Technology for Inclusive Education

In recent years hardware and software developers have introduced a range of classroom assistive technology for students with individual needs. Students can now use tools to hear, map, annotate, and see text in ways that make learning more meaningful and understandable because assistive technology allows our students to work around their challenges. For these students, assistive technology can be a lifeline. This list is by no means exhaustive, but teachers who are creating inclusive classrooms and applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may find some of these tools valuable.

Smartboards

Smartboards are large interactive whiteboards that are mounted onto a classroom wall and use touch technology to detect user input rather than mice and keyboards attached to personal computers. The computer’s video output is displayed by a projector onto the whiteboard, which serves as a large touchscreen. Instead of whiteboard markers, the smartboard's digital writing instruments use digital ink to control input information for handwriting and drawing. Smartboards support inclusive classrooms by offering students a variety of ways to access information, express ideas, and demonstrate understanding. Smartboards also allow teachers to address different learning styles - visual, auditory and kinesthetic to engage all students and facilitate?differentiated instruction. Smartboards can help students with autism, for example, improve communication skills through group collaboration. The interactive smartboard gives teachers the ability to present things visually, and provides ease in creating and altering activities to control students’ learning. For students with physical disabilities, the touch-sensitive surface of a smartboard can allow all students the opportunity to participate in learning. It allows all students, even those who cannot hold a pen, to write and interact with content using the finger-touch capability. For students who have trouble using traditional keyboards and mice, the touch and click ease allows them the opportunity to interact with a computer. Inclusive educators like smart boards because they are flexible and provide an opportunity to change activities quickly to adapt to the needs of the students in their class. Teachers can create an activity and adapt it during the lesson.

Google, Microsoft and Canva

These online platforms allow teachers to differentiate learning and tailor resources for the individual needs of their students. They are powerful interactive tools that promote inclusive education through UDL by enabling the teacher to set up lessons, assessment methods, resources, marking and feedback for each student with very little additional work. This assistive technology tool will be discussed in more depth in the next newsletter. Further information is available from Google , Microsoft and Canva .

Audiobooks

Audiobooks can be beneficial to students in so many ways, and using audiobooks doesn't prevent our students from learning to read. In fact, some experts say that software, like audiobooks, can actually help students become better readers while continuing to develop vocabulary and improve their confidence and independence. However, assistive technology alone will not improve reading, so it is recommended that in-classroom assistive technology like audiobooks is complemented by structured reading intervention to continue to develop reading and comprehension skills outside the classroom. Audiobooks that combine recorded stories with synchronized highlighting of electronic text (ie: a multi-sensory approach) will lead to better comprehension and retention of subject matter. Students who experience difficulties learning to read benefit from a multi-sensory approach because these activities provide deeper, longer-lasting learning and auditory reinforcement of written text.

Rewordify

Rewordify.com is a free online tool that can develop reading comprehension in various ways. By pasting or importing English text into a text box on the site, the text is analysed for words and phrases that may be difficult for our students to understand. When difficult or challenging language is identified, Rewordify replaces them with simpler words to aid the students' understanding. Students then have the option to read the original text with replaced words using the embedded text-to-speech?function for auditory reinforcement. After Rewordify has identified the challenging words and phrases, it provides students with a series of activities to assist in developing new vocabulary. One activity collects challenging text in a series of flashcards (which also offer integrated text-to-speech). Another activity administers quizzes in different formats, for example, a word bank or matching, to aid in the learning process. Rewordify also has a collection of classic literature like Shakespeare and historic documents for our students to access, read, and understand through the site’s unique comprehension tools. Students can click on the replacement words to display either the original, more difficult language, or look up the definition of individual words in a variety of forms — in the margins, in separate columns, or superimposed over the initial version of the text. Choosing an appropriate reading level for students is accessed via the settings in?Rewordifying Engine .

Inspiration

Available for Windows, Mac and Chromebooks, Inspiration 10 and Inspiration Software boost creativity, encourage critical thinking, and break down barriers to planning, communicating ideas and learning; their powerful visual thinking tools for creating concept maps, mind maps, diagrams, graphic organizers, outlines and presentations. Inspiration allows students to create visual representations of the characters, themes, and plot summaries of works of fiction. It also allows students to visually map the details of textbook chapters and current events articles. Any language that is included can be read aloud with text-to-speech technology. In addition, users can add links to Web-based articles and videos to provide supporting materials. One characteristic of Inspiration that sets it apart from other mind-mapping software is its collection of readymade templates. Templates that can aid in reading comprehension include

1. Character Traits
2. Fiction Reading Notes
3. Plot Analysis
4. Compare and Contrast
5. KWL Organizer (KWL is an acronym for what students already?know, what knowledge they?want?to gain, and what they learned?from reading).

There is a cost for this software, but they offer 30-day free trial for those teachers who want to test it before buying.

Microsoft Immersive Reader and Dictation

A free built-in digital learning tool that supports diverse learning styles across all Microsoft products. “What Immersive Reader did was give me the ability to be on the same level as everyone else,” she says. It “helped me address certain challenges and made me more successful.” - Elle-Mae Taylor.

Some of the features of Microsoft 's Immersive Reader are page colour to change the background colour of the page, line focus to allow users to better concentrate on one sentence of text at a time, and the Read Aloud function, which uses text-to-speech to help users hear what their writing sounds like. These and other features help users better understand online texts and tackle sentence structure. Features such as Dictation in Word allow users to write essays by speaking them into their computer, which makes it easier to get ideas down and then check for accuracy and clarity by hearing them with Read Aloud.

Reader pens

Reader pens are portable, pocket-sized devices that read text with a human-like digital voice. Text is digitally scanned line by line and read to the user. Most reader pens also have a built-in dictionary that instantly displays the definition of a scanned word and reads it aloud.?In the classroom, students are encouraged to use earphones with the reader pen to avoid distracting other students. Reader pens promote inclusivity, independence and access to learning in the classroom and are a good option to support those students with reading?difficulties. They enhance the?learning?experience for many children who struggle to get the most out of their learning because of the reading barriers they face by allowing?them?to?read?on their own. Reader pens can also be used when students sit for exams to allow them to easily access written material, thus facilitating the understanding of the text. Using reader pens reduces exam anxiety and boosts student confidence. It may take time for students to get used to using the reader pen, but they learn quickly and soon enjoy the benefits of independent reading.

Colour keyboard

A colour-coded keyboard is a standard-sized QWERTY style keyboard that, due to a specific colour key layout, helps individuals with cognitive, physical, visual or motor skill impairments learn how to touch-type by using the correct finger placement. The colour-coding of the keys allows children to identify the various groups of keys within the keyboard, aiding learning and typing progression. Free touch-typing lessons are available online to help your students to develop touch-typing proficiency via the Google platform.

Assistive technology will become more central to inclusive education as diversity in schools increases and places more demands on teachers. With the edtech field growing exponentially in recent years, it is understandable that teachers can become overwhelmed by assistive technology and how to use it. However, it is important to not lose sight of the fact that the key to successfully implementing inclusive education in the classroom is the relationship that the teacher builds with their students. No technology will support our students as well as a teacher who knows, understands and supports their students well.

#inclusiveeducation #inclusion #inclusionmatters #inclusionanddiversity #inclusiveleadership #inclusionandbelonging #educationtechnology #edtech #students #learning #teaching #disabilityinclusion #disabilities #neurodiversity #neurodiversityinclusion

Classroom Support for Dyslexia and Dyspraxia

Dyslexia

Classroom supports for?students?with?dyslexia?are so important so that they can access learning, make progress and feel that they belong. This is not an exhaustive list, these are just a few small changes to keep in mind that will go a long way.

#dyslexia #dyslexiaawareness ?#dyslexiasupports ?#classroomtechnology

Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurological variance that causes difficulties in activities that require coordination and movement.?Dyspraxia?impacts a range of activities, skills and tasks that our?students?perform in the?classroom, these can include note-taking to performing tasks in the right order to getting themselves from one classroom to the next, to messy handwriting that results from incorrect pencil grip.

The infographic is by no means exhaustive, but these small classroom adjustments will go a long way to helping our students feel that they belong. Classroom seating near the teacher so that you can keep an eye on them as well as building a relationship so you can ask "what support do you need today?" is also good.

#developmentcoordinationdisorder ?#dyspraxiaawareness ?#dcd ?#dyspraxiaacceptance ?#dyspraxiasupports

Neurodiversity-affirming classrooms

I posted an infographic two weeks ago with an image that depicted a brain split in two with ADHD presentations listed down the left side, and Autism presentations listed down the right side. The motivation for posting this infographic was so teachers have an idea of what our?Autistic?and ADHD?students experience and to illustrate that these conditions can co-occur. This post opened a constructive discussion on how we share information about neurodiversity on a wider scale and got a conversation started about the depth and complexity of being neurodivergent and human. Some responders found the infographic helpful because it illuminated the strengths and challenges of ADHD and Autism, and it raised awareness that these (and other) neurological variances can co-occur. Some responders felt that the infographic boxes or siloes these conditions and caution against doing this. Their advice is that we use a more holistic approach and recognise that we are all individual and complex beings. I believe that both perspectives are correct.

It is becoming increasingly recognised that neurodiversity encompasses a range of neurological variances, with many experiencing more than one overlapping or spectrum-related condition. Therefore, people with ADHD and Autism may not experience the same challenges as others, or they may experience those challenges in different ways or at different times. With this in mind, we need to raise awareness through infographics AND we need to consider that while some of those traits may be present, if and how they manifest will be specific to an individual (rather than boxed or siloed). In reality, it is difficult to separate the traits from the person. Conversations like this enlighten and enable teachers to approach inclusive education, particularly neurodiversity inclusion, with more information.

Within an inclusive education environment, drawing up a holistic profile of the student with neurodiversity will be done by the multi-disciplinary team that supports the student and the information will be filtered to the teacher via the individual education plan (IEP).

#autism ?#autismawareness ?#autismsupport ?#autismacceptance ?#adhdsupport ?#adhdawareness