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Category Archives: Orlando
#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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Posted in ATIA, Inspiration, My Crazy Idea, Orlando, sessions, wiki
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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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Posted in "Proloquo2Go", #ATIA2010, Ablenet, equals math, Orlando
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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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Posted in ATIA, conference, My Crazy Idea, Orlando, PLN
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