smart Boards and have used them in my student teaching experiences. Oh, how I wish I could have a Smart Board in my classroom!

Web 2.0: The Situation

Learning about how to incorporate interactive technology in the classroom was incredibly inspiring. It was exciting to participate in these interactive web tools as a class to not only see how it worked but also to learn by doing. Using websites like Prezi, Bubbl, Popplet, Titanpad, and Voicethread were interesting. However, throughout the entire session I kept on thinking about the students that I teach in my 6:1:1 class. Five out of six of my students have severe autism, and websites like Prezi and Titanpad would be too overstimulating for some of them. I very much enjoyed Popplet and Bubbl, because the concept maps that were created were simple to follow and made sense in a UD kind of way.

The more I think about it, though, the more I am interested in seeing some of my more computer and technological students play around with some of these tools. Perhaps I will give them iPads and log them into these programs and just see what happens with it. It would be a fun experiment for both me and my students to see what interests them and what works for them. Then, I can use these websites as great instructional AND adaptive technology tools.

I have students in my class whose writing skills are either nonexistent or in the very early stages. Using technology more often in the classroom will provide them more UDL and access to discussions and collaborations via these Web 2.0 tools.

Will you look at that? I began this post discouraged, and am leaving inspired! Let's go Web 2.0!

UD CHALLENGE: Answered (Kind of)

Last week I posted about the horrendous state of the anti-UD bathroom in a New York City apartment. This week, I will offer a number of changes to the design of the bathroom that can make it more accessible to our diverse populations throughout the world.

BEFORE:

I split up the changes into steps and provided pictures of what it MAY look like.

FIRST:

The heater must be moved. It is essential for the door to be opened completely to allow large things such as wheelchairs or walkers through. The wheelchair should fit all the way into the bathroom so that the door may be closed all the way for the privacy that each user deserves.

SECOND:

The cabinets under the sink would be taken away, and the sink would be mounted onto the wall with nothing underneath it in order to have room for a wheelchair, walker, or any other type of assistance a person with disabilities may need. 

It may look like this:

THIRD:

The toilet and the sink would swap places so that the sink is the first thing in the bathroom on the right, leaving more room for an accessible wheelchair to access the toilet. Also, the toilet would have bars for support.

It may look like this:

FOURTH:

The shower needs changing. One needs to take a large step over the bathtub in order to enter it. A change I would make is to have a swinging door in the tub that goes from the bottom of the tub, so a person may walk into it with a walker or other type of support.

It may look like this:

These are not changes that can be made easily or cheaply, but they would be made if a person needed it. Architects and designers in New York City need to think more about making their buildings on the outside AND inside accessible to people of all sizes and abilities. It is a shame that people with disabilities are a secondary thought and that these changes must be made after the original design of the whole building. The whole purpose of UD (and UDL) is to proactively design environments to suit all people. Why is it so hard to think of others FIRST?

Increasing Accessibility in (Teaching and) Learning

Throughout this first month of school (both as a student at Teachers College and a teacher in NYC District 75), I have been reflecting on how to make learning more accessible to my five very different learners with autism in my classroom. In this generation of increasingly frequent technological advancements, I believe that technology is the answer to many of our problems. I have been fortunate to learn that my school has access to a classroom set of iPads that can be used for teaching and choice time activities. I sifted through the pre-programmed applications and found many that are useful in aiding learning in the classroom.


First is this app, which is so essential for my students with autism:

Functional Skills System app--Social Skills Sampler

This app provides videos on social skills and other functional life skills for all types of learners. It provides a visual and audio model for appropriate behavior and life skills. This is incredibly important for our youngsters for whom this does not come naturally. Technology like this can complement a social story activity, a simulation activity, role playing, and other low-tech activities by having students manipulate the app and find appropriate videos.


Next is a communication app:

Verbally app

This app is a word-output program that has a combination of words and phrases that the student can tap and have the iPad speak. It is like a dynamic display communication board, but just with words--it doesn't have any pictures. This would not be appropriate for many learners who have limited reading ability. However, this could help with teaching grammar skills and writing--students can make phrases and sentences by tapping on the iPad and have the iPad speak back to them. They can listen to hear if the sentence makes sense when read aloud. It provides an extra step in understanding language--expressive and receptive communication skills are enveloped in one small package with this app.


There are a number of other educational applications on the iPad, including tools for teachers--data collection, IEP writers, assessments, and other tools are available for educators. The iPad might have been designed with teaching and learning in mind, because it is one powerful piece of assistive technology that will definitely be utilized to its fullest potential in my classroom.