Using AC Systems in the Home and Community

It is important to support and promote the use of AC systems in the home and community because it reinforces the communication skills acquired in school, and assists in generalizing these skills across other settings and environments.


Having a working relationship with open lines of communication between school and home is crucial for the success of augmentative communication. Families should be trained in the use of AC systems, and cultural diversity should be considered in the preliminary stages and throughout the implementation process.


Using AC systems can be more difficult in the community setting due to unfamiliar people who are not aware of the AC user and may be less open to accepting a different approach to communication. Teachers can facilitate positive interactions with new communication partners through assemblies or planned outings in the community. The device can be programmed to ask specific questions, and guests can be guided toward the AC user to respond to a question.


I have personally seen how much more progress a student has made when their AC system is used across multiple environments instead of just school. I had one student who could finally request food items via his AC system but his parents refused to use it in the home. This appeared to hinder the student's motivation to use the AC system in school due to inconsistencies between environments.

Reference Below
Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Image Found At 
 http://www.autism-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/child-using-aac-device.jpg

Integrating Augmentative Communication into the IEP

When developing an IEP for a student who uses augmentative communication, it is crucial that the student's use is integrated across the day and environments including instructional and non-instructional times.


When developing IEP goals it is vital to remember the device is not a goal in itself, but rather a way to accomplishing a goal.


Two parts that are mandatory to be included in an IEP when a student is using a form of augmentative communication are a list of the AC services to be provided by related services such as a speech language pathologist, and identifying the people responsible for the maintenance and operations of the device. The latter will prevent the student from having long periods of time without a voice when their device breaks or obtains a glitch.

 

Reference Below

Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Image Found At 

 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKrNPFtvoToAHkavFxDOC7nHPLq4yj-FyvC7FNFjbovJunA36oAQueoNLEqPAhh1d0AUJk3pwsQKqBajjN_dqyIC1l7WuO-HEWPOlDUqBXnKZVz7Clk2b6abHcUkLR2hmCUbde5vV3-VZ/s1600/IEP-meeting.jpg

Overcoming Learned Helplessness

There are techniques and strategies teachers can implement in the classroom to overcome learned helplessness with students.


A) Create a daily expectation of communication through specific activities the student engages in. This could include picking the activity at recess, choosing where to eat lunch, and selecting a book or magazine to read.


B) Make a concise daily report to parents that is divulged to them by the student.


C) Capitalize on natural consequences that occur, and provide means to amend them. This includes modifying the environment to provide less support or sabotage.


D) Allow the student to make choices whenever possible in their schedule, and require them to  do so via their augmentative communication system.


E) Provide the student with phrases on their device that allows them to reject or protest something. This allows the student to advocate for them self and gives them more input in their day to day activities.

 

Reference Below

Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Image Found At

http://www.turned-offchild.com/images/DistortedPerceptions.gif

Resources For Teaching Math

Below are some resources that I found when conducting a search for helpful websites and activities for teaching math, and that I plan on visiting with my students moving forward.

Aplus Math is a website that provides interactive math resources for teachers, parents, and students. This website features free math worksheets, math games, math flash cards, and much more. This website is sorted my math subjects, and even includes a homework helper, which can help students with accurately solving problems/solutions.



Math TV is a platform that features a wide range of math videos covering an abundance of math concepts. You can browse these videos by topic or textbook



AAA Math provides a plethora of arithmetic lessons ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, and allows the student unlimited practice which allows the student to gain a thorough mastery of the concepts. This website allows learning to occur at each individual's level, and provides immediate feedback to avoid practicing and learning incorrect methods.

 

References Below

 http://www.321know.com/

 http://www.aplusmath.com/

http://www.mathtv.com/

Images Found At
http://mces.pendleton.k12.or.us/sites/mces.pendleton.k12.or.us/files/Image/animations/grade_circled_a_plus_hr.jpg

http://pinecrestfifthgrade.weebly.com/uploads/8/6/3/8/8638946/7556629.png

Exploring Manipulatives for Math

 As I mentioned in my last post, assistive technology falls on a continuum ranging from low tech to high tech. A manipulative which I will go in detail about below is an example of a low tech device.

Manipulatives can help students understand abstract math concepts and help represent these concepts concretely Virtual manipulatives are digital objects that resemble physical objects and can be manipulated.



The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, which can be visited at http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_1.html, is a library of web-based virtual manipulatives. This library is very helpful and sorted by grade level and math content area. Each manipulative provides instructions as well as activities, lesson plans, and connection to standards.



Tangrams are a virtual manipulative that I found on the NLVM website, which can be integrated into a classroom to enhance students' learning. These are blocks that can be dragged, rotated, and flipped in order to copy designs.

Reference Below
(http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/grade_g_1.html)

Image Found At
 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABCBb_egD1JGtYBqxBVniwagJAhOVD9O8OS12KJgwf7vkyOGvQFDYsYLtvpAaSfg3hUGW-JkKy0o1YupaLseoB3D4tlUllVxb55oWGIY4kPdS8aZFNNcWlOCkCMjny6RfHTjCOLTaTjLq/s400/tangram.jpg

Low Tech and Mid Tech Adaptations for Math Assignments

This post will touch on several adaptations ranging from low tech to high tech on the assistive technology continuum for teaching math.


Manipulatives are  low tech adaptations which have been traditional instructional materials for years, and can be helpful to students with poor fine motor skills.


Onion Mountain Technology makes fraction rubber stamps, a manipulative number line, laminated addition and multiplication tables, and rulers that have transparent overlays. These help students understand the relationship between the different units of measure.


Large Calculators have over sized buttons and are useful for students who have poor motor control or visual impairments.


Talking Calculators provide feedback to students by checking their work aloud by every keystroke that the student enters. Talking calculators also assist students who have poor vision by showing the entire math problem on the screen.


Coin Abacus is a mid tech adaptation that has keys which are shaped and sized like coins. This is designed and used specifically to teach basic money counting skills.

                                        

Reference Below
Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. 
 Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Images Found At
 http://cdn.lssproducts.com/images/uploads/6535_2513_large.jpg

 http://www.onionmountaintech.com/img/items/pic2004.jpg

Applications for Math Concepts, Math Skills, and Problem Solving

 

When selecting an application we must be mindful that there is a strong correlation between concepts and the developmental level of the student. I will list and go into further detail about educational applications specifically for math concepts, math skills, and problem solving below.


Virtual laboratories are helpful when students are working on advanced probability and statistics. There can also be text given to aid students in understanding the basic theories of probability and statistics.


Math Playground provides students with a plethora of resources for learning math concepts, skills, and problem solving.  There is an assortment of activities consisting of but not limited to games, word problems, and puzzles. One activity called thinking blocks helps students practice  solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and word problems. Students can check their work after each problem or step and receive feedback.  


Conceptua Math helps students with fractions and provides teachers with multiple tools for the use of whole class instruction. The visual models provided in conjunction with spoken text are very helpful for students who are not strong readers. Teachers are able to monitor students' progress, and make necessary instructional changes.


Destination Math focuses on students' developing skills in math reasoning, conceptual understanding, and problem solving. This application helps students' stay engaged by using audio output in addition to animation. There is also a full Spanish version for students who speak English as a second language.

Resource Below
Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom.
Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.

Images Found At 
 http://www.mathplayground.com/images/math_playground_header_new_layout.png

http://edtechdigest.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/conceptua-sample-screen-add-fractions.png?w=900