Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Aisling, I like how you’ve described using the SETT model alongside the School Support File. Your step-by-step approach makes it very clear how Student, Environment, Tasks, and Tools connect in practice. I also agree that combining both low-tech and high-tech options gives real flexibility and ensures supports remain responsive to the child’s needs.
Hi Yvonne,
I liked your activity. Very age-appropriate, nice multiple-choice questions and good examples of extension activities too.
Hi Leah, I love using Immersive Reader and Lens. Your example of using Immersive Reader for proofreading really highlights its wider potential, and I like how you showed the connection between teachers reducing workload and students accessing differentiated materials. It’s a great reminder that these tools can transform everyday classroom practice.
I agree with your reflection Leah. Your point about AT not being limited to high-tech solutions is so important. Sometimes the simplest adjustments can have the biggest impact. I also like how you’ve linked this to SSE and the Digital Learning Framework, especially the idea of purposeful engagement for all learners.
Great post. These are a strong mix of literacy programmes and assistive technologies that directly address the key challenges pupils with dyslexia face. I especially like how you’ve balanced structured interventions like Nessy and Fast Phonics with engaging, game-based platforms such as Bitsboard (didn’t know about this) and Wordwall. I also agree that touch-typing and mind-mapping strategies are often overlooked but hugely beneficial in building independence and confidence.
For this assignment, I am considering a group of 5th/6th class students with dyslexia. These learners often experience barriers in reading fluency, comprehension, and written expression, which can also affect confidence in numeracy where word problems or written explanations are required. I am mostly choosing Microsoft products for this assignment as my own school is a Microsoft school but am cognisant that many schools utilise Google’s ecosystem and may not have the same access to some of these tools.
In terms of literacy, Microsoft’s Immersive Reader can support decoding and comprehension by offering text to speech, line focus, and picture dictionaries. Dictate enables students to express ideas orally rather than struggling with writing, while audio books through platforms like Learning Ally or BorrowBox provide access to age appropriate texts. Read & Write for Microsoft can also support spelling and vocabulary development.
For numeracy, tools like Math Assistant in OneNote, Microsoft Maths Solver, and Khan Academy provide scaffolded practice, step by step solutions, and personalised pathways. Visual supports such as GeoGebra can help with understanding patterns and relationships.
Linking to the School Development Planning section of the Inclusive Education Framework, these resources demonstrate how schools can embed inclusive digital practices systematically. By planning at a whole-school level, the integration of such technologies is not left to chance but becomes part of the collective approach to literacy and numeracy improvement. This ensures sustainability, equity of access, and alignment with School Self-Evaluation processes.
Part 1: The SETT Framework provides a structured method to identify and implement assistive technologies for students with SEN. It helps ensure that selected tools are not chosen in isolation, but instead aligned with the child’s unique profile, classroom environment, curricular tasks, and realistic, sustainable technology use.
When used alongside a School Support File, the SETT model enhances the quality of planning and intervention by making the teacher’s decision making process more visible and reflective. For example, if a student has dyslexia and speech and language needs, the Student profile would include a psychological report and teacher observations. The Environment section would identify the student’s placement in a mainstream class with SET support and access to Microsoft 365 tools. The Tasks may involve reading, written expression, and oral language development. The Tools might include Immersive Reader, Dictate, audio books, or C-Pen technology.
Assessment approaches could include teacher-designed tasks (e.g., oral retelling vs. written recounts), running records, digital portfolios using OneNote, and checklists for reading fluency or writing accuracy. The SETT framework ensures the focus remains on access, progress, and participation, rather than deficits.
Part 2: SETT Plan
Creating this SETT plan has shown me how helpful structured frameworks like SETT can be when planning targeted supports for pupils with additional needs. By breaking the planning process into the four distinct areas, I felt it was easier to move beyond a generalised approach and really focus on the individual’s strengths, barriers, and context.
What stood out most was how well the SETT process aligns with inclusive practice and the Digital Learning Framework. It helped me think carefully about not just what the student struggles with, but why. It also shows how technology can offer meaningful, sustainable support. Tools like Immersive Reader, Dictate, and Read & Write are no longer just ‘extra features’ but necessary accommodations that allow students like Sarah to access the curriculum with dignity.
I also think these plans when utilised in conjunction with the students School Support File, provide clarity for parents, SNAs, and SET teachers. It encourages collaboration and helps us to document and evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies more consistently.Part 1 – PowerPoint Activity: Rock Types and Rock Hunt (5th/6th Special Class)
This activity was designed for a 5th/6th special class to support science learning through clear, accessible digital content. The PowerPoint presentation introduces three main types of rocks; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, using simple language, supportive visuals, and recorded audio explanations on each slide to reinforce understanding.
The presentation was created using the Open Dyslexic font, chosen to support students with reading difficulties. This font will only display correctly if installed on the user’s device but it’s free and can be widely found online. Layout and spacing have also been carefully designed to reduce cognitive load and improve readability.
The lesson concludes with a hands-on rock hunt around the school grounds. Pupils are encouraged to find real rocks and classify them based on what they’ve learned. They then use the free Rock Identifier app to verify their guesses. This task supports multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression, making it a good example of UDL in action.
The Cosán Framework recognises that teachers are lifelong learners, and I strongly agree. As our classrooms become increasingly diverse and technology-rich, the demands on teachers to differentiate, include, and innovate continue to grow.
Part 2 – Cosán
Cosán promotes a personalised, self-directed approach to professional learning. For me, CPD is one of the main factors that prevents teachers from getting bored or becoming stale. There is always something new happening in education I have seen how it can change teachers once embraced. CPD enhances not only technical competence but also teachers’ capacity to adapt lessons for SEN learners, embed UDL principles, and support wellbeing through SEL approaches.
Exploring Microsoft’s accessibility tools in its different 365 applications has shown me how far ahead they are than their rival Google when it comes to SEN. Their Immersive Reader is an extraordinarily effective tool in enhancing literacy for students with special educational needs. It creates a calm, focused reading experience by offering line focus, text spacing and read-aloud features. I especially liked the addition of a built-in picture dictionary. For pupils with dyslexia, visual processing difficulties, or language needs, it significantly increases access and comprehension.
In the SET classroom, Immersive Reader in Edge and Teams can be used to scaffold online texts or classroom materials. The Dictate feature in Word is a also a valuable support for students with dysgraphia or fine motor difficulties, enabling them to articulate their ideas through speech rather than writing.
Their Accessibility Checker is also a clever tool that I hadn’t seen before. It reviews digital content and identifies accessibility issues such as missing alt text (something else I didn’t know about) or poor colour contrast before materials are shared with students. It ensures that learning resources are inclusive by design, not just by accommodation.Edit: the slides said no tech/low tech, not just low tech so I take my comment about the timetable back!
Module one has definitely deepened my understanding of the transformative potential of assistive technologies in supporting our SEN students. I hadn’t really considered tools like visual timetables as low tech assistive technology and am still not convinced it is the right terminology, but for medium and high-tech options such as communication devices screen readers etc, it’s clear that technology is helping students with meaningful access to the curriculum. When used thoughtfully, these tools don’t merely compensate for challenges, they empower students to participate fully in their learning environment.
I really liked the idea of the SETT Framework which offers a structured way of determining the most appropriate AT solutions for individual students. Its emphasis on understanding the learner’s context ensures that any selected tool is truly fit for purpose, promoting not just access but inclusion. Incorporating SETT into School Support Files ensures a consistent, needs-based, and consultative approach that aligns with NEPS and NCSE guidance.
This aligns closely with Standard 3.3 of the DLF, which focuses on teachers selecting and using teaching approaches appropriate to the learning objective and to pupils’ learning needs. By embedding AT into teaching practice, teachers directly support the school’s School Self-Evaluation process, especially in reflecting on how inclusive and differentiated teaching is promoted. It allows schools to reflect on their capacity to meet the needs of all learners and to plan meaningfully for improvement.
AT, when thoughtfully selected through frameworks like SETT and aligned with the DLF can absolutely transform not only individual student outcomes but also a school’s inclusive culture.