Our last class together - It was a pleasure to work with all of you.

It was another informative night at our last EDUC 5163 (Assistive Technology) class.

Liz C told us about the success her grade five student has realized using the IPod App Tiki notes. He can complete an assignment in one class that previously used up six classes. As a bonus, he has become more willing to use technology, including the desktops in his classroom.


Crystal T has a grade 5 student who likes to use the audio books on ITouch, allowing him to work alongside his peers. It was interesting to see how he operated the technology with just one hand.

Katherine K spoke about a struggling grade 8 boy at her school. He has made great academic improvements as a result after she allowed him to use her IPod. It was especially nice to learn about his independence as a result of using IPod apps and emailing his work to her in addition to the good news that was discussed about him at the last core team meeting.


Vida D explained how she utilized ‘Comic Life’ with her ECM 12 students. We all could appreciate the trouble Vida and her students had finding enough computers with the programme. Still, Vida made it work beautifully. I plan to download this program and start using it.

Lydia S ended the night with a heart-warming story. She has a 40 years old student who has recently been diagnosed with a Learning Disability. He has set a goal to get gain admission to an adult high school with the long-term objective of becoming a paramedic. She was so clever to use Kurzweil 3000 as a tool for him to study for his driver’s license. She has also tapped into his confidence using his cell phone.


Thank you to everyone in the EDUC 5163 class. It was a pleasure to work with you and Barb and Anita. Have a wonderful Christmas break!

Thank you to EDUC 5163 December 6 Presenters

Great ideas from the people who made EDUC 5163 exit project presentations on Tuesday, December 6. Bravo to everyone!!! Here are some of the approaches that my fellow assistive technology classmates used to facilitate student success.

Dave O. demonstrated how assistive technology can be utilized as a means of behavioral support. He was able to directly teach behavioral expectations to his ‘frequent flyer’ students via HyperStudio with the added bonus of solidifying his positive rapport with them.

Heather K. provided us with assistive technology strategies that proved to be effective to counteract the challenges associated with ADHD. Fidget toys and pencil grips are a couple of the tools that she introduced to her student that facilitated his learning. Co: writer also was found to support her student’s writing skill development.

Stacy K. and Connie B. collaborated to determine how high school students could use “MyStudyBar” as an instrument to help meet outcomes. I am looking forward to exploring this FREE program for my middle school students.

Ann W. spoke about how her student with Down’s Syndrome used her IPod Touch extensively. Loved the enthusiasm her student displayed using her assistive technology! Ann also has the student use more traditional assistive technology such as
Clicker5 on her laptop computer.

Cindy K. told us about her student with autism to whom assistive technology has provided independence. I found myself downloading apps and listing websites as Cindy was speaking to us.

Bill B. told us about a grade Primary student who is globally delayed. The use of an IPad, a recommendation in her recent AT assessment, proved to be an academic and transitional support.

Many thanks to all last Tuesday’s presenters.

Apps for Reluctant Readers

Apps for Reluctant Readers

1. FirstWords: Christmas $1.99
Push letters into place to form words associated with Christmas.
Great for emergent readers who need encouragement to learn new words.
The latest version has a phonics component.
We will use this app with a middle school student who is an emergent reader
and loves to use her IPad.

2. QuickReader Lite Free
YouTube information video available
Guided Reader – helps to counteract attention issues and satisfies the needs
of students who are visual learners.
The app producers claim that a person can learn to read faster, and thus
more efficiently using the app. It is best suited for a more mature group of
students.

3. Sentence Reading Magic Free
This app helps a child to read and build sentences.
I really like this app and see how it will be useful for my middle school
emergent reader.

4. Piano Music Reading Lite Free
A great app for the student who is learning to read music (or those people
who are trying to remember what they learned many, many years ago.) I had
a lot of fun trying to win the game and believe that a music student would
also use it as a less-painful way to learn notes.

5. eReading to Go $1.99 for one book; $7.99 for a set of six books
Although it confused me at first, I came to realize that this app actually
can help a child to learn to read by using rehearsal along with positive
reinforcement.

6. The Reading Game $0.99
This is a record and reward system for children who read books. Cards with
corresponding sounds are given to a child who logs in the reading he or she
has completed. The child can access the rewards again after they have been
earned.

7. Reading Remedies $0.99
Great app for both educators and parents to use for an informal assessment
of a child’s reading skills, specifically in the areas of rhyming, blending,
segmenting, sight words, fluency, and word attack. Suggested activities to
improve each of the skills are also included in this app.

8. Titanic Dog $0.99
With the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’ sinking next year, this app is an
especially timely. It would also appeal to students who are dog lovers. The subsections include: Read it to myself, Read it
to me, The regel legend, Newfie (dog) facts, famous Newfies (dogs), and Newfies (dogs) literature.

9. Sight Words: See, Read, Say $1.99
This app will help students learn the Dolch words, a skill that is necessary for students to gain confidence in their reading
abilities. This app has five Subsections: Pre-Primer Words, Primer Words, First Grade Words, Second
Grade Words, Third Grade Words. Added features include the ability to shake
the phone to get new words.

10. Learn Reading $2.99
This app helps a student learn to read in a fun way. The teaching mode has words and letters. Tap for drawing for “spoken” help. Just swipe the drawing to go to the next word. The play mode has four categories: The Right Word, The Vowels, The Missing Letter, I Can Write. A star reward system is built into this app.

Time to Catch-up; Time to Reflect

Recently I changed my profile picture to a photo of my maternal grandmother, a lady who suitably represents my journey to Assistive Technology proficiency. My family members look at Grandmother as a woman who was ahead of her time. Being a telegraph operator at the first Transatlantic cable station (Foilhommerum Bay, Ireland to Heart's content, NL) starting in 1918, she met the challenge of technology proficiency in an era when her gender made it unconventional to endeavor such a vocation. During the past month I have found myself imagining her as she developed competency through rigorous training sessions and have come to realize that she must have felt a little intimidated so many unfamiliar elements. Nevertheless she persevered and rose to the position of head operator before she entered her tenure in 1923 when she resigned, a requirement so that she could marry my grandfather.
Although I never had the privilege to meet my grandmother as she succumbed to heart disease at 47 years of age, I am inspired by her determination to master the tools that were made available to her and allowed her communicate to the world.

Grandmother’s determination (or perhaps her stubborn nature) is said to have passed through the generations to become one of my characteristic traits. We also share a tendency to allow our frustration to become the best of us. Admittedly, I have allowed my fear of the Kurzweil program to prevent me from sharing its fabulous study skill features with my students and their teachers. But a grade eight student at my school has motivated me to change my attitude and meet the Kurzweil challenge head on. She is very excited about the opportunity to utilize the Kurzweil program in all her classes and is depending on me to help her learn more about it. Coincidently, our EDUC 5163 Assistive Technology class was given a Kurzweil group assignment. Each group member was assigned one bar of the program so naturally I volunteered to do the green study skill bar. Additionally, as I am a visual learner, I decided that I needed to add many pictures to my write-up. It took me a long time to master the required techniques but I can confidently state that I understand and use the Green Bar- study skills component of the Kurzweil program. The feeling of accomplishment that I experience with my newfound ability to add pictures of my computer screen to a blog page makes me feel even better about the process. And, I can emphatically state that KURZWEIL ROCKS!

Class Two - The Reading Process

Last Tuesday night Heather and I created a visual explanation of the reading process. The resulting mind maps indicate that many factors determine whether a child will reading with relative ease or struggle to read just one word. No wonder we have so many students who find it difficult to become enthused about reading, whether it be for educational or recreational purposes. 

My blog includes two graphic organizers. Heather kindly gave me permission to publish her final mindmap. She certainly did a great job with it.  

Thank you for reading my blog.

Class Two - The Reading Process with Heather's Improvements

Class Two - The Reading Process

Class One 27 October 2011

Hi Fellow EDUC 5163 Bloggers. One theme, from Tuesday night’s class, that continues to resonate with me is the fact that AT and IT are NOT synonymous. One of the challenges I continue to face as a program support (resource) teacher is to convince other educators of the necessity for assistive technology assessments prior to a student utilizing supports such as Kurzweil and Co:Writer. October has become IPP/IA month for me. During this time of the school year, I find myself considering appropriate outcomes for each of my students. These objectives and goals should optimize each student’s learning experience. Barb’s reminder to “Strive to make our exceptional students independent” must remain foremost in my mind. The inclusion of all AT utilized by each student in his or her IPP document makes even more sense to me. As I write this blog entry, I am thinking about one of my students who has sever autism. With assistive technology providing an endless world of possibilities for her, my challenge is to design a program for her, document it in her IPP, and ensure that she has the opportunity to make use of all AT that has been identified as beneficial for her. I included a link to the trailer for “Wretches and Jabberers” in this week’s blog because the movie inspires me to acknowledge that intelligence must be assumed with all of our students. Thank you for reading my blog.