Chapter 7 Reading Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative wati

1. ASNAT Assessing Student’s Needs for Assistive Technology Chapter 7ReadingWisconsin Assistive Technology Initiativewww.wati.org

2. Objectives • Participants will understand the SETT process as it relates to identifying appropriate AT for students with difficulty reading and or understanding text. • Participants will have basic knowledge of the AT continuum for Reading as identified in the ASNAT 2009 Reading Chapter. • Participants will be able to access resources and tools for trial with students who need AT reading supports.

3. Introduction • 2009 ASNAT revision(Assessing Students’ Need for Assistive Technology) • Uses the SETT framework for AT assessments Student Environment Tasks Tools • Framework developed by Joy Zabala 2002 • http://sweb.uky.edu/~jszaba0/SETTUPDATE.PDF • Implementation Plan & Follow-up added by WATI • Revised version has added Sensory Considerations

4. Using the SETT framework • Traditional” SETT • The Student • Identify the functional area(s) of concern? • Special needs (related to area of concern) • Current abilities (related to area of concern) • What does the student need to communicate that is difficult or impossible to do independently at this time?

5. Using the SETT framework • The Environment(s) • Arrangement (instructional, physical) • Support (available to both the student and the staff) • Materials and Equipment (commonly used by others in the environments) • Access Issues (technological, physical, instructional) • Attitudes and Expectations (staff, family, others)

6. Using the SETT framework • The Tasks • What SPECIFIC tasks occur in the student’s natural environments that enable progress toward mastery of IEP goals and objectives? • What SPECIFIC tasks are required for active involvement in identified environments? (related to communication, instruction, participation, productivity, environmental control)

7. Using the SETT framework • The Tools • Tools include devices, services and strategies… everything that is needed to help the student succeed. • Describe what a useful system of assistive technology devices and services for the student would be like. • Brainstorm Tools that could be included in a system that addresses student needs. • Select the most promising Tools for trials in the natural environments. • Plan the specifics of the trial (expected changes, when/how tools will be used, cues, etc.) • Collect data on effectiveness. (Zabala 2002)

8. Using the SETT process Decision Making Guide WATI’s version of the SETT Framework For Reading Guide will be Different for every area of AT assessment

9. Using the Student Information Guide in the SETT Process • The Guide is intended to help the team discuss key issues when assessing the need for AT for a specific student. • It helps teams consider whole child & environment & not “jump” to a device! • It is a group (sped, reg. ed, support staff, admin., parent, student) process in which everyone contributes. • Important to write on a large format so that everyone can see, edit, remember (shared group memory), stay focused, and be informed! • Team members take roles of: Facilitator, Recorder, Time Keeper

10. Assistive Technology for Background

11. LEAs must provide accessible core instructional text for students with print disabilities: Students must meet NIMAS criteria as having an identified print disability as documented in their IEP. Blind or visually impaired Physical limitations Organic Dysfunction For specific information about Wisconsin NIMAS standards, procedures or criteria, go to http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/vision.html Background

12. Assistive Technology for The Student

13. Student List the functional areas of concern What are the student’s special needs related to the area of concern. What are the student’s abilities? What motivates the student? Other questions you might ask?

14. Assistive Technology for The Environment

15. Environmental Considerations What specific environmental considerations need to be addressed? Obstacles? Supports? Attitudes of others? What are other the environments that need to be taken into account?

16. Sensory Considerations (new) New section as a subset of Student & Environment • Does this student have sensory deficits or sensitivities that will impact his/her ability to read or process written text? • Do the learning environment(s) impact the sensory issues of the student?

17. Sensory Considerations STUDENT ENVIRONMENT Background noise Visual distractions Lighting (full spectrum vs. flourescent) Physical space • Visual clutter on page • Auditory sensitivity to computer read text • Organization of work space

18. Assistive Technology for The Task

19. Tasks to Consider • What does the student need to do to achieve educational goals from their IEP and be an active participant in their environment? • What are other students doing in the same environments?

20. As a team, identify by circling or other means those few tasks the student needs to do that will have the most impact. Narrowing the Focus

21. Solution Generation: Tools/Strategies As a team, brainstorm and write on chart paper any assistive technologies &/or strategies you think will assist the student in successfully completing those tasks you identified. • Brainstorm possible AT • Don’t evaluate (yet)! • Remember to include AT that the student already uses • Use all resources including people

22. Assistive Technology for The Tools

23. AT Continuum • Follow the progression of low tech, through mid tech to high tech when selecting assistive technology tools

24. Assistive Technology: past and present • Part of the Student’s past & current environment • List any tools that the student is currently using or has used in the past to assist with reading tasks. • Success rate? • If “abandoned”, why?

25. Assistive Technology for Low Tech Tools

26. AT ContinuumLow Tech • Standard text • Use reading strategies & tools • Color • Highlighters • Highlighting tape • Colored overlays or reading strips • Books adapted for access • Page fluffers • Flip Page Turner - www.ablenetinc.com • BookWorm - www.ablenetinc.com

27. AT ContinuumLow Tech • Books adapted for access cont. • Visual Modifications • Enlargement • Increased spacing • Hand-held or bar magnifiers • Low Tech Modifications to text • Modify vocabulary (use Wite-0ut® to replace wording) • Use visual cues for trouble words, where to start reading, etc. • Language Master to read trouble words

28. Assistive Technology for Mid Tech Tools

29. AT ContinuumMid Tech • Handheld device to read individual words • Talking Dictionary – www.franklin.com • Reading Pens • Wizcom – www.wizcom.com • Iris – www.irislink.com

30. AT ContinuumMid Tech • Use of Pictures/Symbols with Text • -Software • Boardmaker v. 6 – www.mayer-johnson.com • Clicker - www.cricksoft.com/us/default.asp • IntelliTools Classroom Suite - www.intellitools.com • News 2 You - www.news-2-you.com • Picture It - www.slatersoftware.com • Writing With Symbols or Symwriter - www.mayer-johnson.com • Silver-Pascuilla, H., Ruedel, K. & Mistrett, S. reported that seeing words illustrated was an effective strategy for emerging readers (2004).

31. AT ContinuumMid Tech Electronic Text • Commercial e-books • Balanced Literacy – www.intellitools.com • Leap Frog – www.leapfrog.com • Planet Wobble – www.planetwobble.com • Start to Finish series – www.donjohnston.com • Thinking Reader – www.tomsnyder.com Project LITT: Literacy Instruction through Technology conducted a three year study of the effectiveness of hypermedia based children's literature in improving reading skills of students with learning disabilities http://edtechfm.sdsu.edu/SPED/ProjectLITT/LITTinfo.html

32. AT ContinuumMid Tech Electronic Text • E-book sites for downloading (free!) • Bookshare – www.bookshare.org (student must qualify with a print disability) • Project Gutenberg - http://www.promo.net/pg/ • Starfall - http://www.starfall.com/ • Teacher Tap - (comprehesnive resource of e-books) http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic93.htm • UDL editions - http://udleditions.cast.org/

33. AT ContinuumMid Tech Electronic Text • E-book sites for downloading (subscription) • One More Story - http://www.onemorestory.com/ • Reading A-Z - http://www.readinga-z.com • Tumblebooks - http://www.tumblebooks.com/ • Listing of electronic books - http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Curriculum/Reading/electronicbooks.php

34. AT ContinuumMid Tech Electronic Text • Modified E-book sites • Accessible Book Collection - http://accessiblebookcollection.wikispaces.com/ • Classic Bookshelf - www.classicbookshelf.com • Tarheel Reader - http://tarheelreader.org/ Classic Bookshelf

35. AT ContinuumMid Tech Electronic Audio Text Text doesn’t always have to be viewed. Secondary level students with mild disabilities performed higher in content assessments when they used audio texts compared to standard print based text (Boyle, Rosenberg, Connelly, Gallin Washburn, Brinckerhoff, & Banerjee, 2003). • iTunes – www.itunes.com • Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic http://www.rfbd.org/ • PlayAway – www.playaway.com • Players include: iPod, MP3 player, FP3 player (not compatible with MP3) • Convert text to audio using a text conversion program (SpeakAloud, Text-to-Audio, etc.)

36. AT ContinuumMid Tech Handheld Electronic Text Readers • Amazon Kindle – www.amazon.com • Classmate Reader – www.humanware.com • Victor Reader Stream – www.humanware.com Kindle DX Classmate Reader

37. AT ContinuumMid Tech Modifying Electronic Text • Use word processor to modify • Font • Size • Spacing between words, letters, lines • Margins (increase margins to show fewer words per line) • Color - text & • Readability – use autosummarize features to cognitively reformat text background

38. AT ContinuumMid Tech Create You Own Modified text/books • CAST UDL Bookbuilder - http://bookbuilder.cast.org/ • Clicker - www.cricksoft.com/us/default.asp • Cueline ED – www.onionmountaintech.com • eStoryMaker - http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/estorymaker • IntelliTools Classroom Suite - www.intellitools.com • My Own Bookshelf – www.softtouch.com • PowerPoint – part of Microsoft Office

39. AT ContinuumMid Tech Modifying Text for Sensory Impairments • Hearing Impairments • Sign Language Avatars – www.vcom3d.com • Visual Impairments • Use accessibility features in computer control panel • Enlarge text on web browser -http://www.saltmeadow.com/large.html • Consult with teacher of Visually Impaired

40. Assistive Technology for High Tech Tools

41. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Text Readers Research shows: • TTS (Text to Speech) helps special education students improve comprehension, fluency, and accuracy and enhances concentration • Being able to immediately decode a word by hearing it spoken within the context of a passage helps students build word recognition and vocabulary without disturbing the flow of comprehension • These technologies provide a supportive reading environment and increase a student’s ability to read interesting and appropriate grade-level materials by minimizing the need for decoding skills and maximizing the student’s ability to comprehend (Silver-Pascuilla, et.al, 2004)

42. AT ContinuumHigh Tech • Text Readers as part of the computer OS • Mac OS • Spoken User Interface (control panel) • Text Edit (application included with Macs) • Windows OS • Narrator • Windows XP working with Word 2003 can use built-in TTS in Word

43. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Free downloadable Text Readers • Acrobat Reader – (built into Adobe Reader) – www.adobe.com/AcrobatReader • Balabolka – www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm • Natural Reader - http://naturalreaders.com • ReadPlease - http://www.readplease.com • Spoken Text - http://www.spokentext.net/ • WordTalk - www.wordtalk.org.uk

44. AT ContinuumHigh Tech • Web based Text readers • CLiCk, Speak (works with Firefox browser) – http://clickspeak.clcworld.net • Read the Words - www.readthewords.com • WebAnywhere - http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/wa.php Read the Words

45. AT ContinuumHigh Tech • Commercial Text Readers • AbleReader – www.ablereader.com • Read: OutLoud – www.donjohnston.com • TextAloud – www.textaloud.com

46. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Iowa Study research supporting text readers: • Students were able to access twice as much material using the text reader as printed text (160 wpm vs 79 wpm) • Student’s comprehension increased using text reader even though difficulty of text increased compared to comprehension with printed text • Improvements and attitudes increased over time (better the 2nd year of the study) http://store.cambiumlearning.com/Kurzweil/files/Iowa_Text_Reader_Study_Report.pdf

47. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Scanning Software with OCR and Text Reader • ClaroRead – www.clarosoftware.com • Kurzweil – www.kurzweiledu.com • Premier Assistive Technology – www.readingmadeez.com • Read and Write Gold – www.readwritegold.com • Scan N Talk – www.colligo.us/Scan_N_Talk.php • WYNN – www.freedomscientific.com Many of those listed above have a “mobile” USB flashdrive version available.

48. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Text Reader with Study Skill Supports “There is good evidence that struggling readers can improve reading comprehension skills by learning the strategies of proficient readers and putting them into practice” (Don Johnston, Inc., 2005). Don Johnston, Incorporated. (2005). The scientific-based research underlying Read:OutLoud™ & Solo™. Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://www.donjohnston.com/research/readoutloud_index.html

49. AT ContinuumHigh Tech Text Reader with Study Skill Supports Varying levels of study skill supports built into: • ClaroRead • Kurzweil • Premier Assistive Technology • Read and Write Gold • Read: OutLoud • WYNN Search for features of reading supports using Tech Matrix - www.techmatrix.org Read: OutLoud

50. Solution Selection: Tools & Strategies • Review the list of potential tools • Now is the time to evaluate for a match with: • Student (abilities, difficulties, likes/dislikes) • Environment (supports, obstacles) • Tasks (what 1-2 things do you want the student to do?) • Prioritize selections