This document provides an overview of topics to be covered in a training on assistive technology in public schools, including professional development, conducting consultations and making recommendations. It outlines activities for different sections, such as discussing what educators need to improve student performance and listing commonly used assistive technology. Recommendations are made to always have an action item from consultations and to follow up with stakeholders. Popular assistive technologies like text-to-speech and graphic organizers are also highlighted.

1. The Practical and Fun Guide to
Assistive Technology i Public
A i ti T h l in P bli
Schools
Christopher R. Bugaj
Sally Norton-Darr
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2. Today’s Topics
y
• Professional Development
• Conducting Consultations
C d ti C lt ti
• Making Recommendations
• Most Frequently Used Recommendations
KWL activity – write down at least ONE thing
about these topics (under the K and W only)
Share with your neighbors at your table
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3. Professional Development
• What is that calendar thing?
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4. Professional Development
• Activity (10-15 minutes) –
(10 15
– You’re a team. What do the educators in your
school district need to know to improve
student performance without making their jobs
more difficult?
• Create a list of professional development topics
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5. Common Themes/Topics
• Exposure to Low-Tech strategies
Low Tech strategies.
• Freeware, Shareware, what is already
available
• UDL –
• Using tools already available (MS Office,
Boardmaker, etc)
• AIM-Virginia & Bookshare.org (Accessible
Materials))
• Switch use forFree Powerpoint Templates
Smartboard -
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6. Professional Development
1.
1 Vast majority of PD workshops are for
ALL Educators – This is good for all and
gets the team “out there (Publicity Baby!)
out there”
2. Plant yourself in specialized team
meetings and/or do workshops for
specialized groups (SLPs, Autism, ID, etc.)
NOTE: Whenever possible,
NOTE Wh ibl
include administrators.
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7. Let’s All Go to the Movies!
• DVDs
• Screen Capture Videos
–P tS
Prnt Scrn
– Jing
– www.screenjelly.com
• Video on the Internet
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8. Multi-Modal PD
• Face to Face
• Calendar
• DVDs
• Podcast on CD
• Website
– (http://lcps.org/at)
• Online Learning & Communities (ex Moodle)
(ex.
• Google Docs as follow-up
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9. Poor Man’s Active Vote
(You asked for it in your KWL responses)
• Uh – oh we don’t have
oh, don t
time to show you all of
these. So,
these So which do you
want to see? Let’s vote!
• Let’s make a “poor man’s”
Let s poor man s
active vote.
Follow Sally’s instructions
to make one
one.
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10. The Great Eight
(Links to resources at the end of this presentation)
1. High-Contrast in Word
2. PhotoAlbum Feature of PowerPoint
(
(Show Google Docs here too)
g )
3. Visual Schedules (Linear and Amorphous)
4.
4 Text to Speech
5. Social “Situation” Stories
6. Sound Record Feature of MS Word*
7. Graphic Organizers (paper, software, Internet)
8. Pacing Boards (Communication strategy)
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11. Consultations
• Once upon a time…
We used to only do evaluations
• CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS
• WE are your colleagues (who don’t
necessarily work in y
y your building)
g)
» Is this RTI, Child Study (Is funding going into RTI?
What is the relationship between RTI and AT?)
» How can the AT Team support ALL Students (even if
not in special education)?
» AT/UDL funding options only Sp Ed?
http://bit.ly/atmontagevid
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12. Consultations: Outcomes/Follow-up
• Always have at least one
thing to t b f
thi t try before you leave
l
a consultation.
Recommendations can
ONLY be for what is
already available in the
educational environment.
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13. Consultations: Outcomes/Follow-up
• Follow-up with an e-mail
summarizing your meeting
– Good for your record keeping
– Chart this for justification
j
purposes
Evaluation as an outcome.
What if the student needs
more than what is already
available?
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14. Pick an envelope!
• Activity – Everyone gets a scenario (case
study). Get up and find your scenario in
the room
room.
• With the other people in your new group,
develop a list of recommendations for this
student (10-15 minutes)
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15. Let’s Share!
• Share your person and the
recommendations you came up with:
– Molly
– Alex
– Ms. Teacher
–HHoward (L t’ l k at
d (Let’s look t
your homework!)
(http://bit.ly/ttacatfun)
(htt //bit l /tt tf )
http://tinyurl.com/SLfunpractical
http://tinyurl com/SLfunpractical
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16. Homework!
• Go to Google Doc – http://bit.ly/ttacatfun
• Click on the “Math Resources” tab. Share
at least one tool/strategy
tool/strategy.
• Click on the “Communication” tab. Share
at least one tool/strategy.
tl t t l/ t t
Remember t put
R b to t
your initials after
your strategy
strategy.
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17. Next time…
• Conducting Individual Evaluations
• Conducting Classroom Evaluations
• Dissecting a R
Di ti Report
t
• Summertime!
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18. High Contrast in Word
g
• Tutorial – http://bit ly/highcontrasttutorial
http://bit.ly/highcontrasttutorial
• P d
Podcast – htt //bit l /53 di hi h
t http://bit.ly/53audiohighcontrast
t t
• Blog - http://bit.ly/episode53highcontrast
• Video - http://bit.ly/shiftaltprntscrn
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19. PhotoAlbum Feature of PowerPoint
• Tutorial - http://bit.ly/powerpointphotoalbum
• Podcast - http://bit.ly/ep39audiopowerpointphotoalbum
• Blog - http://bit.ly/ep39blogpowerpointphotoalbum
• Video - http://bit.ly/videopowerpointphotoalbum
• Implementation Ideas – http://bit.ly/attb102
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20. Visual Schedules
• Linear -
– Blog: http://bit.ly/ep17linearvisualschedules
– P d
Podcast: htt //bit l / 17li
t http://bit.ly/ep17linearvisualschedulesaudio
i l h d l di
• Amorphous –
– Blog: http://bit.ly/ep18amorphousvisualschedules
– Podcast: http://bit.ly/ep18amorphousvisualschedulesaudio
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21. Text-to-Speech
• www.readplease.com –
– Blog: http://bit.ly/readpleaseblog
– Podcast: http://bit.ly/ep6readpleaseaudio
– Video: http://bit.ly/readpleasevideo
• www.vozme.com -
– Bl
Blog: htt //bit l / 48
http://bit.ly/ep48vozme
– Podcast: http://bit.ly/ep48vozmeaudio
– Vid
Video: htt //bit l /
http://bit.ly/vozmevideo
id
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22. Social Situation Stories
• http://www.polyxo.com/socialstories
p p y
• http://www.region2library.org/SocialStories.htm
• http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html
• http://www.thewatsoninstitute.org/teacher-
resources2.jsp?pageId=2161392240601226415747290
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23. Sound Record in MS Word
• http://bit ly/recaudword
http://bit.ly/recaudword
• http://tinyurl.com/quickrecord
• Bl and podcast htt //bit l /
Blog d d t http://bit.ly/gzpIvv
I
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24. Graphic Organizers
g
• http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
• http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm
• https://bubbl.us/
https://bubbl us/
• Blog and podcast: http://bit.ly/ifXSGJ
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25. Pacing Board
g
• http://cmsweb1 loudoun k12 va us/509100
http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/509100
68152053/lib/50910068152053/Keeping%
20Pace%207MB.wmv
20Pace%207MB wmv
• http://attipscast.wordpress.com/tag/pacing
-board/
board/
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26. References
• Bugaj, C.R. & Norton-Darr, S. (2010). The practical and fun guide to
assistive technology in publics schools: building or improving your
district’s AT team. Washington, D.C.: International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE).
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