Welcome!

Welcome to the Kurzweil Educational Systems and IntelliTools Blog.  The goal of this blog is to provide a place for those of us dedicated to assisting students who struggle with literacy and learning to share ideas and connect.  We believe that all children can learn, and are committed to serving the needs of at-risk and special student populations.  We hope you participate and together we can help change lives.

Mobile Devices as Assistive Technology

By Madalaine Pugliese, Assistive Technology Graduate Program Director at Simmons College; Assistive Technology Consultant, Assistive Learning Technologies, LLC

The role of assistive technology specialists evolves. We do more than recommend physical access to the curriculum. Now we are also curriculum and strategy advisors. We design modifications that maintain the essence of the classroom experience regardless of challenge. The tools and strategies that we recommend put the student and curriculum first.

Integration of mobile devices and appropriate applications (apps) is essential. Resources recommending apps are available, however few seemed to put the student first and offer little information about features within the settings. As the original author, it became clear to me that an update to include strategies for selecting mobile device apps is helpful for the same reasons that software recommendations are beneficial.

Framework for Recommendations

My graduate students decided to use the Stages© Framework (Cambium Learning Technologies, 2008) to organize recommendations for mobile device apps from a developmental perspective. We created a wiki that offers rationale for each recommendation that is supported by features or design found within the app: http://apps4stages.wikispaces.com/.

We take a developmental approach to language and cognitive milestones.  This framework takes a research-based approach to observable learner characteristics for each Stage and recommends features to look for in apps for learning that match and scaffold student need. This approach has proven very helpful in supporting educators, therapists and families in selecting appropriate learning materials.

I invite you to join the wiki we created and make contributions. Tell us about your favorite app, why you like it, what features you believe are important for making accommodations. Together, just think of the collections of ideas we will create!

Examples: (Please visit the wiki for more recommendations. For the purposes of this blog post, here are samples, one for each Stage.)

• Stage One: Bebot, by Normalware, $1.99, Touch the Robot to make it move and make sound. Music synthesizer with unique touch control. Students learn they have control of  the program.

• Stage Two: Zoo Animals Flash Cards, by Kindergarten.com, Free,  A simple touch on real photos of animals, and the name of the animal is spoken, followed by a musical flourish. Touch the screen again to get a new page. Good vocabulary builder and has enough action, sound, and color to help with visual attention on the screen.

• Stage Three: Speech with Milo – Verbs, by Doonan Speech Therapy, $2.99,  App for giving meaning to verbs. Children touch Milo, and he does an action. The word for the action pops up on the screen and is said aloud, combining multi-sensory input. There is also a button to hear the verb in a phrase.

• Stage Four: Apps in my Pocket Ltd.,  FREE or in-app purchase of $2.99 for complete alphabet,  3 apps in 1 that combined address many readiness and assessment activities.

• Stage Five: Kiwa Media, $2.99 for each book in the series, A series of books with a wide range of features. Stories will read aloud. Users can click to hear individual words. Users can illustrate themselves or use published pages. Users can record themselves reading. Font sizes are adjustable. Stories can be read in 5 languages.

• Stage Six: The Conover Company, $1.99, Designed to teach and reinforce common signs and words found in the community for independent living. Contains videos and customizable assignments. One of a terrific series.

• Stage Seven: Dr. Peet’s Software, $6.99, Text to speech support for the writing process. Font size and color are customizable. Information written can be used to text or e-mail a contact in the contact list. Videos and maps can also be searched by accessing an icon that will load the appropriate Google. Talkback settings can be customized to read letter, word, sentence or all the above. Common mispronunciations or abbreviations can be customized to be read in a particular way.

Differentiating Curriculum using Assistive Technology

Elisa Wern, OT and AT Specialist

Coming off a few days at ATIA in Orlando, my head is brimming with new ideas, new products, and new things to implement…it can be overwhelming…but in thinking about differentiating curriculum using technology, I have a few thoughts and examples to offer, which I hope will begin a larger conversation and sharing…

We all learn differently. We all know this as adults but we have to help our students better understand this…

When recommending ideas to teachers about how to include Assistive Technology, really ANY type of technology for students, it is critical to ask the question “what do you want students to gain or learn from this?”, “what’s the essential question?” There are many ways to include AT but it has to serve that original goal…or else we aren’t meeting the needs of students.

A few thoughts/resources on differentiating curriculum:

• AIM CENTER – If you don’t know what AIM is, or haven’t seen this site – check it out! It is full of resources… http://aim.cast.org/
• Particularly, take a look at this area: http://aim.cast.org/experience/acrosscurriculum

We all know there are a ton of tools out there – so, where to start?

In my experience it all starts with how you plan…Some of the great planning and decision making resources that I have used in the past are:

• Tech for DI WIKI http://tech4di.wikispaces.com/
• Karen Janowski’s blog http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/
• Dare to Differentiate http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/
• Check out the Differentiator!  http://www.byrdseed.com/differentiator/

Finally, a quick google search will bring a ton of learning styles inventories – some of my favorite teachers like to have their students complete one the first week – and it helps to plan out activities that meet all those styles…

What about you?  How do you make choices on how to include technology in your lessons?  What are a couple of your favorite resources?

Looking forward to seeing you at ATIA in 2 days!

Kurzweil Educational Systems Releases firefly:

Kurzweil Educational Systems Releases firefly: A Universally Accessible Web-based Literacy Solution

Natick, MA- January 17, 2012 – Kurzweil Educational Systems announced today the release of firefly, a completely web-based solution that delivers anytime, anywhere access to digital, text-based content.

firefly joins the Kurzweil Educational Systems product line and works in concert with the award-winning Kurzweil 3000 software solution. With the addition of firefly, Kurzweil Educational Systems has created a solution that is affordable, easy to use, powerful, and accessible to more students.  firefly extends the Kurzweil 3000 tradition of excellence which spans over 30 years, and provides one of the first web-based products based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning.

“We are excited to offer our customers a fully web-based literacy support tool.  firefly will enable us to reach more students, increase the frequency with which students use of our products, and ultimately improve educational outcomes and change lives, which is our mission as a company,” said Alex Saltonstall, General Manager of Kurzweil Educational Systems.

firefly delivers:

•         More content: reads and highlights text from many sources presented on the computer.

•         Better tools: allows users to interact with text in ways that support comprehension and expression.

•         Better access: enables use by most individuals with mild to moderate physical disabilities.

Benefits for administrators and students:

•         Anytime, anywhere access to documents and literacy support tools

•         Research-based literacy supports

•         Physically accessible to students with disabilities

•         Elimination of installation and maintenance related tasks

•         Macintosh or Windows compatible

•         Continuously improving solution

firefly, like Kurzweil 3000, can be used to support students while addressing the requirements of many content standards, including the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.

To learn more about firefly, visit www.fireflybykurzweil.com.

To view all of Cambium Learning Group’s press releases, visit: http://cambiumlearning.investorroom.com/releases

Creative Ways of Reaching Students with Physical Disabilities in an Inclusion Classroom

When a student is unable to participate in classroom activities because of a physical limitation, there are endless technology possibilities to connect that student. If it is a question of physical mobility, there is so much that can be accessed from the student’s workspace. With Wi-Fi and networking, students can use a laptop or iPad from their desk and submit assignments wirelessly. Adapted keyboards, Big Keys and IntelliKeys can be used to create assignments and tailor them to the student’s specific ability. Using Overlay Maker and IntelliKeys, the curriculum can be modified and presented to a student so that he or she can respond using whatever level of motor ability  is available.  The IntelliSwitch allows students to access one or two computer switches wirelessly from anywhere in the classroom. The Classroom Suite software has the capacity to act as a word processor which allows the physically challenged student to use word prediction and have the text read back to him or her. Keystrokes can be built into the documents so that fewer physical moves are required when those are challenging to the student’s speed and endurance.

As an AT Specialist, I try to work closely with the teacher to determine the specific concepts required, and then I create a Classroom Suite activity which can be modified for several methods of access: mouse, touch screen, switch, IntelliKeys. I modify the activity so that it is presented to meet the student’s visual requirements and ability to access. If needed, I add music and the student’s photographs to encourage interest and feedback. The possibilities are endless for presentation of science, social studies, math and language.

Cindy Kerr, MA

Speech Pathologist with a  Masters in Speech Pathology, Assistive Technology Specialist

How Do You Address Collaborative Learning?

            Collaborative learning happens when students work with partners or in small groups on a clearly defined task (Lehr and Osborne, 2005). When students work in these types of groups, motivation improves, students get to learn how others understand the subject matter, and it teaches them how to work effectively and efficiently with others (Alverman and Eakle, 2003).

            But what exactly does this look like in today’s world? From an adult perspective the work we do is no longer tied to geographic locations. Technologies such as video conferencing, shared cloud workspaces and the Internet have made collaboration just a “mouse-click” away. For students, especially the Millennial generation, this is just “normal” to them. Posting their thoughts about the final scene of “Romeo and Juliet” for their classmates to see is just part of being in 9^th grade. Likewise many college and university classes are now hybrids where in class discussions continue at home in the form of online discussion boards.

            So how do I address collaborative learning? My answer is this: “I live and work in the 21^st Century and I am part of a global community. How could I not?” What about you?

Roger Steinberg

The role of the AT coordinator in school districts – has the role changed since No Child Left Behind?

We love our acronyms in the world of special education…so most everyone will recognize these letters – NCLB (now the ESEA…Elementary and Secondary Education Act)…and AT.   NCLB to me speaks of the desire for the educational system to meet the needs of all students, enabling success in school and beyond.  It clearly states “Failure is not an option…” and yet we know our students with disabilities often fail many times before they experience success.  Technology, all technology, is a powerful means to enable their success.  And to me, the AT Coordinator plays a pivotal role.

The text of the document indicates that local educational agencies should be using funds towards-

“preparing teachers in the effective use of educational technology and assistive technology as instructional tools for increasing student understanding of the core academic subjects;” (http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/sec2210.html)

Are we doing this as AT Coordinators?

When No Child Left Behind was first authorized by President Bush in 2002 – I doubt that Assistive Technology was at the top of the implementers to – do list.  Yes we want accountability, yes, we want highly qualified professionals working with our students, and yes, we want what we do to be research based – all tenets of NCLB.  Yet for those of us who work in the world of assistive technology, it is a natural and common sense part of the solution.  More and more I am finding that my job is changing, it’s more about using technology that we have, and only using very specialized technology when needed.

So, for those of us who live and breathe AT and disabilities – I think the question is — How are we using NCLB/ESEA to encourage use of all technology, including AT enabling student success?  How has your job changed since the legislation?

Elisa Wern, AT Specialist, Gainesville, Florida