Thought Question:
How can I choose digital tools that are assistive and adaptive technologies but still support student learning?
Ensuring that the digital tools we choose to share with our students are ADA acceptable and keep equity and accessibility in mind, I am curious about what assistive truly means. As 13% of students are working with a learning disability and no two student has the same diagnosis, therefore, one tool may help one but not the next (NCES). If we also take a look at the Gates Foundation, “Teachers Know Best” study and the essential finding for me come from the fact that both “teachers and students see technology as a useful in instruction.” Which I think is an essential basis for our conversation. If educators and students did not state that digital tools helped education then there would be no point. And as we try to bridge gaps in learning with digital tools it is important to think outside of the standard U.S. Public School student to the ones who make up our fringe groups of students and even beyond to our global populations.
When I think of “assistive and adaptive” for middle school language arts/ss the big names in online digital tools, come to mind like Turnitin and Newsela but I wanted to explore a realm I am not as familiar. So I reached out to my really good friend who is a Pre-K – Kindergarten Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) in the Issaquah School District. She also has her own business where she can continue her work with individual patients throughout the Summer. She predominantly works with nonverbal students and those kiddos who are severely impacted by autism. When I prompted her about her favorite “digital tools” she first asked what I meant by digital tools. That language/moniker, especially for an SLP is a bit clunky, but then I remembered I once opened her Ipad and was shocked by some educational apps she had for her very young audience. So I asked her what are her favorite Apps, she replied quickly with her short list:
- Bitsboard,
- Speak for Yourself,
- Little Bee Speech Articulation,
- Boardmaker Online,
- Epic, Toca
- Board Games.
After perusing through the provided list, I want to share some more information about “Speak For Yourself.” If you click the link you will see the Apple Itunes store and that price tag gave me a bit of sticker shock, but after learning about what it does and what population it helps I understand it a bit better. I read most of what it does from the blog “Speak for Yourself (SfY) is an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) application that was created by speech-language pathologists. This AAC app turns the iPad into a communication device. It gives a voice to adults and children who are not able to speak or are limited in their ability to express themselves verbally. Speak for Yourself is being used by thousands of individuals around the world with autism, cerebral palsy, apraxia, and genetic syndromes. Additionally, it is also being used in preschool classrooms to promote word-finding, visual language support, and verbal speech development.” I think that this YouTube video also helped me understand where this application could be assistive and adaptable to people who are in the most need and young age. As I contemplated how this tool could be used in other learning environments, I began to think about mute students or those dealing with traumatic situations who may not be able to always verbalize their feelings. But I also thought about collaborating globally at young ages with students who do not speak English. Students could potentially use the “Speak for Yourself” (SfY) pictures to speech tool, and then the group on the other side of the world could understand and send it back.
This conversation and following brainstorming session, fostered by my involvement with the Digital Education Leadership and has pushed my thought process for tools that help with “assistive and adaptable” technology. Although I am not sure, I would have the capability or purchasing power to have gotten the funds from my previous district for the (SfY) app due to its $300.00 price tag I can see how it would be useful to a large population of Educators and students. From there my exploration of more text-to-speech digital tools started to peak my interest. Last quarter when I was feeling under particular pressure to balance work, life and school I utilized my Apple Iphone’s “VoiceOver” function to read several of the required web pages and .pdf to me while I drove to and from work. When my commute was sometimes over an hour in the afternoon it was a great use of time. I am also an auditory learner and remember things a lot better when they are told to me verbally than if I just see it visually.
Now the Apple “VoiceOver” is not accessible or equitable to everyone because not every student obviously has an iPhone or any Apple products. Therefore, other text-to-speech tools include Google Chrome’s “Snap&Read” which came highly recommended by a fellow cohort member and if your school is already Google (GAFE) schools and have Chromebooks in the school this extension might be the best feature out there. Now, for the other big name in software/hardware and who sometimes mandates schools exclusively use their products, Microsoft has some innovative learning tools – for OneNote was named Top Dyslexia app for 2016, if you use the link and check out the page they have a live tester at the bottom of the page which is this new Immersive Reader which reads the script aloud. All of these tools are accessible online and it just depends on what tools the student has access to from school and at home.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2014). Teachers Know Best What Educators Want from Digital Instructional Tools. Retrieved July 21, 2017, from http://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Teachers-Know-Best_0.pdf
ISTE (2011). “ISTE Standards for Coaches.” International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-coaches ISTE Connects (2017).
LLC, S. F. (2017, June 24). Speak for Yourself on the App Store. Retrieved July 21, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speak-for-yourself/id482508198?mt=8
NCES – National Center For Education Statistics (Updated, May, 2017). “Children and Youth with Disabilities.” The Condition of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp Perez, Luis and Kendra Grant (June 8, 2015)
Speak for Yourself. (2014). Retrieved July 21, 2017, from
