Final Thoughts & Reflection

On our very first day of class, my heart was racing as I logged on to my computer and the blackboard program.  I had introduced myself on Showbie,  started my blog,  downloaded R&W4G and set up a teacher account on Book Creator.  However, I am not inept when it comes to technology, and that is what worried me.  Now, having completed this class I am amazed at the number of things that I have learned! 

When I take part in any Professional Learning, I always enjoy the hands-on activities and being presented with the opportunity to bring activities back to my classroom.  This class definitely did just that!  So many resources that I am excited to bring back and implement in my classroom, and share with my students. So many resources that will help include ALL learners in the classroom while strengthing literacy skills.  

 Todd Rose's Ted Talk video,  "The Myth of Average"   first introduced us to the idea that if we design our classroom to fit the "average" student, our classrooms are designed for no one!  We do not teach to the "average" student, we must teach the "individual" student and thus follow the UDL framework and meet the needs of every student in our classroom and give all students the opportunity to succeed.  

Over the course of the 9 weeks, we took part in so many valuable activities that helped me gain a better understanding of Assistive Technology and the UDL framework and furthering the idea that AT is critical in the classroom.  Through  Tyler's story and meeting him, by working through the simulations on Understand.org, by completing Katie Novak's Dinner Party activity and by being introduced to many other resources such as Read & Write for Google, Book Creator, Mentimeter, Keeble Keyboard, the Asseccibility options on our IPhones or IPads, and Snapverter (just to name a few) I now see how important it is that we presume competency for each and every student and meet all the diverse needs of our students by providing choices that will enable them to learn in the best way possible.  

 

Class #4 Take Aways

Take Away #1: Unite for Literacy

Unite for Literacy is a  free resource that allows digital access to over 100 picture books.  The added bonus to this site is that the books can be read aloud to students in many languages, even ASL!  This site does not require a sign-in and is extremely easy to navigate, making it user friendly for the youngest students to use.  It is theme-based, and you can actually search for any subject.  What a fantastic resource for alternate access and inclusion for ALL students!!  To view the site, simply click on the image above. 

Check out the video for a little more info:

Take Away #2: edWeb

edWeb is an excellent educator resource.  It provides a multitude of webinars on many topics and thus providing many opportunities for virtual professional learning.  Once you sign up for an account, educators may then sign up to attend live webinars or can take advantage of the pre-recorded webinars that are available in the archive.  You can visit the site and create your profile by clicking on this link: https://home.edweb.net/  I am looking forward to exploring this resource further and taking advantage of the free webinars.  

During our class, we had the opportunity to watch the webinar titled "Supporting Learning from Home for Students with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities" presented by Kara Magee-Arick.  This webinar was also sponsored by Star Autism Support.  Within this webinar, Kara Magee-Arick discusses some challenges that we must overcome when teaching students with Autism and remote learning. The big problem is that some believe that students with Autism or other developmental disabilities cannot access or learn from remote learning.  The solution?  That we spend time supporting parents and caregivers, to combine instruction and parent learning. She suggests 3 types of learning from home that may be implemented depending on the student's needs.  The types of learning are as follows:

1.  Support Caregivers

This type of remote learning focuses on helping parents with everyday routines.  Caregivers are trained through visual supports and through webinars.

2.  Instructionless Learning

The teacher provides work packets that may be completed at home.

3.  Synchronous Remote Learning

The teacher is delivering the curriculum to the student in conjunction with the caregivers.   This method allows the teacher to support the individual IEP goals and meet the unique needs of the student.  

Star Autism Support also provides some excellent resources for caregivers, especially for COVID 19.  This site provides  Home Support, Home Support Webinars, and Home Supports for Routines.

 

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Take Away #3: Case Study - Jake

My final take away for this class comes from the UNC School of Medicine.  We looked at the "Deaf-Blind Model Classroom" where there were 2 case studies we could follow, Jake or Matthew.  I chose to follow the case study of Jake.

Jake was a 15-year-old high school student who had no formal means of communicating.  School focused on functional skills.  His mother and home care providers were instrumental in helping Jake succeed in communicating with others. It was amazing to see the excitement when Jake began to communicate using a 2 switch step scan and interacting with his family. Jake also used a light-tech flip chart to access the alphabet and begin writing. Jake could communicate with his partner what letters they should write for him.  He did this by moving his arm which would then cause the switch to light up green telling his partner to move to the next letter.  Once his partner pointed to the letter that Jake wanted, he would move his knee which would then light the red light letting his partner know that was the letter he wanted and they would write it for him.  Over time, Jake clearly begins to understand the concept of print with letters representing sounds and inserting spaces between words.  

This case study shows that students with complex needs can be successful and that we should ALWAYS presume competency!  We have to allow all students to learn literacy skills.  With AT, patience, consistency and TIME, great things are possible!!!

3 Take Aways from May 9th's Class

1.  Dinner Party

During our third class, we were involved in an activity called "The Dinner Party."  During this activity, we were broken into groups and told that we had to create a menu for a dinner party that we would be hosting.  It should be an easy task, right?  However, the catch - there were many restrictions we had to consider.  Some of our guests were vegetarians, we also had to offer gluten-free options, paleo options... When we first began this task, we were overwhelmed; however, we quickly came to the conclusion that to meet the specific dietary needs of all our guests, we would over a buffet.  This would enable us to meet the needs of all our guests.  

Dr.  Katie Novak uses this analogy of the dinner party to compare the strategy of DI and the UDL framework. 

If we take the analogy of the dinner party, UDL would be the equivalent of providing a meal that is accessible to all!  Guests can have the option to choose what they want while having access to all the choices.  Within the classroom, that's what UDL offers students - a "buffet" of choices so that we can meet the needs of all students in our class.

2.  Apps, Apps and more Apps!!!

During this class, we were introduced to a variety of apps for reading and writing.  Some we reviewed in our last class.  Some of these apps I have seen before and even used while others were new to me.  Unfortunately, some of these apps incur a cost, and although they would be beneficial in the classroom, we may not be able to access them due to the price.  When we are recommending apps, we need to remember that we do not want to overload on apps.  You want to find ones that work best and focus on those.

Some of the apps include:

https://www.speechtutor.org/

Voice Dream Writer

Voice Dream Reader

Keeble Keyboard

3.  Read & Write Google Extension  

This is the first experience I have had with R&W4G.  To say that I was completely overwhelmed at the introduction to this extension is an understatement!  However, after Ms. Welsford offered a second class to review the extension and each of its toolbars, I can see it's benefit in helping students gain confidence in reading and writing.  The toolbars and features align with CAST'S UDL guidelines and I think it's something that should be available in every class for every student! 

I've also noticed that a few fellow classmates have completed a course through Texthelp.  I think that is something that I would look into as well.  The more I know, the better prepared I am to implement in the classroom.