Education 5173

Education 5173 has ended. I am looking forward to a well deserved break. I met so many great people in this course; I am sad to say 'Good Bye'. I hope we will meet again!
Education 5173 was a very demanding but rewarding experience. We explored many forms of assistive technology in the 12 days at Acadia University.

1. Blogging: Something new to me but I must admit, once I became comfortable with the technology, it was a great tool for communicating our daily activities. It was a lot of fun to play with the features of the application; uploading our pictures and videos and viewing the perspective of others on a topic was great.
2. The iPod Touch is an amazing tool. Using the program Proloqu2Go, we checked out several APPs that could be utilized in our schools. That was a fun activity and I am sure I will use this in my classroom next year.
3. Social script videos were great! Writing the script, shooting the video and editing with our group was a very enjoyable activity. I loved watching the movies produced by the other groups. It was a blast!
4. Visiting the Dollar Store and choosing items that were converted to 'low tech' assistive technology was an eye opener. The creativity in our class was evident after viewing these presentations.
5. Boardmaker was a challenging but rewarding tool. I spent many hours learning the various components of its application.

5173 was a great course. I hate to say 'Good-Bye'. Thanks Barb and fellow classmates. It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience!

Using the iPod

The iPod has so many interesting components. Follow the link above to view a video on an interesting feature of this technology. The iPod can be used in the theatres to read the subtitles of the movies. What a great assistive technology tool for the hearing impaired. Not only will it read the subtitles but one can pick the language of your choice. Awesome! You've got to love technology!

Hearing Impairment and Assistive technology

Using the iPod at the Theatre

This video explains how one can use their iPod to read subtitles in the movie theatres. What a great idea for the hearing impaired! One nice feature is that one can view the captions in a prefered language.

Low Tech & Adapted Tech Presentations on Day 11

Today was a fun day in Education 5173. Our assignment was to shop at the Dollar Store and find:

1. an 'off the shelf' assistive technology item we could use to improve the performance of our students.



2. an item we could 'modify' with the purpose of improving the performance of our students.

It was amazing that each group was able to visit the same Dollar Store and purchase items that were so diverse. At times I would think, 'how are they going to adapt that item?' After each presentation I would say to myself, 'now wasn't that a great idea'. The people in our class were definitely thinking 'outside the box'. The creativity, ideas and presentations were great!


1. The 'off the shelf' ' item Jeanette and I chose was a water blaster gun that we transformed into a pointing device. Our student was in a wheelchair and prior to using this device, performing pointing activities at the whiteboard was difficult. Now all the students could use this item as a pointer but our student in the wheelchair could extend it to provide a greater reach.

2. The 'modified' item was a manipulative we created to complete math sentences. The student has disgraphia and visual impairment.

On a white board we placed Velcro strips.

Dominoes were used as the manipulives which also had Velcro attached to the back of each. The strong black and white contrast worked well for our visually impaired student.

Just a little note to all:

Thank you everyone for all the rewarding experiences I enjoyed in 5173. There were many challenges but now we have the rewards of those new learning endevors. It was a pleasure to know you and enjoy your creativity, laughs and triumps! Thanks Barb and great job girls and Carl!

Boardmaker Plus on Day 10

Perhaps I should start each Blog with the words, 'A new challenge' because most of our days in 5173, start with traveling down the road of unfamilarity with technology. Are you familar with the old proverb, 'the darkest hour is just before the dawn'? Well, I have to admit that I had a few dark hours but so far I was able to become comfortable with the 'new to me' technology.
Origonally, I thought Boardmaker Plus wouldn't be too tough. I am comfortable with using a similar program, 'Writing With Symbols', which I use on a regular basis.
My original hopes were a 'dynamic communication board' was a visual schedule for our children with autism and the 'book' would be a few simple pages. Silly me! I should have realized that Barb would challenge us to the max; or at least what I felt was the maximun.
In class on Friday:
1.We learned how to create boards.
2.Our group became familar with the navigation bar accompaning the program.
3.The class also created boards with voice input.
4.After creating the boards, we could link boards to other boards.
5.We began the orginization of our assignment. (Subject, related to IPP, etc.)
It is Sunday morning. I spent most of the weekend either becoming more familar with the Boardmaker Plus program or creating an accessible book. Dawn is here! I hear the birds chirping and yes! I am becoming more comfortable with the Boardmaker Plus program. Now it is time for relating the completed boards to the curriculum and the IPP.

Movie Time on Day 9

"Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get." I think we all felt like Forrest Gump the last few days. Movie maker was introduced to us and before the day ended we were writing, acting and editing our first movie. The required task was to create a video that we could use as a 'Social Script Stories' to assist our special needs students.
Creating our first movie was a lot of fun but will our videos be well received or did we create a lemon?

Group Washroom Etiquette

Watching the movies was an enjoyable and rewarding experience. The social messages were great plus some of the groups added some humor. Hey, none of us were experts but it was fun to laugh at the challenges we encountered. I loved the large 'School Bus' sign on the side of Shelley's van and the wet bottoms while the girls were on the slide. Great job ladies!
Filming was a success. We did not encounter any lemons but delectable treats! Forrest would be proud of the movie makers in 5173.
Switches were the focus for Part Two of Day 7. Barb showed us a video on four children and how assistive technology had a huge impact on their learning and integration into their schools.

What is a switch?

A switch is a mechanical device to close the electrical circuit.

Who uses a switch?

Switches are used by individuals who wish to accomplish a task and that task can only be accomplished by using a switch.

Why do we use switches?

We use switches because:

1. An individual wishes to complete a specific task,
2. To allow a person more independence.

Goals for choosing a switch will vary with the required needs of each individual:

1. to accomplish a task. In schools, it would relate to that child's outcomes. e.g. to operate the computer
2. to assist that person with independence. e.g. to operate a wheelchair.
   

I found a the following video intriguing. Marie France Bru is an intelligent women who is almost completely paralyzed. A switch attached to her cheek activates a computer which allows her complete many tasks daily.

Marie France Bru and switches

Social Script and Movie Maker on Day 8

Today was a lot of fun in Education 5173. The class broke into our 'movie making groups' and we continued to work on our Social Script Stories. After discussing a few possible 'struggling school situations' we decided to work on a bathroom issue. Annual and specific goals as well as strategies and assessing methods were developed.

Background information

A grade one girl with autism lacks appropriate socially acceptable behaviors when she enters the washroom. She looks under the bathroom stalls while others are using the facilities. Many children find this upsetting and one child was traumatized by this behavior.

Strategies

1. Social Script Stories
2. Social Script Video
3. Social Script Sentences
4. Rewards

Script Writing

Beverley, Elizabeth, Jeanette and myself worked on the script, making sure the language was not only appropriate for a six year old but also for a child with special needs. At times we choose words that a six year old child would understand but a child with autism may take a literal meaning to a specific phrase.

Movie Maker

Shooting the film seemed to run smoothly. We knew what we wanted and our group worked together to finish the task.

Clips were cut to rid of unnecessary sections.

Narration- Headphones were inserted into the computer and voice input was placed into our film at appropriate sections within our movie.

Social Sentences and Phrases were placed in the film to help create a stronger learning experience for the child/children.

I don't expect our movie will make it to Oscars but I do feel we did a great job writing our script, filming and editing our movie. Awesome job girls!

Riding the Yellow Bus Safely

Shopping at the Dollar Store on Day 6

On day 6 we visited a dollar store in New Minas and we purchased many items. Jeanette and I searched the shelves for items we could possibly adapt to the needs in our classrooms. I was very pleased with the items I purchased. Here is a list of a few of the items I purchased:

Item	Adapted use	Applied classroom use
Sticky notes	Used as cues to later retell a story.	One of my students is a strong decoder but struggles with comprehension. After reading a paragraph or two, I ask her to give me a word or phrase that was important within that text. I place the page number in the corner of the note. Later I line the notes up in order and she is able to retell the story.
Plate display easel	Easel to hold a book.	When reading, some students struggle to hold a book and read.
6” clip for stack of papers	Used to hold open book pages.	When reading, some students struggle to hold a book and read.
Disney cold pack	Stress reliever like a stress ball	A girl who loves to fidget with various items all day could use this as a stress ball. It is deep pink in colour and it has a Disney princess stamped on one side. It should be appealing and age appropriate for our little “Learning Centre Princess”.
Magnet basket advertised for lockers	Used as a pencil, markers, erasers holder.	1. Place on white boards to hold markers. 2. Place on student's desk to hold pencils, markers, etc.
Felt board	Visual story telling board.	The felt items are large and colourful. It will be great for a low verbal child to retell an experience, such as a fun weekend camping trip.
Floating puzzle	Easy grasp puzzles for children with fine motor co-ordination issues.	The puzzle pieces are large and have raised animal figures. These pieces would be easy to grasp and place together.
Wipe clean alphabet letter book	Practice writing letters of the alphabet book.	Dot to dot display of letters for students struggling with the formation of the letters. The wipe clean feature allows us to reuse it in the Learning centre.
Counting money book	Recognizing and counting money.	This booklet's features are: 1. Canadian coins including loonie& toonie coins. 2. Wipe clean for reuse.