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Hi Jen,
Welcome to the course. Thank you so much for sharing this activity with us. I wouldn’t like to admit how long I have just spent messing around with it. It turns out my online playing of musical instruments is very similar to my offline playing! There is plenty of interactivity in the link, and major ties can be made to the music curriculum. ‘Arts and Culture’ is an amazing resource – I often spend hours moving from one collection to another, totally mesmerised by the available content.
Hi Ellen,
Thank you for sharing your practice with us – of all the learning difficulties, dyslexia is the one with the greatest suite of assistive resources available. There are a myriad of apps and tools that can assist children with these difficulties. Microsoft and Google Lens are a perfect example of this. In terms of Google Lens (and I’m sure Microsoft Lens is the same) you can simply take a picture of the textbook/novel and have it read aloud/translated. This saves the work of copying the text onto a Word document.
Hi Siobhan,
Thanks for your post – the SETT plan works really well in conjunction with a student’s school support plan, and can often be included as an appendix. It can be useful to survey the child, class teacher and parents before designing your SETT plan, and allow them to have some input as to where they feel they need support. This can be very effective for pupils in senior classes. I think SETT plans are really good in that they focus you on the four key areas (student, environment, task and tools). Here, we can put very focussed interventions in place to assist the child’s priority needs. In reality, collaboration between both class teacher and SET is imperative to ensure the best results are achieved for the child.
Hi Jennifer,
I think it’s very clear that the vast majority of our profession buy-in to being ‘lifelong learners’. The fact we have such large number engaging in summer courses and voluntary CPD through local education centres during the year is a testament to this. Cosán underpins this desire in teachers to upskill and develop professionally. It gives us the autonomy to select our own priority needs and undertake professional development in these areas. Building knowledge, skills and understanding can only benefit our pupils, as we return to the classroom with these new attributes.
HI Sabrina,
Welcome to the online part of this course. I often find myself getting annoyed at those who argue that ‘screen time’ is a reason why digital technologies should be limited in primary schools. In reality, ‘screen time’ (for some) has become a term to associate with the negative aspects of technologies (gaming, social media, watching YouTube videos, etc.). However, there is so much learning that can happen on ‘screens’. We can provide children with learning experiences which extend the breadth of their knowledge and allow them to develop new skills. Another key note is that of digital citizenship and the ethical use of digital technologies – being able to incorporate this into school practices heightens the chances of children making good decisions online.
Hi Gina,
As you have said, Cosán recognises teachers as responsible learning professionals. The beauty of Cosán is that it allows teachers the autonomy to select their own priority learning needs and to pursue them with relevant professional development. In choosing to do this course, you have engaged in the reflective practice which underpins the Cosán framework. Hopefully, it will provide you with a number of ideas for enhancing your practice for the coming year.
Hi Siobhan,
You are correct to say that poo reading fluency can often lead to poor reading comprehension. When a child is putting so much effort into decoding each individual word, it is almost impossible for them to be able to comprehend the content of the passage. Tools like Immersive Reader can greatly assist student’s with these difficulties. The read aloud function, and the option to alter the pace of the reading will really help students. Moreover, the integration of the Microsoft Lens app with Immersive Reader will allow students to do the same with a class novel or textbook. Simply taking a picture of the page in question with the Microsoft Lens will automatically send it to the Immersive Reader.
Hi Eduardo,
Thanks for your post. I am drawn to the phrase ‘regular evaluation’ in your post. I feel this is so important – as teachers, we need to constantly evaluate our practice, our pedagogical approaches and the resources we are using. Often, one resource (digital or concrete) will suit one class but not another. We must have a model of ‘reflection-in-action’ to ensure we are able to respond to the needs of the children in front of us, at any particular moment in time.
Hi Helen,
Welcome to the course and thank you for your detailed contribution above. You have made many excellent points. The DL Planning website is a brilliant resource and has such a large repository of good-practice videos. I also like the sample surveys, focus group questionnaires, etc. that are available when the time comes to reviewing our digital learning plan. When it comes to assistive technologies, I feel the ‘one sized fits all’ approach is detrimental. Based on a professional report, we need to be provided with a specific device (e.g. iPad, C-Pen, etc.) that will meet that child’s needs and training should be provided to ensure the device is being used appropriately. The AT-Hive is a great place to learn more about assistive technologies for specific needs.
Hi Deirdre,
You have really encapsulated the power of a digital learning platform in your post. I feel that it is essential that every school is using one of these (either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365). There is endless potential for ‘teaching and learning’ and ‘leadership and management’ to develop using these platforms. Every year you realise that you have only scratched the surface in terms of functionality. We are all constantly learning and the technologies are constantly allowing us to go further. From a special school perspective, you may find some of the Chrome extensions listed here (https://www.ahead.ie/Discover-your-AT) useful. This link allows you to select the needs of your pupils, the devices they have access to and the learning platform being used. It will then generate a series of assistive technologies that may be useful in meeting the needs of that child.
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for your post. You have clearly outlined the complex needs on your caseload, and some of the strategies that you use to assist them. I’m sure you are likely aware of https://www.senteacher.org/printables/communication/ where you can customise and print PECS cards, as well as many other SEN resources. The website itself has templates and resources that are useful regardless of the setting people are teaching in. Hopefully, the remainder of this course will highlight some more assistive technologies, which you may find useful in your practice.
Hi Deirdre,
Thanks for sharing your Forms quiz with us. From looking at it, it’s clear that you have managed to master so many elements, e.g. the assignment of point values, the use of images and the embedding of video. Forms offers such a great way of assessing pupils learning and progress, and takes so much work out of it on behalf of the teacher.
A new third party website called Quizalise (https://www.quizalize.com/) now offers an alternative to making assessments. It integrates with Chat GPT and automatically imports the questions into Google Forms. The only thing you have to do is assign the point values. You may wish to play around with it in your own time.
Hi Siobhan,
Welcome to the course and thanks for your contribution above in relation to assistive technologies. You have covered many bases in your post. One of he key phrases you have included is ‘if used correctly’. I feel this is the central point we need to consider when using digital technologies – we need to be thinking of why we’re using them and how they can extend / augment / support the learning experiences currently being undertaken.
The standards and statements of the DLF mirror the standards and statements of Looking at Our Schools, which is the quality control framework for schools. The Inspectorate has recently published the ‘Looking At …’ series which offers tips on mapping your work in all subjects to these. They can be found here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/14c1a-looking-at-series-primary-school/ (primary) & https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/41afd-looking-at-series-post-primary-school/ (post primary)
Hi Gina,
Thanks for highlighting some of the fantastic accessibility features that are available within the Microsoft / Office 365 software. Dictate, Lens and Immersive Reader can be transformative tools for those with literacy difficulties. These tools also support a UDL approach in which students can represent material and create material through multiple means.
There are a number of equivalent Google extensions that can carry out the same functions if your school uses Google Workspace. These include ‘Talk and Comment’, ‘Open Dyslexic for Chrome’ and ‘Use Immersive Reader on Websites’. Google Lens also carries out the same features as Microsoft Lens (minus the automatic export to Immersive Reader).
Hi Sinéad,
The Immersive Reader is a fantastic accessibility tool for Windows devices. Alternatives such as Helperbird and Use Immersive Reader on Websites can be found on the Chrome Web Store if you are using Google tools. The translate feature is great for students joining from other country, and the picture dictionary can help them to acquire target language.
Using Microsoft Lens to take pictures of textbooks or novels and importing them directly into the Immersive Reader is a great tool to further accessibility.
