An Introductory Training to Developing the Capacity of School Librarians to Effectively Serve Students with Disabilities Presenters William N. Myhill Sara Lissa Paulson Michelle Mayhood May 3, 2013

collaborative project . Project ENABLE is a collaborative project

WEBINAR OBJECTIVES 1. Increase understanding of the important role school librarians have to play in providing meaningful educational opportunities for students with disabilities. 2. Improve awareness of facilitators and barriers to inclusive library programs and services. 3. Introduce Project ENABLE’s goals, curriculum, and free online training and resources.

programs, services and facilities 1. Inclusive library programs, services and facilities 1. What does the phrase “inclusive library programs, services and facilities” mean to you?

Role of school librarians 2. Role of school librarians 2. Did Project ENABLE impact your understanding of the roles school librarians play in providing meaningful educational opportunities for students with disabilities? Children in general? If so, how? Awareness of the needs of children with disabilities Access to individual IEPs Ensuring library / media center is physically accessible Lesson planning with general and special educators Development of a library collection with large print, audio, and high interest / low reading books Teaching children with disabilities Providing assistive technology Contributing to a child’s IEP Myhill, W.N., Hill, R.F., Link, K., Small, R.V. & Bunch, K. (2012). Developing the Capacity of Teacher-Librarians to Meet the Diverse Needs of All School Children: Project ENABLE. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 12(4), pp. 201-216. Creating an accessible library (included in more than half of all action plans): restructuring the physical environment acquiring accessible materials (e.g., audio books) implementing universal signage Making lessons plans that meet the needs of diverse students: adapting /modifying their teaching methods and materials (44%) using UD and UDL principles (33%) Collaboration with general and special educators establishing common planning and preparation time designing and teaching lessons planning for greater educator-to-educator and interdepartmental communication and consulting Accessing IEPs Accessing and understanding student IEPs contributing their expertise to IEPs Collaboration was necessary in 91.0% of the 78 goals, and on average, 2.63 times per plan. The typical collaboration averaged 2.54 different persons per goal. The largest number of goals involving collaborations (42) occurred among medium-sized collaborations of three to five people (e.g., TL, SE, GE, parent, student), accounting for 67.7% of all collaborations. More than 40% of all action plans included a goal or objective addressing IEP access or contribution. Having access to, using and sharing Assistive Technology: Screen reader, magnifier, voice recognition , and word prediction software joystick, single switch, large key keyboard, on-screen keyboard Creating learning resources and opportunities with Web tools: Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs, Glogster and Google Docs/Drive (37.0%) Web 1.0 tools such as content management systems, Wordles and other website resources generally (37.0%).

Facilitators and barriers 3. Facilitators and barriers 3. Did Project ENABLE improve your awareness of facilitators and barriers to inclusive library programs, services and facilities? If so, in what ways? What Can I Do to Facilitate Inclusive Library Programs and Services? Create a Project ENABLE team in your school with your school librarian and a general educator who also works with children you serve. Learn about one another’s available assistive, media, online technologies and resources. Conduct an assessment of your school library, its resources, means of communication and existing procedures (using Project ENABLE free online tools) Develop an Action Plan containing one short-, one medium-, and one long-range goal for improving the accessibility of your school library programs and services, including objectives, methods, resources, benchmarks, and responsible parties. Review the IEP goals, objectives and modifications of the students in [General Educator]’s class as a team, and plan ways to address a few of these in both classroom ad library activities. Identify, Develop and co-Instruct a learning unit collaboratively for the students in a general education class.

Legal responsibilities 4. Legal responsibilities 4. Did Project ENABLE help you prepare to respond to your legal obligations under the IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA in your delivery of programs and services for students with disabilities? If so, in what ways?

5. Collaboration 5. Did project ENABLE affect the ways and amount of collaboration you engage in with other professional in your school, in planning for and instructing the educational needs of children with disabilities? Children in general? If so, in what ways?

6. Action plans 6. What were the goals of your Project ENABLE action plan, and how successful were you in achieving them?

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) 7. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) 7. Has your role with regard to developing IEPs changed since participating in the Project ENABLE training? If so, in what ways?

8. Technology 8. Has your use of assistive technology, web 2.0 tools, or universal design principles changed since participating in the Project ENABLE training? If so, in what ways?

Sample Findings Participants reported: Improvements in their skills for adapting instructional techniques to address the needs of students with disabilities. Increased appreciation for the central role of information literacy in all instruction. A stronger desire to collaborate with team members and others in the schools to improve learning for all students with and without disabilities across the curriculum. Acquiring a greater understanding of team member roles and responsibilities, and of specific resources other team members possess. (Myhill et al., 2012)

Project ENABLE Training Website http://enable.digital-literacy.syr.edu/

Project ENABLE Training Website

Project ENABLE Training Website Launched Nov. 15, 2012 Target audience: School librarians Other audiences: Special educators, classroom teachers, public and academic librarians, parents and advocates Free Registration: As an individual or group/class.

Project ENABLE Disability Awareness School Disability Law Training Website Five Learning Modules Disability Awareness School Disability Law Evaluating Accessibility Planning Inclusive Instruction Planning an Accessible Library

What can I expect? Web 2.0 tools, simulated impact of disability on learning tasks, interactive design of an accessible space, close captioned instructional videos, parent perspectives, activities to apply universal design and disability law in the school, evaluating program and service accessibility, using accessible web sources, motivating diverse learners, guidelines for inclusive lesson design, module quizzes and assessments, and more.

Module Intro

Collection Development

Interactive Activities

Module Quiz

at Syracuse University 2013 Summer Workshops at Syracuse University

Closing Remarks