Professional Development Workshop By Tyson Pentecost There’s an App for That! Using Assistive Technology Apps to meet the needs of all learners Professional Development Workshop By Tyson Pentecost

What is Assistive Technology? Assistive Technologies are the tools and strategies that act to liberate the use of technology for all students as well as to provide new ways to "assist" interactions and learning. They act to "augment abilities and bypass or compensate for a disability" (Lewis, 1994). Found at: http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Foundation/intro/introdefine.php Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB9pKkZoJDc

Examples of Assistive Technology Low Tech: handheld magnifiers large print text using paper and pen to communicate canes and walkers reachers/grabbers specialized pen or pencil grips and much more

Examples Continued Mid Tech talking spell checkers manual wheelchairs electronic organizers Closed Caption Televisions (CCTV's) amplifiers books on CD environmental control units (ECU) alternate mouse or keyboard for the computer

Examples Continued High Tech power wheelchairs and scooters digital hearing aids computers with specialized software such as voice recognition or magnification software electronic aids to daily living digital hands-free headsets voice activated telephones communication devices with voices bluetooth integration digi-drive technology (operating a vehicle with a joystick)

More information on AT Activity: Take a moment to read the article provided to you at your table. After reading discuss the article with the people at your table. Share with the whole group or on the linoit (link provided in your email) what you found interesting in the article.

What types of AT do you use in your classroom or are used in this school? Activity: Brainstorm with a partner Share your ideas on the linoit link sent to you in your email. Linoit Link: http://linoit.com/users/pentecostt/canvases/AT%20Professional%20Development%20

AT and Legislation IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) 2004 requires IEP teams to consider the assistive technology needs of all children with disabilities. Source: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/atech.index.htm AT Regulations: AT must be provided by the school district at no cost to the family. AT must be determined on a case-by-case basis; it is required if needed to ensure access to free and appropriate public education (FAPE). If the IEP team determines that AT is needed for home use to ensure FAPE, it must be provided The student's IEP must reflect the nature of the AT and amount of supportive AT services required. A parent is accorded an extensive set of procedural safeguards, including the provision of AT to the child. Source: http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Foundation/intro/introATidea.php

Apps for Reading and Writing Difficulties Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNs88Ki1WSo

Activity: As we go through the apps use the chart provided to take notes about the apps. Write down how you think you could use these in your classroom and what students you think would benefit from these apps. We will have time to share at the end.

Dragon Dictation Voice recognition app that allows you to speak and see your words types out in text format. How could this be used in your classroom? What students would benefit from the use of this app?

iSpeech Text to speech app that allows you to enter text and hear it read out loud. How could this be used in your classroom? What students could benefit from the use of this app?

Quizlet Lets users create "sets" of terms customized for their own needs. These sets of terms can then be studied under several study modes. How could this be used in your classroom? What students could benefit from the use of this app?

Homework Use one of these apps with a student or students in your class. Be ready to share your experience at our next meeting.

Apps for Math and Organization Difficulties

Activity Continue to fill out the chart from our last meeting. We will share at the end.

Number Pieces Number Pieces helps students develop a deeper understanding of place value while building their computation skills with multi-digit numbers. Students use the number pieces to represent multi-digit numbers, regroup, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. How could this be used in your classroom? What students could benefit from the use of this app?

Penultimate A note taking app that allows you to organize your notes and photos. How could this be used in your classroom? What students could benefit from the use of this app?

Using Rubrics to Assess Apps Rubrics help you decide if a certain app is right for the needs of your students. Rubric 1: http://www.kathyschrock.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalipad_content.pdf Rubric 2: http://proactivespeech.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/quick_feature_matching_checklist.jpg Rubric 3: http://www.integrateat.com/sites/www.integrateat.com/files/MobileTechFeatureMatchChart.pdf Activity: Use one of these three rubrics (copies provided on your table) to assess one of the apps we learned about.

Wrap Up Googledoc to share great apps with your colleagues: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LfjI2UnKsdPxJpxrSoMPiqWmfPu2bEnbChRPcybzuxU/edit?usp=sharing Questions? Please take a moment to fill out the evaluation form (on your table) for this workshop.