Reading Task Analysis

Welcome to Assistive Technology - Literacy

Back in the saddle again. I can't wait to learn more to apply it to my classroom.

Final thoughts...

This has been an interesting process of discovery and self-reflection as I journeyed through this course. Learning about what is possible through the use of technology has been extraordinary! There is a whole world out there that I didn't know existed. It seems as though the only thing that limits our abilities is our own imagination.

And this is the scary part to me. The lack of imagination and the will to do something about it. Just to remind myself what is possible through assistive technology I've posted the following link:



It was good to see the presentations and have the hands-on activities with the various devices and programs. Although it was a little taste, it helped to broaden my awareness and increase the desire in me to learn more. And the central message with the devices, "think task analysis" was not lost on me. This message will be useful to take back to my classroom in the fall. Thinking about what it is that I want from my students and what do they need to get there should be the focus rather than being overwhelmed by the content of the curriculum.

Until now I hadn't really thought of working in a Learning Centre because I felt ill-equipped to work with special needs students. For those that know me, that may seem odd given my connections with a L'Arche community. However, I was concerned that empathy and a belief that there is more out there for people was not enough. Having seen the potential of assistive technology devices has opened my heart and my mind.

I'll keep you all posted as to where I'm headed in the future!

Visual Impairments

Vision impairments is a topic that hits close to home for me. I have minus nine vision and my worst fear is that I will lose my sight. I've had a few laser operations to repair some holes that I've had in the retina. My family has a history of macular degeneration so it is a topic of interest to me.

Macular degeneration is a condition that can affect older persons that causes a loss of sight in the center of a vision field. While macular degeneration does not in itself lead to total blindness, it can have devastating affects such as an inability to read.

For more information on macular degeneration, including leading causes and treatment there is an excellent article on wikipedia which is linked below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeration

However, with the use of assistive technology, much can be done to enable people with this condition to continue with their daily activities. For example, the late Israeli composer Josef Tal used a computer screen reader to read and create short scores of music.

Here's a short YouTube clip with Kathleen Gilmore, a research archaeologist discussing two of the assistive technologies that she uses to help her read.



Dorothy Barter, another woman who lives with macular degeneration, demonstrates some of her assistive tech devices to help her with daily living.

Math Board and Story

Well... somehow we did it. We created a math story and board for our student. The program was rather interesting to use... a few glitches and some creative thinking, but somehow we managed.

I can see how it important it would be to take your time when introducing a dynamic board to a student. I found it difficult to remember all of the icons, etc. on all of the different layers. It's amazing what these students do to be able to communicate!

As we were creating our story I was thinking about the complexity involved in creating it from a mathematics standpoint. Specifically, what is the concept that you want to introduce? What language will be used? As we worked through the program Barbara had mentioned that it is a little more difficult to create math stories using Boardmaker Plus. It would be interesting to create stories with the other programs that she suggested.

On another note, I really enjoyed watching the other presentations on invented AT devices. Such creativity and it was all very pragmatic.

Boardmaker Plus

Where do I even begin? It was a lot to take in today! Once we got going with Boardmaker Plus it didn't seem so daunting. However, this is something that I'm definitely going to have to keep playing around with because I don't want to forget more than I learned. Here's hoping that my new Learning Center teacher will let me practice with this program in the new school year!

The amount of thinking that is needed before you create a storyboard is amazing. I think that I'm going to use this type of activity with my Grade Six students as it fits nicely with their curriculum (storyboards). I wonder if it is possible if we could create a storyboard for a younger student as a class? Aside from the curriculum (there's so much that could be "covered" in Language Arts), I think that they more practical use of community-building would be more important.

I fooled around with some searching on the internet and found a really interesting site that might be useful for Jennifer and I as we are doing a math book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDsNmaiwszc

This YouTube video presents some interesting information around counting and the use of switches. I hadn't thought about how a student may need to "touch" each object as they count. This video addresses this issue quite nicely. I'm hoping that I can put it into practice with our storyboard.

Switches

Today we talked about the type of switches that are available! I was stunned at the amount and the complexity involved! As always the message came out loud and clear... the device needs to serve the needs of the purpose... not the other way round.

I was overwhelmed with the variety of switches and their uses and wanted to see some more. I found a website that sells switches and other assorted products. It might be interesting to take a look at it.

http://www.enablemart.com

In ESSENCE what I learned about switches is that:
1. They are used to help create access to electronic devices to aid with assistive technology.
2. They are an incredible amount of choices - from puffers to jellybeans.
3. Switches are chosen with the users access point. Does the person need a toggle switch or will a mouse-click do?

A great tutorial on the subject can found below:




Although it is a commercial site, it has an incredible amount of information that ranges from what is a switch, who uses it, why,etc. Also, there is a "free" download section for kids. Quite fun!