UDL -universal
design for learning, is a term that was introduced during our first class.Because we keep coming back to this - it deserves its own blog posting.
The basic principles behind universal design for learning is to give
all individuals equal opportunities to learn. Each individual is
unique so diverse techniques are required to meet all learners needs.
UDL is based on 3 principles:
How is information gathered?
How is information acted
upon?
How are they engaged?
These are products and services designed for or made usable by people
with the widest possible range of functional capabilities (Edyburn, 2012). It
makes sense then that the assistive technology tools such as the iPad, iPhone
and iPod fall under the umbrella of UDL they make the inaccessible for those
with special needs or disabilities accessible!
5 free favorite sites that support UDL, select the site name to check out the link:
Engaging,
fun math games and activities for grades P-9. There are games or links to all
outcomes. There is also a big section on solving word problems which I really
like!
Enhances mathematical
reasoning and calculation, supports. Engaging and fun great for visual learners,
executive function disabilities, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADD
Offer a
huge range of free language arts support for grades P-12. Links to interactive
tools that help with organizing and summarizing, inquiry and analysis, poetry
writing, writing and publishing, and games for learning about language.
Enhance
written output, great for reluctant writers, visual learners, executive
function disabilities, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADD
A glossary
of mathematical terms, organized in alphabetical order; there are examples
included with each definition and in some cases is interactive. The site is useful for grades P-12.
Enhance
reasoning and comprehension. Supports visual learners and working memory, ADD,
ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome. Printable will support study notes. Allow students
to work independently
Much of today's class was devoted to the compensatory tool, Kurzweil 3000. This program should be in every classroom for every student without question. Not only does Kurzweil 3000 offer text to speech capabilities, it also offers text magnification, reading speed selections, text highlighting features, dictionary options including a picture dictionary, sticky notes, bubble notes, voice notes, scanning and emailing to create working documents, word prediction, language translation and can be linked to the internet to continue to provide students with reading/writing support. With all of these features of Kurzweil 3000 a variety of students needs may be met including: students with executive function disabilities, learning disabilities, ADHD, ADD, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and students with vision and auditory impairments. The only problem with this comprehensive program is its price.
One of the many interesting features of Kurzweil 3000 is:
5 uses might include:
pre-reading questions
student notes for connections
student generated passage questions
teacher generated pop-up questions
study questions.
Although Kurzweil 3000 is extremely pricey at ~$1000/license, you get what you pay for - engaged, independent and successful students! What more would any teacher want?
This video demonstrates just how all encompassing Kurzweil 3000 is in the classroom.
Two great text-to-speech assistive technology tools also discussed today are ReadPlease and NaturalReader. Both offer free downloadable trials.
The writing process involves
more than prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing. There are
many things to consider before even choosing an idea, primarily fine motor
skills. Teachers need to ask: do all of my students have the ability to make
precise coordinated movements using the muscles and joints of the wrist, hand
and fingers (Cochrane, Knickle, Philps and Welsford, 2012) and do any of my
students have cognitive disabilities that interfere
with their productivity somewhere else in the writing process?
By the
time a child is five or six, their muscles should have developed the ability to
pick up, grasp , imitate movement, copy patterns and release a pencil, pen or
crayon. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Fortunately for these
students Occupational Therapists can help and so can writing apps.
Apps
are also important pieces of assistive technology for those students with
cognitive disabilities. They enable students get enable to
focus on issues such as structure, organization, and clarity of writing, which
would also assist them (and others) in reading their own products.
Writing
apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod lead the way for creativity and productivity for
those students with learning disabilities which impact the writing process.
Therapeutic
hand exercises to support and enhance fine motor skills, and writing
readiness. Tracking and data collection for teachers.
Dexteria
promotes dexterity, finger sequencing isolation and control. It supports the
Handwriting Without Tears principles. A stylus may be used to reinforce pen
tasks.
Creative
imaginative play is used to pinch tarantulas and drag them to a jar.
Students
will practice thumb and index finger control, appropriate pressure and
controlled drag. Emphasizes hand eye coordination, attention to task and task
completion. Activities progress into more complicated task sequences.
Learn to
write in a fun and engaging way using shaving cream, ketchup, lemon gelatin,
pencil, chalk, etc choosing from28 paper styles.
Students
touch the screen with their finger or stylus and learn letters, numbers and
words. Stylus encourages engagement and handwriting skills, control grasp,
letter recognition and basic writing.
Students
must employ visual motor skills; touch control, attention to task, task
completion and hand eye coordination. Stylus available to promote pencil
grasp.
Go on
journeys with your car, changing from day to night, etc
Students
required to use a 3 finger grasp, controlled hand, wrist and finger movements
to drive along a designated path. Pressure needs to be modulated for car to
work effectively.
Pirate Scribbeard’s
Treasure
$2.99
iPad
Engages,
motivates and entertains students when their drawings come to life with
verbal descriptors and comments.
Students
follow verbal instructions while drawing with finger r stylus which
reinforces use of pencil/pen.
All of these app
would be extremely useful in the classroom as well the resource and learning
centers. After watching this webinar, two of my former students from grades
four and five leapt to mind. Both had poor fine motor skills which got in
the way of their productivity. If I had the chance to take this technology back
in time with me, I know that they would have loved Dexteria and WritePad for
iPad, they would have soared in the classroom.
Many of the other
apps would be excellent in the lower grades (mostly thinking primary and grade
one) or the learning center for those students who are working on copying,
refined movement and tripod grasping skills. View my 3 favorites: Bugs and Buttons, Dexteria and WritePad for iPad
Reading is a
complex cognitive process of decoding symbols (alphabetic principle) in order
to construct meaning or comprehension; it is an overlapping process. Because
reading involves so many things innately happening at once, when there is a problem
it is our job to help. Fortunately there is a wide variety of assistive
technology available to help students complete the task.
Melanie's Top 5 Picks: 1. Hooked on Words
for iPhone and iPad, free
·Description:It is
a word building game which includes a variety of levels to play.
·Where in the reading
process:This
app fits into the making meaning process of reading.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):The app
would support students with Visual Sequencing, Visual Memory, and students with
ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s Syndrome.
·Students
must have good fine motor skills, attention to task, prior knowledge, letter
recognition, active working memory and vocabulary. The
students who would benefit from this app have trouble with letter order,
spelling, sequential processing, vocabulary retrieval, recall and working
memory.
·Why I chose:This app has eye catching visuals; it has pictures to match potential
spelling words and requires touch to spell the words. Very engaging.
·How to use in the
classroom: This
would make a great literacy center; it could be a reward activity for an early
finisher. This would be could be a calming activity for an ADHD student.
·Description:This
app fits into the cognitive, and meaning content processes of reading. It
provides students with several categories to choose from and a selection of
books in each category.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):The
app would support students with Executive Function disabilities, students with
ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Processing and
Visual Sequencing.The
students need fine motor and book handling skills.
·The
students who would benefit from this app have are working on organizing ideas,
sequential processing, predicting, inferencing and recall/retrieval.
·Why I chose:This app has eye catching visuals; it has pictures to match potential
spelling words and requires touch to spell the words. Very engaging because it
gives students choice of fiction or non-fiction and in some cases a mixture of
the two. Also engaging because the library may be customized. How to use in the
classroom:This
would be a great independent or work with a partner activity. This app would
also be a good reward or calming activity.
Description:This is a letter identification, matching and word building game with
various levels.
Where in the reading
process:This app fits into the early stages of the reading process.
Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):The app would support students with Dyslexia, Visual Memory,
Visual Sequencing, ADHD, ADD, Dysgraphia and Executive Functions.
In order to do this activity, students require fine motor skills, focus,
letter recognition and knowledge of lower vs capital letters, short term memory
to complete matching activity and metacognitive skills.
The students who would benefit from this app have trouble with letter
order, spelling, sequential processing, vocabulary retrieval, recall, working
memory and motivation.
Why I chose:This app has eye catching visuals and sound; it has pictures
to match potential spelling words and requires touch to spell the words.
Students are given unlimited opportunities to make errors without being
penalized; there are a variety of levels; easy to hard. Very engaging.
How to use in the
classroom:This
would make a great literacy center, an independent activity, and something for
early finishers.
·Description and Where in the Reading Process:This
app fits into the cognitive area of the reading process; has several game choices.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):The
app would support students with Executive Function disabilities, ADD, ADHD,
Asperger’s Syndrome, Visual Memory, Visual Motor Processing and Visual
Sequencing disabilities.
·In
order to use the app, students would require fine motor skills, attention to
task, active working memory, prior knowledge, and letter recognition.
·The
students who would benefit from this app have difficulty with letter order,
spelling, sequential; processing, vocabulary retrieval, and recall. Overall goal of the app is increasing sight words.
·Why I chose:I
choose this app because it is provides students with spelling practice and word
recognition. It provides students with spoken cue options for repeats and after
each word completion the word is spoken, broken down orally by letter and the
word spoken again which reinforces the students work. If a mistake is made the
letter bounces back and is said out loud. When playing Bingo the word is spoken and can repeated if necessary.
·How to use in the
classroom:This
would make a great center or partnered activity as it allows for multi-players.
It can also be an independent activity or use for a reward.
·Where in the reading
process: This
app fits into the early stages of the reading task.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):The
app would support students with Executive Function disabilities, Visual Spatial
disabilities,
·In
order to use this app, students require fine motor skills, attention to task,
concentration, some memory recall.
·The
students who would benefit from this app have Executive Function difficulties,
difficulties with comprehension and cognition, the alphabetic principle and
phonemic awareness.
·Why I chose: I
choose this app because it has high engagement; it includes lots of voice interaction,
builds on prior knowledge and cognition skills such as recall and recognition.
The app also builds on student’s experience because they are not only building
letters but pictures and numbers with those words spelled and spoken, and the
appropriate sounds provided.
·How to use in the
classroom:This
app could be used for independent work, for early finishers, as a calming
activity or for a reward.
·Description:Interactive story book, animated, read aloud, words
highlighted, lots of drag and drop, touch for reaction, e.g. Elmo asks child to
knock over blocks to get to next page or wipe away glue, or take off paper
clips, entertaining story.
·Where in the reading
process: Understanding book handling (left to right directionality,
top to bottom, fine motor, shows how dialogue works, draws attention to print
with highlighting and interesting font.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):Reading remediation, Early reading, child who needs
motivation to read, needs to see how print works, how to manipulate books.
·Why I chose:Funny, cool graphics, I know
a couple kids in the learning centre who LOVE this book and read it over and
over.
·How to use in the
classroom:During reading workshop, end of day for an engaging and
calming activity, during literacy centres.
2. Little Speller$0.99 for iPad, iPhoneiOS 4.3 or higher.
·Description: All simple 3 letter words, says words aloud and shows
beautiful photos of word, gives the letters scrambled and student must drag and
drop into order, repeats word for child. Some unusual words (yam, tug) could
improve vocab., too. ONE POSSIBLE
DRAWBACK is that it says letter names -
not letter sounds – Might be better to clarify for phonics if letter
sounds.
·Where in the reading
process:Know letter names, sounds, beginning to work on putting
simple words together phonetically
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):Reading remediation, phonological processor.
·Why I chose:Beautiful photos, clear voice speech, simplicity and clarity
of activity.
·How to use in the
classroom: During reading workshop or literacy centres.
·Description:Story part in Comic format about doing projects and using
facts versus opinions, also about validity of internet sites. Game part has a
practice section finding fact statements about one topic (as if they are
writing paper by drag and drop choosing) and then a quicker Fact robot that
needs to be fed facts rapidly.
·Where in the reading
process: For students who do well with decoding, but need to work on
comprehension.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):For those who need to focus on comprehension, engaging for
motivation.
·Why I chose:Fun comic format and funny story, important skill to
separate fact from opinion (esp. when students are beginning to do school
projects).
·How to use in the
classroom:Whole class could read comic on LCD together as intro to
doing fact based projects or could be used in a centre or during individual
reading time.
4.Aesop’s Quest
free for iPad, iPhone or iPod with Ios3.1.3 or higher
·Description:Read aloud short stories like the Town and Country Mouse,
Help the ant Aesop to remember parts of the story and answer questions, if
answered correctly you get a game where as Aesop walks along you drag and drop
only items that were in the story into his backpack. Choosing items not mentioned in the story
results in lost points. Points equal
puzzle pieces to make picture.
·Where in the reading
process:Working memory, comprehension, engaging active games between
reading to refocus those with attention deficits.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):Match to those who need to work on memory skills and need
activity to stay focused, ADHD and poor working memory, also works on
comprehension.
·Why I chose:Enjoyable stories and fun game breaks in between the tougher
reading/ memory activities.
·How to use in the
classroom:Use at literacy centres, and during individual reading time.
5. do this next 0.99
for iPad, iPhone iOS
3.0 or higher
·Description:You enter in a prioritized list of things to do and the app
gives them to you one at a time in the priority order. When you enter that it is done it gives
satisfying done sound/gesture and puts up the next thing to do. Very simple, but effective at focusing you on
one thing at a time if tend to wander from job to job ineffectively.
·Where in the reading
process:To help with attention to task and executive function.
·Who you would match
to (skill set, difficulty):Students who have trouble focusing on a task, poor working
memory, need steps in an activity broken down for them.
·Why I chose: I understand the need to be focused on one task at a
time. I have a plan for how this could
be used in class. See next box.
·How to use in the
classroom:At earlier levels teacher could enter in tasks in
order. At higher levels students could
enter the tasks in order themselves.
As I have mentioned in a previous post the reading task is extremely complex. Below are reading apps linked to the reading process that they support; the apps are suns.
