Is this AT?

[KarenJanowski]

Scenario: you are asked to evaluate a High School student with learning issues, on an IEP for support in written language, reading, organization and study skills and social skills with goals written for each area.
There are three computers in the classroom with internet access, printer and scanner access.

You follow the SETT framework - identify additional appropriate student, environment and task information and develop your recommendations as follows:
IEP goal focus area - Reading (bright student reading four years below grade level)

1. All material will be available in digital format so that it is accessible to student
2. Recommend WordTalk, PowerTalk, Click,Speak and Accessibar be downloaded to each computer (All free, some offer highlighted words as they speak, color choices, can adjust speed and pitch)
3. Recommend download higher quality voices from nextup.com - student can choose which voice sounds best to him. ($35.00)
4. Show power of voice and color tools that are available in Word (which school has)
a. Recommend use insert sound object tool, drag to toolbar for easy access whenever student needs it. Teachers use it to record directions, embed prompts when completing assignments
b. Create default for student with customized font, font size, font spacing, font color and background color that supports student's learning style.

IEP Goal - Written Language
1. Offer student multiple methods of expression to demonstrate what he knows.
2. Pre-writing activities – use free online graphic organizers such as bubbl.us, mindomo, mindmeister or organization chart in Word or PPT
3. Explicitly teach spell check, synonym support to reflect use of grade level vocabulary
4. Teach use of text-to-speech tools recommended above to improve editing skills
5. Encourage use of voice tools such as “insert sound object” in Word or Voice Thread (voicethread.com)

IEP Goal – Organization/Study Skills

1. Teach use of tools embedded in Word – highlighting, autosummarize, outlining, etc.
2. Download electronic flashcards (for example, Cue Card, StudyCard) tools available on internet or use internet flashcard resources (for example, StudyStack
3. Set-up student to use iGoogle or similar free resource, as customized homepage with tools necessary for organization success – To-do lists, Notes, homework assignments

IEP Goal – Social Skills
1. Create scenarios using digital video tools such as cartoon callouts with graphics in Word, Voice Thread, PhotoStory, etc, that promote social skill development.

You get the point. Of course, there are more free resources, tools and strategies and I could also recommend tools such as Kurzweil, Read & Write Gold, Inspiration, etc. But by only recommending free resources (other than nextup voices) or using what is currently available, is that still AT? The tools are supporting the student’s IEP goals and objectives.
(And we appreciate that educators are more likely to incorporate tools that are easy to use and readily available and our goal is to promote independence and success for the student.)
Is this AT? Why or why not? Does AT for the high incidence populations have to cost money?
(I am posting this on my blog as well.)

[Wendy Homlish]

Wow - can I just copy that for my next meeting??? LOL Sounds like exactly what I would recommend (and have) for trials as part of the team action plan. I say YES this is AT, because it should be listed as SDI for this particular student in order to meet his educational goals and receive FAPE. AT can be free, at least in my book! The reason is think it is AT revolves around the question of AT vs. UDL. Yes, it should be UDL, but in my experience most classrooms do not have, or know about, those free tools. Sure, once it's installed the light bulb goes on for many teachers/teams. YIPPEE! Another reason I say it IS AT is so that it will be listed on the IEP as tool(s) to which the student needs access - because next year he may not have the same teacher, or even be in the same school - and having it on the IEP assures (well, SHOULD assure) that he maintains access as long as he needs it. I have recommended the use of Firefox with CLickSpeck, I-Lighter, Word Talk, and MS Word tools as part of many "toolkits" for these kiddos - and I have to say - districts LOVE me!! They know that if a particular student needs "more" we can provide it, but often this is sufficient for students to be successful.

[Jeannette Van Houten]

I am confused about the goals you listed. From my understanding, is that an IEP is for student progress on specific goals and objectives. And IEP is not about monitoring the staff responsibilities and what they should do to give the student free appropriate education. The goals you listed sound more like staff responsibilities then what you expect the student to be able to accomplish.

Yes it is AT. The law states products, devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities...".No where in the law does it say that it has to have a cost. Schools do not have to offer the best. They need to give a child a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.

My feeling is that if the tool meets the student’s needs it doesn't need to cost. However, I also believe that streamlining often needs to happen. The more tools that are used to accomplish a specific task, the more likely the tools will not be used. The user and teachers get frustrated on knowing when to use the tools and for what.

[KarenJanowski]

Jeannette,
Sorry - let me clarify - those aren't the actual goals listed - I just mentioned the general goal focus areas. What I listed are some possible recommendations that support the IEP Goals and Objectives.

Interested in feedback because these are typical suggestions that I make and I had one school district tell me that these are instructional technology tools and therefore not AT, thus they don't get implemented.

[Jeannette Van Houten]

Why do they see them as instructional technology?

[KarenJanowski]

Jeannette,

Here's the quote from the school district - I talked about this in the AT vs. IT discussion.

The school policy reads as follows:

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A. Definition & Purpose
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
assistive technology is defined as "...any item, piece of equipment or
product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or
customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities."

The principal reason for providing assistive technology is to enable
students to meet the instructional goals set forth for them. School
personnel should look at tasks that the student needs to accomplish, the
difficulties the student is having, and the ways that various devices might
help the student better accomplish those tasks.

Within the school setting it is important to distinguish assistive
technology from instructional or
educational technology and software. Instructional software is designed to
assist students in acquiring and developing specific skills in the
curricular content areas. Assistive technology is not for the purpose of
teaching material within a subject area, but rather to bypass or compensate
for communication problems, physical challenges and/or learning
difficulties."" END QUOTE

This information is on the school's website. To me, the district is limiting the definition of AT and restricting access for students as a result.

[MagiD]

I don't think that this is all that unusual. I worked for a private school that said any assistive technology had to be purchased by the sending school district. This really limited access to tools, because the school considered everything from IntelliTools software to AAC devices to Boardmaker & AlphaSmarts as assistive technology. It meant that we really only had access to some instructional technology, and traditional tools like MS Word and PowerPoint. At one point, I managed to get some IntelliKeys and software, but that only lasted less than a year.
Other places have had similar issues, where when I ask for a tool, the school tech specialist will tell me I need to go through the assistive technology department because I'm a special education teacher with a self-contained class. I wish we could see more AT/IT collaboration because I think it benefits all of the students... especially the free tools that are available. I see tons of possibilities for just the Google tools, and I'm not really referring to the Docs or Presenter programs.

[Glenda Anderson]

But these tools are to help the student bypass or compensate, are they not? (Goes back to our other discussion, doesn't it.) These tools to me are perfect examples of UDL and AT.

[Donna]

I agree with Chip and to add to this.... Does the tool meet the functional need part of the definition of AT? If the student needs the tool in order to adequately perform the task(s) expected as part of that curriculum, it is AT.

[Jeannette Van Houten]

The law does not say” law that we HAVE to make it available” for students with disabilities. The law says we have “consider” assistive technology. Consideration is “careful thought”. And even if the student is considered to need assistive technology, it is a typically a fight to get what is suggested in an AT evaluation. A district under the law can accept the evaluation but not accept the recommendations. Especially if the team does not agree with the recommendations.

If it is written into the IEP, it may or may not be enforced in the classroom. Unless you are constantly on top of the district with what they agreed to in the IEP meeting, then it doesn't it is going to happen.

I know this isn't going to be popular but listening to something is not reading. It is listening. Just because you can listen to something doesn't mean you can read words on a page. A person may have a strong auditory comprehension but a poor reading fluency and comprehension. If a student struggles with reading giving them access to auditory text is about an accommodation. A student should still receive remediation of the skills of reading.

I personally do not want students to learner quicker or faster. I believe the curriculums that we are teaching students are way to advance for where they are. We are not giving students to build a foundation of concepts. At this time, I see students’ foundation built out of twigs and sticks; there are major gaps between the basics and advance skills. The educational system is so worried about the test that they forget that all students to not grasp concepts at a quick pass.

[Glenda Anderson]

I agree. I also listen to audio books but that is a completely different process than reading. If a student needs to listen to audio books rather than reading a a book, this needs to be in the IEP as an accommodation. An audio book would be considered AT and should only be used as an alternative approach to reading. It could be UDL if the purpose of the book is the content and not the reading??? I would assume if it were UDL, the teacher would give a choice, "You may either read this book or listen to it on audio tape or watch the movie, depending on your learning preference" however, I do not see an audio book and reading a book as interchangeable.

[Jim Sprialis]

Hi Jennifer
The reference to your own daughter should strike a chord to all teachers (and to the students themselves). The question shouldn't be is this AT? The question should be what are this particular student's learning preferences? Every learner has a unique neurological construct. For your daughter, the audio book format tapped in to her neurological preferences for processing and retaining information. In a UDL classroom this would be a given. In today's classroom's it is considered a critical intervention (as an assistive technology to compensate for some deficit). Therein lies the difficulty... I think it's time to think about whether or not the term AT is counterproductive in addressing the diverse learning needs of ALL students in the class.
More work needs to be done to assist schools in becoming more attuned to neurological profiling of students. UDL principles talk about student's learning networks and it is therefore important that students themselves are involved in this process. If the school climate was attuned to this, perhaps then, your daughter would be in a position to feel comfortable to negotiate her preferred means of engaging with new learning (based upon her self knowledge of her learning profile).

[Jeannette Van Houten]

The concept of learning styles and the diverse learner is not new concept. I read about diverse learning and learning styles back in college in the late 80’s and it was around in the 60’s. And since then there isn’t a year that goes by that more research isn’t done to make the understanding even clearer. However, unless the educational society wants to change and implement that cookie cutter education isn’t working, it isn’t going to change.

We can drop the term AT from the law and you know what you would land up with? All students with disabilities not having access to tools that offer then LRE and FAPE. Heck even districts that have gone to court over AT implementation and lost still fight that the student doesn’t need AT and their teachers do not have time to implement and modify what is needed for the student.

Education is not about individuals it is about the status quo and plowing down the middle. If we hit 50% of our mark we are right on if we hit more then 50% we are just darn special. Education is about cookie cutter – everyone learns the same thing – at the same time – we move to the next topic if you get it or not at the same time and we all do it the same way.

( A person that is fighting with her nieces district to get the tools they agreed to in the IEP… going on a year and a half). There is no light at the end of this tunnel.