B.      Dr Wong’s lecture yesterday afternoon opened up my horizon of what constitutes assistive technology (yes, even glasses). I was reminded that what was once considered ‘technology’ might now be an ‘ancient contraption’. So technology constantly evolves, changing and reforming industries and people as it does. Early this morning, there was a feature on the radio about actor Val Kilmer (of ‘Top Gun’ movie fame and once a Batman, though not a very good one). He had a tracheotomy as a result of having throat cancer. Through the use of AI technology, he has ‘regained’ his voice, enabling him to convert text to his own voice (gleaned from hours of acting footage, complete with tonal changes to reflect anger, sadness, etc). While this 'Deepfake' technology allows him to convey his thoughts and ideas once again, as well as work as an actor, it is also cause for ethical concern if used irresponsibly to literally put words into the mouths of say, famous people, dead or alive. I wonder if legal authorities have laws/guidelines for the use of such technology.

Additionally another important point to take note beside ensuring an appropriate "person-technology match", we are reminded to be mindful of our empathy to the person using the AT. Beside seeking understanding on their feeling about the use of the AT also need to check if they feel "socially comfortable" when using it. 

I am inspired by Aisyah’s sharing. Though I know about GoogleForm, I never thought of using it in this manner. This goes to show that sometimes we do not have to go beyond what we know to innovate and adapt, we can start from what we already know. 

 

It is a feasible idea for me to try out as I think it would make the students to be more deliberate in thinking about and penning down their takeaways by typing out (good for students with handwriting issues) as well as students with verbal communication difficulties (this is a form of adaptation).

B) Padlet
 
Although I have used Padlet many times to post messages, it
was not until last weekend that I got to explore its features when I created a
Padlet for a group meeting. I wanted to use it as a virtual whiteboard during
the discussion. It is quite a breeze in creating a Padlet as the design and
navigation are user friendly enough for a tech novice. There are templates
provided and functions that allow me to customise the templates to better suit
user's needs. 
 
I have posted some essential information on the Padlet
created and intended to invite members of the meeting to post their impromptu
ideas during the meeting. I need to think about how to organise the posts as
the application provides a choice of different layout formats. 
 
In preparing for the first meeting, I have set the format of
the Padlet to Wall format, so that the posts are all laid out in one glance
view on the screen. Nevertheless, the cluster meeting is recurrent and the
amount of information will build up over time. The Padlet will look
overwhelming later if it continues in this format. What I really appreciate is
the flexibility of the application. It allows me to change the format after creating the Padlet. After the first meeting, I manage to change the format to Grid
so that the different types of info can be organised under different headings
for easy viewing and retrieval. The app does the reorganisation automatically
with just a touch of the button. I can still move the posts around manually,
simply by click and drag. 
 
The only drawback is that I can only create up to 3 Padlets
for a free account so I have to be discreet with the use.

I was very intrigued by Alif’s sharing of ‘Classroomscreen’ and how he mentioned that it has been a helpful tool for him in teaching tool for me in classroom. Classroomscreen is an online tool that allows you to display the instructions for your lesson in a clear and visual way. What's amazing is that there is over 13 widgets for you to choose to support your class activities and help students get to work. I liked it when he shared that the app allowed him to use multiple features such as flashing out agenda for the day, stopwatch, randomizing name to test for his students understanding), and also polling. I cant wait to try this tool as well. 

 

I learned that AT is classified into three levels namely Low-Tech, Mid-Tech and High-Tech. Even a paper-puncher is considered a AT device as it makes it more convenient for someone to do something more easily and faster. I used to think that AT was usually associated with  gadgets that were electronic and/or online devices. 

What pulled my heart-strings was when Dr Wong mentioned that “ for people, technology is convenience and for people with debilitates, technology is independence” This was the biggest eye-opening moment for me when I realised sometimes people can take for granted of what is created for them and sometimes they can easily replace one device with another but for people with disability the technology they are provided it makes a huge difference in their life that it becomes a matter of not being able to do even simple chore without these device. 

I also learned that when you are selecting a AT device for someone, you have to consider factors such as whether the device is the best fit for the person, are they comfortable using it, do you have to further customize it and you also have to ensure that the person using high-tech devices, has the adequate knowledge and skill on how to use it otherwise the device will end up as being abandoned or what they say a “white-elephant”.

Snip Tool by Qi Heng
I could totally relate with Qi Heng’s sharing about how cumbersome it is to use the print-screen tool; the traditional method of having to Print Screen > copy > paste > crop > save. I’ve had been using this painstaking method for the past years whenever I had to capture screengrabs of students’ performance data and attendance records from the School Cockpit system for submission to EPs when referring cases to them. Snip Tool is definitely the way to go for future screengrabs. 

Aha moment from session 3
In one of the videos that Dr Wong shared, the speaker quoted “people with disability feel like they’ve lost everything except their life’’. And that it is with the accessibility of AT that provides persons with disabilities the opportunity to pursue their interests and live life meaningfully. Typical people tend to take AT for granted as it is just a mode to make life easier for them whereas AT provides independence for people with disabilities - regaining normality of life. 

The power of AT was clearly defined and segregated into 7 categories: Positioning, Mobility, AAC, Computer Access, Toys & Games, Adaptive Environment and Instructional Aid. 

While there are many ATs that have been manufactured to serve various purposes, there are also many factors that will determine the usability and adoptability of the devices such as cost, ease of use, practicality etc. 

My Colleague has been telling me about Canva and how it is an excellent online graphic design tool.  So when I stumble upon the post on Canva, I decided to give it a try.  

 

It is web-based with a drag-and-drop functionality that simplified the design process. It is a great design tool for someone like me who is not an experienced designer. There are templates that I can use instead of having to start from scratch.

 

Canva also has a version to be used for education known as Canva for Education, It has all the features of Canva Pro, but tailored for classrooms. Canva for Education is available for free globally to all educational institutions and teachers.  If we sign up to Canva using our .edu domain, we will be instantly upgraded to Canva for Education.

 

2)    AHA Moment:

 This week session by Dr Wong has made me begin to see assistive technology in a different light.  I have always think that assistive technology is more for people with physical disability.  However assistive technology can also be used to help students with learning disabilities which includes computer programs and tablet applications that provide text-to-speech, speech-to-text, word prediction capabilities and graphic organizers.  

 

Currently, all students in my school have their own personal device.  This will enable students with special educational needs to have easy access to the assistive technology on their iPad to assist them in their learning. I would want to look into the assistive technology available on the iPad and equip the students with the knowledge to enable them to make use of the assistive technology to enhance their learning, bypassing their area of difficulty. 

I managed to explore Wordwall a bit. I love how user-friendly and remarkable easy the site is. We can customise the lesson by choosing one of the templates provided and provide interactive participation from the students. I can also share the completed activity with the students' parents or teachers to update their progress and achievements. 

I can't wait to try out the rest of the fantastic tools shared by others as well! Now, I need to find time to explore these tools and share them with my AED buddies in school so that they, too, can benefit from them. 

B. Popplet
I was introduced to this app by a friend and had sought my HOD IT to install it in our SEN iPads. Popplet is a mind-mapping application and graphic organiser that helps students think and learn visually. It is a simple, intuitive and effective tool that has helped me make my lessons better. 

Instead of using the traditional pen and paper approach, I often used it to help my students with their composition planning, connecting their ideas or thoughts and visualising the big picture they have in mind. 

It is so versatile that I have recently used it to teach literacy lessons. The students had fun coming up with the words, adding pictures or interpret them by drawing them out.

Learning about the 7 categories of AT also helps to declutter and organise my understanding of AT, with this knowledge I feel that I can be in a better position to research and identify possible AT for students when needed.

Personally, I am highly fascinated with Qi Heng's sharing of the 'snipping' tool. Being in a line of work where the preparation of different types of visual tools or resources for students under my charge is almost a daily affair on top of the fact that searching for and incorporating carefully selected pictures/images from the net into my visual tools can take up a significant proportion of my time, this tool has definitely helped to accelerate my resource-preparation time considerably; thus, allowing me to allocate more time for the other job-tasks such as student-intervention, data collection for new referred cases, consultations with teachers, etc.
 
 2) Positive AHA Moment

One of the above moments for me in the last session was with reference to the video on AAC devices. The video mentions how AAC devices have enabled users to “connect to the world, express themselves and able to communicate with people around them”, which in turn “increase their motivation to then result in progress in areas like social, literacy, and academic skills”.  This was one such AHA moment for me as it has broadened my awareness to realize the possible multi-layered long-term benefits stemming from the use of an AT device for a student on top of its direct short-term goal; where, the primary accommodation it avails for a target student in one area can potentially result in a multiplier effect to then positively impact upon his/her other domains of learning. 

With word wall, I realised that I can create bespoke content that is highly engaging and with the many templates that I can choose from, it provides me with 18 different types of activities which can be rotated when working with my students. I realised the beauty of this tool is that I can share it remotely with my students and I can also embed the content on a separate website, which in this case could be my personal e-portfolio. 

With Nearpod, the feature that I personally enjoy the most is the ability to include questions into embedded videos. This makes watching videos far more meaningful than just embedding a video and then asking the students to recall what they have heard prior. I also like the fact that not only can I use the pre-made templates, I can also create bespoke content that is relevant to my students’ learning needs. With the ability to use Nearpod in web conference mode, student pace mode and front of class mode, I can only imagine the many different possibilities I can do with this incredible tool. 

Thank you all for the sharing and I look forward to trying these tools when I am in school.

AHA Moment:

In this lesson, my biggest AHA moment is really the sudden realisation that technology to most of us is convenience, but for individuals with disabilities, technology is what really gives them independence. This is a very powerful statement. Indeed individuals with disabilities have the right to use assistive technologies to maximise their independence and productivity. Especially in the area of education, this prompted me to think how we as educators should be open to the use of technology in class to maximise the learning opportunities for our students, especially those who will benefit more with the use of technology. In the asian classrooms, many educators tend to find it troublesome to utilise technology because there is a risk of students misusing the technology and therefore getting distracted in class. I think all this boils down to how we teach our students to use and to be responsible users of technology in the classes. It is an educator’s responsibility to teach students to use their devices responsibly in class, so we need to be mindful not to limit technology in class.