Low Tech Assistive Technology

  

My Visit to Dollarama & Stapples



Until a few days ago, I never spent more than 10 minutes inside a Dollar store. To think outside the box at a dollar store was not an easy thing to do for me. After almost 40 minutes, I came out of the store with 3 items that can be viewed as low-tech assistive technology.

#1 Felt: Like most individuals I use felt to protect my floors from scratches. However, felt can be use in the classroom, instead of tennis balls, to reduce the excessive amount of noise in one’s classroom. Furthermore, felt is not visually distracting like tennis balls. Some LD students have a hard time focusing in noisy environments. Some autistic kids are extremely sensitive to certain noises. I experienced, in the past, an autistic child get into a rage (slapping his head), when a woman at my Church started to scream when the rest of the congregation was silent. His mom and deacons had to take him out of the sanctuary (took him to a quiet room). In school, I sometime had to send some students (non-autistic) to the library to get their work done because my classroom was too noisy for them to focus.

#2 Knee pad for gardeners: No, I do not expect my LD students to kneel down during class. I bought the pad because I could cut off part of it to put at the front of a desk or laptop (comfortable resting place). Furthermore, the pads can also be use to prevent bruising in some autistic kids who can be oblivious to pain.

#3 Tri-Conderoga pencils: These pencils are perfect for individuals with poor to low motor skills (pencil grip). I purchased these pencils because of their width and sturdiness. I will be using them this week with the child I am doing my case study with, and will report on it during class.


knee pad for gardeners




tri-conderoga pencils

 

A-Frame for iPad. I purchased it at the Dollar store for 3$. It has a low angle holds. It is wrist-friendly when lay flat.

My Low-Tech Youtube video

On March 23, I selected this youtube presentation because the low-tech examples are simple. They can easily be use in all classroom (across levels).  Great options for teachers who do not have access to high-tech technology.

Pic Collage & Book Creator

February 23

The timing of today’s class was perfect (February 23). In a few days, I will be giving some of my students an assignment in which they will have to present a recipe en Français. I told them that they could either record themselves preparing a recipe of their choice, take pictures of the steps they followed to prepare the recipes (include French texts) and/or a power point. PicCollage or Book Creator were not options. I will give them the options to use the Apps I just mentioned if they have access to an iPad or iPod touch. Now, I just have to figure out how I will let them present the assignment in my classroom that does not have a LCD projector.

As a French teacher, I do see how beneficial PicCollage can be in making learning French more interactive. In less than 30 minutes, I was able to use this App to create a group seating chart, and two matching activities (reinforce French vocabulary acquisition). PicCollage is also a terrific way for students who have limited motor skills to present their work. PicCollage is so user friendly that any students can use it to present their work. I am certain that my LD and non-LD students with create exciting work with this App.

Outcomes

1.21 identify the main ideas of a text

4.1 function in the classroom by using expressions in the unit ‘Comment Survivre en Français dans un cours de Français’ (How to Survive in French during French Class)  

Book Creator

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to get familiar with Book Creator. However, in the time we had, my partner and I started to write a Social Story. Book Creator can be use for the followings:

- Create a daily schedule (school day)/5 day calendar

- Social Story (LD/Autistic/ADHD)

- Class Project

- Exercise schedule with pictures

- Meal plan (breakfast/lunch/supper and snacks)

Dr. Puentedura 

 Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura is all about integrating technology in the classroom. This man should be in charge of all schools across Nova Scotia. He can make sure that all schools have equal access to technology. I do get upset when I hear that some schools have access to iPad and Ipod carts and so many others do not. My school only has one iPad. One can only wonder if people at the Board Office believe that technology will enhance a student’s knowledge. If they did; I and many other educators would not be struggling to find ways to keep students engage in a world of pen and papers. Most educators want to adopt new teaching approaches. They want to embrace technology. Educators do what they can with what they have … me included. All educators would benefit from attending Ruben R. Puentedura’s workshops. It would help them make changes in lessons delivery. Finally, when I was looking at some of the recordings on Dr. Puentedura’s website the following question came to mind:

Why can Assistive Technology training be mandatory to all educators? Math teachers, for example, always get training when a new curriculum comes out. I do not understand why it is more important for certain teachers to keep up with a new curriculum and not all. I keep hearing about the integration of technology in the classroom and its related benefits, but no mention of province wide PD days for all educators.