[Mary Kelly]

This course has introduced us to many forms of assistive technology available to students with special educational needs and has also taught us about some of   technologically enhanced learning tools that we can use with all our pupils.

The student I have in mind has numerous learning difficulties Including dyslexia dyspraxia and social and emotion needs. To help with the dyspraxia I can ensure that  the windows accessibility features are turned on in the device  . If needed an adaptive mouse could be used .

As this child finds reading very difficult, the immersive reader option will be extremely useful to him.  The passage or page from a novel can be uploaded using the Lens function and the layout , theme, background or font changed to best suit the child’s learning needs

Microsoft reading coach will be a an excellent tool as this child is a struggling reader.  The child has a keen interest in dogs and cats so using Microsoft reading coach I can create a reading passage suited to the child’s reading ability and they can practice reading it themselves and self correct and work on incorrect words.

[Mary Kelly]

Part 1

The SETT model works very well as it will identify the students learning needs and match that need with the most appropriate assistive technology.  It encourages collaboration between all interested parties  in the child’s education to ensure they’re educational needs are being met . A variety of assessment can be used including observation of the pupil , consultation with teachers, parents , psychologists, and any other interested parties and standardised tests . I love the simple layout of the model and ensures the best out come for  the student

Part 2

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SSYnKk8_IZzCQD8qOyP6xbT8vVe6onNEOgqZB3QYbiA/edit

[Mary Kelly]

Part 1:

For the upcoming school year I will be working with a sixth class child who has dyslexia and hearing impairments due to chemotherapy treatment .Her class teacher would like me to work on the class novel with her . Using the lens function I can take a photo of each page . I can then upload this to immersive reader and allow the child to use the read aloud function . I will also be showing her how to use these functions herself  as they will  be very useful as she transitions to post primary school next year .

 

Part 2

If a teacher is not willing to be a lifelong learner they should not be in the profession .The best teaching comes from continuous CPD. Children’s needs and teaching styles are continuously changing so in order to keep up with these and maintain standards it’s essential that a teacher is continuing to learn new methodologies and willing to change their styles accordingly. Courses like this and informal meetings with other teachers all great ways for us to improve as teachers

[Mary Kelly]

The assistive technology in this module is going to be a game changer for the children with special needs in our school.  We have one particular child who has a range of learning difficulties due to cancer treatment so the immersive reader is going to be of major benefit to her.  We have always been looking for audio books for her, and could never include in the class novel as it was impossible to get any of these in audio version.  But in the coming school year, I will be able to show her how to use  a combination  of Office Lens and Immersive reader to make the text more accessible to her and allow her to be included in the class novel.

The dictate option is also another excellent A.T tool that I will use in the coming school year. We have children who have an excellent oral ability but with dyslexia they find it very difficult to put it down on paper.  The dictate option will allow them to say their piece and it will be written down for them.

[Mary Kelly]

In a time of increasing dependence on technology, the use of assistive technologies in education is becoming more and more important. Assistive technologies can have the potential to be of huge benefit to all students, but especially to the student with learning disabilities. With the right AT, learning can be made easier and more importantly, more enjoyable for them- this is the first standard as outlined in the Digital learning framework, that pupils enjoy their learning and are motivated to learn
Another standard from the digital learning experience is that pupils engage purposefully in meaningful learning activities. This is of particular interest to me as next school year I will be working with a small group of SEN students so I am interested in using AT as much as I can and in engage these children meaningful learning activities
We are also instructed in the digital framework to purposefully use, a range of digital technologies appropriate to the learning objectives and learning needs of their pupils. This is where the SETT Framework will be a most valuable and help us to choose the most appropriate AT resources. Used in conjunction with a student’s SSP, the SETT model becomes even more effective in guiding the AT selection and implementation process.
A very interesting point form the module was the three categories of AT Tech. I would only have regarded lap tops, iPads, audio books etc as AT but items we use daily such as whiteboards and pens or adaptive paper with larger grids/wider lines to increased access to audiobooks or basic communication devices, are also considered low tech .

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