13 Ways to Celebrate AAC Awareness Month

October is AAC Awareness Month, and what better way to kick it off then with this amazing resource created by the  PrAACtical AAC blog. Click here to access the original article! 

1. Participate on the #USSAAC Twitterchat at 7:00 pm EDT (UTC−04:00). New to Twitterchats? You can learn more here. The wonderful Chris Bugaj will be moderating.
2. Subscribe to a blog with an AAC content, such as Uncommon Sense, Jane Farrall Consulting, AAC Girls, or Superpower Speech
3. Follow a new AAC topical Pinterest board from Lauren Enders and others: AAC and AT, AT/AAC/Adapt/Modify/Accessibility/Accommodations, AT for Communication, SLP AAC, & AugComm, AAC by Constantly Speaking,Communication-AAC
4. Print, hang, or give someone an AAC awareness image, 10 Commandments of AAC Devices, or 5 Tips for Communicating with Nonverbal Student
5. Register for a free AAC professional development webinar from Ablenet University
6. Print out an AAC Poster, like Lauren Enders’ AAC Boot Camp-Getting AAC Users to Communicate or Kate Ahern’s The Periodic Table of AAC,
7. Explore an AAC app or SGD that is new to you
8. Print out song visual supports
9. Read a Tar Heel Reader Book with an AAC learner
10. Use Aided Language Input while talking to AAC learners (for 10 minutes…. or more)
11. Learn more about AAC supports for challenging behavior
12. Consider providing an AAC training (browse Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s PPT material for inspiration)
13. Join the 8th annual AAC Chat and Read-a-Thon October 14-15

Source: Praactical AAC

Motivational Monday

Friday "Appy" Hour: Blincam

With wearable technology becoming more commonplace each day, it seemed it would only be a matter of time before it expand beyond watches. For this Friday "Appy" Hour I chose to highlight a product, featured in the Assistive Technology Blog article below, that has yet to hit the market, yet is already turning heads (literally and figuratively). To learn more about Blincam, read the article below...

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Taking photos of everyday objects and scenery around us has become a way of life. All it takes these days is to whip out our smart phone and start taking photos of people, food, beloved pets around us, and all the places we go to. However, taking photos with a smartphone may be a challenge for people with not very good motor skills, amputees or legally blind photographers.

Blincam, a new camera accessory that recently finished a successful crowd funding campaign, attaches to any pair of glasses and takes photos when a person winks or (strongly) blinks their eyes – it has the ability to differentiate between normal and deliberate blinks. As simple as that! Photos taken with Blincam can be uploaded directly to the cloud, and made available for sharing with others.

Blincam only weighs 25 grams and would cost approximately $200 when it is made available in January 2017.

Watch this (very cheesy!) video to see how Blincam works.

Click here to access the original article written by Assistive Technology Blog (ATB)

Overcoming Print Disabilities with eBooks

Those who experience a print disability, may also experience frustration or even embarrassment when interacting with traditional print materials. Simply stated, a print disability is a physical or cognitive condition that hinders a person from reading printed text. Thankfully in a day and age of technology, there are many options for e-readers for those classified with a print disability. This post, compiled by PCCSA,  shares 5 different e-book options available for students to use for both academic and pleasure reading.
 

Bookshare

 

If you cannot read traditional print books because of a visual impairment, physical disability or severe learning disability, Bookshare can help!
Our books are “accessible,” which means you can read our books many different ways.
Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles.

*As a district, we suggest that you sign-up for an Individual Bookshare account.
This allows the parent/guardian to access all books for their student, it is not tied to a teacher's account and/or book list.
Who qualifies?
Click here to get started with Bookshare

OverDrive

With OverDrive, ​you can borrow and enjoy free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from your public library's digital collection. OverDrive is available across a wide range of devices and platforms. All you need to get started is an internet connection, and a public library card.

Click here to get started with OverDrive

 Open eBooks

 
Open eBooks is an app containing thousands of popular and award-winning titles that are free for children from in-need households. These eBooks can be read without checkouts or holds.

​The goal of Open eBooks is to encourage a love of reading and serve as a gateway to children reading even more often, whether in school, at libraries, or through other eBook reading apps.

*The PCCS A&IT Department has offered training to staff and parents of students with IEP's.
If your student has an IEP, please contact their case manager for access code/PINs.  

Click here to get started with Open eBooks

 hoopla

 

hoopla is a groundbreaking digital media service offered by your local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. We have hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, with more being added daily. hoopla is like having your public library at your fingertips. Anytime. Anywhere.

Click here to get started with hoopla 

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg offers over 50,000 free ebooks. Choose among free epub books and free kindle books, which you can download or read them online.

No fee or registration is required, but if you find Project Gutenberg useful, they kindly ask you to donate a small amount so they can buy and digitize more books.

Click here to get started with Project Gutenberg

 To view the original article click on this link....

Universal Design for Learning at a Glance

The following article was written by Paul Vincent, a writer for the blog Technology Enhanced Learning.  His article clearly reiterates what is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and why it is so important in classrooms around the world today. The video featured in the article was created by the CAST organization, experts in UDL. If you have not done so already, sign up on CAST's UDL website to access the valuable UDL resources available.

Use of technology to enhance learning, teaching and assessment should be considered and appropriate, and should never exclude any learner from engaging in the process. The burden of inclusivity lies with all staff, by curriculum design, and it should not be left to students to adapt.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences. (Rose & Meyer, 2002)

UDL is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. It provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone – not just a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customised and adjusted for individual needs.

UDL at a Glance

Three primary principles, which are based on neuroscience research, guide UDL and provide the underlying framework for the Guidelines:

• Principle I: Provide Multiple Means of Representation (the ‘what’ of learning). Learners differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them.
• Principle II: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression (the ‘how’ of learning). Learners differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express what they know.
• Principle III: Provide Multiple Means of Engagement (the ‘why’ of learning). Affect represents a crucial element to learning, and learners differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated to learn.

Click  here for a printable version

 UDL Guidelines – Version 2.0: Download the UDL Guidelines [Word]: A complete narrative describing the context within which CAST developed the UDL Guidelines including explanations and examples of each principle and checkpoint.

UDL and Technology
Good educators will always find ways to design curricula that meets the needs of all learners, whether they are using technology or not. However, considered and appropriate digital technologies applied using UDL principles can enable easier and more effective customisation of curricula for learners. Advances in technology have made “on-the-fly” individualisation of curricula possible in practical, cost-effective ways, and many of these technologies have built in supports, scaffolds, and challenges to help learners understand, navigate, and engage with the learning environment.
Learning and demonstrating effective uses of technology is itself an important instructional outcome. Digital Capabilities can be defined as the skills and/or competencies required for living, learning and working in a digital society. Even today’s students need support with some areas of digital capability, particularly in an academic context, so it’s important to make sure that these needs are met.
However, it is important to note that these technologies should not be considered to be the only way to implement UDL. The goal of UDL is to create environments in which everyone will have the opportunity to become expert learners, and the means to get there, be it tech or non-tech, should be flexible.
It is also important to point out that simply using technology in the classroom should not be considered implementation of UDL. Using technology does not necessarily enhance learning, and many technologies have the same accessibility problems that non-tech options might have. Technology needs to be carefully planned into the curriculum as a way to achieve the goals. The Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Handbook 2015-18 is designed to guide staff in the considered and appropriate application of technology to enhance student engagement in learning, teaching, and assessment at York St John (YSJ).
In short, technology is not synonymous with UDL, but it can play a valuable role in its implementation and conceptualisation.
More information about UDL can be found at http://www.udlcenter.org/
Through engagement with inclusivity and accessibility issues, and active consideration of what and how you use technology to facilitate learning and teaching, you will be aligning your practice to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). In particular the Professional Values and dimensions V1: Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities and V2: Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners.
Download an Educators Worksheet for the UDL Guidelines [Word]: A worksheet listing the UDL principles and checkpoints with space for note-taking.

Click here to access the original article written by Paul Vincent

References
CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author.
Rose, DH, & Meyer, A (2002) Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Understanding the Importance of UDL

 Today's blog post's focus is on Universal Design Learning (UDL), which plays an incredibly important role in determining the appropriateness of assistive technology and ensuring it meets the needs of the individual. Even if you are new to understanding UDL, you've most likely seen it displayed throughout your life (predictive text on your smartphone) or within your own classroom (e-books).  The infographic below and the Q&A for Educators article written by National Center On Universal Design for Learning are helpful in clearly explaining not only what it is, but also the importance of successfully implementing it with all students, not just those with disabilities.

"It’s about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every student’s strengths and needs." -Amanda Morin, writer for Understood.org

Universal Design Learning is a framework for learning that includes all students. Being grounded in socio-cultural theory, UDL views learning environments and social interactions as being key elements in development and learning. In UDL students are allowed to express their learning in a variety of ways. As stated above, the key principles driving UDL include flexibility, simple and intuitive instruction, multiple means of presentation, success oriented curriculum, appropriate level of student effort, and appropriate environment for learning.

Below is a handy visual from TIC that sheds more light on the principle of Universal Design Learning and provides some resources to help teachers integrate UDL in their classroom.

What Is UDL and How Can You Make It Work in Your Classroom?

You’ve probably been differentiating instruction for your students in one way or another since you started teaching, so you may be wondering, “What’s all the buzz about universal design for learning (UDL)?” Sure, planning all your lessons to cater to every student’s individual learning style is ideal, but realistically, how can you make UDL work in a classroom of 30 or more students? 

Here are six steps, adapted from Your UDL Lesson Planner by Patti Kelly Ralabate, to make UDL lesson planning work in your classroom and give all students an equal opportunity to learn.

 
 


STEP 1: Ready. Set. Goal!
First, ask yourself, “What’s the goal of this lesson?” (Hint: Many times Common Core or state standards help you figure it out.) Even though the standards may be a starting point, the learning goals should focus on your students—specifically their knowledge, skills and perceptions. Try to make goals SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time bound. It sounds like a lot of work, but taking time up front to make sure goals are solid, makes everything else easier.
 

STEP 2: Think through individual differences.
Before you dive into teaching your lesson, take a few minutes to think about variability in your students—any individual differences in their current skills, learning gaps and needs. Do you have a student who gets easily distracted or may feel frustrated for some reason? Think about what types of scaffolding (e.g., pre-teaching vocabulary) you can use to set up your students for success.

STEP 3: Decide how you’ll check that students are “getting it.”
Think about how you’ll check your students’ understanding throughout the lesson to make sure they’re meeting the goals you set. Besides helping you know if your students are “getting it,” informal checks can also help you see whether you’re teaching too fast or slow or if the information is clear. If you have students who are on an IEP or 504 plan, find out if they have any assessment accommodations you need to provide.

STEP 4: Pick and choose materials and methods wisely.
To make learning motivating and memorable, ask yourself questions like, “Are these math manipulatives distracting or will they actually help my students learn?” This is also a good time to think back to your students’ individual differences and plan accommodations or modifications, like using different colored markers on the whiteboard or allowing a student more time to finish an activity.

STEP 5: It’s time to teach!
Now it’s time to pull it all together and deliver your awesome UDL lesson. Throughout your teaching, try to use a flexible approach to check your students’ understanding and make sure they meet the learning goals you set.

STEP 6: Hold a mirror up to your lesson.
After your lesson is over, take time to think about how it turned out. What worked well? What will you do differently next time? Did all your students achieve the learning goals you set? What’s next?

 

How does UDL lesson planning look in real classrooms? Visit the Brookes Inclusion Lab to see how three teachers with very different needs use these six steps in their lesson planning.


Click on the link to access the original article by Jen Lillis on the We Are Teachers website (sponsored by Brookes Publishing)