• developing and choosing methods of assessment
• collecting assessment information
• judging and scoring student performance
• summarizing and interpreting results
• reporting assessment findings

1. Physical Health and Well Being
2. Social Competence
3. Emotional Maturity
4. Language and Cognitive Development
5. Communication Skills and General Knowledge

• There is no limit to the number of people who can collaborate/post on a wall; the entire class can contribute to the same wall or students can be grouped and post on different walls
• Different themes allow students to customize and personalize their walls
• Adjustable privacy settings can make walls password protected so that student work is kept private (ie. not available for the public to see)
• Teachers can moderate posts, viewing and approving what students write before it is posted to the wall
• Students can add photos to their posts; great for visual learners
• Posts are easy to manipulate; simply drag and drop
• Different layouts are available (columns, freeform, etc.)
• Many sharing options; walls can be embedded into blog posts or web pages, can be saved as a PDF, printed, emailed to the class, or mobilized by generating a QR code
• Students can interact and collaborate further by commenting on each others’ posts
• Walls remain “live” after class; students can add more ideas after class is over

• Requires access to individual laptops/Chromebooks
• Requires internet access
• Teacher must be skilled enough with the site to adjust settings to ensure privacy of students or to be able to supervise their posting activity closely
  
  

• creates independance
• helps squash reading insecurities
• easy to scan/record information to be read
• adjustable rate of speed
• highlights text-just like being read to
• reads in different languages
• students can learn at their own speed
• students can highlight in different colours and extract these highlighted areas into separate document in groups

• time consuming to scan info into it
• must be trained on it before using it
• shaded areas don't always scan properly (text in these areas might get skipped/missed)
• expensive
• sometimes skips a page when reading (especially if pages are accidentally scanned in the wrong direction)
• student may get too dependent on it and not want to attempt to read again

• Suitable for and benefits all students
• Builds fine motor skills
• Typing skills necessary for future (21st century skills)
• Students work at their own pace so those with language-based exceptionalities can do the "Same" work as peers
• Will help with word processing assignments - less time spent on "search and peck" typing, more time spent on the writing process
• Will help with knowledge of key placement when using smart phones or ipads to increase speed of typing
• It is fun while being purposeful

• Students have to be able to know the names of and recognize all the letters of the alphabet both upper and lower case
• Accessibility/availability - students need access to computers with keyboards, may have to share chromebooks with others classes, etc
• Time: students need to practice daily for retention and effective skill building
• Not useful for students with severe fine motor disabilities (e.g. pain in hands) where voice to text would work better for communication

• allows people with disability to type and operate computers
• allows for more speed in producing typed work
• improves word recognition
• allows students to focus on comprehension instead of sounding out words
• increases students staying power for ready assignment
• help them to recognize and fix errors in their own writing
• eliminate the stress of rely only on one visual cues to ensure written text is correct
• helps people with mutism to communicate

• software can fail to put words on screen accurately, resulting in misinterpretation
• extra time needed to review, edit and correct errors resulting in slowing down workflow
• speaking to fast may contribute to grammatical errors
• problems with accent; decoding speech may not work effectively, may have to talk consistently and clearly to minimize errors
• need to work in a quiet environment from background noise
• use devices frequently can result in physical discomfort and vocal problems

• Free to all school boards, teachers, and students in Ontario
• given the green light by Ministry in terms of privacy and accessibility
• users of all ages who have problems writing and editing, particularly those with learning disabilities (LD), can benefit from using WordQ
• features a carefully thought-out design with only essential functions that have demonstrated benefits to help students write.
• was researched and developed at a children’s rehabilitation hospital located in Toronto, Canada along with educators and professionals working with students with learning disabilities
• can be used immediately with any word processor after installing
• special text-reading mode helps a student with proofreading
• benefits a wide range of users including ELL, FSL and early writers in English and French
• Can be added as an app to Google Chrome for students to use in conjunction with Google Docs and or while using a Chromebook
• natural sounding text-to-speech
• in-context prediction for corrections
• usage examples for confusing words
• predictions based on ‘creative spelling’
• Can be used offline

• does not correct grammar, sort out punctuation or provide creative ideas
• software itself is quite old (being added to OSAPAC in 2010). It has been updated since, but not by much by the looks of things. There may be newer tools that do something similar (but may not be as ‘safe’ in terms of privacy of information)
• Is not an extension that runs on top of Google Docs (like Read & Write for Google), rather it is a separate app into which a student would type, then have to copy and paste into a Google Doc.

1. Text Prediction: Use this to have words predicted as you write.
2. Dictionary: Look up words. Program will read the definition to you.
3. Picture Dictionary: Look up words with an image as assistance.
4. Play: Read selection aloud. Voices can be changed in settings.
5. Pause: Pause reading.
6. Stop: Stop reading.
7. Fact Finder: Select a word and click icon to Google It!
8. Translator: Select a word and it will be translated to Spanish or French- Adjust in settings.
9. Highlighting Tools: Highlights selected words.
10. Erase Highlighting: Removes all highlighting within selection.
11. Collect Highlights: Creates new document of just highlights.
12. Vocabulary: Creates document of words highlighted and includes a great worksheet!

• Boost reading and writing confidence across all types of content and devices
• Some boards in Ontario are beginning to look at the advantages of providing chrome books to all kids, making it very accessible
• Can be a tool used to make every classroom more inclusive
• Software itself is free

• Students need orientation on how to use it
• Teachers need PD to improve comfort level
• Not all schools have provided students with their own chrome books

• onscreen keyboard for students that type
• built-in grammar functions, dictionaries and word and phrase prediction tools
  ability to add words to the dictionary
• symbol pages with thousands of communication symbols for non-text users
• supports input via touch screen, mouse click, mouse dwell, joystick, head mouse and eyegaze controllers
• speech synthesis engine that can read the text or symbols input by the student
• can be used to build communication pages and on-screen keyboards for different needs and abilities
• has tools for editing and developing customized pages and editing text, pictures and sound
• text files can be loaded and saved and user settings can be imported to and exported from another computer

• Issues require troubleshooting support from board staff
• Expensive - requires SEA funding
• Set-up requires training for school staff

• The chromebook is relatively inexpensive and most departments in my school spend the majority of their budgets on them
• Google Read & Write
• Grammar and Spelling support
• Access to online materials
• Audio support
• Access to many online resources
• Allows creative collaborative projects using a variety of online tools

• Can be a major distraction! Too easy to play games, watch videos, listen to music, etc
• Can be a distraction for other students
• Growing dependence on the device
• Technology issues and maintenance cost
• Limited in the software that can be added

• Flexible, for people of all intellectual abilities
• Only one of its kind
• Has games to teach the skills
• Easy to calibrate (move up to it, if the little face is smiling, it is read. Provides immediate feedback that it's reading you)

• Expensive
• Not always easy to navigate from Grid to Grid

• Free
• No account registration required keeps student information private
• Works with any web content
• Quick
• Allows for skills progression/development
• Available in 4 languages (English, French, German, Spanish)
• Supports a wide variety of students with exceptional needs without SEA equipment
• No special training required

• Browser specific
• Might not be able to install the extension if school blocks that ability
• Not smartphone compatible
• May not work with other accessibility features like zoom
• Has some known issues with adblock software (may not work on school computers depending on board's settings)

• creates surround sound for classroom
• decrease teacher voice loss when speaking at the board, turned away from students
• now, new systems are completely portable
• charge in battery can last up to 3 days
• does not centre any student out but is good for all students
• amplifies and clarifies voice with great sound quality
• works with an individuals personal hearing aid device when programmed correctly
• comes with a handheld mic for students to use when having class discussions
• can be adjusted to amplify certain areas of sound depending on individual student need and voice of teacher
• with FM system purchase, hush-ups usually comes with so sound in class from chairs greatly decreased

• very expensive to buy and is usually purchased through a SEA claim which requires a trial period with equipment and paperwork pre- and post- trial (time consuming), an APD report with a recommendation from an audiologist
• can be time consuming to set up if there are multiple systems in school as each requires specific frequencies
• teacher buy in as many say their voice is loud enough, educating them on the purpose of it
• usually only for three year period with SEA claim and will not be replaced until 5 years at which time requires a new APD report or for the student who have a unilateral hearing loss

• Historically, school calendars in the US were set to fit the needs of individual communities, with a large influence being the farming cycling (planting, harvesting)
• By the early 1900’s a more standardized calendar was set to allow for easier migration between rural and urban areas in US
• Presently the traditional school calendar persists despite the fact that few people are still tied to a farming cycle and despite air conditioning making year round learning possible
• Parents and educators often are concerned about summer learning loss, particularly among students with special education needs 
• Research from mid 1980’s suggests that special education students benefit from extra summer learning opportunities 
• Cooper et al (1996) found  in their meta analysis that summer learning loss is the equivalent of one month of instruction, and that the effect was more evident in procedural and factual knowledge (math facts and spelling) than in other forms of knowledge
• Cooper et al speculated that part of the summer learning loss in math could be attributed to parents being attuned to the need to practice reading but not providing opportunities to practice math to the same extent
• Gender, ethnicity and IQ did not appear to have an influence on summer learning loss, although significant differences were found with income (children from more affluent homes might have greater access to reading material)

• Break up large sections of text with page breaks and bullet points.
• Use a sans serif font (i.e., without heads and tails, such as Arial or Tahoma) which is easier for dyscalculic students to read. 
• Put up large wall posters to remind students of various basic concepts that cannot be easily recalled in short-term memory.
• Teach skills in organization, studying, and time management.

• Select appropriate tools to gather and analyze data
  
  
• Use tools to model the data by describing it mathematically
  
  
• Reason quantitatively to understand the data
  
  
• Reason abstractly to draw conclusions
  
  

• Guide students to ask good scientific questions and ask what Mathematical principles will support their answers.
  
  
• Emphasize big ideas — connect to real-world problems.
  
  
• When providing feedback use Mathematical language to support learning
  
  

• Desmos (an online graphing calculator)
  
  
• Stat Silk (a visualizing and mapping tool)
  
  
• National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.
  
  

• Stellarium is a 3D sky application that allows you to explore what constellations look like from different parts of the world, and to understand that they look different depending on where you are.
  
  
• The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Biointeractives are videos, animations, and simulations that address new research in the life sciences.
  
  
• The National Science Digital Library's collection is made up of resources from numerous STEM education organizations.
  
  

Improving Mathematics Problem Solving Skills for English language learners with Learning Disabilities

By: Diane Torres-Velasquez and Diane Rodriguez

• Select a topic and create objectives
• Identify a real-life activity using the skill
• Incorporate evidence-based practices
• Include instructional supports
• Monitor progress
• Plan for generalization
  
  

• content knowledge
• knowledge of what your students know and what they need to know
• knowledge of evidence-based instruction
• experience and practice managing instructional resources
• patience
• flexibility
  
  

• teach study skills
• help students identify a distraction-free location for doing homework
• allocate enough class time to complete activities
• keep on schedule
• provide strategies to check assignments for accuracy and completion before turning them in
• suggest self-monitoring tools such as school agendas, calendar apps, schedulers, and lists
• help students make a plan for large assignments by providing interim due dates for completion of meaningful chunks of work