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When I began teaching in the early 1990s, schools were approaching the Millennium with great anticipation for a futuristic world of gadgets and technologies. The best we had at that time was a BBC B Computer, hooked up to a dot matrix printer with that awful neverending sheet of paper with the holes in the sides. In some classrooms they were seen as glorified typewriters so that kids could type up a good piece of writing. More adventurous uses included simple programming and filling the screen with scrolling text from a few lines of code.
"Apple were the first to introduce text-to-speech into an operating system."

Computers in the early days were never really seen as beneficial to children with SEN. Assistive technology was never a used phrase, although the use of text-to-speech software has developed enormously in the last 30 years. Apple were the first to introduce it into an operating system and it has become the norm for web pages and electronic devices to include such a feature. It is so much simpler now, breaking down barriers for those struggling to see or read. Speech recognition software did actually begin in the 1950s with Bell's Audrey system that was able to recognise spoken digits. In terms of classroom applications, it is only recently that it has actually become more functional. If the physical act of writing is difficult, speech recognition software enables independent access to computers and a wide range of classroom tasks. Newer Apple iPads incorporate a microphone icon with the keyboard, for text to be spoken rather than typed.

In terms of access to resources, technology has brought the world to our fingertips. Gone are the days when, for example, a song had to be sourced, ordered etc. It is there, in an instant, ideal for supporting anxious children with ASD, for example, providing security through familiar songs, rhymes and characters. In the early days, I played music on cassette tapes, scrolling through songs while the play button was still pressed and listening for the gap to skip to the next 'track'. Woe betide the tape got caught in the machinery and became unravelled; then would begin the tedious (yet satisfying) job of winding it manually back together again. The good thing about tapes was that children could record their own voices and play them back almost instantly, but with USB microphones and apps that store voice clips now, tapes are most definitely a thing of the past. Even a computer mouse is becoming obsolete, with touchscreens and trackpads being more responsive and easier to use.

As a Primary school teacher, we had concept keyboards and marvelled at the simplicity for early readers with limited literacy skills, to be able to input information into a computer. Simplicity is now on another level completely. Pupils can say certain phrases out loud and the computer will search for them without even clicking anything! The advent of technology such as 'Siri' and 'OK Google' mean that pupils with severe physical barriers to learning are not disadvantaged by being unable to type or click. Stephen Hawking is testament to how developments in speech synthesisers can overcome barriers to communication and independence. He has an infrared switch mounted on to his glasses and his cheek movements are picked up by the switch. He uses software called EZ Keys which works effectively through its ability to predict words contextually.

"As wireless technologies have advanced, SEN pupils have been freed from their shackles."

When I first entered the world of SEN, resources were quite clumsy. Huge clamps and mounts, cables and connectors meant that the young person was limited further by the paraphernalia required just to select something on screen or input some text. As wireless technologies have advanced, pupils have been freed from the shackles of wired switches and pointing devices, to be able to use even just eye movements. This used to be incredibly expensive but is now priced similar to that of a mid-range PC, making it accessible to most schools and many households.

The iPad software developers UMoove are making use of the built in camera as an input device, enabling game control from a turn of the head or eyes. They have marketed one as a health app ( UHealth), seeing it is a mainstream fun activity for improving focus and attention. Poor focus and attention are central to many SEN difficulties so its application for the SEN market is significant. As free software, this can make a considerable contribution to breaking down barriers to access education and developing independence. Apple's iOS 7 introduced head-controlled movements to the iPad market, enabling users with access issues to become more independent. There are some fun face-controlled apps available for free, enabling games to be played with movements such as a smile! It is marketed as 'Face Yoga', but its application for users unable to control games with traditional approaches is phenomenal.

There is even development of Apps controlled only by the mind, the user wears a headset and focuses on making it happen by the power of thought alone! Mindwave is available on Amazon for under £100.

There is a whole host of products out there, priced around the £100 mark that are groundbreaking and liberating for people with physical access difficulties. There's Nod, a ring that allows control of a range of devices with just a flick of a thumb or a wave of a hand; Leapmotion brings the futuristic technology imagined in the movie Minority Report to an attainable reality.

We recently invested a significant amount of money into an Immersive Room, allowing learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) to interact with an environment that is all around them, not just on one screen. Some of the more successful environments have been added for free using online video clips, home made clips and images. The room has the 'wow factor' and is beneficial because of its flexibility. Creative uses of Kinect technology and projectors allow users to interact with what they see, even seeing themselves actually IN some of the images. In terms of application for users with SEN, the room can be set up to meet varying levels of need in an instant.

It must be noted that while all these ideas are exciting novelties, in order to actually apply their use to education they need to be used innovatively for teaching and learning. There are a lot of very hi-tech devices and gadgets out there that cost huge amounts of money. The free or cheap innovations can be just as productive provided they are used with thought and purpose.
Do you work in SEN? Share your experiences below!

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When I began teaching in the early 1990s, schools were approaching the Millennium with great anticipation for a futuristic world of gadgets and technologies. The best we had at that time was a BBC B Computer, hooked up to a dot matrix printer with that awful neverending sheet of paper with the holes in the sides.

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Here's the link to the app:
If, like me you've been looking for a easy way for students to be able to choose their own music on the ipad, you need look no further than 'Niki Music' app. For just 69p, Niki Music lets you create simple choosing boards like the one above using your own images and music. Choose a music track, attach an image (from the camera roll or one you downloaded from Google) and away you go. Students touch the big buttons to choose the track they want to listen to.
All editing buttons are locked away behind the on-screen padlock. You'll have to answer a simple maths problem to unlock them. Seriously, a very good app well worth the 69p it will cost.

NIKI MUSIC APP Oh and if you need an image for any 'One Direction' tracks. Here's the one I use.

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Here's the link to the app: If, like me you've been looking for a easy way for students to be able to choose their own music on the ipad, you need look no further than 'Niki Music' app. For just 69p, Niki Music lets you create simple choosing boards like the one above using your own images and music.

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SEN Computing - exploring how to teach the new curriculum to SEN

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A couple of weeks ago, I was privileged to be ask to present at the SEN Computing day run and organise by Catherine Elliott(@catherinelliott) who is part of the Sheffield ILS eLearning team. So after making the long journey up North, I arrived at the venue and was taken aback with the excellent organisation and...

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When I wrote the original version of Child Safety on the Information Highway ( click here for 20th anniversary updated version), in 1994, "online safety" was largely defined as keeping kids away from porn and predators and the solution was pretty much focused on parental controls.

But, over the past two decades, there have been a lot of changes in both online and mobile technology and some research that gives us a better picture of risks and prevention strategies.

Porn and predators are still part of the picture, but - now that we have some research - we know that the risk of a child being harmed by someone they meet online is extremely low, especially compared to other risks. If a child is going to be harmed by an adult, it is far more likely to be someone they know from the real world such as a relative, family friend or other trusted adult.

As for porn, there is no question that kids who want to find it probably will, but after more than 20 years of Internet access, we haven't seen huge social or psychological problems emerge. Still, many parents are rightfully concerned about the type of content their kids are viewing, which is why I wrote So your kid is looking at porn. Now what?.
Real risks
Over time it became increasingly obvious that some of the biggest risks to kids came not from dangerous adults but from themselves and other kids. In 2009, the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, assembled by Harvard's Berkman Center per an agreement between 49 state attorneys general and MySpace, concluded that "actual threats that youth may face appear to be different than the threats most people imagine" and that "the image presented by the media of an older male deceiving and preying on a young child does not paint an accurate picture of the nature of the majority of sexual solicitations and Internet-initiated offline encounters."

What the task force did find is that "bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most salient threats that minors face, both online and offline." Partially because researchers can't agree on a definition of bullying and harassment, the actual risk is hard to quantify, but it is clearly much higher than the risk of being harmed by a predator.

Bullying and "trolling" have been around forever, and it's true that among young people, so-called "cyberbullying" is often an extension of school-yard issues. But the Internet and phones do change the equation for a number of well-known reasons, including the ability for mean comments to stick around and be passed with lightning speed. Plus, the Net has created new ways to bully like impersonating someone by getting hold of their phone or password or passing around inappropriate pictures of someone.
Privacy, security and reputation management
As the online safety field evolves, it is starting to focus on some of the more common risks to both youth and adults: privacy, security and reputation management.

While protecting one's privacy has always been a challenge (i.e. small-town gossip going back centuries), the Internet and mobile technology have created opportunities for privacy problems on a grand scale. For one thing, there is what we post. It's now very easy to post information that might embarrass yourself or others or reveal secrets that perhaps you ought not to share. There is also the issue of things that companies know about us. Anyone who uses a search engine, email service or social network is leaving breadcrumbs for companies to follow. What's more, thanks to third-party tracking cookies, some of that information is getting into the hands of companies that we might not even know exist. It's a serious issue that needs serious thought by consumers, regulators and companies. And everyone - including children and teens - needs to learn how to at least limit what others can find out about them. Plus, thanks to Edward Snowden, we now know that the U.S. and other governments have the capacity to track us as well, and given the enormous power of government over our lives, that too can be a serious problem.

Security is another Internet safety issue that has gotten worse over the years. It seems like every day brings another major security breach where we learn about the vulnerability of our usernames and passwords, credit card information or email. There are lots of professionals in government and the private sector who are working to beef up security but there are plenty of criminals out there finding ways to gain entry into our personal information. It's a cat-and-mouse game, and right now the "good guys" are way behind. While there is no way to be 100% hacker-proof, there are ways families can improve their security and use secure and unique passwords.

Reputation management is something we thought about in the 90′s but it's a bigger issue now thanks to social networking and smartphone apps that make it very easy to impulsively post things that can embarrass us now or in the future. A lot of young people are savvy when it comes to avoiding posting things that can get them into trouble but there are plenty of people (including lots of adults) who need to rethink their posting habits.
Moral panics don't help
Whether it's predator panic, bullying panic, sexting panic, privacy panic or secrecy panic, moral panics are not helpful.

As technology evolves, there will be new risks but what we've learned from 20 years of online safety is that risks have more to do with the social-emotional condition of the user than the actual technology being used. For example, there has lately been a lot of concern over the services that allow people to post anonymously. While it is true that these services can be used to bully, harass and embarrass others, it's also true that there are lots of positive uses for them. Sure there will be some who misuse these services, but the vast majority of youth and adults - those who respect themselves and others - will use them appropriately. Just as with fire, knives, cars and other powerful technologies, the key is to encourage safe and appropriate use while doing what's necessary to deal with the relatively rare butsometimes tragic cases of inappropriate use.
Parental involvement vs. controls
While there are plenty of products that can control or monitor what your kids can do online, none are as powerful or effective in the long term as parental involvement. A filter might prevent your child from visiting a certain site or service on a specific device but conversations over a period of time can help your child develop values that will last a lifetime.

Regardless of whether you choose to use a filtering program or an Internet rating system, the best way to assure that your children are having positive online experiences is to stay in touch with what they are doing. The best filter - the one that lasts a lifetime - doesn't run on a device but on the software between your child's ears.
Focus on causes, not just symptoms
Another thing we've learned is that problems that manifest themselves online or with mobile technology are often symptoms of larger social or personal issues. Just as with drunk or careless driving and substance abuse, there are almost always underlying issues that cause people to misuse technologies and the real solution rarely lies with the technology and often lies with the what that is causing the person to act as they are. Even cyberbullying is less about technology or even "bullying" and more about the social-emotional state of the people involved. And to that end we need to start putting more resources into social-emotional learning, growing compassion and emphasizing positive social norms for both youth and adults.

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The evolution of online safety: Lessons learned over 20 years

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When I wrote the original version of Child Safety on the Information Highway ( click here for 20th anniversary updated version), in 1994, "online safety" was largely defined as keeping kids away from porn and predators and the solution was pretty much focused on parental controls.

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eLIM Education Technology - SEND Computing

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eLIM Education Technology - SEND Computing

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Literacy: Technology supporting literacy

Outdoor Learning: Using technology to engage with the physical world

Music technology: Promoting engagement through sound and music

Performing arts: Exploring alternative avenues for expression

Scientific inquiry: Supporting children as researchers and inquirers

Design and Technology: Ensuring designing and making is accessible for all

Mathematics and Computing: Inclusive approaches to computing and maths

Art: Technology for inclusive creative arts

PSED: Technology developing life skills

Multisensory storytelling: Creating immersive environments for multisensory storytelling

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Literacy: Technology supporting literacy Outdoor Learning: Using technology to engage with the physical world Music technology: Promoting engagement through sound and music Performing arts: Exploring alternative avenues for expression Scientific inquiry: Supporting children as researchers and inquirers Design and Technology: Ensuring designing and making is accessible for all Mathematics and Computing: Inclusive approaches to computing and maths Art: Technology for inclusive creative arts PSED: Technology developing life skills Multisensory storytelling: Creating immersive environments for multisensory storytelling