Testing Accomodations

The University of the State of New York, The State Education Department, and VESID have detailed important information on testing accommodations and modifications in a lengthy document. One of the very important distinctions it makes is testing accommodations vs. modifications. An accommodation is a change made in the way the test is administered to make it fully accessible to the student with a disability. Accommodations do not change the constructs being tested in anyway. In contrast, a modification changes the constructs of the test by altering the content, changing the test process, or adding assistive technology. 
I imagine it must be difficult to meet a student's needs with an accommodation rather than a modification in some cases. All of the students in my current student teaching placement do not participate in state assessments. They are administered alternative assessments. I wonder where the state draws the line in how much modifications and accommodations a student needs before they should just be administered an alternative assessment. 
I think it is very important that teachers use the accommodations provided to students on state tests regularly in the classroom. Students who have no prior experience using the accommodations may find them intrusive, unfamiliar, or confusing. I believe the IEP and the CSE team should make it a requirement that the teacher use these accommodations in the classroom as well as for state tests. 

AAC

My Experience with AAC:

Two of the five students in the classroom I am student teaching in are nonverbal and use an AAC application on the iPad, Proloquo2go, as their main form of communication. This application is wonderful because you can create symbols, phrases, and categories. The students have learned to maneuver through the application to find the proper symbols to express their needs and answer questions we pose. It is especially interesting to see how students use the speech available to them on the iPad to create novel phrases that are not already preprogrammed. For example, one student asked "When are we going to the park?" in response to the teacher saying we were going on a field trip. He did not have the phrase "Where are we going?," so he used another phrase to communicate this meaning. Similarly, he will click on the symbol that say's his mother's name then the symbol for car in order to say his mother is picking him up. The only drawback to this application is the amount of time it takes to update it with more phrases and symbols. 

What is language?

Language is a code used to communicate wants and needs. It is a dynamic system of sounds, symbols, and gestures used to communicate. 

What is speech?

Speech is the spoken form of language. 

Inherent difficulties of unaided system:

I have a nonverbal student who has created his own signs. When he wants to watch Blues Clues, he points to his stomach. Anyone who hasn't been told what his unique signs mean will have to guess. It is useful for him to have this unaided system to communicate his needs when his iPad is not available, but only those who have worked with him know what he's saying. 

Planning with Technology

Students may have barriers to accessing educational content in one or more networks: strategic, affective, and recognition networks. These are actual networks in the brain:

Although, teachers cannot use brain imaging to identify which networks may be under active, they can use assessments and observation to identify students' strengths and weaknesses. Teachers can match up the strengths and weaknesses assessed to the different networks and determine which technologies would best address their needs. We have a large technological tool belt at our disposal, but we have to make sure the methods we choose meet the diverse needs of our learners. Luckily, many of the technologies we use have features that activate multiple networks. One such technology is the SMART board. It allows a teacher to manipulate the presentation of information so that students are using multiple sensory modalities to access the information (recognition network). It allows for multiple means of interaction and engagement (strategic network). Additionally, using interactive lessons with media is highly motivating for most students (affective network). 
It is important for teachers to use technology with purpose. We may inadvertently complicate a lesson or make it less accessible by trying to incorporate technology, so we must always reflect on the needs of the students and how the technology will address those needs. 

Assistive and Adaptive Technology

Adapting Classrooms for AT Users: Challenges and Solutions


Nothing seems more cruel to me than having a student who cannot run sit on the sidelines in a gym class watching his peers run and play sports. We need to take a Partial Participation approach to including students in activities that are typically considered off limits. Those who are not familiar with adapting activities find it easier to just find an alternate activity for students with disabilities. This video details classrooms designed for students with disabilities. A modification like a supportive chair can allow a child to participate in an activity without falling off her chair. Something as simple as putting felt in between the pages of a book make it easier for a child with a physical disability to turn the pages. There are many modifications and accommodations that are costly but there are also things we can do that cost very little. We have to think outside of the box and be willing to spend some time to make classrooms accessible to all students. 

Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged

Providing students with disabilities access to assistive technology devices increases their independence. My non-verbal students with autism use Proloquo2go to communicate. Without it (and the devices that preceded the iPad and this application) all the adults in these students lives would just guess what they needed and do everything for them. The students in this article/video were able to pursue their interests and participate fully in school and extracurricular activities through the use of assistive technology. When there was no technology yet available (the device made to play the instrument), it pushed someone to create it. Without students like this who continually seek to be involved in activities considered out of their reach, we would not continue to make advances in AT. 

Interview with Richard Keller

Dr. Keller explains the difference between assistive and adaptive technology, two words that are often used interchangeably. Dr. Keller points out that assistive technology is derived from the medical model of disability in which the person will somehow be fixed or made complete. On the other hand, adaptive technology changes the technology, not the person --a disabilities study paradigm. Dr. Keller explains further, "when we say assistive it means you're helping me and when it says adaptive, it's a tool that works specially for me in the circumstances I want to use it in." I think it is very important to speak about disabilities using language that empowers individuals. Dr. Keller also speaks about gaining independence through the use of adaptive technology.

SMART Board: A Glorified Projector?

Many classrooms are now equipped with SMART Boards. Used to its fullest potential, the SMART Board can be used as both an instructional tool and an adaptive technology tool. Lessons can be created that are adapted to fit the learning and accessibility needs of many learners. However, there are many accessibility issues that remain unresolved. The SMART Board is primarily manipulated by touch, but for students with physical disabilities the interactive feature that is the highlight of the white board may not be accessible. A solution may be making the SMART Board compatible with a laser pointer mounted to a student's glasses. Many AAC devices use a laser pointer and it seems relatively easy to incorporate this technology to make the SMART Board more accessible. 
I spoke to a first year teacher who has a SMART Board in her classroom. I asked her if she had any formal training and what her experience has been thus far. She replied, "It's basically a glorified projector." She expressed difficulty in using it for anything more than displaying texts and PowerPoints. She has not been provided with any training by the school. Educators provided with this amazing tool should be provided with professional development training on how to use it to its full potential. Teachers with very busy schedules may not have time outside of school to access the many tutorials provided online. Trainings should be part of the normal hours of the school day or part of summer orientations. 

Web Tools

Little Bird Tales is wonderful for the classroom I am currently student teaching in. Currently, none of my students can read a book. They have autism and intellectual disabilities. They all love to use the computer as a reward to completing their work. Their favorite characters are Dora the Explorer, Elmo, and Blues Clues. I think it would be wonderful if my head teacher recorded different books with the students’ favorite characters in her own voice. The website is easy to navigate, and I think my students would love it. For typically developing students, a teacher could ask the students to create and record their own stories as a literacy project. I would definitely use this tool in my future classroom with typical learners or students with disabilities.

Diigo is an amazing tool that I decided to sign up for. Many of our readings and assignments in graduate school are online, and I alternate between using my laptop and iPad. Diigo uses the cloud, so any pages I bookmark, highlight, or take notes on will be available on my laptop and iPad. I usually print online readings so that I can highlight and annotate them, but with Diigo I can do all of this on my devices. It will definitely save me time and money. I think this is a great tool for older students who do a lot of online reading or research.

Prezi is my favorite tool as a soon to be teacher. I’ve sat through and created so many of your ordinary boring PowerPoint presentations. Prezi certainly captures an audience’s attention from the start of the presentation. Our eyes are naturally drawn to movement, color, and unique designs. With Prezi, just watching the presentation progress is entertaining and interesting. I will definitely use it to spice up my own presentations.

I also really enjoyed exploring Stixy. It would be a great tool for managing your own research and also collaborating with others. My only concern is that the page would get too crowded too easily.

I have not seen or used any of these tools in a classroom, but if I were to teach older students who have more advanced technology skills and large projects, I would use VoiceThread, Prezi, Stixy, or Titanpad. I would use Little Bird Tales for younger students. 

BookShare

BookShare is an incredible resource for students with print disabilities. Their mission statement begins, "People with print disabilities deserve to enjoy reading as much as all other readers." What about readers with disabilities other than print whose reading abilities are affected? They deserve to enjoy reading as well. BookShare lists 20 major donors on their website. I know that they have the ability to make their technology accessible to an even larger range of students. Their technology could be a huge asset to students with autism. Many of the students I am currently student teaching with cannot read, however, they enjoy being read to. Their receptive language is often significantly better than their verbal abilities. These students could really benefit from access to BookShare. 
As for those with print disabilities, are there potential accessibility issues in using BookShare? From what I can tell, BookShare is incredibly accessible. Mobile versions are available for both Apple and Android. It is compatible with Kurzweil and other scan and read technologies. It can also be converted to a braille format. Although I have not been able to explore the fine details without access to BookShare, the developers seem to have addressed potential accessibility issues.