Embracing Technology is a Win/Win Situation

Throughout this course the same theme kept coming up. Students can show what they know in variety of ways. Teachers have to realize that students don’t just have to put pen to paper to show what they know. It is quite absurd that many educators feel students need to learn the same way, when every single person in their classroom comes with a different background and story. In the video with Todd Rose and the problem with cockpits being designed for the average, is exactly the same problem in our education system. We need to vary the dimensions of learning and have an “adjustable cockpit” because every student has an jagged learning profile. Teaching to the non existent “average” hurts everyone, including the best and brightest. This is especially true at the high school level where I teach because far too often teachers teach the course and not the student. I know...they have to meet outcomes, but they have to ask themselves how do they need to assess the outcomes? Too often teachers expect students to produce what they know and are comfortable with. Teachers need to reflect on what they are expecting of students and what the purpose of the task is. Technology has changed and we can do more but don’t realize it. We can make learning flexible with the technology available to us. The practice of Universal Design can help educators reach the goal of meeting the needs of all their students. If teachers are open to exploring new technology (which can be quite user friendly) they can often easily practice Universal design.

I went to an Individual Program Plan meeting to meet the parent of one of the new students I will support next year. She talked about his lack of organization, his inability to express himself on paper and his reading fluency and comprehension issues. I was very excited to tell her about some APPs and programs we can look at next year to help him achieve success. She said he had an IPad that she bought but he did not bring it to school this year. I told her to definitely bring it in!

I was astounded by all the APPs that we were introduced to in the course. I have a Master’s in Curriculum Studies: Technology and just in a few years I see a major change in ease of use of most APPs and that a lot are easily accessible because they are free! I look forward to showing them to students and colleagues. And the message needs to be, that is great to “tinker” and don’t be afraid to explore to see what is out there. You would be pleasantly surprised!

If all else fails ...digitize text so it more accessible!

Similar themes that came up in the case studies

There were students who were expressive in conversation but had difficulty putting detail into their writing. Students who were shown some type of speech to text, whether it was Google Read and Write, Google docs or SIRI, were initially hesitant but eager to try the technology. Once they tried the technology, most were able to write substantially more in the written pieces. They were detailed and expressive and some of the students even got excited about their writing. Most of the students that used the speech to text also liked the word prediction feature and some of the teachers commented that the students were using words they would not have used initially but because they saw them in the toolbar decided to use them.  It also seemed that most of these students were more successful with speech to text, if they had some type of graphic organizer initially prepared to organize their thoughts. The students all had success with getting longer, detailed pieces of writing, which would help increase their confidence in writing and hopefully get them on a more positive route regarding writing.

Most of the case study parents were involved parents that want to work with the school as a team player and were willing to try anything that will make their child’s learning experience a positive one.

Other programs like Adobe Spark, Raz-Kids, Cloud Art, Book Creator and accessibility options on the IPad, were explored in the case studies, and even if there were some setbacks, the students enjoyed using a different platform to show what they know.

Most of the presentations on the case studies talked about how technology is not universally used in the classrooms and that the students need to be taught the programs, which means sometimes things don’t always go smoothly. Sometimes the technology does not fit the student and you have to try something else.

Everyone seemed enthusiastic to try new technology with their students knowing that some students will have great success while others may need some tweaking to get it right.

Christine

Speech to text

She is starting to speak negatively when speaking about herself about her writing. Teacher wanted to focus on adding detail to her stories and her grammar. She used Google docs voice typing. She is expressive when talking but not when writing. Her sample on Google docs had more detail.
Amanda
Speech to text
Google Read and Write. She has clear speech. There were mistakes but she was learning how to work with the program. She found it easier to express her ideas.
Katie
Speech to text
Poor self image, especially in writing. Challenges with reading comprehension, handwriting, written expression. He has ESL support and Early Literacy. He spells phonetically but he struggles with the “rule Breakers” in spelling.  He struggles with expressing himself. He expresses a feeling of anxiety with the writing process. Google Read and Write. Writing samples more detailed and expressive.
Kareen
Adobe Spark
Learning disability and anxiety. Trouble getting thoughts down on paper.  She was introduced to Adobe Spark. Students can research picture easily for what they want to say. Nice final Project!
Teresa
Prediction
Challenges are that he does the minimum in writing, speech difficulties. Looked at pencil grip. Used Google Read and Write for Google Chrome. He was familiar with Google Docs and he liked using predication.  He really like the program. Speech to text was not an option because of articulation. Nice final piece!
Abby
Raz-Kids
Raz-Kids was used.  It is interactive technology and you get rewards (stars). Easy to use and multiple genre to choose from. Book is read to student and there were comprehension questions. When the student reads, you can record.  This is a running record. Student did well when the book was read to her first. If student did not know the word, you can click on it. She got a bit reliant on the words being read to her. Initial sight words was 51/100, second time 77/100. Nice results!
Damien

IPad

Student says his writing is messy and his brain works faster than he speaks. More of an introvert. Speech to text doesn’t work because of talking too quickly. Sees technology as being a weak student. Has some vision concerns so he uses black background with white font. He types in notes. 30 minutes to handwrite but minutes to type. With his color blindness he is sensitive to glare. He sits in the back of class because of the different color ...finds it embarrassing. Sometimes it takes a while to get the student on board with technology.

Sue

SIRI

Speech to text (SIRI) was used to help detail and grammar and word choice. Student is excited and motivated to use the technology. For the task, she organized with a graphic organizer. Her final written assignment was detailed and filled with expression.

Katie

Speech to text

The writing in Co-writer was more detailed. In Google Read and Write the student did not use the prediction. With the Google Read and Write he used a template of a cover letter. He was quite independent

Sarah

Prediction

Student struggles getting things down on paper. He doesn’t stay on task with his original idea. She tried Speech to text for Google Read and Write. The program was too slow and the student got very frustrated. Word prediction was a better option. Speech to text is not for every student.

Jolene

Book Creator

The student was introduced to different technology to just get her opinion on them.. She liked Book Creator and found it user friendly. Did not like Cloud Art, she found it disorganized. With Google Read and Write she used the simplify option. She found the text to speech too robotic. She said she would use Book Creator but shut down when she had to write. When she got to do a topic of her choice she was more receptive.

Alison

Speech to text

With Google Read and Write he was able to write more and use words that he would not have used. He enjoyed the program.

Nick

Speech to text

He has not been using AT that was introduced. It seems like he did not get enough training. Student had strong oral language and speech to text seemed a good fit. In his initial writing he is not putting in much effort. Not much detail. Did not want to use speech to text. He did not want to use it when he peers don’t use it. He did a graphic organizer to generate ideas. Speech to text in Google docs. His writing was more detailed.

Alison

Google Read and Write

Student was introduced to picture dictionary on Google Read and Write . Teacher went to google docs and used pictures from pictionary dictionary to make short sentences with directions. He could find pictures on day 1 but had trouble with highlighting. Directions by teacher needed to be clear and concise and she figured that out while working with the student. His tasks needed to simplified.

Speech to Text and Some Interesting Videos

Google Read and Write

Today we looked at the features on Google Read and Write. If you go on their website and put in the search engine, “ free for teachers”, you can sign up for a year subscription. Most school boards in Nova Scotia have access to the group discount price, but you have to put in a request to have the extension added for certain students. This extension would be great for many students but it is still too costly to purchase for all students, so it is usually given priority to students with a learning disability diagnosis. We have to be careful though, because one of the features is speech to text, and we should not make the assumption that all students can use speech to text successfully. More often than not, teachers assume this can be a quick fix for a student struggling with the writing process. Students need certain skills to use speech to text successfully, and we cannot make the assumption that students just have to talk to the computer. Students need consistency in enunciation, volume and pitch. The ability to inhibit “ums” and ahhs”. Students should have the  ability to express ideas verbally, have attention to auditory and visual details, the ability to multitask, edit and problem solve. Students also need to self monitor and regulate their emotions and they should have motivation to use technology. Some of the skills can be taught but for some students speech to text is not the best fit.

All of the features on Google Read and Write were user friendly. There are similar features for Google docs, PDF and browsing the web, with a few differences on each of these platforms. The picture dictionary lets you highlight words you don’t know and then a definition using pictures is created. This is a good option for younger students with simple words, it would not be as user friendly for higher grades with more difficult words because it would be hard to interpret the picture. There is also a vocabulary list which gives you a definition and picture in table form. This would be helpful for the older students who may have difficulty with some of text. It gives them a quick simple table. The speech to text option works well but students need to be taught how to annotate. They need to speak clearly and put in grammar. The voice is quite clear and easy to understand, so students cannot complain of a robotic voice. You can also have text read to you from the three platforms mentioned. You can even highlight small sections and have just that part read to you. This would be great for students who struggle with attention issues. You can leave annotated notes on a document for students who may need detailed direction on an assignment. This feature lets students review your comments at their leisure. They could also use it in collaboration with a partner on a group assignment. The word prediction feature works well and you can change the number of words that come up in the settings. This would be great for students who may be overwhelmed with a large number of words on a list. As mentioned, Google Read and Write is very user friendly and students could be become quite efficient after a couple of times using it.

Videos Showing Amazing Accomplishments 

This video shows how you can use a computer with a head mouse. You do not need to use of your hands to get the computer to communicate for you. This man is able to live by himself because of the ability to communicate through the computer. He says his life would be completely different if it wasn't for the computer.

This little girl named Ruby uses Proloquo2Go.It has given her a voice and people that work with her say there has been a dramatic decrease in aggressive behaviour because she no longer gets frustrated because she has a tool to communicate with.

This video shows a product that translates sign language. This opens up a world of communication for those who use sign language and those who do not. People who sign can now communicate with everyone using this product. Amazing!

How a father with ALS communicates with his son. Incredible and get out the kleenex. :)

Video showing how the Neuroswitch works. This is the technology used by the father in the previous video. Life changing!

Inspiring video. This young women talks about her struggles in school having a learning disability and how assertive technology changed all that. 

This video shows how a person visually impaired uses the computer. He has his own You Tube channel.