[Christina Geraghty]

This was a well thought out submission. It was good to see some a mixture of low level and high level Tech tools included.

I have not seen OneNote used for organising work. We have used visual timetables and “now/next” boards to help with organising/attention skills but feel that for some children these can be fiddly and little more than a novelty. I would be keen to explore this aspect of OneNote before I head back to school so that a more meaning and engaging alternative could be put in place.

[Christina Geraghty]

I agree with this point too.  The use of technology and particularly assistive technology must not be seen as an add-on or a reward for work well done. It takes a whole-school approach to embed the idea of technology as a tool/mode/means of learning and it takes leadership with vision to be the motivating force.  I also agree that there is need for a consistent approach with the use of assistive technology. This is why CPD is important but this too starts with leadership. If there is whole school approach then consistency should follow.

This module has caused me to reflect again on our Digital Strategy and how we, as a collective, engage with and use technology to promote inclusion.

 

[Christina Geraghty]

My student, Frankie, is a 2nd class student who was in receipt of EAL supports for the first two years at school but has now been diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay.
Student: Frankie is happy at school and enjoys socialising with his peers, even with severe limitations in his speech. Frankie loves to play but struggles to follow rules of games.
Frankie learning at pre-school level but struggles to retain any knew information.
Environments: Frankie moves between a seat within the main body of the class and a workstation where differentiated work is set out for him.
Tasks: Frankie will be able to
• Recognise of all letters in the alphabet,
• name and sound out all letters and
• blend sounds into simple CVC words.
• Recognise numbers 1- 10
• Complete assignments independently with a maximum of three prompts.
Tools
• Visual timetable for the class. A now/next chart for Frankie which breaks down the visual timetable and makes it more personal.
• Visual timetable at the workstation.
• A blending box with magnetic tiles
• A touchscreen laptop with Readding Eggs installed.
• Audiobooks and online Stories
• BBC Dance Mat
• Interactive literacy and maths games
• Dictate or similar speech-to-text apps

The School Development Planning section in the Inclusive Education Framework makes it clear that all policies, including the Special Education Policy and the Acceptable Usage Policy should accord with the principles of inclusion. This being so I can see how the SETT framework, considered in the last module, gives meaning and effect to the requirement that strategic planning “facilitate the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs through the equitable and effective deployment of resources, funding and staffing”. The provision of Assistive Technology is not to an add-on. Instead it should be strategically planned for and promote inclusion.

[Christina Geraghty]

Part 1:
The SETT framework is a tool to help teachers make informed decisions about the what, where, when and why of assistive technology. SETT is an acronym for Student, environments, tasks and Tools.
The framework works easily in conjunction with a student’s support file as it mirrors the way in which supports are planned for, implemented and reviewed.
The framework demands a collaborative approach in the same way that all support planning does. SET teachers collaborate with class teachers, SNAs, outside professionals working with the student, the parents of the student and crucially, the student themselves. This level of collaboration not only gives a bigger and better picture of the student but also helps to secure buy-in. This is why the SETT framework works!
At the heart of the framework is a process that calls on us to gather evidence about the student, the environments in which the student is expected to carry out tasks and the nature of the tasks themselves. This is exactly what we do when devising a Support File.
When the information has been gathered and needs have been identified a student’s support plan is put together and decisions are made on what supports will be put in place and what, if any, assistive technology should be considered. This is the implementation phase.
Just as student’s support plan has to be monitored, reviewed and/or adjusted so too do decisions on the use of Assistive Technology as there is no doubt that a student’s interest, ability and confidence in using Assistive Technology can change as they learn and practice. This review phase is as essential when making decision about assistive technology as it is about any other aspect of Support.

Part 2:
When I created the SETT Plan I was struck by how knowing child, the environments and the task influenced my decision about the tools to be used.
Having worked as a SET teacher for the last number of years, I think collaboration is the key to ensuring there is information and evidence available to me upon which I can good professional decisions.
In writing up my plan I can see that there is still place for low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech supports within our school and that we already have accessibility tools at our fingertips.
This module has definitely made me think more about how I can use technology as a scaffold for learning. Digital technology is changing so fast that I believe there is primary duty on all of us to make sure that children know the basics about the tools they are using and are able to use them safely and ethically.

 

SETT Framework Plan – 

1. Student

Frankie is a 4^th class pupil with severe dyslexia. He shows little or no interest in school and his self-esteem is very poor. He is increasingly defiant in class and is starting to refuse to do any work assigned as he knows it has been differentiated for him. A laptop was purchased for him last year but he does not like to use it at his desk in the  classroom as it makes him feel different.

Likes

• Frankie loves his friends and really enjoys the social aspect of school;

• He loves Football. His favourite team is Liverpool.

Dislikes

• Frankie dislikes being different from the other boys- he told me “I’m stupid” and uses phrases such as “I can’t” and “I am not doing that” without even trying.
• Dislikes Irish

<u>Strengths </u>

• Is a good listener and shows great interest in class discussions . Frankie is very capable orally and will always have some insightful contribution to make.

• Frankie has good typing skills having worked on same last year as part of his School Support Plan.
• Can perform mathematical operations quickly and accurately.

 

<u>Needs: </u>

• Frankie struggles with reading and writing. He is currently reading at 1^st class level. He struggles with decoding, fluency and comprehension.
• Frankie struggles with spelling to such an extent that he is now refusing to do any Written work.

• Low self-esteem and regulation

 

 

 

<u>Other information:  </u>Classroom observations, work samples, conferencing, Psychologist’s report, consultation with class teacher, parents and Frankie himself.

 

2. Environment

Frankie sits toward the front of the class near the teachers desk. Last year Frankie sat near the windows in the classroom but it was found that Frankie would spen most of the day avoiding work by looking out the window. Now that he is sitting toward the front of the room Frankie is close to teacher when he needs help.

Frankie receives daily SET support and has access to an SNA for regulation breaks.

A laptop was purchased for Frankie last year. Microsoft 365 is on it and Frankie brings his own earphones to school in line with school policy.

3. Tasks

We are supporting Frankie with

Reading-  decoding and blending; fluency; expression and comprehension;

Writing: Sentence structure; spelling; spacing and story

Confidence- a growth mindset

 

4. Tools

Low-tech during Reading stations:  Reading rulers for all (Rulers are differentiated)
High-tech:  Class desktop (that everyone can access) and a Laptop station at the back of the class; Microsoft Immersive Reader; Read Aloud; Dictate (Speech-to-Text); Audio books; C-Reader Pen (Psych recommendation)

The C-Reader Pen has yet to be introduced and concern is expressed that this will be too much for Frankie who does not want to look “different” . We will have to introduce the C-Pen in one-to-one sessions in SET room in order to teach Frankie how to use the tool and to gain confidence in same.

Assessment: We will monitor progress with teacher observations; Engagement with the Read Theory (online programme); engagement with Reading Coach; Pupil conferencing and parental feedback.

The use of Assistive Technology forms part of the School Support Plus Plan and will be reviewed in conjunction with same at the end of every term.

Personnel involved: The Class teacher, Class SNA, SET teacher, Parents and Frankie.

 

• This reply was modified 2 days, 14 hours ago by Christina Geraghty. Reason: I cannot attach the Plan that I wrote up

[Christina Geraghty]

I enjoyed reading this posting and the reply from Eoghan. One of the things that came up for me in this module is just how teaching is changing and how the purpose of teaching is changing. As I enter my twenty-something year teaching I can safely say teaching has changed but then again so has the world that we teach in. I do wonder if in years to come we will be teaching “class levels” based on age. Advancements in technology are changing the how and what we teach. Maybe they are changing the why and who we teach as well…..

 

[Christina Geraghty]

Part 1: The activity I designed is for a 3rd class student who struggles with all aspects of literacy. His struggles have impacted on his confidence and his willingness to participate in class.
I used Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Word and Kahoot to create a literacy lesson around Messi- my student’s favourite soccer player.
I created a short PowerPoint with three or four sentences on each slide as well as a picture of Messi in full action! I recorded my own voice reading the text. I used the accessibility button to check that everything looked good.
I then used the text from the PowerPoint slides to create a document in OneNote so that my student can read the text himself. Using Immersive Reader, the pupil can use
• the line focus tool to minimise the amount of text that he sees at any one time.
• The syllable function to help decode words such as Argentina and Miami.
• The text to speech function as needed.
In this way the pupil will be use Immersive Reader to scaffold his own reading and engagement.
With reading done the pupil will open a word document and use the dictate function to create his own sentences about Messi. We will use this for reading in our next lesson.
To finish the student will engage with a Kahoot quiz based on the information we covered in our reading. This is a fun way to check for understanding.

Part 2:
Cosán is the Irish word for pathway and reflects the fact that learning is a lifelong journey. As we move to implement the New Curriculum Framework, work with new methodologies and introduce a foreign modern language in an age of incredible technological advancement and globalisation there can be no doubt but that teaching is evolving and so is the teacher.
It is incumbent on us teachers, as professionals, to stay abreast of changes in the world that we are preparing the children for. It follows therefore that we must continue to learn so that we can teach!
Cosán enables us to identify and pursue learning opportunities that are relevant to our own particular circumstances. In my case, I recognised that I needed to learn about digital technology within SEN teaching so I opted to do this course with TeachNet. Through organisations like TeachNet and the courses that they offer I feel that teachers have access to rich and varied learning opportunities. This too is key to Cosán.
CPD, whether in the form of Summer Courses, webinars or live meet-ups provides teachers with opportunities to reflect on their own practice, collaborate with others and engage in professional learning that they can take back to their own classroom. In this way CPD not only benefits me as teacher it ultimately benefits the children.

[Christina Geraghty]

I really enjoyed exploring Immersive Reader. It has a wide range of accessibility features which are easy to use- The icons were easy to find on the screen and to adjust to suit the needs of the individual students. In fact, I am confident that children from the middle to senior classes could adjust them to meet their own needs.  This being so I think Immersive Reader is a powerful scaffold for children with literacy difficulties and fulfils UDL objectives.

I played around with the text-to-speech which I think could be used to support children who struggle with fluency while the “syllable” button can help students with decoding longer words and the grammar button (in Microsoft Edge browser) can help with developing knowledge of grammar.

I tried out the translation feature to translate a piece to Irish and can see how this could be used to support children for whom English is an additional language and/or to support children who struggle with Irish.

Another contributor mentioned how using Immersive Reader can help students to read maths problems and this is not something I had even considered but think is a wonderful asset.

I was also impressed by the Dictate tool. In my SET capacity I strongly advocate for teaching typing to children with learning needs- whether it is ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia. I think this Dictate tool takes this support to another level. I work with students with autism and have no doubt but that the speech-to-text features of Dictate will make participation in class so much easier, not to mention assessment.

There is no doubt in my mind that these Accessibility tools, readily available through Microsoft, are game-changers. They are easy to access and use and they do not cost huge amounts of money.

 

[Christina Geraghty]

I 100% agree! I never touched the “accessibility” button and was surprised to find so much was right there at my fingertips.

I too am a SET teacher and can see how Immersive Reader and Dictate could benefit all students in the middle and senior end of the school.

I can see Immersive Reader being used in station teaching with one group working on digital devices. The pupils here could learn to adjust the settings in Immersive Reader to support them as they see fit. The read aloud function is super but alongside this pupils could set the screen to focus on one, three or five lines at a time, they could set it to break words down into syllables, they could even change the colour of the page.

There is so much to play around with that I think the children would really take ownership of the process and the activity in a way that best suits them. In this way I think Immersive reader fits in with the UDL model.

I agree with Sabrina that this module has  made me think differently about the equipment we already have in school and how making small changes to our accessibility settings can have a powerful impact for all.

[Christina Geraghty]

digital technology is everywhere.  Teachers use technology to support their teaching I think this is a very honest post. Technology is everywhere and we use it every day at home, in schools on the bus etc.  As teachers however we need to stay, if not ahead of the curve, we certainly need to keep pace with the technology.  Many of the children we teach are already three steps ahead of us in terms of how they use digital technology but I think this Module has called into focus how we engage with technology in our schools, what we use technology for and how we can maximise  assistive technologies to support participation, engagement, communication and ultimately inclusion.

[Christina Geraghty]

Assistive Technologies were defined in this module as  “any device, software or equipment that helps people work around challenges so they can learn, communicate and function better.” When I think of assistive technologies the concept of “scaffolding” comes to mind as I believe that these aids are scaffolds that  have the potential to support communication, participation and engagement in school.

Working within SET I see every daily how assistive technology can reduce the barriers that stand in the way of SEN pupils growing as confident, self-reliant and independent learners. Accessibility features such as Speech-to text and Immersive Reader are powerful tools with enormous potential to support children who struggle with literacy. Not only can these features help students to complete tasks but  they  offer them an entryway to the world of learning. If we embed technologies such as these we ensure that all learners have opportunity to thrive.

In his poem “Scaffolding” Seamus Heany opens with the image of the mason who:

“when they start upon a building,

Are careful to test out the scaffolding”

 

In the same way teachers must be careful to choose the right AT for pupils.  The SETT framework helps us do this by putting the student front and centre. The framework asks us to consider the pupil in context; to look at the environment in which they are work, the tasks being undertaken, the ease of use of the tools available to them and the universality of same. When we do this we make informed decisions.

I think the SETT framework also lends itself naturally to the SSE process as the framework involves observation, gathering evidence, reflection and decision-making; all of which are central to the SSE cycle.

Within our last SSE cycle our school looked at the area of assessment and one of the more important decisions to come out of this was that we decided to start using digital portfolios as a means of assessment. This ties in with Domain 1: Learner Outcomes and specifically with the Standard that “Pupils demonstrate the knowledge, skills and understanding required by the primary curriculum”.  It is anticipated that in embedding the use of digital portfolios we will enable pupils, “in collaboration with their teacher……..to follow their individual learning needs and preferences, with the aid of appropriate digital technologies.”

 

 

 

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