Providing Visual Supports

Last post I discussed the continuum of AT available to students in college. However, now I want to talk about how you can implement AT into a child's home, school, and community in order to provide them with visual supports.

Students who have cognitive disabilities, autism, and/or multiple disabilities often have difficulty with self-management and personal organization. Their lack of these skills has been successfully addressed through the use of visual supports such as picture schedules and activity sequences, which are sequential, pictorial representations of events or task that cue a student to complete them. 

Graphics applications and apps for mobile devices based on touch technology can be used to easily create visual supports such as picture schedules, activity schedules, and social stories. With the accessibility to easy to use mobile technology, visual supports are increasingly being provided by handheld devices.

• iPrompt
• Available for iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad
• Presents picture-based prompts that have been configured by teachers and parents to help students stay on task and transition between activities. 
• Provides hundred of stock photos and also allows users to add digital pictures from built-in camera. 
• First-Then (Good Karma Applications)
• Uses digital photos to create picture schedules and provide the option to record messages linked to each picture.
• Picture Planner (Cognitopia)
• Designed so that students with cognitive disabilities can construct personalized picture schedules for themselves on a computer and then use the schedules in either a printed version or on mobile devices. 
• iCommunicate, Boardmaker, Pogo Boards, and Powerpoint
• Can be used to create social stories 
• Helps students learn the social information they may be lacking.

iPrompt is an app that I never heard of before. After reading about it, I really wanted to check it out in more detail. I found this video clip below, which is just a short tutorial of the app. The app is a bit pricey for me, but it seems like it would definitely be worth it if you were working with a student with cognitive disabilities, autism, and/or multiple disabilities each day. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 14) 2012. Second Edition. 

AT For Students In College

In previous posts I have talked about IEPs and assistive technology for those school age students. However, what happens once these students with disabilities graduate from high school? The logical next step would be going on to college.

The number of students with disabilities attending college has increased significantly in the past decade, and assistive technology offers solutions to the obstacles they face in meeting the academic demands of college. 

AT can be used to help college students during classes, testing situations, and completing assignments. However, all accommodations must be directly linked to tasks that are required in college coursework. Some reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities in college are listed below.

• Note Taking
• Use of a portable note taker (Neo)
• Smart pen
• Understanding Lectures
• C-print captioning
• Assistive listening system
• Tasking Tests
• Word processing application
• Use of spell-check
• Use of calculator
• Text-to-speech software
• Accessing Course Materials
• Captioned videos
• Electronic handouts
• Reading
• Books in alternate formats
• Highlighting
• Text readers
• Completing Papers and Other Assignments
• Screen magnification
• Word prediction
• Voice recognition
• Graphic organizers

I'm thinking college, even with my disability. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 14) 2012. Second Edition. 

Assistive Technology Implementation Resources

Throughout this blog I have been discussing the process that the IEP team goes through when selecting AT. After the AT consideration process, the next step is implementing the assistive technology. Implementation planning is vital to successful use of assistive technology. For successful assistive technology implementation, a collaboratively developed assistive technology implementation plan must take place. The purpose of this post is to provide you with implementation resources that I have taken from my textbook. In this post I will provide you with a brief overview of my two favorites, however I encourage you to click the links and check them out for yourself! 

"First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective... Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends.. Third, adjust all your means to that end."

• Assistive Technology Implementation: Working Together to Make a Measurable Difference
• This is a complete instructional module on AT implementation from the Texas Assistive Technology Network that includes an implementation form. 
• Easy to read presentation slides on how to implement AT. 
• Key points...
• You can use AT to...
• support achievement goals
• expand educational/vocational options
• increase participation in educational settings and activities
• increase productivity
• increase independence
• increase quality of life
• The purpose of AT implementation is for students to use AT to actively participate in curricular and extra curricular activities.
• The result of AT implementation is increased academics and functional performance. 

"As the technology is integrated into the student's program, the implementation plan is adjusted to help move the student along the continuum to full integration."

• Making It Work: Effective Implementation of Assistive Technology Guide
• This introduction and seven downloadable sections are devoted to specific steps in the AT implementation process. 
• I love that this resource includes PDFs that you can download as well as specific samples of tools used for AT implementation. 
• Key points..
• Gather relevant information
• Establish IEP goals
• Conduct AT trials
• Identify AT solutions
• Develop AT implementation plan
• Equipment support task
• Proper equipment maintenance
• Staff and student training are essential
•  Meet regularly to discuss a student's IEP. These meetings also provide an opportunity to review AT implementation. 
• Adapt lessons for technology integration
• Follow up and plan transition

The Use of AAC Systems In The Home & Community

Last post I talked about how augmentative communication can be integrated into the IEP. Augmentative communication allows students to feel a sense of independence by providing them with a voice. However, although this is essential in school, it is also important to support the use of augmentative communication at home and in the community as well.

Augmentative Communication Is The Voice For Many Students

By using the augmentative communication in different environments such as home and community, it reinforces the communication skills that the student learned at school and helps generalize them to other settings. Therefore, teachers must be actively involved in ensuring that there is appropriate carryover and use within the home, among the family members, and across community sites. 

AAC Systems In The Home

• Training in the use of augmentative communication systems should be provided to families. This may include strategies for expanded use of the system and providing new vocabulary for the unique communication demands of home and community. 
• Include siblings, grandparents, extended family, etc. in the evaluation and implementation process to ensure a higher rate of success with the device. 

AAC Systems In The Community

• Communicating with unfamiliar partners is extremely challenging for most users. In order to support them, devices can be programmed to ask specific questions and guests can be directed toward the AAC user to answer a question. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 12) 2012. Second Edition. 

Augmentative Communication & IEP integration

Last post I talked about the concept of learned helplessness with nonspeaking students. Some students require augmentative communication in order to actively communicate with others. Therefore, it is essential that their augmentative communication is integrated into the IEP.

So, how exactly do we do this?

EASY! Every student must have goals and objectives that reflect the use and continued development of the system. It is important that the student's use of the system is integrated within and across the school day, including both instructional and non-instructional periods. The IEP must include clear statements reflecting the student's communication needs across environments. 

Still not sure that you completely understand how to integrate augmentative communication into the IEP? Check out this sample IEP goal to support instruction and academics.

• Parker will use his augmentative communication device to make a brief presentation to the class about the history of the global race to space. 

One key thing that I thought was important to remember is that when the team develops IEP goals, it is important to remember that the augmentative communication device is not an IEP goal in itself but rather a means to accomplishing this goal. During my journey through assistive technology, I felt that I have learned so much and I now feel more confident being a part of an IEP team making decisions in regards to AT needs. 


Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 12) 2012. Second Edition. 

Strategies To Overcome Learned Helplessness

My next few posts are going to be switching gears just a little bit and truly focusing on the teacher's crucial role in teaching effective communication skills by integrating augmentative communication into the curriculum and daily classroom routines. This post specifically will focus on what strategies teachers can use to overcome 'learned helplessness'.

Learned helplessness can be defined as a disruption in motivation, affect, and learning following exposure to non-contingent (uncontrollable) outcomes. 

Sometimes just thinking you can is not enough. 

Teachers can use the following different strategies to help students overcome learned helplessness...

• Build a daily expectation of communication through specific activities such as choosing the activity during recess, picking a book to read, or identifying where to eat lunch.
• Construct a brief daily report to parents that is communicated by the student.
• Allow natural consequences to occur and provide avenues for repair. This includes setups that alter the environment to provide less support or sabotage.
• Provide for choice making whenever possible that requires the student to use his or her augmentative communication system.
• Provide powerful phrases on the device for students to reject or protest something. 

Currently, I have one student in my kindergarten classroom who does not like to speak. When I first met her in the beginning of the year she would barely say hello to me. She was fine socially with her peers, however if she needed something she would just cry instead of asking for it. She has already made great progress since September. Originally I would ask her yes/no answers to get a response. Now, I ask her more open ended questions so she will give me longer responses. She now knows that things will not just be given to her, rather she needs to ask for what she needs. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 12) 2012. Second Edition. 

TechMatrix

Last post I discussed a great educational application for you to save as a resource for the future. This post will focus on another great resource the TechMatrix. I used TechMatrix this morning to generate and explore different resources available to teach math to students with special needs. It is truly an amazing website and you should visit it as soon as you get the chance. 

http://techmatrix.org/

TechMatrix is a very useful resource for teachers and parents who are looking for an AT device to support their child. TechMatrix allows you to narrow your search for the perfect AT device by content area, grade level, disability category, and instructional support. Once you enter all of your information and specific criteria, TechMatrix will provide you with a list of products. It also allows you to select the products you are interested in and compare them on a chart. 

When I was on the TechMatrix website I chose to search for products for a math, elementary student, who has a specific learning disabilities and is looking for opportunities to learn concepts for learning support. After putting all of this information into the advanced search, TechMatrix generated 17 products for me! However, after using the compare option, the TechMatrix narrowed the products down to the 4 best based on my criteria. I want to share a brief overview of them with you! 

• Cosmo's Learning Systems
• Family of educational and computer games that aim to entertain children ages 2-8 years and teach math skills. Children empower a virtual robot to explore new adventures in a playground filled with activities. 
• Academy of Math
• Designed to help at risk students develop proficiency in math through skill development and learner motivation. Gives students opportunities to learn concepts, practice, and reinforce them. 
• Provides strategies to help school meet AYP goals & aligns with standards!
• $500+
• Classroom Suite 4
• Combines direct instruction with a flexible tool environment to help students in grades PK-5 achieve mastery in reading, writing, and math.
• Provides students with explicit instruction, constructive practice, and embedded assessments to allow teachers to gauge progress and individualize instruction for their students.
• Incorporates text to speech, word prediction, scanning capabilities, and spell check.
• $100-$499, free trial to download online with minimal features!
• Classworks
• Web-based instructional software providing interactive lessons, customized learning and assessments in K-12 math, reading, language arts, and science.
• Offers interactive instruction through a multi-sensory approach that includes voice, pop-up text, audio support, video, photographs, artist drawing, and animated clips.
• Multilingual & based on state standards.
• Free trail download online. 

I really enjoyed using the TechMatrix. It is a great website and I highly recommend it to help any IEP team, teacher, or parent who is looking for an AT device to support a specific students needs. 

Review of Educational Application: Math Goodies

Last post I discussed the continuum of AT options available to support students in math. As I continued to read through chapter five in my textbook I came across a variety of educational resources that are available and very easy to use. However, my favorite resource that I discovered is called Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies. This is definitely a resource that would help a student struggling with math improve. Check it out at the link below. http://www.mathgoodies.com/. 

Math Goodies is an amazing website. This is a free math help portal featuring interactive lessons, worksheets, and homework help. The website provides options available for teachers, parents, or students. Also, it is aligned to meet the common core standards, yay! Check out some key points about the website below.

• Free lessons, webquests, worksheets, and homework help. 
• Practice exercises for struggling students
• Challenging exercises for advanced students
• Provides articles, forums, glossary, and standards. 
• Fun reinforcement of math concepts- crossword puzzles and interactive games
• Webquests- provide real world connections to math
• Additionally, you can purchase the CD for unlimited access of everything the website has to offer.

Continuum of AT Options for Math Assignments

I have been blogging a lot tonight about Chapter 5 in my textbook which is all about computers and the internet to teach math. Last post focused on educational applications that can be used to teach math concepts, math skills, and problem solving. The purpose of this post is to discuss the continuum of assistive technology available for those struggling with mathematics. As I mentioned in previous posts, assistive technology exists on a continuum from low-tech to high-tech. You should always begin with the low-tech end, moving to mid-tech or high-tech solutions only if a student's needs remain unmet. I am going to share with you both low-tech and mid-tech adaptations that can assist students with disabilities in completing math assignments.

Low-Tech Options

Manipulative Number Line

• Manipulatives
• Rubber Stamps
• Manipulative Number Line
• Laminated Addition & Multiplication Tables
• Special Rulers

Mid-Tech Options

• Oversized Button Calculators
• Talking Calculators
• See 'n' Solve Calculators
• Coin Abacus
• Coin-u-lator

Currently I am working in a kindergarten classroom. Since it is the beginning of the year we have been doing a lot of number recognition and one-to-one correspondence. However, earlier in the week I introduced the number line. For some of my students this was simply an activity to figure out where the numbers should be in the correct order. Other students I challenged them to begin simple addition using the number line as support. The only number lines that I have previously seen are the paper ones and ones with beads. However, I love this idea of a clothespin number line. I think my students would really benefit and its super easy to make for additional practice or to place at a center! 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 5) 2012. Second Edition. 

Math Concepts, Math Skills, and Problem Solving Educational Applications

My last blog post focused on educational applications for students that are struggling with visual-spatial or motor control difficulties. I had no idea about all of these wonderful supports and assistive technologies for students struggling in math before reading this chapter in the textbook. Next, in this post I am going to focus on educational applications that can be used to teach math concepts, math skills, and problem solving. In order for students to become effective problem solvers, they need to have conceptual understanding.

Check out these great educational applications to support students struggling with math concepts, math skills, and problem solving in the classroom.

• Virtual Manipulatives
• National Library of Virtual Manipulatives maintained by Utah State University
• http://nlvm.usu.edu/
• Users can navigate the site by category ( number and operations, algebra, geometry, etc.) 
• Illuminations
• Provides visual representations of concepts and interactive activities.
• Computing Technology for Math Excellence
• Provides explanatory information related to using virtual manipulatives. 

• Internet 4 Classrooms
• High-quality free internet resources to use in classroom instruction and to reinforce specific subject matter areas at home.

• Virtual Laboratories in Probability and Statistics
• Great resource for students studying advanced math.
• Provides text to help students understand basic theories.

• Math Playground
• Supports learning math concepts, skills, and problem solving.
• Free, online activities provided in different categories. (math games, word problems, and logic puzzles)

• Conceptua Math
• Focuses on fractions and offers a variety of tools for teachers to use to enhance their whole class instruction.
• Provides visual models that are accompanied by spoken text to facilitate independent use.
• Grades 2-7

• Destination Math
• Targets development of skills in math reasoning, conceptual understanding, and problem solving for students K-12. 
• Use of animation and audio output keeps students engaged. 
• Also has a full Spanish version to support ELL students!

During my student teaching experience last year I had a student in my third grade class that was struggling with math sense. He was fine with math automaticity and fluency. However, he had trouble with math concepts and problem solving. Additionally, he would have trouble recognizing why his answer did not make sense. I worked with him one-on-one throughout the year to help him better understand math concepts, therefore making less errors in his problem solving. I wish I knew about some of these great educational applications because I think he would have really benefitted from them. My favorite educational application that I learned about was destination math because it supports students with step-by-step instructions much like a teacher would. I also loved that there is now a full Spanish version to support ELL students who are becoming more and more popular in todays classrooms. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 5) 2012. Second Edition. 

Visual-Spatial / Motor Control Difficulties and Technology Tools

In my last post I discussed educational applications that teachers could use to support students struggling with automaticity and fluency in math. This post will focus on technology tools that can be used to support students with visual-spatial or motor control difficulties. Lets start with what visual-spatial and motor control difficulties are.

Students with disabilities may experience difficulty with writing numbers, aligning digits in computation problems, and creating visual representations usually due to fine motor control or visual spatial issues. Additionally, these students may not be able to understand and interpret their own written work.

So, what can we do to support these struggling students in the classroom. The textbook provides several educational applications that address visual-spatial and motor control difficulties.

• MathPad
• Talking math worksheet program that enables students to perform arithmetic computations with whole numbers on the computer in much the same way they would using pencil and paper. 
• Allows students with fine motor difficulties to demonstrate their skill simply by using the keyboard or clicking the mouse. 
• Provides speech output options for those with visual impairments.
• MathPad Plus
• Extends all of the features or MathPad to arithmetic computations with fractions and decimals.
• Provides several additional features to support student success.

• Virtual Pencil (VP) Arithmetic
• Designed for students who are unable to operate a pencil effectively.
• Allows students to access addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals without using a pencil and paper.
• Offers a speech feedback option for those who cannot see the problem.
• Virtual Pencil (VP) Algebra
• Extends most of the features of VP Arithmetic so students with disabilities can solve algebraic equations.
• Speech feedback option for those who struggle with sight or reading.

• Number Navigator
• Simple math processor to enter and solve basic math problems on the computer.
• Colors, fonts, and font sizes are customizable.
• Free!

• Microsoft Word/ Microsoft Equation Editor
• Enables students who have difficulty with handwriting but have good mouse control to create simple or advanced equations in correct mathematical notation.
• Numerous symbols are provided and are entered via a mouse click.

• Scientific Notebook
• High-end application that is designed to solve equations. 
• Provides students who have disabilities the opportunity to participate in advanced math classes. 
• I think this is so great to have support for students with disabilities in advanced math classes. Just because someone has a disability does not mean that they cannot be successful in advanced classes with appropriate supports. 

• Meanders' Annotation
• Provides a solution to handwriting problems in geometry.
• This is an add-on tool that works in Microsoft Office. 
• Enables students to draw on diagrams, record legible markings, and plot lines. 

Check out this video below on MathPad.

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 5) 2012. Second Edition. 

Automaticity & Math Fluency Educational Applications

In my last post I discussed three key questions for teachers to consider when selecting educational applications to meet students' goals and objectives. This post I want to focus more specifically on what kinds of educational applications can be used to address automaticity and math fluency. Before getting started, I wanted to address the question what does automaticity and math fluency entail?

Automaticity refers to the fast, accurate, and effortless processing of content information. Automaticity is also referred to as math fact fluency. 

Students with disabilities often have difficulty reaching benchmarks in automaticity and math fluency because they need more instruction, practice, and reinforcement than their peers. Additionally they have difficulty remembering as many facts as their peers, fail to transfer the facts to long-term memory, and have difficulty retrieving those math facts quickly. So, how can we help? There are educational applications specifically designed to support automaticity and math fluency

• FASTT Math (Fluency and Automaticity through Systematic Teaching with Technology)

• Assesses students' command of basic facts by measuring response time and then generates customized activities based on the results.
• Students progress through the customized series of activities to strengthen memorization of facts and eliminate the need to rely on counting strategies to solve problems. 

• Timez Attack
  
• Solely focuses on multiplication facts, teaching the 2 to 12 times tables.
• Engages students in a high-tech video game environment featuring high-quality graphics. 

• ArithmAttack
  
• Practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, division facts.
• Customized problem sets are easily generated by setting the highest and lowest numbers to use so students' practice can be targeted to their particular areas of need. 

• Arcademic Skill Builder

• Math games are designed to help develop automaticity in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, integers, fractions, and ratios.
• Various speeds of the game- slow, normal, fast. 

My favorite part about these educational applications was that only a limited number of keys are required to control the games so they could easily become accessible to students who are unable to use the standard keyboard or mouse!

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 5) 2012. Second Edition. 

Key Questions When Selecting Educational Applications...

As I mentioned in my last post, my next posts will shift focuses from students with reading and writing disabilities. Rather, I will be discussing students with math disabilities. I am going to discuss the different assistive technology devices that are available for students struggling in math areas. Before we get started with that, the point of this post is to help teachers know what key questions to ask when they are selecting educational applications for their students to meet their goals and objectives. As a new teacher, this is something definitely something that I will want to keep in mind for the future. Teachers should employ a user-centered approach when selecting educational applications, matching them to the students' IEP goals to keep students on target with the curriculum. Teachers should also consider the following key questions...

• What is the intended outcome of the use of the educational application?
• For example, is it meant to strengthen math skills in problem solving or is it meant to build speed and accuracy with basic math facts?
• Is the educational applications likely to fulfill its stated purpose?
• For example, if the stated purpose of the activity is to build problem-solving skills, does it provide explanatory feedback needed to do so or simply assess whether or not problems are solved correctly?
• Can the educational applications be used as an alternative to traditional classroom activities to enhance students' participation?
• For example, will students learn as effectively using online manipulatives as they would using traditional manipulatives?

"Students interests must be considered. If the educational application matches students' interests, they will be more apt to dedicate their attention to it. When students find learning activities meaningful and interesting, including those that are computer-based, they spend more time on task and are more likely to meet learning objectives." 

- I think this is something essential to keep in mind whether teaching in regular education or special education. 

Amy G. Dell, Deborah A. Newton, Jerry G. Petroff. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. (Chapter 5) 2012. Second Edition. 

Assistive Technology & Math

After watching the webinar a few days ago on assistive technology and math I became more curious on the topic and I hope you did as well. If you have not read that post or visited the website, I suggest you do so! Math has always been one of my favorite subjects growing up and I absolutely love teaching it! However, I do sometimes run out of ideas on how to support struggling students. I also have no experience teaching math in special education. Therefore, my next few posts will focus specifically on assistive technology and math. Most of the research that I will be discussing will be taken from my textbook, another great resource. (Assistive Technology in the Classroom, Enhancing the School Experience of Students with Disabilities). 

What experience do you have teaching math in special education? 

Did you have any assistive technology incorporated? 

Websites- Inspiration & Kidblog

This post will wrap up my module 3 assignment. My last few posts have really allowed me to piece together all the information that I have been learning in grad school about special education and assistive technology. As educators we are always on a journey, improving to become better and trying out new techniques and strategies with our students. There are so many great ways to support these students in the classroom and I cannot wait to try them. I wanted to provide you with additional resources in this post therefore I am taking some websites from my textbook chapter regarding assistive technology supporting writing.

• Graphic Organizers
• Inspiration/ Kidspiration
• This software supports visual thinking. Visual thinking allows the learner to better understand and retain information because ideas, words, and concepts are associated with images. Visual learning helps students organize and analyze information, integrate new knowledge and think critically. Graphic organizers, diagrams and outlines are just some strategies. 
• Graphic organizers are especially useful for the prewriting and brainstorming stage. They allow for students to organize their information and ideas for a writing assignment. 

http://www.inspiration.com/

• Blogs in Education
• Kidblog
• Kidblog is built by teachers, for teachers, so students can get the most out of the writing process. This allows teachers to benefit from the digital revolution of technology in education. 
• Blogging is something that is new to me this semester and I already love it. I can just imagine how excited older elementary students would be to use kidblog for their writing. This would definitely support those writers who struggle with fine motor and use portable word processors as assistive technology. 

http://kidblog.org/home/

Standards-based math instruction for students with intellectual disabilities

Last post I discussed assistive technology in regards to a reading webinar that I watched. The purpose of this post is to share with you some more information about assistive technology that I learned from an assignment. This post focuses on another webinar that I watched from the same website as last time. I will post the link for you again because it is such a valuable resource to pull information from.

http://www.gatfl.gatech.edu/tflwiki/index.php?title=Webinar_Archives

During my undergraduate courses at Cabrini, I had a course specifically about how to teach math in elementary school. Throughout the course I learned different ways to get students engaged, involved, and using manipulatives to be successful in math. Additionally, math was always one of my favorite subjects growing up so I really enjoyed teaching. However, I was never taught what to do with struggling students, especially those with disabilities. Having a class with 24 students, makes it difficult to meet with those struggling students for one on one support. This webinar provided me with great techniques and strategies for those with disabilities in regards to math instruction. I really enjoyed learning about how assistive technology can go hand in hand in supporting math instruction.

Key points...

• IEP goals do not equal curriculum!
• Goals: what to measure. 
• Curriculum: guide for progression of learning

• Practice is not instruction!

• Concept knowledge is as essential to math as comprehension is to literacy. 

• Educators rising expectations allows for students to have better opportunities to learn math.

• Good instruction includes...
• Scope and sequence of skills aligned to standards
• Comprehensive and systematic progression of learning
• Multiple hands-on math tools, methods, and materials
• Differentiated tools, materials, and instructions
• Break skills down, slow the pace down

• Assistive technology can help those with disabilities access math...
• Talk and write about math
• Understand math
• Perform a math task
• Engage in math
• Learn in the best way