Ah-ha moments revealed

Reflection Summary (Ah-ha moments revealed)

This course has been eye opening and extremely useful. The reason I decided to take this course was to improve not only on my knowledge about the various assistive technologies available, but also how to use these technologies myself. Before this course began, I had used an ipad a bit and felt fairly comfortable as I attended some of your assistive technology training sessions and have gone back to my school to train students and teachers on how to use various applications. Although, I had some training and knowledge about useful apps, how to navigate the ipad, I did not know how to troubleshoot or to properly make suggestions to other teachers about appropriate applications and assistive tech devices for kids. I was regurgitating what I had learned in my training, but not fully understanding why it would be useful. Not understanding the basis of why something would work well for a particular student.

I am relied upon to make suggestions to teachers about programing, teaching practices, appropriateness of activities for kids and it is my duty to teach my colleagues about enhancing performance of individuals with disabilities and providing independent access to a task. I finally feel confident in giving others guidance and advice, so professionally and personally I have gained confidence in myself as a Resource teacher. One question that I had been pondering throughout this course is "How will I implement some of these ideas discussed in class with my students and staff?".  I know that I will be able to implement and apply many of the ideas acquired during our time together as several teachers have shown interest in learning how to navigate the ipad and learn about the apps and when to use them and I know I am up for the challenge of teaching them. I am going to refer these staff members to get training through you (Barb) and then we can follow up by practicing once a week or biweekly (whatever we collectively decide). 

The hands on activities really aided my learning. Having the opportunity to play with the apps myself while getting the background information about how they can be used and going over who would use these apps and how to implement them into your teaching was practical and I found it very useful. I have applied this in my own teaching and a direct result my participation in this class has made me a better teacher and a more supportive colleague. I remember Lindsay asking me one day to fill her in on all the best writing apps for struggling writers. Before taking this course, I would have had to look them up and I may have just simply said iwordQ as that’s what I was familiar with, but instead I made a list of the top 5 I would use and gave reasons why I would use them and who they would be suitable for. I have to admit, I did have a list of the best apps/my favorite apps that I made during class one day and was able to refer to it to provide her with the information. 

Something I believe I struggled with in this course, was listening to instructions. I feel like I did not follow instructions when creating my itunesU courses. I think I had an idea of what I was expecting the course to look like, which did not match the expected criteria exactly. I left out key information and did not follow the UDL the way I know I should have. The quote by Alexander McQueen states,” Of course I make mistakes. I’m human. If I didn’t make mistakes, I’d never learn. You can only go forward by making mistakes. The biggest part of our learning comes from making mistakes. I realize that I did not design these courses in a way that made it inclusive for all. I think of myself as being an inclusive teacher and in terms of ensuring all of my students are engaged and independent, I think that I could have done better. If I could do it over, I would and I have a better understanding of how I would provide access for all students to participate in a way that they were comfortable and more successful. 

To conclude, this course has been by far the most useful and applicable course I have taken during my time at the University level, including my undergraduate degree, Education degree and my Masters of Inclusive Education. Thank you Barb for your guidance and support. 

Taking AT away

Hello readers,

I am usually against people ranting online as it seems pointless and distasteful; however, in this case, I am going to go on a little rant as it relates to the importance of assistive technology and how it truly can change someone’s life. 

One of my students (my favorite student if I was allowed to say so) is no longer at my school and has moved to a different school board. During our time together, we practiced reading strategies, writing skills, basic Math skills, life skills and spent many hours laughing, joking and learning together. This student of mine is someone who many underestimate on a regular basis based on her language barrier (her speech is difficult to understand if you don't know her well) and her cognitive delay. I will admit, I underestimated her at first before I got to know her. 

Luckily, it did not take long for this student to get her hands on an ipad to use in all of her classes and it was hers alone. She didn't seem to use it much last year or even in the beginning of September. She would look at pictures of her favorite band and listen to music using her ipad, but beyond that, she really did not take much interest in it. This student would receive one-on-one Resource support with me on a daily basis, so I took the opportunity to show her ways in which she can use certain apps to help with Math assignments, writing tasks, organizing her money and budgeting, ways to present her projects to her class and so on. Each day, she would become more and more excited to learn about the apps and practice using them on her own. One day, she came into my room and I could tell she didn't need my help anymore when it came to using BookCreator. Her teaching assistant made it clear she really did not understand how to use the application, so my student showed her how. I watched as she presented her the project she made for her Social Studies class, where she took pictures of her entire community and described the importance of each place. She showed the teaching assistant her biography of her favorite artist including pictures, video and text describing the person of interest. She even showed how she made a collection of "silly Ms. Munroe" pictures that she had secretly taken of me when I was teaching other students. She made a book for me without our knowledge and it was very sweet. To sum things up, this student not only learned how to use the apps that I showed her, but she was able to use them independently, teach others how to use them and even participated in sharing her projects, assignments and thinking with the rest of her class as an independent learner. She was proud of her accomplishments and surpassed what I thought she was capable of along with many other colleagues. 

Having access to this ipad really changed her life and it was the first time I saw such progression in such a recognizable grand scale. I wish I could end this story here, on a positive note, but that is unfortunately not where the story ends. This student moved unexpectedly and by no fault of her own she was forced to change school boards. This student does not have her ipad any longer. She has to make do without it as it does not travel with her automatically. I understand why and it’s not to say she won’t get one, but it hurts to know that she is expected to do without for the time being. It breaks my heart that she is gone and it truly is a shame that she does not have what she needs to be independent and succeed. This student is resilient and strong and I know she will do well no matter what, but I hope that her ipad is returned to her so she can have what she deserves and needs to be the girl I have come to love and miss. 

Reflections throughout the course

Reflections

We began this course learning about the Universal Design for Learning. Honestly, I had heard about UDL many times throughout my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience/Psychology and in Bachelor of Education but never truly understood it clearly. I thought of it as being somewhat similar to differentiation and certainly did not think it would be applicable all the time, only when necessary. This was a huge misconception that I am embarrassed to say I believed. It was evident that I really did not understand the purpose of the Universal Design of Learning. I found the discussion about the Universal Design for Learning to be one of the most useful parts of our course. It was interesting to me that many, if not most of us had heard the terminology before, yet we did not understand it clearly. I learned the clear difference between the Universal Design for Learning and differentiation and how to implement a more accessible teaching design that doesn’t simply differentiate, but provide opportunities for students to learn and show their thinking in a way that fits them as an individual. Differentiation is decided upon after the fact, once a student cannot participate in a homogenous class, whereas UDL is used from the start to allow for all learners to have access to participating and learning, improving engagement and interest. UDL challenges the curriculum. Ever since our first class, I started to be more mindful of my teaching practices. I often ask myself, “Am I giving students access to knowledge in a way that everyone can learn and be independent?”. 

We spent some time on AT during my Education degree and as a Resource teacher, I have had experience using AT with students; however, I learned a great deal about other devices that are available. Assistive technology is about enhancing performance of individuals with disabilities and providing independent access to a task. I always try my best to allow my students to have as much independence as possible and gaining knowledge about low tech devices and applications to best suit reluctant readers, writers and everyone in between has been the most useful. One thing I find that does not happen as frequently as maybe it should is re-assessing students for change in the appropriate assistive technology. I remember we in class, we talked about the many changes that occur as time passes and a students gets older. There are many physical changes, cognitive changes, emotional and social changes that take place and it’s important that the technology that these students have access to also changes with them to suit their needs. I know that in my experience as a Resource teacher I have seen a disconnect there at times when a student could become more independent with the change in their assistive technology. The beginning of October marked a change for me in my thinking when it comes to fitting students with the appropriate assistive technology. I began to challenge my idea of what assistive technology actually is and how it can be used, who can use it (everyone), who should use it, what it can be used for and how it can change so quickly. 

After seeing how PollEv works, I knew that it would be something my students would love and become even more engaged in. I love the immediate feedback you get as a teacher and the sharing of information in a way that students can remain fairly anonymous amongst their peers; however, I know each student’s thinking. I think this is a great way to share information, lead into discussions, check in with students to get a quick glance of their thinking and provide a visual representation of the class brainstorm/feedback as a whole class. 

Throughout the course, I had the chance to play with many new applications and test them out and determine the value and usefulness to particular students I work with. The following list include my favourite apps. 

Best Apps for UDL

1. Clicker sentences- early emergent writers for young students. Clicker docs- for older kids in elementary, subject specific and allows for word banks to choose from, not word prediction (NOT as good as Cowriter for story writing because no word predictor)
2. Cowriter for word prediction and iReadWrite 
3. Prologque for non-verbal students or students who need help communication such as students who are selectively mute. 
4. Garage band- audio recording, musically inclined students 
5. BookCreator (everyone!! This is by far my favourite app that I have ever used! It has changed one of my student’s lives)
6. imovie (everyone!! All of my students LOVE this)
7. Explain Everything- like youtube, explanation (with my voice) of an activity. Great for students who need extra repetition of the activity or concept and also could be used when you are not able to be with a student or a day where you are out. 
8. Pocket pond 
9. Readiris (all of my students)
10. Claropdf (all of my students)