AT, UDL, AIM What does it mean for ME? Wendy Homlish Danielle Argot CLIU 21 TAC

AT (Assistive Technology) What is it? How do we know who needs it? How do I know what to check on the IEP Considerations Page?

But isn’t that just SDI? NO AT is STUDENT SPECIFIC Can be low or high tech, but must be added to a student’s educational program in order for the student to receive FAPE SDI is “what the teacher does to design instruction” AT is any tool the student uses to ACCESS that instruction AT is “has to have” – other tools may be “nice to have”

Poll everywhere

AIM (Accessible Instructional Materials) Student must have IEP or 504 in order to be eligible for AIM

Guiding Questions

Guiding Question Given standard *print-based curriculum materials used in the content areas, does the student have difficulty accessing or gaining meaning from these materials? * print-based core materials are textbooks, workbooks, worksheets, basal textbooks and reproducible materials printed on paper, in book, or single sheet format

Bookshare IEP driven for students who qualify for AIM Free Access to copyright materials District subscription – Teacher=sponsor – Rosters eligible students – Individual home subscriptions Can download textbooks, trade books, magazines, newspapers….

ReadOutLoud The program used to open Bookshare materials Provides text to speech options Highlights as it reads Other tools – talking dictionary, bibliographer, outline tool, notes, graphic organizer view

Notes

slidebarspeak highlighters dictionary bibliographer

Poll everywhere

What’s in YOUR Bag of Tricks? List the strategies or accommodations to materials that have already been tried to address reading or access to academic material. Have they been successful?

Universal Design in Architecture and Products © CAST, Inc. Curb Cuts Ramps Captions on TV Elevators Easy Grip Tools

UDL Benefits. Recognizes the reality of classroom diversity Provides physical and cognitive access to curriculum Minimizes retrofitting by teacher Supports meaningful access to the general education curriculum and successful inclusion in general education class © CAST, Inc.

“ Universal”

“Design”  Curriculum must be designed from the beginning to be flexible  Must be customizable to provide both challenge and supports for many levels of abilities and learning styles © CAST, Inc.

“For Learning” © CAST, Inc.

UDL Principles Multiple means of representation, to give learners options for acquiring information and knowledge Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know, Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation

Representation Interact with content in flexible ways © CAST, Inc. options for perception (interpreting sensory information) options for understanding language options for understanding concepts

Action and Expression Provide flexible ways to show what they know © CAST, Inc.  options for physical actions  options for expressive skills  options for executive functions

Engagement Provide ways to stimulate interest and motivation © CAST, Inc. options for creating interest options for sustaining effort and persistence options for self- regulation

A UDL Approach Assumes that students with varying needs will be involved in learning, and that the curriculum… – the goals – the instructional methods – the instructional materials, and – the assessments …needs to address this diversity.

Teaching Methods Traditional: – Usually lecture style, homogenous grouping, unsupported note-taking UDL: – Avoid limiting presentation style – Frequent questions, clarification, interactivity – Provide adapted materials for note-taking

Instructional Materials Traditional: The materials are mostly print; everyone gets the same materials UDL: Use a variety of levels of printed text, digital, video, audio materials etc. (no tech, low tech and high tech).

Assessments Traditional: – Administer the end-of-chapter test, which consists of multiple choice and short essay answers UDL: – Ensure test objectives match instructional objectives – Consider alternate means of delivery, modification of assessment content, different question format

UDL AIM All learners Looks at changing curriculum barriers Focused on outcomes Responsibility of all involved in the design, planning, and implementation Built in NOT IEP dependent Required under IDEA or 504 Looks at adapting “print-based” curriculum materials Focused on access Responsibility of student’s team to acquire AIM Retro-fit

We should all know about… Text-to-Speech is not voice recognition (talking to your computer.) It's hearing text while reading. Text-to-Speech does not replace reading instruction or remediation. It’s a way to get students into the text that may be difficult.

Why text-to-speech? Compensates for skill deficits Supports skill development Can be applied across subject areas and skill areas and instructional contexts. If you can’t read the text book or the instructions, you need a way to get that information.

Exploring Text to Speech Options Google Chrome extensions WordTalk- WordTalk Natural Reader - another free text-to-speech software program which converts any written text to speech (Word, pdf, websites, s) Natural Reader Click,Speak - a free Firefox extension that reads the Internet and highlights phrases and sentences as it reads Click,Speak PowerTalk - free text-to-speech for PowerPoint presentations PowerTalk Online options Free downloads

Reading Writing Connection If you can’t read well, you probably can’t spell well. If you can’t read well, you probably have trouble constructing sentences for written work. Spoken language is generally sentence fragments. But written language needs to “sound” good and look good.

What does UDL look like? Teachers provide: Flexible ways of presenting lesson content Flexible methods of expression, and assessment Flexible options for student engagement Students have: Options for how they receive content Options for how they demonstrate their learning Choices which will engage interest and sustain effort

udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com

Supports for Reading MS Word Options Low Tech tools – Color – Font – Spacing Text to Speech options

Supports for Writing/Vocabulary

Supports for Writing MS Word Options – Forms – Templates Specialty paper (shaded, raised lines) Special writing tools ReportCards –

Supports for Math

Supports for Studying

Supports for Studying and Organization PowerPoint flashcards Flashcard apps and online resources Alerts and reminders (online/watches/phones, etc) To-Do lists (digital and on paper) like (most require free subscriptions)

Google Chrome – The Only Toolkit You Need! Interacts with Google Docs Extensions – provide multiple accessibility options from within the browser: – Read&Write for Google Docs – adds text to speech, talking dictionary, picture dictionary, fact finder, vocabulary – Readability-makes web pages easier to read – iSpeech – translates text to speech on any page – ChromeSpeak – allows speech input – Ginger Grammar and Spell Checker

Google Apps