Introductions - Tell us about Yourself

[KarenJanowski]

Welcome to the Assistive Technology Network. Please introduce yourself and let us know where you are from.

[Kirsten Haugen]

Bob,
Hi from Eugene, OR! I remember first meeting you at DCCG (now CforAT) in Berkeley where you had the privilege of meeting one of my more interesting and challenging students, remember? You passed muster with me at that point -- for those of you who don't know Bob, he has a heap of patience fueled by a great sense of humor! (That student is now almost 27 and living in NJ - we still keep in touch!).
One of these days when my kids are a little older, I'll get back to some of the great AT conferences and hopefully we'll cross paths. In the meantime, I hope all is well with you, and welcome to the AT Ning!
-- Kirsten

[Paula Walser]

Give me a break - 19 years - I thought that grey hair was all part of the DJ image. Missed you at CTG - just seemed like something was missing

[Paul Hamilton]

Hello to all! I'm Paul Hamilton--checking in from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island (220 km north of Victoria on the southern tip of the island, and nearly 400 km south of Cape Scott at the north end.) I work as an AT consultant (k-12) in 5 school districts on the northern half of this beautiful island. I'm part of the SET-BC team, which is a resource program of the provincial ministry of education.

I spent 15 years as an elementary and middle school classroom teacher in Canada (6 years) and in India (9 years). In 1994, I got into special ed as a district itinerant resource teacher. I'm now in my 5th year as an AT consultant, and this is definitely the most rewarding job yet!!! SET-BC's mandate is to support low incidence kids with physical challenges, visual impairment as well as ASD. Although our primary focus is on the low incidence population, I'm glad that there is some significant spin-off for high incidence learners. I think UDL is a great theoretical and practical framework for approaching the whole picture. I'm passionate about promoting a UDL approach everywhere.

My hobby is free internet based resources that are of value to learners and their teachers. I blog about these, and I'm doing my best to make my blog a useful tool for educators at all levels. I'm especially enthusiastic about the Web 2.0 applications that are creating so many new ways of engaging both learners and their teachers. This professional social network is a great example of the new possibilities that are being created on the Read/Write Web.

[KarenJanowski]

Paul has created an outstanding resource that everyone should subscribe to as he finds the most amazing free tools on the web! And he makes it easy for us because he divides sites and tools into every conceivable academic area!
Check his site at the link above!

(And meeting Paul at CTG was a personal highlight for me!)

[Kirsten Haugen]

I second that. Paul's blog is THE go-to place for free online tools. Thanks for your huge contribution in making sense of all that's out there. Thanks, Paul!

[MagiD]

Paul,
I use, and share the SET-BC website all the time. It is a fantastic place to go for the moments when I know I want something, but I'm not entirely sure how to get it to work. Last year, we used a number of the behavioral ideas (either directly or changed), and I've also used several of the vocabulary activities (like the adjective pages) for writing. Thanks!

[Paul Hamilton]

Please let me know what it is on the SET-BC site that doesn't work the way you think it should, and I'll be happy to try and help figure it out. Also, if there are instructions that you don't find clear, I'll pass that info along to the folks who manage the site. --Paul

[MagiD]

Oh, no! I meant I use it for ideas if I don't know how something should look! Example: last year, we had a student having some behavior problems who didn't understand the progression of consequences. On the website, I found the "ladders", and we used those to customize a list of "good" and "bad" consequences that would happen for specific behaviors. Like, if she didn't behave on the bus, she had to sit up front, and her chart showed her that.

[Paul Hamilton]

Of course! (Now that I look at it again, you were clear in your writing, while my receptive language wasn't working very well.) Application is often fraught with challenge. I'm delighted to know that you find the SET-BC website helpful. I'll pass your comments along to encourage the folks who are responsible for the website. Encouragement is such a wonderful gift, so I'm really grateful. --Paul

[Nicole Peters]

My name is Nicole Peters. I'm an occupational therapist. I work in a suburban school district (outside of Kansas City) and am on the district Assistive Technology team.
Recently, a co-worker (Tracy Rampy) and I have been out presenting (ATIA and CTG) about our unique relationship which merges IT (infromation technology) and AT. We feel strongly that our district has made an incredible step in merging the two departments! The outcome for students and staff has been incredible customer service.
Thanks for this opportunity to learn and share with all of you!

[Hindie Becker Dershowitz]

Nicole,

Can you share some examples how AT and IT has merged in your district? Would love to learn some ideas. thanks

[Nicole Peters]

I'm attaching our powerpoint which might give more information. After several transitions and attempts that didn't work, our executive director of IT and Student Services came together for a new position. We now have an IT staff member on our AT team! Tracy (our IT/AT specialist) has really learned more than I'm sure she ever expected to know about AT! With changes in technology and lockdowns in school districts, we were very limited as an AT team. Tracy is now our link to the IT world (or I guess you could say the IT link ot our AT world:). Our effectiveness has greatly increased!