Category Archives: #ATIA2010

AT Smackdown – #ATIA2010

Posted on 5 November 2010 by Patrick Black

One of the best sessions of ATIA 2010 was an impromptu session set up by Karen Janowski (@karenjan), Brian Wocjik (@bwwojci) & Dave Hehoulin (@dehohulin), the AT Smackdown! Basically anyone who attended got 2 minutes (or so…) to talk about… Continue reading →

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#ATIA2010 – Favorite Products

Posted on 30 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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

Satalight – SMARTBoard on height & tilt adjustable stand. You can access with any type of touch – fingertip, fist, and can take a hit (don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in #ATIA2010, aimee solutions, ATIA Chicago, Conceptua Math, News-2-You, Satalight, smartboard, SymbolStix, vendor hall | Comments Off

#ATIA2010 – Friday

Posted on 29 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in #ATIA2010, aimee solutions, AT Smackdown, ATIA, Chicago, Conceptua Math, conference, Data, EdTech Solutions, ereader, Karen Janowski | Comments Off

#ATIA2010 – Thursday

Posted on 29 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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… Continue reading →

Posted in #ATIA2010, aimee solutions, Bridging the Literacy Gap, notes, Speed Change, Visual strategies, working with video | Comments Off

Bridging the Literacy Gap

Posted on 28 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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 fe… Continue reading →

Posted in #ATIA2010, ATIA Chicago, Bridging the Literacy Gap, ELSB, literacy, phonemic awareness, phonics, Tarheelreader.org, writing | Comments Off

ATIA Chicago 2010-Notes

Posted on 27 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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 confer… Continue reading →

Posted in #ATIA2010, Assistive Technology Industry Association, ATIA, conference, google docs, notes, shared | Comments Off

ATIA 2010

Posted on 21 October 2010 by Patrick Black

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 … Continue reading →

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#ATIA2010 – Orlando, Friday

Posted on 30 January 2010 by Patrick Black

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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Posted in #ATIA2010, ATIA, blogs, education, Friday, Inclusion, My Crazy Idea, Ning, Orlando, SCD, sessions, smartboards, wikis | Comments Off

#ATIA2010 – Orlando, Thursday

Posted on 28 January 2010 by Patrick Black

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