Assistive Technology and Strategies to Support Reading, Writing, and Study Skills

Assistive Technology and Strategies to Support Reading, Writing, and Study Skills Todd Hanson Director of Technology Groves Academy St. Louis Park, MN tmhanson@grovesacademy.org

Prologue - The Importance of Process The Process of Using AT All involved with the student must be engaged in the process. Best practices for using AT should be taught to and modeled for the student. AT should be available and accessible when it is needed. The Academic Process AT will not solve any problems on its own, it only bridges a gap. Without a solid academic process, students cannot reach their potential. AT should be incorporated into the methods being taught in the classroom for the students who will benefit from its use.

Assistive Technology Sec. 300.5 Assistive technology device. Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device. (added in 2004) -from IDEA 2004 (http://idea.ed.gov) A system of no-tech, low-tech, or high-tech tools and strategies that match a person's needs, abilities, and tasks and that facilitates academic performance http://www.nsnet.org/atc/tools/atech.html

When to Start with AT: Remediation vs. Accommodation

Questions?

The Active Reading Strategy Preread Read Highlight Text to Speech Graphic Organizer Word Processer Text to Speech Proofread Summarize Chunk Margin Note

Where to get Digital Text School Special Ed or Disability Services Center Bookshare.org LearningAlly.org Publisher Scan

Tools to Assist Reading Text-to-Speech Information from Digital Text Adobe Acrobat Pro Kurzweil 3000 Natural Reader Microsoft Office OS X Information from the Web SpeakIt Cortexit Kurzweil 3000 Read and Write for Google Evernote Web Clipper

Questions?

Organizing Thoughts and Brainstorming Reading and Writing I. Strategies A. Active Reading B. Writing Process II. Reading Tools A. Digital text 1. Adobe Acrobat Pro a. PDF only b. Read aloud c. Extract highlights and notes 2. Kurzweil 3000 a. KES, PDF, Word, RTF b. Study Skills (1) Highlights (2) Notes (3) Extract highlights and notes (4) 2 column notes 3. Where to get digital text? a. Bookshare.org b. LearningAlly.org c. Scan d. Publisher B. Web 1. SpeakIt 2. Cortexit 3. Read and Write for Google 4. Kurzweil 3000 III. Organization and Brainstorming A. Inspiration B. MindMap 1. Google App C. Kurzweil 3000

Tools to Assist Organizing Thoughts and Brainstorming MindMap Google app Kurzweil 3000 PC Mac Inspiration PC Mac ios- (Inspiration Maps)

Questions?

The Writing Process Graphic Organizer Executive Function Tools Planning Generating Organizing Speech to Text Word Processor Drafting Revising

Tools to Assist Writing Word Prediction Read and Write for Google Kurzweil 3000 Co-Writer Speech-to-Text Mac Windows Dragon Naturally Speaking (Dragon Dictate for Mac)

Questions?

Getting Started / Where to study Process Questions What is important now? What do I need to do this? What should I put away? What am I doing, What should I be doing? Are they the same? Remember: One task at a time Take scheduled breaks Study Space Simple, pleasant, comfortable Minimize distractions All necessary materials are there

Note Taking Taking Notes LiveScribe pen Snipping tool OneNote Evernote Skitch WebClipper

Review - Rehearsal Quizlet Flashcardlet Evernote Peek

Assistive Technology and Strategies to Support Reading, Writing, and Study Skills Todd Hanson Director of Technology Groves Academy St. Louis Park, MN tmhanson@grovesacademy.org