Special Education & SMARTBoards

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Comment by Mike Palecek on October 15, 2010 at 2:32pm

Yes, I've seen the TAPit. It's a 42" diagonal touchscreen that works with SMART Notebook software. It's somewhat like the satalight, a height and angle adjustable assistive technology tool, which the TAPit was modeled after.

Each of these tools work a little difference. The TAPit uses a rear projection touch panel and has very nice touch sensitivity. The satalight uses a short throw projector with front projection to a SMART Board 640, has a larger screen size for more multi-student collaboration, has switch interfaces and is very rugged.

Both are great computer access tools for students who use wheelchairs, or other low incidence consumers. The most important question to ask when evaluating AT devices is, is this an appropriate device for particular consumers, how engaged the consumer will be in using the tool, and what software or websites are we going to use to achieve intended therapetic or educational goals.

Providing SMART Board access to students in wheelchairs is the initial idea behind both of these AT devices, and for some students, it is the only way to get that job done.

These devices will be in the exhibit hall at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis on Oct 21-23, www.closingthegap.com, and at ATIA-Chicago on Oct 27-30.

I apologize to anyone in the group who sees this as a commercial. If you look back at my posts, I've tried to make a genuine contribution to this wonderful discussion.

- Mike

Comment by Lindsey Al on October 15, 2010 at 12:24pm

Special Education teachers around the country are talking about TAPit, a Touch Accessible Platform for Interactive Technology. It’s still fairly new. Have you seen it? The assistive technology workstation uses Intended Touch technology to respond to students’ special needs. Let me know what you think.
Here is a link to a video demo: http://bit.ly/SmartEdTAPit
-Lindsey

Comment by Stephanie Dalton on September 9, 2010 at 11:40am

http://teachers.net/mentors/special_education/
Teachers.net.....I just came across this special education group...thought I would share.

Comment by Mr. B (Mark the Trainer) on August 31, 2010 at 12:27pm

PLEASE, friends in the Special Education world, my son goes to a TUITION FREE, NON-PROFIT PRE SCHOOL for kids with special needs.. www.littlelighthouse.com We are very near reaching the top 20 on Facebook's KOHLS CARES contest, we need your votes please! We are the only Special Education program in the running for this $500,000 grant awart! littlelighthouse.org thanks!

Comment by Alex Dunn on August 29, 2010 at 11:33pm

As promised we have just finished our two-day implementation of SMART Inclusion workshop at York University in Toronto. Such creative energy when you have teams from 7 school districts in Ontario, a private school and a Wisconsin team. What did we learn - for all of the videos, how tos etc please visit us at www.smartinclusion.wikispaces.com but here are some technology highlights:
- Try using the Transparent Background Tool in Notebook to take a page in Notebook and superimpose it onto an AT page. In the video on the wikispace I am using Boardmaker. What this allows is for both programs to be active. It makes it much easier for alternate access users to participate in whole group instruction.
- SMART Sync or a similar product works very nicely not only with laptops but also with voice output devices that also functions as a computer (eg. V, VMax). It allows the teacher to broadcast the students screen and even help navigate should modelling be required. One of our Consultants supporting students with Low Vision also saw the benefits of SMART Sync for her students as teachers could push the same content that was on the SMART Board right to their computer so although the SMARTBoard screen is bigger, depending on where they are seated, font size, glare, the student will have more options. Exciting as this will encourage meaningful educational participation for ALL our kids.

So many more exciting ideas were generated at the session but I don't want to monopolize space here -- I will keep posting in small chunks here, at smartinclusion.wikispaces.com and at my Twitter account SMARTInclusion.

Have a great start to your school year everyone:]

Comment by Mike Palecek on August 10, 2010 at 4:44pm

Alex, please feel welcome to put these references on your wiki. After I posted the comments, I checked out your wiki, and found out that you were using PRC and had a bunch of switch ideas already. I called one of my contacts, who suggested Cross Scanner, too, but thought someone needs pretty high cognitive levels to utilize programs like that, so didn't suggest it.

I work with John Palbom at Advanced-Inc (they are our satalight reseller in Ontario) and he said that you presented at their special needs workshop last spring. Maybe you'd like him to bring up the satalight height and angle adjustable SMART Board, for your Aug 25-26 workshop.

Comment by Alex Dunn on August 10, 2010 at 1:45pm

Thanks Mike! I will explore some of these great ideas. We have all of the PRC line of devices that will work wirelessly and the Dynavox products like Express and V will work too but with the Access It (wireless is not working at its optimal for whole group instruction in oru experience but I know Dynavox is working hard on it:]) . We have joysticks, Intellikeys and the Jelly Beamer (the wireless switch). We have found that third party software like Scan Buddy or Cross Scanner will work in Notebook but as you say below matching curricular goals with the cognitive and motor skills to the software and hardware - always the challenge. As Notebook is very mouse driven I have a hard time with my students who are doing simple scanning and then selecting using their switches --- the motor and cognitive load of some of the other options seems to great. Any ideas.... For primary grades we have teachers using programs like Classroom Suite 4, Boardmaker Plus and eveny Semesterware for whole group instruciton - necessary for some, good for all. My older students are the challenge as many of our teachers prefer the Notebook interface.

I am off to explore all of the access suggestions below. So exciting. I hope you don't mind if I add some of the options to our list at smartinclusion.wikispaces.com?? I will continue to post all of the options that we come across. Thanks so much.

Comment by Mike Palecek on August 10, 2010 at 10:21am

If the student has good vocal enunciation but low motor skills, another approach to controlling mouse movement (so the student can manipulate SMART Notebook, or whatever) would be via Dragon Naturally Speaking. As always, the challenge is in matching the consumer's cognitive and motor skills abilities to the particular software or hardware adaptation.

Comment by Mike Palecek on August 10, 2010 at 10:10am

Alex, re: your question on Notebook switch access, a couple ideas:

I haven't tried it, but the USB Mouse Mover is a switch interface that emulates a mouse. It uses six switches (left, right, up, down, left click and right click). http://www.turningpointtechnology.com/Sx/TA/25006.asp

If the student has some range of motion, e.g. can use a group of switches on a wheelchair tray, try R.J. Cooper's Mouse Button Box at http://www.rjcooper.com/mouse-button-box/index.html

If the student has an AAC device, some of them can be control computers via USB hookups, which would be a way to access Notebook. Check out Mouse Emulator at the bottom of the page: http://www.spedsw.com/free-tools.htm for some ideas on this. If the student is using a DynaVox, it usually has mouse emulation software built right into it.

Comment by Sue Gorman on August 8, 2010 at 2:46pm

I have seen Alex's presentations. The group is blessed to have her expertise.

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