EdCeptional #29 - The Pot of Gold: Conference Nuggets

The latest episode of EdCeptional is posted online:

EdCeptional #29 - The Pot of Gold:  Conference Nuggets

Patrick

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Trabasack - Revisited

I last mentioned the Trabasack back in November - Trabasack.  I was extremely impressed with the concept, execution and overall feel of the product and now that I've had some more time to use it, I continue to be impressed with it.

I've had the opportunity to use with 2 students who both have some physical issues, while they are mobile, they need some help while sitting.  One student uses an Intellikeys to practice keyboarding.  He has difficulty reaching a typical table and still seeing the computer screen.  So we wrapped the strap from the Trabasack around his waist, put it on his lap, and have a perfect place to put the Intellikeys!  It's been a great way to make sure access to the computer is accessible to him, and keeps everything within reach.

Another student is learning to navigate the computer using 2 switches.  I was able to put some velcro on the switches and stick them to the surface of the Trabasack (eliminating the fun of pushing the switches around!).  The switches have wires and require a switch interface.  I was able to put the interface inside the pocket as well as the extra cords, making a nice little bundle that can be moved around quite easily.  The switches are accessible and the Trabasack makes the entire thing mobile.

Lastly, I was able to share the Trabasack recently at the ICE conference and it was a big hit.  Many of the participants who saw it immediately had a student or situation that they knew this product would work for.  I really can't say enough about this product.  To see more information about the Trabasack you can head to their website - Trabasack UK.  To purchase a Trabasack in the United States head to Windsor Direct.

Patrick

Full Disclosure:  I received a Trabasack Connect Curve from the company to use and review.

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#ATIA2010 - Favorite Products

This will be a short post, just wanted to share some of my favorite products from the Vendor Hall.

Satalight - SMART Board on height & tilt adjustable stand.  You can access with any type of touch - fingertip, fist, and can take a hit (don't ask them to demonstrate, it's quite impressive!) It's downside is that it does use a projector and can create shadows.  Can include a switch interface, laptop arm, and speakers. - Satalight.

Tap-it - another SMART Board solution also on a height & tilt adjustable stand.  It is LCD screen, that accepts touch input.  It is able to distinguish between intended and unintended touch - so a student could lean on the board with one hand and still access the activity with another. One drawback is that you have to use an isolated finger to access. - Tap-it

News-2-You - a great weekly, current events newspaper modified with symbols.  Very accessible, text-to-speech version available online, with tons of extension activities - News-2-You

Aimee Solutions - amazing sets of curricular, theme based materials.  This year started selling sets of computer activites based on Life Skills adapted using SymbolStix. - Aimee Solutions

Conceptua Math - I'll be posting more about this website later, but it is my pick for the best product of ATIA.  Check out more here - Conceptua Math

Patrick


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#ATIA2010 - Friday

I got to start today off with another presentation - Help with Those Classrooms.  I had the opportunity to present with the ladies from Aimee Solutions, and special education professionals from several local districts.  We had to chance to share how we are using the Take and Teach Language kits in our classrooms.  I think some of the best parts of what we shared were how other professionals like SLP's and Social Workers use the kits on a regular basis.  Please take a moment and check all the offerings from Aimee Solutions.

9:20 - Sorting Through Portable Reading System - Kelly Fonner, Scott Marfilius, Donna McNear - This session focused on looking at all the options available on the many commercial and educational portable text readers.  It was extremely thorough and looked at options for both those with and without visual impairments.

During the vendor time today I came across the best product of ATIA - Conceptua Math - Developed by Arjan Kalsa, who also created Intellitools Classroom Suite.  It's a set of activities designed to teach about fractions, and so much more.  The first question I asked Arjan was "why fractions?" and the answer was surprising.  Basically, the understanding of fractions includes all the basic math skills that students need.  I was very impressed with the activities, software, data collection, and concept.  I'll be blogging more about this product soon.  It deserves more than a paragraph.  Until then, please check out the website - Conceptua Math.

During the afternoon I attended a great session by Lisa Lajoe-Smith - Math Strategies and Beyond.  A very engaging presenter, who informed us that in Kansas you cannot call them dice, they are random number generators (wouldn't want to promote gambling!).  She share very practical and easy ways to encourage and engage students in math lessons.  Lots of great ideas!  Make sure to check out my notes for some of the ideas.

Probably the best session so far was a very impromptu one, and AT Smackdown!  Karen Janowski of EdTech Solutions put together this very informal session.  It was an open mic, and anyone who had an idea or tool could get up and talk about it for 2 min.  There were a ton of great resources shared, too many to count.  We have audio from the session and I'll be posting it as soon as I get it transcribed.  Look forward to a post with lots of ideas!!!

Still a few more sessions tomorrow, so look for one more post.  Don't forget if you are interested in seeing notes from the sessions I've attended you can find them here - ATIA notes.

Patrick


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#ATIA2010 - Thursday

Day 1 of ATIA is done and it went very well.  I started by giving my presentation - Bridging the Literacy Gap.  I wasn't sure how well an 8:00 session would be attended, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.  Since this was the first time I had given the presentation, I have a few things to fix, but overall I was please with how it went, and the questions that were asked.

9:20-Working with Video-This session was led by Dan Herlihy.  While I've heard Dan's name before, this was my first chance to see him talk, and I was impressed.  He did a great job of sharing how to work with video, use different codecs, and gave great tools for converting videos!  He encouraged everyone to keep trying until different formats until it works - just play! (such a great message for us and our kids)

10:30 - One of the nice features of this conference is uninterrupted vendor time, that being said, 2.5 hours is a bit much.  The next sessions did not start until 1:15, so it was quite a break in the middle of the day.

1:15-Visual Strategies-This was a great session led by 2 wonderful professionals from Barrington School District here in the Chicago Burbs.  They had a lot of great ideas for creating schedules, visual supports, using color, and many other things.  They did a great job and while much of the discussion I knew, I did get some great resources for things to try!

2:35-Breaking all Barriers-Ira Socol, SpeEd Change, led a great session about changing our attitudes and eliminating barriers that keep kids from achieving.  He shared some great resources for Firefox Add-Ons that allow it to be more accessible to more students.  He share some great ideas and you can find it all here - ATIA 2010

I'm looking forward to more great sessions today, I'll presenting in just a few minutes with the lovely ladies from Aimee Solutions - Help for those Classrooms.   I'll keep posting my notes here.


Patrick

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Bridging the Literacy Gap

I had the opportunity to speak today at ATIA in Chicago. My presentation was titled "Bridging the Literacy Gap". I have posted the prezi (one of my favorite tools!) for anyone to view - http://bit.ly/bridgingtheliteracygap. Please feel free to view and share!

Patrick

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ATIA Chicago 2010-Notes

For anyone who is interested, I will be sharing my notes from sessions I am attending at ATIA this week.  The notes are via a Google Docs Folder here:  ATIA Notes 2010.  I will also do my best to blog about what I've seen at the conference, cool tools, etc...  Look for new posts Thursday & Friday!

Patrick

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ATIA 2010

The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) will be holding a conference in Schaumburg, IL.  The conference will be next week October 27-30.  They are again offering a deal for parents of children of disabilities, you can attend the entire conference for only $200 (full registration is $475)-registration form.  Alternately you can get a free pass to the exhibit hall here - Free Exhibit Hall Pass.

If you get a chance to attend, please feel free to look me up!  I'll be presenting Thursday at 8:00, a session called Bridging the Literacy Gap in Utopia D and Friday at 9:00 - Help for those classrooms in Utopia C.  If you are on twitter follow the hashtag #atia2010 for updates from the conference!

Patrick


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#ATIA2010 - Orlando, Saturday

Saturday was a short day, but I was able to find some good sessions.  It seemed to be a day for Twitter as I was able to attend sessions by @briandowd & @assistivetek.

Brian Dowd, @briandowd, shared his experiences as Assistive Technologist for Alton School district (in Southern Illinois), as well as Region I & III in the same area.  One difficulty of his position is how large an area he has to service in a given week!  His solution, a Wiki, it allows teachers to get resources and ask questions.

Brian Friedlander, AssistiveTek, shared some technology supports for writing.  Now, I was unable to stay for the entire session (due to having to get ready for my presentation), but I did hear some very interesting points!  He spent some time talking about some of the new features of Inspiration - Drag & Drop editing, mind mapping, presentation mode, and more.  He also showed some of the ways that other programs, like Solo Suite 6, could integrate in to provide word prediction and such.

The last presentation I attended, well that would be my own!  I was very excited to again present at ATIA.  For those of you new to the blog it's about my idea to help my students with SCD research and present on a topic (for example desert animals).  You can see the presentation here - My Crazy Idea....

I'd like to take a moment to thank several folks for coming to the presentation (and not heckling) - Jeanette, Chris, Brian & especially Lisa, along with all the others who stayed around to the very end for my session.  It was a blast to present, and I can't wait to do it again.


Patrick


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#ATIA2010 - Orlando, Friday

I had intended to write each evening before going to sleep about the day I had had....as you can see that clearly did not happen!  As I got back to my room last evening, I need to get a few things finished with my own presentation - My Crazy Idea..., pack, and get a good night rest.  So I never got around to talking about Friday's presentations.  So here's what I thought.

I attended a great session Friday morning by Penny Reed & Gayl Bowser (both very active QIAT Leadership type people!).  They presented a great session about ways to work smarter, not harder by using web tools like - Blogs, Nings, & Wikis (hmmm...seem familiar!).  Some of the blogs they mention were Teaching Every Student, No Limits to Learning, & TLWMSN.  They also talked about the AT Help Desk they created to help teams diagnose the best way to fix problems - AT Help Desk.

I went to a great session by Libby Rush on how to teach writing!  While she had way to much material for a 1 hour session, she was thoroughly engaging and fun to watch!  There was a lot discussed and most of it is in my notes (but she talks really fast, and I can't type that fast!).  I'll do my best to try and put up a post soon about her ideas.

My favorite sessions were by last two.  First I saw Marie Duggan, a Mom-NOS (not otherwise specifed), of 6 kids, one with Autism!  She had filled her sons life with symbols, schedules, and communication.  I'm amazed at all the solutions she came up with.  When a problem arose they found a way to to help him.  I think what I was most impressed by was that she didn't just work on the problem, she worked on the WHY!  Then she worked on a way to help him understand!  An utterly amazing woman.  I wish she had had more time because we never got to hear about the new software she is working on.

Last, but certainly not least, was SMART Inclusion in the 21st Century:  Integrating SMARTBoards with AT.  A long title, but worth every second!  A SLP, Alexandra Dunn at a small school board in Ottawa, Canada decided that the best way to integrate their students with SCD in the general ed classrooms was through SMARTBoards!  The results were profound and AMAZING!  All students increased participation and showed skills they never had before.  Each SMARTBoard was used with BM, Classroom Suite, Notebook Software and they used it with all the students (not just the ones with IEP's!).  They had Airliners (think portable mouse), Intellikeys, and switches so that there was a lot of alternative access, just depending on what the student needed.  They even let some kids use their Bluetooth enabled devices to interact directly with the SMARTBoard!!!!!!  They have some research, and as soon as it is posted I will let you know.  This was some exciting stuff!


As you can see, I'm quite excited by my experience at ATIA.  It's always amazing to me how much it helps to go to conferences and meet with other professionals, it's just an electric atmosphere.  I have some information about today's sessions to post, and it will have to wait (I should be boarding momentarily).  Again, if you are interested in reading my notes from the sessions please feel free to check them out here - ATIA Notes.


Patrick


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#ATIA2010 - Orlando, Thursday

ATIA 2010 Orlando got started today for me!  I've been to CTG, several years ago, and the first ATIA in Chicago in 2009, so I had a little idea what to expect!  And other than a less than stellar lunch (bad box lunch with 3 hours between sessions), today was great!  I got to see a lot of great presenters, and learned a lot.  Again if you are interested in see my notes from each session please head here - ATIA 2010 Notes

I first saw the Equals Math program at ATIA in Chicago.  I was impressed with it then, and I had very little information about it.  Now that I've seen it in action, it's better than I thought.  The basic concept is a math curriculum that is designed for all learners, no matter their disability, pre-k to adult.  The materials are age neutral, and are included in the kit.  85% of the materials you need to teach a lesson are included - the things you need to provide are pencils, paper, etc... that you probably have in your classroom already!  The program provides 3 levels of differentiation in all areas of the NCTM standards - geometry, algebra, patterns & units, pre-math & exploring & attending (I think I missed one, but you get the idea!). The program is expensive - $1700, but comes chock full of manipulatives, posters, vocabulary cards (over 700), workmats, & a CD full of stuff too!  Check out more information here - Ablenet Equals Math.

I also had a chance to check out a great new program call MeMoves!  Developed by a mom with a daughter with Autism, it is a set of DVD's that use movement to get them ready to learn.  All the movements are done with the upper body, and are set to 40-60 beats per minute.  It was lots of fun to do, and I can see that kids would have a lot of fun working.  They are short clips of many different children & adults doing the moves - some well, and some not so well.  It's a great lesson saying that you don't have to do it perfectly, which seemed to be a theme today (but I'll get to that later).  They also have an iPhone/iPod Touch app coming out soon.  It takes the concept and lets kids use their fingers to help them concentrate and get rewards!  I'm going to checking this out much more - at $60 it's well worth the price!

In the afternoon I had the opportunity to hear more about Proloquo2go from Samuel Sennott.  The more I see of this program, the more impressed I get.  It is a full features communication device, that is appropriate for many users and has many options.  I think I'm most impressed by how easy it is to add and edit categories, icons, and such.  There are some new features coming out very soon (which we were unable to get too, but I'm sure they will be great).  You can find out much more at Proloquo2Go.com!

Chris Bugaj (@attipscast) of the A.T.Tipscast podcast presented a great session on Alternative Professional Development.  Really did a great job of interacting and getting everyone involved.  Some great ideas on how to change up Professional Development - PD on CD, AT tips on DVD, and Tip of the day Calendars!

My last session might have been my favorite!  I had not planned on attending it, but changed my mind after a chance encounter last night.  I got into the van from the airport, and met a "brave" woman.  Krista introduced herself as she sat down with me and I immediately knew she was different, it was kind of obvious with a Vantage Lite hanging from her neck!  She immediately struck up a conversation.  She informed me she was studying to be a speech therapist and that she was presenting.  After that encounter I decided to check out the session.  She, Caroline Musselwhite, and Deanna Wagner talked about the Out and About program developed to help AAC users get social interactions with other AAC users, their families and other peers!  It has been a great success and Krista is just one example!  I'm very interested in checking out more information and checking out the Out and About group in the Chicago area!

Well, that's it for today.  It's way past my bedtime!  Looking forward to more tomorrow!

Patrick

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ATIA 2010 - Orlando #ATIA2010

Today, I'll be heading to ATIA 2010! I'm very excited to be attending and would like you to have a chance to participate too. You are welcome to follow my tweets at @teachntech00. I'll also be sharing my notes from the sessions I attend at Google Docs - ATIA 2010 Notes. Please feel free to send me question or comments!

Patrick

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ATIA - Orlando

I'm excited to announce that I will be presenting at the upcoming ATIA conference in Orlando. In Chicago I was excited to meet Chris Bugaj (@ATTipscast), Karen Janowski (@KarenJan) and several others. I hope that I have the opportunity to meet more of my PLN in Orlando, and I invite all of you to view my presentation on Saturday, Jan 30 at 11:45 in Boca II - My Crazy Idea...Web2.0 and Student Centered Learning for Students with SCD.

Patrick

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My Crazy Idea...Presentation

It's feels like it's been a long time getting to this point, but today is my presentation at ATIA. I'm so excited and honored that they chose me to present. I'd like to offer everyone a chance to view it too! So here it is!!!

My Crazy Idea...-Web2.0 and Student-Centered Learning for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities



Patrick

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ATIA 2009 Chicago - Day 1

Today was the first full day of the ATIA conference in Chicago. I really enjoyed the day, got to meet quite a few people - Chris Bugay-A.T.Tipscast, Karen Jankowski-EdTech Solutions: Teaching Every Student, Brian Wojcik-AT Cubed. That was really worth the price of coming, just the chance to meet a few of the people I read on a regular basis.

Before I talk about the sessions, I wanted to share a new link for my notes (small problem with Evernote, so went with Google Docs) - ATIA09 Notes

But the real reason I went was the conference sessions! My first session was 4 AAC techniques for every classroom. This was a really great session about how simple, training of parapros & teachers can increase independence, initiation of, and amount of AAC use. The results were significant, 5 weeks of implementation produced pretty significant changes in staff implementation. The 4 principles taught to staff were Positive Communication Environment, Partner Augmented Input, Sabotage, & Chain of Cues. The best part - all the training materials are available online! You can get all the material here at the Dynavox Mayer-Johnson site. More information from the session in my notes.

The 2nd session I attended was about the CAST Bookbuilder. Another good session, about a really great web product. You can easily create books for students to read, with text reading abilities, and "coaches" to aid comprehension. It's really a great tool, with several limitations. At this time there is not alternative access ability. So students who use switch access, or Intellikeys cannot navigate a book. Basically if you cannot use a mouse, and have very fine motor control you will not be successful using this site. You can get more information here: htt://tinyurl.com/bookbuilder4u.

I also attended a session by Dave Hohulin about how to create and implement an AT Team. It was a good session on providing information to AT teams on best practices, the law, and time to work on case studies. It was extremely informative, and interesting to hear perspectives on how the law is interpreted in various states. One audience member was confused by the fact that in IL an AT Eval must be completed in 60 days (just like any other part of a re-eval). I really liked his simple checklist for implementing an AT eval: Identify, Information, Isolate, Investigate, IEP, and Implement.

Still another 1 1/2 days left of learning to do, so stay tuned for more ideas from ATIA!


- Patrick

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One Week...

In less than a week, I'll be presenting at a national conference...I'm a little nervous! My presentation is ready (save for a few minor edits), my registration is paid for, and I've started planning out what sessions I want to see, but still in the back of my mind...nervous. I hope that a few of my readers will be coming to ATIA 2009 Chicago and invite all my readers to check out notes I will take from sessions - Evernote ATIA09 Notes. Also if you are a parent, you can attend ATIA for cheap - $200 (regular price is $525). Registration is here. If you'd just like to see the Exhibit Hall you can get a free pass for one of the days here.

I'm excited and can't wait to present. I hope to meet many of you at the conference!

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: zalgon


Patrick

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Closing the Gap - Student Discount

The first Assistive Technology conference I ever attended was Closing the Gap. It is the first, and possibly the biggest conference centered on Assistive Technology in the United States. In an effort to encourage more students, parents and special educators to attend they are offering a full-time Student Discount for the October 15-17 conference in Minneapolis.

I received this information via the QIAT list, full-time students will be admitted for the discounted rate of $305! This is a letter from Closing the Gap.

Closing The Gap wants to encourage more and more teachers and clinicians to embrace the concept of changing lives with assistive technology and, to further this effort, is offering a full-time STUDENT DISCOUNT toward this year’s international, annual event, October 15-17, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


We invite you to join us this year to LEARN about the latest applications of assistive technology for persons with disabilities and to EARN up to three graduate-level academic credits and up to 3.4 IACET CEUs in the process!


The student rate is $305, regular rate is $435.


At this time, we encourage you to read on to learn about this year’s exciting content, expert presenters (many of whom are presenting only at Closing The Gap this October) and numerous registration discounts and options.

As "The" original conference on Assistive Technology I strongly encourage anyone who is able to attend. You can register here: Closing the Gap.

Patrick


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ATIA 2009 - Chicago

ATIA 2009 - Chicago is set to be held at the Renaissance Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL about 5 min from where I live. I'm especially excited to attend in October because I've been unable to attend any conferences since last year.

I've also decided to submit a proposal to speak at ATIA, and would encourage all other professionals, bloggers, parents, any person using technology in their daily life to submit a proposal. You can find the information at the ATIA site. And if you are coming to ATIA please stop by my presentation - My Crazy Idea...-Web2.0 and student-centered learning for Students with SCD (if it's accepted). If it's not accepted, I look forward to meeting many of you!

Patrick

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