Low Tech Assistive Tech

This week we had class at home!  Our prof wasn't feeling well so instead of heading in to our usual location we stayed in our pj's and worked from home.  Blackboard!  Pretty cool, huh?  Even though I didn't have a camera, I was able to participate by typing questions in a 'chat' box.  I could raise my hand to ask questions and insert smiley faces when needed.  So fabulous!  What a great way to get everyone involved even when they are in the comfort of their home.  The program even allowed us to break into smaller groups and go to different 'rooms' to meet.  During class, we were asked to take 15 minutes and search for some low tech assistive technology video examples.  Here is my video below. 

This stirred me on to look for other low tech ideas in a kitchen.  Check out what I found in my OWN kitchen!  

1.  Strainer - this strainer is fantastic!  It has arms that extend so you can put it on either side of your sink.  When you are straining something you don't have to hold onto it at the same time.  Ideal for spaghetti or other pasta cooking!

2.  Egg strainer - would help someone with motor issues be able to pick up an egg from a pot rather than have to use a spoon (wobbly!) or strain the water (a lot of motor control involved).

3.  Chopper by Tupperware - not sure it's real name but around my house we call it 'The Chopper'.  Simply throw in your onion, or other veggies, toss it in, close and lock the lid, turn the handle to chop.  It's fun and really easy to use.  Plus you don't get the watery eyes from an onion!  I love it!

Dollar Store Ideas:
Assistive Technology does not need to be expensive.  Next time you're in the grocery store or dollar store, have a look around to see what you could use for assistive technology!  Here are a few examples I came across while looking the other day!

Paper clips - use to help children pull up their zipper

Ice cube trays - used as a great tool for sorting objects to help discriminate between color, size, etc.  Having a tool can help students 'see' it a little bit easier

Baskets of various color - again could be used for sorting different colours

Sticky Tac - can be used as a sensory outlet for students - very tactile and students enjoy pulling it, rolling it, etc.  Great for stress relief!


Share your ideas in the comments box!  I'd love to hear what you have used, have found, or what has worked with students in the past for low tech assistive technology!

PicCollage Everything!

This week I was exposed for the first time to PicCollage.  This is a free app that allows the user to create and design a collage!  Due to the ease of the program and the ability to add pictures easily from the web, your own camera, text, and even fun stickers it is extremely versatile and can be used for many purposes!  The program allows you to change the size of the pictures, rotate and move them, change the background and display.  As a result you never make the same collage twice!  It is the modern scrap booking!  And best of all when you are done you can easily email your collage, print, post to twitter or Facebook for easy sharing with a click of a button.  Did I mention this app is free??

Here are some tasks I came up with for using this app.

Activity 1 - This is one I did with a girl in grade 5 that I tutor in Math.  She was asked to display using PicCollage everything she has learned so far in Math.  I never knew how proud she was of her self and how much she likes to do Math now prior to this activity.

Activity 2 - great activity for students with special needs (Autistic) who require step by step tasks.  Would also be great for visual recipes, or schedules - and would be fun for the students to make themselves.

Activity 3 - this is an adapted scavenger hunt using pictures instead of using words.

Activity 4 - LOVE!  You can use PicCollage for any art activity ie/ Mothers Day cards, Fathers Day, Christmas, Valentines, etc.

Activity 5 - Space!  PicCollage can be used to activate prior knowledge in any subject or topic.

Activity 6 - Character review - in a book review, have students use PicCollage to share information about a character.

Activity 7 - Healthy Foods - I used this with my son to brainstorm various healthy foods.  His first option was pizza.  Second option was cookies.  Once we got going on what is healthy he did a great job.  All of these were his ideas and after I typed in the words he chose the picture and moved to where he wanted it.  3 years old!  I could have had him take pictures of healthy foods from our refridgerator as well which would have allowed him even more independence.

Activity 8 - Things that are round.  In a Geometry unit we could brainstorm Math in the real world.

Activity 9 - All About Me - great for beginning of the year in order to get students to share a bit about themselves.

Activity 10 - Math lesson - great for number sense in order to grasp concept of how much 100 dollars is (or any amount of money or number of things, etc.).  

Fine Motor Development

Fine Motor Skills:

Learning to write involves holding a pencil/pen.  This is an issue for some of our students who struggle with fine motor skills.  The following blog suggests the use of an iPad for developing the essential fine motor skills for writing.  It is important to note that if a student gets refered by a parent/teacher/school to an Occupational Therapist, they will often recommend an adapted approach for output difficulties such as assistive technology that helps a learner write.  The following apps are suggestions of apps that will help develop fine motor skills - therefore recommended for students in grade 4 or less.  They are fun, engaging and go through a variety of skills.

There are many tasks that a student engages in at school that require the use of well developed fine motor skills.  These skills include:

1. writing

2. gluing,

3. eating,

4. imitating movements

5. task completion

6. problem solving

7. self esteem

8. motivation

9. engagement

10. sorting

11.  typing shoe laces/preparing for outdoors

12.  cutting

In order to achieve the ability to do the above tasks, students need the following basic skills:

1. pinching/grabbing

2. finger isolation / individualzation

3. control

Here are the apps!

Dexteria - 4.99 - therapeutic hand exercises - developed by OT's, can use a digital crayon (iCreate) or other stylus (Amazon), "Handwriting without tears program".  Here's a Demo:

Bugs and Buttons Pinch and Grab (2.99) - iPad - pinch and grab, motivating, sorting, imagination

Bugs and Buttons Roach Racing - 2 finger access, sequentially on 2 targets to control the roach to finish line

June's PianoLearn Songs - bilingual, finger isolation, learn to play the piano at home or at school!

Injini Trace the Shapes - various levels, follows developmental sequence of pre printing skills.  The lite version is free and a great start to see if it is engaging for the student.

Touch and Write Free -  enhances handwriting skills, control, grasp, letter recognition and basic writing

Shape Builder - 99cents - 146 puzzles, touch control, stylus (pencil grip), moving puzzle pieces to complete puzzle, finger to finger individualization.

WritePad for iPad - junior high and high school students - converts handwriting to text, write letter on screen an it instantly converts to text, send directly to email, facebook, and other social media. 

Cars2 AppMates - free - hand wrist and finger movements, virtual play mat, purchase cars separately from Amazon, pressure to move car on the track.  This one is extremely engaging!  Prepares students for holding a pencil and pressing down.

Pirate Scribble Beard's - drawings come to life, engaging, verbal instructions on what to draw, use a stylus, develop creativity

Since learning these apps, I have downloaded most of them and I am using them for my 3 year old to develop the skills necessary for school.  He absolutely loves the Cars2 app and the Injini app (we only have the free one but they offer you the first 3 levels for free which is about the level where my son is at).  Can't wait to show him some more of the apps as his skills increase.  One thing to note is that I showed him the Bugs and Buttons app and he was terrified!  It's important to ensure that the student (or child) you are working with is engaged in the activity and that it is motivating.

Apps for Autism

I watched a fantastic webinar with apps for students with severe autism.  I enjoyed the way they showed apps that would get a student ready for a classroom setting and able to be integrated into the classroom. 

The following skills are needed to be successful in class:
1.Learning readiness - book readiness
2.Target selection
3. Cause and Effect
4. Communication
5. Modeling
6. Making choices

Using the IPad can prepare a student for learning in the classroom.  Students can use the iPad to modify curiculum to suit their needs as a learner.  Often times I have seen students able to participate in at-level curriculum if they are given the opportunity to use assistive technology.  Therefore learning the basics of how to use an IPad (cause and effect, target selection) is essential for these students.  Once they can access an IPad or other device, they are able to read books, create presentations, communicate and engage in social activities.  The following information is some apps that have been identified as useful in learning the essential pre-skills needed.  I have downloaded and played most of these games and agree that they would be extremely useful for my students.  Check em' out!  Post your thoughts!

SKILL:
Target Selection, Cause and Effect
Touch trainer - $6.99 -Target selection - reduces size of target area that you need to touch.  Reinforcement visual and audio (but can adjust), Important skill set to develop cause and effect

SKILL:
Sensory regulationproactively or reactively to regulate their emotions.
Self regulation of emotions
Fluid app
Pocket pond
Developing attention to task skills
Encourages attention and cues
Reward structure it helps to increase time at a task in intervals
Tap tap Baby SD
Let baby play

SKILL:
Communication
Often receptive language stronger than expressive language for students with autism.  The following apps help students be able to express themselves which often leads to less negative behaviors, reduced frustration and more engagement in the classroom setting.
Proloquo2go  (see other blog entry for more info or visit http://www.proloquo2go.com
Tapspeak button plus for iPad - 49.99 - design your own single switch communication activities easily
Sign language - easy as type it in and it will sign the words 11500 words!  9.99

SKILL:
Attention to task and languages development
Munsch6Pack - highlighting of text, read aloud, read along, silent reading class with headphones, motivation
Dusty D Dawg Has Feelings Too - awareness of emotions, language devt, add own photo and recorded voice, turn pages themselves and work towards end of book
Actions - Kindergarten.com - vocabulary development, flashcard format,
On their website there are tons of free or very cheap apps for vocabulary and language development
I Like Books - 37 books in 1 App - grasshopper product - easy to read books, touch feedback, repetitive and simple
Imitation skill and following directions:
Watching and doing is often difficult for our students with autism, following directions are key to understand to be successful in classrooms
Fun deck - following directions - 52 cards, follow a one step direction.  Can add up to 5 people.  Could make a great little game, track correct reaction to directions, turn taking as well! Keeps a record.  Highly engaging
Photo Touch Concepts - 99cents - grasshopper- concept development, clear pictures and voice, small and different, customize for your student

SKILL:
Video modeling
Encourage comprehension, imitation is an important concept on learning process, repetitive opportunities, rehearse
Pictello- 14.99 - easily create story and import pictures and text with speech to create your social story, used in any curriculum, model targeted behaviors, sequencing of tasks, behavior shaping
My Pictures Talk - 4.99 - incorporates video instead, model target behaviors, following directions, sequencing, imitation skills


SKILL:
Making choices
Choice preferences builds communication skills
Pictello
Word SlapPs - 4.99 - (free lite version) teach vocabulary development but can be modified to indicate preferred choices, make your own categories, 6 levels of difficulty, reinforce with visual and auditory feedback, language skills, attention to task, you tube training

Injini - lite version free - 4.99 full version, practice motor control, drag and drop skill, cause and effect, spatial awareness, sequencing, memory, tons of games to practice a variety of skills from patterns, puzzles, tracing, shapes, follow directions, highly rewarding, simple and cl

My Top 3 Apps

My Top 3 Apps

I would like to now talk about MY top three apps.  With the multitude of apps listed above, it was certainly challenging to come up with a new one that hasn't been already talked about so I will give some more information about three of the apps listed above that I feel are my favourites ;)  I think it's important to note that my absolutely favorite supportive features for diverse learners are the built in features on the new hand held apple products.  Without putting any apps on your device, you can have text to speech (either everything read, or select text options), zoom in/out features, text sizes changed, quick click and email, etc.  Check out your device under Settings - Accessibility and see what they have to offer.  Pretty impressive!

1.  Facetime - This app has been essential for me living far away from my children's grandparents.  As long as each person owns an iphone or iPad you can make visual phone calls (similar to Skype) for free.  Since you don't need anything but connection to WiFi, phone calls are free!  You can set it up to call a phone number or connect to an email address.  You have the option of using the front camera or back camera so you can set it up to view yourself or view your surroundings.  This has been really useful for us with a young baby.  We set up our iPad in the babies room and our phone in our room - voila!  a video baby monitor!  In education, this would be useful to use for a student out sick for an extended period of time, for visual conferencing of group members, or even for motivation for presentations for those who may have anxiety to being up in front of the class.  As with most apps discussed, the uses are only limited by your imagination!

2.   Book Creator - I know we were discussing free apps, but for a minimal cost of about $4.99 you can download this app for iPad or iPhone.  What a great app!  As the description on the App Store states "The simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad.  Read them in iBooks, send them to your friends, or submit them to the iBookstore."  The description is accurate but fails to describe the easiness of use of this program.  My brother with special needs is able to use this to create his own books and is extremely motivated in doing so.  This app was a winner of a parents choice gold aware and is the number 1 book app for the iPad in 54 countries!  An I can understand why!  My son (3 years old) and I made a childrens book in a very short time.  I could see this app being extremely useful for literacy education for reluctant writers.

3.  iSequences Lite - This app includes 100 exercises in sequencing around social, emotioanl and day-to-day habits.  There are 3 and 4 step sequences to start and builds on this.  You can teach children about sequencing while also learning about steps for autonomous habits, fun activities, daily situations and emotions.  Great for young children but designed and more appropriate with children with autism or other special needs.  In the free lite version you get 10 out of the 100 sequences but a great place to start and build on.  Activities include:  putting images in the correct order.  Once you achieve this, a second activity starts.  They will provide a prompt or visual clue if incorrect.  The second activity is choose the correct end for the sequence between 2 or 3 options or choose which emotional the character will feel in the situation described in the sequence.  There are various configurations in the settings which will allow you to choose which sequences to work on.  The only thing I feel this is missing is a place to make your own sequences (with picture of yourself perhaps - a little more motivating) or a few more options in the configuration setting (for instance less prompts, visual/verbal prompting choices, choosing to have or not to have the celebration noises)  If anyone knows of a better app that would include these options - please post in my blog so we can share resources :)

An apple a day...

Over the past week I have been watching webinars regarding general topics for students with special needs.  The first webinar I watched was a fabulous one on Top Apps.  I gained a ton of information about ways I can support my students (or help other teachers in other subject areas support their students).  For this blog post, I wanted to share  the top apps as discussed in the webinar and then give a bit more information about what I see as the top apps in my experience.  I have divided them into categories by major uses but remember the apps are only limited by your imagination - they are often cross curricular and can be used for a variety of students with various needs.

Please feel free to post your favourite apps so we can continue sharing resources!

Here we go!!

Sensory Regulation: calming relaxation, difficult with transitions,

-My Fish 3D Free

(horizontal or vertical mode) – touch the screen and get all sorts of

-Pocket Pond

-Bubble Popper (would be great for cause and effect work in young children as well!)

Literacy Skills:

TikiNotes – word prediction – offers alternate access (alternate keyboard for people with find motor difficulties, accessing the regular keyboard is tough) – can email it out!  This will be fabulous for some of my older students – written output issues, auditory processing issues as well

Dragon - must be online- need access to the server – very articulate – can plan an idea – language is good – vocab is strong – but output challenges

Photo booth – take into book creator, making silly pics, manipulate pics, motivating, story starters, language development,

ABC’s Writer – enhance fine motor, motor control, trace letters, ;learn letters, choose various colors, etc.

ABC Phonics – family phonics, beginning sounds, phonics sounds, popular with SLP’s, language development, emergent literacy learners

Sentence Magic – ABC Magic – ABC Magic 4 – emergent literacy learners, letter sound memory games, sound letter associations, phonemic manipulation,  sentence formulation, picture/sound match, sound matching,  (A MUST HAVE SERIES OF APPS)

PicCollage – make a collage of your pictures! Students who don’t have the literacy skills to write a test for example on the lifecycle of a plant, they could make a collage and put them in order instead.

Cool Fingers Faces – take pictures of your fingers and then dress them up.  Hilarious! Use for emotions discussion, autism students, make stories about finger character, reluctant writers,  ebook creator and make a book about it later,

Touch Emotions

Science/Social Studies:

Google Earth – for visual learners, people who require visual reinforcement, geography social studies and distance

Google Search App – can search google with voice

iTunes U – full courses of tons and tons of topics, take free courses!, entire course loads for free! , lectures, videos you can access, pdf documents to download, web links, good for enhanced learning, free content,

TED – 20 minute lectures or videos, tremendous for gifted students

Maps – directions, geography, outdoor experience course

TourWrist – tours of panoramic views from around the world,

Eye Witness – beautiful and provocative photos from around the world, stirs on conversation, current events discussions, engage reluctant learners

 Science 360 – no text in this app – from National Science Foundation, videos on science topics, no reading involved,

NASA – with IOS5 you can have speech selection and have info read to you, detailed info about planets, space curriculum, beautiful videos and images

iCell

General Communication/Executive functions (planning):

Notes - note taking, great for executive functions and planning difficulties, keeping track of assignments, quickly send to email to pass in or print

Reminders – difficulty with executive functions and planning. Calendar, tasks

Calendar – memory, executive functioning

Messages App – texting, easy to use, people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate instructions, safety issue (used as a modern way to keep track of students who may be a flight risk),

Howcast – free how to videos, visual learners, concept of sequence of steps, students who need rehearsal, LD, ASD, Aspbergers

Speech Button – alternative communication, augmented communication, non verbal communication – great for introducing at a very simple place (more, no, yes, .) clear recorded voice, great place to start for augmentative communication

iSpeech Text to Speech

Feelings – digital recorded video, feelings

Math:

Grade 2 Math Worksheets – (ties in with Splash Math Apps) – Place Value and Number Sense worksheets are free.

Math – pre algebra, geometry, algebra – banked video lessons, must have wi-fi, for people who need reinforcement of math lessons

Quick Graph – 2D and 3D effects, graphic calculator

Preschool Games - Little Puzzles Toys – Grasshopper Series (not all apps are free) but you can sign up and get alerts if new apps come up and you’ll get them for free if you evaluate them, individualize your own puzzles, drag and drop and build the puzzle, can put your own pics in!

MathTappers – 7 Apps in this Math app series, all free, wide variety of topics, reluctant math learners,

Chronological Age Calculator

It's Time to Communicate!

It is truly amazing what goes into communicating.  At a basic level, three things needed for effective communication include:
1) communication partner
2) common language
3) joint attention

When it comes to planning for a student who needs support to communicate, we must put effort into planning and ensuring we are supporting the student effectively.  Today we learned that there are many things to consider when communicating including:

-the goal of the communication
-focus of interaction
-duration of interaction
-content of interaction
-predictability
-rate of communication - output speed, input response
-scope of communication (wide, limited, etc.) -
     wide - amount of info you are conveying is big
     limited - short specific amount of information
-number of communication partners
-familiarity of partner

Our level or communication interaction changes based upon the above things.  Many of us do this naturally without needing to be taught these skills.  For instance, when we stand in the grocery store we know the interaction with the person at the cash register will be very different in length, in content, in scope and in rate than perhpas if we were having a conversation over coffee with a friend.  But not all students understand these social rules.  My brother for instance will sometimes have lengthy conversations with me as we are in line at the grocery store.  He will ask things like "So Gillian, what was it like when we were kids and lived in that old house?"  I often have to explain to him that a lengthy conversation like this isn't really appropriate while we are waiting to pay for our groceries.  Some students need to have these skills broken down and taught.  We can use assistive technology for skill development.  For example we can use Book Creator or iMovies to create an e-story or video to support the appropriate interactions. 

It is essential as a school within our program planning teams that we discuss our goals of communication, interests and skillsets of our students and involve the parents (who know the child the best).  Through this group development we can then match an appropriate assistive technology program to support their communication within all of their environments.  It is important that our focus is not on the device but on the students skill sets and interests.  In class today we looked at a specific program called Proloquo2go.

Proloquo2go is an augmentative communication device.  It is a program designed for a handheld device like iPod touch of iPad.  The selection set in the program can vary from a static communication board (where just the buttons on the first screen are the ones that are used - very limited) but can also go deeper into a dynamic selection set in which choices are given.  The ability to create categories and have the students have many more options for communciation makes the program an extremely valuable tool for those studnets with the cognitive ability needed for this type of communication.   It is so important to look at a number of things when designing a program like this for our students.  Their physical ability needs to be addressed - (Can they touch the buttons? What will they use to touch the buttons - direct selection or indirect selection?  Do we need to have bigger or smaller grids? can they carry the ipod with them? Do they have vision issues that would affect size and color of buttons?)  Their mental capability needs to be addressed - (How early on in the program are they? Are communication devices new to them?  Do they have the mental ability to create a more dynamic communciation system?  Are they able to make choice? What is their level of vocabulary?)  What environments will the child need to use the device? (Think of all areas where the child will need to communicate.  Ensure that they have the ability to communicate no matter what environment they are in.  What are their interests?  What possible questions or comments will they need to say?  Ensure that they have the ability to answer questions and also ASK questions). 

Below is a great video about Proloquo2go.  This is workshop 1 out of a 12 short video series about how to customize the program if it is of interest. 

There is so much to think about when planning for a program such as Proloquo2go.   The class was spent planning together in a group for a case study of a student with communication challenges.  We had three educators in our group and matching the way we create and design the program to the user was extremely interesting.  I could imagine that having parental involvement would be extremely useful in this process. I think it is important to get a program set up with as many words as possible for as many settings as possible, but adding and changing will be essential for it's success as the student begins communicating. 

In one day I went from a world of paper and picture exchange communication to a more socially appropriate world of hand held apple products.  Proloquo2go is an extremely exciting program for me as I have spent countless hours printing, lamenating, cutting, valcrowing, sorting, arranging, finding, and losing pictures to aid in communication.   And now...one single device let's me plan and program for my students in a few hours.

One last thing to remember - always allow students to bring their communication device WHEREVER they go!  It is their voice!  Would we force a child to leave their glasses in the classroom during recess if we knew they could not see without them?  No.  So always allow a student access to their voice.