ATS TechTalk - Spring 2007

Cheryl Temple

Update on Assistive Technology Making a Difference

Lisa Givens

Chatterbox Fun Fair

Jennifer Carr

Assistive Technology (AT) + Student Self Advocacy = Empowered Students who use AT!

Feature Articles

Assistive Technology: A Mother & Student Perspective by Mary Ann & Michaela Gaughan

ATS Staff Member, Becky Smalley

Update on Assistive Technology Making a Difference

by Cheryl Temple

We are collecting data to answer the question, "How does using AT effect the mechanics of writing for fourth grade students on the ATS caseload referred for writing issues?" In November and February, ATS resource teachers asked these students to write to a prompt for 10 minutes without using AT and then a week later asked the same students to write to a prompt for 10 minutes using AT. As you can see from the chart below, the average number of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors decreased in February as students became more proficient using AT while the average number of errors increased or stayed about the same for students when they were not using AT. A variety of AT was used in this study depending on the needs of the student. The AT used was one or more of the following: Draft:Builder, Inspiration, Kidspiration, MS Word with adaptations, ReadPlease, NEO with Co:Writer, Co:Writer, or Write:OutLoud. The definition of No AT was handwritten, NEO without Co:Writer or MS Word with no adaptations. The sample size was 32 students in the 4th grade on the ATS caseload.

Average Number of Errors by 4 th Grade Students Not Using AT and Using AT

	Avg. Errors No AT/ Nov.	Avg. Errors No AT/ Feb.	Avg. Errors With AT/ Nov.	Avg. Errors With AT/ Feb.
Spelling errors	8	9.5	2.72	1.6
Punctuation errors	2.08	1.91	1.39	.5
Capitalization errors	3.83	5.56	2.22	.82

Writing Sample
Here's one comparison of a 4th grade student's writing not using AT and using AT (Co:Writer and Write:OutLoud).

No AT
tigrsIliketigrsbecosthecan ranfastand Ijustliketigrsbecastheyaremyfavaranmaal

Using Co:Writer and Write:OutLoud
My favorite food is pizza. I like pizza because it has cheese on top. Pizza is very very good.

Chatterbox Fun Fair

by Lisa Givens

Assistive Technology Services will hold the Chatterbox Fun Fair on Saturday, May 12, 2007, from 10:00 to 1:00 at Kings Glen Elementary .

The Chatterbox Fun Fair is a one day fun fair event for students, preschool through sixth grade, who are currently on the ATS caseload and are using picture boards and/or speech output devices to help them with communication. Games, food, entertainment, and prizes will be provided.

This free event provides an opportunity for children to meet and interact with other children who use devices and/or picture boards, a chance for parents to meet and talk with other parents, and an opportunity to see communication devices used in the school system.

Entertainment this year will feature a student-driven performance of the musical Aesop's Fables Deluxe. Performers will include students who use alternative communication devices as well as their peers.

For more information, please visit: http://www.fcps.edu/ss/its/Chatterbox/

Assistive Technology (AT) + Student Self Advocacy = Empowered Students who use AT!!!

by Jennifer Carr

Assitive Technology

Can act as an "equalizer" for many students with disabilities.

Can directly support students with disabilities and greatly increase their ability to receive instruction in a less restrictive environment.

Student Self Advocacy

To "advocate" means to speak up for a cause or to try to persuade others that the cause is right.
To "advocate for yourself" means to speak up and ask for what you need on your own behalf .
Self-advocacy helps students take charge of their lives and to be more independent.

ATS has several initiatives in place that empower students to be their own best advocates.

A new Self Advocacy TOPS (Technology Outreach Program Support) group was started for the 06-07 school year. This group has identified ways they can initiate an AT self advocacy group in their schools. Self advocacy needs vary as teachers work with students from early elementary to secondary. It is important that students learn to self-advocate for their learning throughout the school year.

Write On Camp and Rock On Camp are held in August for rising 5th and 8th grade students who will be taking the writing SOLS and are on ATS caseload. Both camps allow students to learn about and evaluate writing software. The students select software that best meets their needs then use it to complete a writing portfolio at the camps. The software is then placed in their schools in the fall for them to continue to use. All software that is presented is approved for use on the SOLs.

Rock On Camp focuses on self-advocacy as a major part of the camp effort. Students are given Mobile Team Challenges each day to help them practice and improve their self advocacy skills.

Last year at the Write On camp we invited several students who had participated in the camp as a "camper" the previous year to return as "junior camp counselors". It was a great success and will be continued at Write On and extended to Rock On this summer.

NEW this Summer! ATS will introduce a Blog On Camp for rising 11th and 12th grade students. This camp will focus on helping students develop skills necessary for the Virginia End of Course Writing Assessment and will include a self advocacy focus.

ATS has sponsored several opportunities for older students to help younger students. One example is a club based out of Thomas Jefferson High School (T. J.). The T.J. club makes computer based and off-line materials for preschool students based on various books. The high school students then have the opportunity to visit some preschools that are using their activities and materials.

Self advocacy is also encouraged through After-School Clubs. Students at various schools are invited to stay after school on late bus days to practice using pieces of writing software. This is a time for the students to use the software and meet with teachers to ask questions or fine tune their use of the technology. It is a nice way for students to also talk together to discuss "tips and tricks" for software use.

It is exciting to see students as they learn about themselves and learn to use their voices to advocate for their needs and accommodations. Help us help our kids. Empower them to be their own best advocates!

Assisitve Technology: A Mother & Student Perspective

by Mary Ann & Michaela Gaughan

A Mother's Perspective

I am the mother of Michaela, a wonderful 6 th grade girl with a processing disorder. When I found out my daughter had a learning disability, the first thing I wanted to do was FIX IT! That's what we mom's do. But of course once the reality of it hit, I realized I couldn't FIX IT at all. So, what do I do? Where do I turn to help this bright, creative, talented child succeed?

And then, she was introduced to assistive technology.

I am truly grateful to Michaela's teachers who have had the insight and dedication to her needs to begin the process of using assistive technology to help her read and write. She has evolved as a student from calculators, to books on tape, to the Don Johnson computer programs such as Write Out Loud, Draft Builder and Inspiration just to name a few. AT has brought out the best in Michaela and has relieved her of the burden of having a "learning disability". The tools she uses in the classroom and at home with computer software have been the best things that could happen on her education journey.

Michaela is very sensitive yet open about her disability. She was diagnosed at the age of 9, but now we are embarking on a new stage, the pre-teen, junior high years, which will open a new set of challenges. But, assistive technology has helped to make her special in a positive way. With technology, she is on even ground with her peers, which at this stage is so very important. One of the best things resulting from using AT is the role of self- advocacy. She knows these tools are helping her be successful and she is not shy in telling her educators what technology she needs on any particular day. Self- advocacy has been a huge step towards making her an independent, confident student.

I am so grateful for all the resources of today and look forward to what future technology is on the horizon. Without assistive technology my daughter wouldn't be the student she is today, and she'd be lost in the system. Without assistive technology, she wouldn't be able to enjoy books, or creative writing. And most importantly, without assistive technology, we would never know everything my daughter has to offer the world.

A Student's Perspective

My name is Michaela and I am a happy, successful 6th grade student. I have a processing disorder that makes reading, writing and spelling very difficult for me.

I have been using assistive technology since 2nd grade. I am now using SOLO, which includes: Co-Writer, Write Out Loud, and Draft Builder but for planning, I prefer to use Inspiration. I also use Start to Finish Books, Franklin Spellers, and an Alpha Smart. Ever since I was introduced to this technology, I've been able to use it at home and at school for all my academic needs. These computer programs are tools that make writing easier for me. It helps me see what I wrote, because what I visualize is different many times from what I put on my paper. When it's read back to me, I'm able to correct what I wrote to what I meant to say. AT has made my schoolwork and all written communication easier for everyone to understand - even me!

By using assistive technology, I have learned to speak up for myself and tell teachers what I need for specific tests, projects, papers or just everyday schoolwork. I encourage all students to self advocate because it will make them communicate their needs so they too can be successful in school.

I'm very lucky to have the chance to work with these resources. I hope technology will continue to improve in order to help people be all they can be!

Thank YOU!

Featured ATS Staff Member

Becky Smalley

Becky joined the "ATS team" this past September. After teaching special education at Braddock Elementary School for the past six years, and participating as a TOPS teacher for the past five, Becky was honored to be asked to work with ATS. She is enjoying having the ability to touch the lives of a larger number of children in her role as a technology resource teacher.

Becky is a native of Alexandria , VA. She grew up going to Fairfax County Public Schools and is a graduate of Annandale High School . Her undergraduate work was done at James Madison University and she graduated with a major in Psychology and a minor in Special Education. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education through the George Mason University 's Initiatives in Educational Transformation program.

While she truly enjoys her career, Becky's real passion is for travel. Throughout her first year of teaching, she tried to visit a new place on every break from school! Becky had the unique opportunity, in the summer of 2004, to visit Central America, including Guatemala . For a summer, she taught indigenous students in a Global Vision International School in San Andres Itzapa, a rural village in the hills near Antigua , Guatemala . She split her time between the village school and the Hospital Hermano Pedro in Antigua , where she worked with children with severe disabilities in this residential facility. Through the use of visual strategies, many of the children began to make gains in their ability to communicate! She was thrilled to be able to share some of her knowledge of Assistive Technology with children in Guatemala.

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