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The lesson is for a 2nd class student with dyslexia. The learning objective is to complete a cloze procedure with word support. The original pdf document has been converted to a Microsoft Word document so that the student can use the immersive reader tool. In this way the lesson is being adapted from a traditional paper and pencil approach, to suit the specific learning needs of the student as per the Universal Design for Learning Framework. The immersive reader tool will improve the student’s ability to read the cloze procedure by allowing them, for example, to focus on one line at a time, to increase the spacing between the words to reduce visual crowding and to have it read the passage to them. They can also change the background colours to suit their individual needs. The use of the immersive reader will help the student to identify the correct word, to hear any syntactical errors (so they can recognise when word choices don’t ‘sound right’ etc.
Teachers should be lifelong learners, to deliver best practice in the classrooms of a rapidly changing teaching and learning landscape. Continued professional development is an integral part of the role.
I totally agree Mary, I was not aware that there were so many accessibility tools readily available through the control panel. I will definitely be making use of these with my sen students in September.
I was impressed with the functionality within the immersive reader tool. I liked that it is readily available within the toolbar of Microsoft Word and is very user friendly. It would be very useful for children with dyslexia who struggle to track text on a page by reducing visual crowding. The option to reread and edit work becomes more achievable with dictation and spacing tools. Other tools I will use include the accessibility tools within the control panel which allow a user to create a high contrast screen, which again would benefit students with dysgraphia and dyslexia. Additionally, options to change font types, sizing and colours, as well as altering the appearance of the mouse pointer would be invaluable. Short cuts keys help students to create and edit documents more seamlessly, they are easy to remember and require less effort. Microsoft lens is also a quick and easy way to help a student to access written information by taking a photo of a document and having it read by you by immersive reader.
I agree, too, with the view that AT, prior to what I had previously thought, can ‘no or low tech’ and still be effective at addressing the challenges a student faces in trying to access the curriculum e.g. magnetic letters may enable a child to achieve their learning outcomes in phonics, a graphic organiser may help a student structure their ideas for success in producing a piece of writing.
Hi Rebecca, I also teach in a deis primary school, and as a learning support teacher I, too, thought that the SETT framework provides an invaluable child centred approach for teachers to support students to learn, communicate or function better in the school setting. I believe it will allow me to really focus on the specific educational needs of a student with special educational needs, and to identify the appropriate digital tools to suit both their learning environment and the task in hand.
The objective of the Digital Learning Framework is to enable teachers to embed digital technology in the teaching, learning and assessment process. The use of digital tools supports students with various types of special educational needs to access the curriculum despite the challenges they face. These could be reading, writing, mathematical or communicative difficulties etc. I have focused on the following domains and standards to address in my own practice: Domain 1: Learner Outcomes, standard: Pupils enjoy their learning, are motivated to learn and expect to achieve as learners. Domain 3: Teachers’ individual practice, standard: The teacher selects and uses teaching approaches appropriate to the learning objective and to pupils’ learning needs. Many of the interactive games provided on the scoil.net website would be invaluable in motivating students to engage with the learning process, for example, when teaching place value in numeracy. When learning is fun, students are more engaged in the learning process and teachers can have greater success in achieving learning objectives than when using traditional teaching methods e.g. blackboard and chalk. This meets the standard in Domain 1: Learner Outcomes (see above). It also meets the standard of the teacher selecting the appropriate pedagogical tools (in this instance digital tools) to help children meet learning goals. Furthermore, webwise is an invaluable tool for teachers to educate children about safe online behaviour. It uses visually appealing videos for children which are both engaging and relative. This digital tool is more effective at motivating children to assimilate the information due to its highly engaging and appealing format.
