Meghan Tonsetic is a learning specialist at Lawrence Upper School, an independent school for students with learning differences in Broadview Heights and Sagamore Hills, Ohio. The school uses various assistive technologies to enhance reading, writing, and learning for students. These include Read & Write Gold software, Inspiration concept mapping software, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, word prediction, and translation tools. Teachers receive training to incorporate these tools into classroom instruction across subjects. The goal is to destigmatize assistive technology by having all students and staff trained and using various tools.

1. Meghan Tonsetic High School Learning Specialist Lawrence Upper School [email_address] www.lawrenceschool.org 440-832-7830 Enhancing the Reading and Writing Process Using Technology

2. Independent school to teach students with distinct learning styles, ignite their potential, and inspire academic and social success. 2 campuses Broadview Hts. – Lower School grades 1-6 About 90 students Sagamore Hills – Upper School grades 7-12 About 225 students Class sizes 9:1 in Lower School 11:1 in Upper School

3. learning differences Dyslexia Dysgraphia Dyscalculia Executive Dysfunction Expressive Language Disorder Phonological Processing Disorder Receptive Language Disorder Visual Motor Integration Difficulties attention deficits ADD ADHD Executive Function issues organizational problems other processing differences Asperger’s Syndrome Many Diagnosed With:

4. Multi-sensory platform (hear, see, do) Organizational strategies embedded in all subject areas Brain-based learning strategies Differentiated instruction Opportunities for social and academic experiences and success Building wide classroom management (assertive discipline model)

5. SmartBoards and projectors in every classroom 1 set of 32 SmartBoard Senteos and receiver for check out by teachers All Upper School students have a tablet or laptop that they take to all classes High school students also take home their tablet computers; middle school students do not All staff has tablet computer to use in classroom with DVD capability Wireless network throughout building Printers, digital cameras, camcorders, microphones available as needed by teachers Headsets to all staff and students More for sale in school bookstore

6. Read & Write Gold and Inspiration on all computers from 1-12 grade Dragon Naturally Speaking available to students as needed After school training done with one of the school’s learning specialists until they have mastered techniques Available to students 5-12 grades based on learning difference and academic need AlphaSmart NEO’s available to any Lower School student with written expression issues or dysgraphia

7. 1 full day training session for pilot teachers and staff in 2005 from a vendor Since then, have done all training in-house Teach tools as needed to students and staff including weekly Tech Tips and 10-15 minute group training Teach tools in short increments with opportunities to practice Parents: Assistive technology training throughout the year to parents (2-3 times a year) Goal to teach them what software their children are using Encourages home assistive technology use on laptops/tablet computers

8. System-wide adoption and implementation crucial to de-stigmatizing assistive technology tools If everyone is using it and trained on it, then no stigma for using it yourself

9. How AT Tools Are Used in the Classroom

10. 95% of students use text-to-speech for reading purposes in class with teacher and for homework independently 7- 8% use speech-to-text 2-3% use word prediction Inspiration software used in every grade and subject level to plan projects and papers, either independently or in whole-class discussions

11. High School: English teachers use Spell Check, Word Wizard, Dictionary Tool and Homophone Checker tools as proofreading/editing tools English, Science and Social Studies use Study Skills highlighters for researching information online Science/Math teachers use Talking Calculator conversion tools Spanish teacher/students use Translator tool to help reinforce vocabulary and pronunciation skills

12. Middle School: Used to read books as a class aloud (using RWG text to speech) as an audio and visual activity while teacher able to use differentiated instruction to assist individual students Lower School Demystification Project: Online researching for 6 th graders about learning differences Topics typically written above reading level

14. Has tools to help with organizing ideas and details, either web outline form Using visual aids to map your brainstormed ideas www.inspiration.com Inspiration software

15. Readability tool web tool to help eliminate distractions on web pages Simple tool that can be loaded to web browsers to eliminate unnecessary text and images on screen when reading online http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/ RWG Screen Masking tool Many choice to help you focus on the line or window of your document

16. Features: Spell Checker & Dictionary Word Prediction Fact Finder/Mapper Translator Homophones Text to Speech Speech to Text Calculator/Conversions Screenshot Reader Daisy Reader Pronunciation Tutor Screen Masker Note Taking Features Speech Maker (MP3, WAV) www.texthelp.com Read and Write Gold software

17. For students with LD’s not typically associated with visual print disabilities (ADHD, slow processors…) Using a text-to-speech tool as a prosthetic processing tool to help them not just hear the words being spoken but also process and understand the content of the text in a way that doesn’t exhaust them. Speechmaker tool in RWG Convert digital text to mp3 file

18. Speech to Text Program that allows you to “talk” to your computer instead of typing www.nuance.com Dragon Naturally Speaking software

19. Balabolka “ Free” Text to Speech Program. http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm Kurzweil 30 day trials, Text to Speech Reading Software http://www.kurzweiledu.com/ Microsoft Office Planning and Concept Mapping Tools

20. CoWriter Word Prediction Program http://www.donjohnston.com/resources/cowriter_index.html Intel Reader Mobile Device, takes pictures of text and converts for Text to Speech capabilities http://www.intel.com/healthcare/reader/about.htm

21. Google Chrome : built in spell check on web fields Ghotit: Contextual spell checker http://www.ghotit.com/home.shtml

22. Books.google.com Google Books; public domain e-books (free) www.gutenberg.org Project Gutenberg; public domain e-books (free) www.bookshare.org Bookshare; public domain e-books; subscription for copyrighted materials (free and/or proof of visual print disability) Audible.com iTunes audio book store, Amazon Audio books audacity.sourceforge.net Audacity; software for audio recording (free)

23. http://www.slideshare.net/smg421