From APPrehension to APPreciation – There’s an APP for That!

First let me APPlaud my classmates for all the wonderful presentations Wednesday night. It was great to hear your insights about ways we can use AT to support diverse learners in our schools! Your enthusiasm and helpful examples helped alleviate some of my “Where do I begin?” apprehension.

Keisha & Donalda: New Apps for Learning Disabilities

Thanks to Keisha and Donalda for starting us off! They demonstrated three great apps for students with LD: iBooks3, Paperport Notes, and Book Creator. I have downloaded Book Creator and have started exploring its use. My “Aha” moment during their presentation was as I thought about the number of students being diagnosed with learning disabilities. That number seems to be on the rise. Therefore we, as teachers, need to seek out the best and most APPropriate resources to support them.  Keisha and Donalda gave us some very helpful tips on where to begin.

Maralynn, Evan, Karen & Nicole: Apps in Action for Severe Autism

I liked the way this group organized the apps under different domains, such as precursor skills, sensory regulation, sensory integration, etc. Any of us who have taught children with autism know how broad the spectrum is, so the variety of apps they presented could be applicable to a wide variety of students. While watching their presentation, I was reminded of the Carly Fleischmann video, and how AT opened up a whole new world for her. I wonder if any of these apps will be the key to reaching and teaching students with autism in our schools?  The thought is very APPealing.

Jeremy, Clarissa, Joseph & Michelle: New Apps for Learning Disabilities

This group also presented on apps for LD, and along with learning about the web browser Puffin (which I will use), I was very interested in their descriptions of the use of mobile devices in their schools. What struck me was that there APPears to be a great discrepancy between the schools. One comment that stood out was, “the amount of technology available is disproportionate to the needs.”  Such inequities in public education break my heart. It does not seem fair that children should be disadvantaged in this way.

Victor, Janice & Sheri: Executive Functions and Apps

I have a family member with significant challenges with respect to executive function and working memory, so I had a personal interest in this topic. I have watched this person try to cope and create a “surrogate frontal lobe” by writing his class schedule on the palm of his hand, and texting me with test dates whenever they are assigned so he will have a record of them.  Many of the apps for “Planning” and “Doing” would be very APPlicable for him.  I only wish we had known about them sooner in his school years. It might have saved him – and us – a lot of frustration.  (And I loved the video at the end: delayed gratification is a challenge for many!)

Dawn: New Apps for Learning Disabilities

The Piper Otterbein video, “Overcoming Dyslexia, Finding Passion” was a reminder to me that LDs can be overcome with the right supports.  Piper shared how, because of her learning disability, those around her thought she was incapable of learning. She is a reminder that how we APPear is not who we are: we are much, much more. Again, with apps like iBooks, ReadIris and Paperport Notes, so much more is possible.

Angela, Lacee & Christine: New Apps for Learning Disabilities – Next class!

A concept that I heard repeated in several presentations was that of BYOD. Since several schools reported not having access to mobile devices, this may be an interim measure for some schools to have them more available to students. The only caveat is that it may further disadvantage students who do not own these devices.

Finally, to Barb, for sharing these informative webinars and reminding us that “training is critical”: an APPle for the teacher!

Unlocking the iPad's Potential

I have probably used my iPad more in the past two weeks than I have in the past year. I had no idea it could do so much! I started downloading recommended apps after watching the webinar, "Top Free Apps in Special Education." This webinar is a virtual smorgasboard of possibilities, highlighting apps for a variety of grade levels, content areas, and learning preferences.

As with any resource, it is up to the teacher to discern what apps are best suited for her/his students. The wonderful thing about all these apps is that they are available - literally - at our fingertips. You will hear about some of the highlights during our group presentation in Class 4, but a few that stood out for me, as a lower elementary teacher, are Math Tappers, Cool Fingers Faces, and Pocket Pond.

So now that I am getting excited about the possibilities of using mobile devices in my classroom, my challenge is accessibility. Our school does not have a class set of iPads. I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for how I can effectively use this one, lone iPad in my classroom? 

Universal Design for Learning

I think Michael Giangreco is brilliant! 

Carly's Story

"Don't give up. Your inner voice will find its way out. Mine did."

These closing words from Carly Fleischmann's story speak of perseverance, determination and hope in the face of great challenge. While Carly was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, her parents presumed competence, probably before they knew the meaning of the term. Knowing this was not a journey they could embark upon alone, they sought the support of Early Intervention , which they described as intensive and unrelenting, and they never gave up, constantly being willing to try something else if one intervention didn't seem to be working.

One day Carly demonstrated for them something no one had expected. On the computer, she spelled "HURT" and then "HELP."  "It told us there was a lot more going on that we knew..." said her parents.

This became Carly's mode of self-expression. Through a computer, Carly "had power over her environment."   She was able to describe to others what she was experiencing. "It's like I have a fight with my brain," she typed. Through this medium, Carly was given a voice.  Carly had a great team who worked with her. Her parents, her therapists, and others were better able to see the potential inside her. Had that technology not existed or been available for Carly, how would she have been able to express all that is inside her?

I am reminded of the play, "Gulls", by Robert Hewett. It tells the story of a brain injured man who is left unable to speak after an accident. Because he is aphasic, those around him make assumptions about his competence, but he communicates his thoughts and feelings about his predicament to the audience, revealing his unreachable but intact mind.

When Carly began communicating through the computer, her father shared a startling epiphany: "We had spoken in front of her as if she wasn't there." That is an important lesson for all of us. What assumptions have I made about students I work with?

On memories of Grade 6, and learning a new language

I moved from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia when I was beginning Grade 6. In Newfoundland, I had received a smattering of French language instruction. When I arrived in Nova Scotia, my classmates had already received years of Core French. On that first day of Grade 6, I remember the feeling when the itinerant French teacher breezed into the room and began conversing with the students in French. I stared at them all, my eyes filling with tears and a lump of dread growing in my stomach. I had found school quite easy up until that time, but on that day I felt lost, incapable and uncertain. It took weeks of extra help, lunchtime and afterschool support, and a very patient French teacher to get me to where the rest of the class was.

I begin with that story because the language of technology is, for me, like learning a new language. On the first night of Ed 569, when we were asked to take screen shots and save them as jpegs, start a blog, and share URLs, I felt something akin to my early days in Grade 6 French... a little bit lost, incapable, and uncertain. Tech language is not something I feel well-versed in, and I found myself taking each phrase and translating it in my head, much like I did in the early days of learning French. I think it is important to get in touch with these feelings as a teacher, because I am sure there are children in our classes who sometimes feel that way. Instructions, directions or expectations that seem clear and straightforward to me may be confusing or inaccessible to my students. It could happen during reading, writing, or math, class discussions or oral presentations. When a child does not feel capable, or confident, or supported, how do they navigate all we ask of them?

I am a late-comer to technology. I have often described myself as a Luddite, but I realize this is a misnomer. On rereading the description of Luddites, they were those who resisted the advances of technology by breaking the new machines of the Industrial Revolution. I do not resist the use of technology, I am just having trouble keeping up. My use of an iPad is limited, and I do not feel I am maximizing its benefit. This was eminently clear in the keynote presentation, where the use of assistive technology was demonstrated in a myriad of ways. I have started exploring some of the apps from the UDL placemat, and shared the link with my principal. My hope, throughout this course, is to become more fluent in this new language I am learning, in order to be able to better support learners in my classroom.

My "Aha!" moment was as I thought about the term "Assistive Technology." I was getting bogged down on how little I feel I know about "technology", losing sight of the word "assistive". In this helping profession, where I work daily with children with learning disabilities and behaviour issues, I am always wondering, "What else can I do? How can I help them?" Those questions - and the faces of the students in my classroom - become the impetus for me to venture forward in this new learning environment. They - and I - will be learners together.