Paul Nisbet CALL Scotland, University of Edinburgh

Paul.Nisbet@ed.ac.uk

Attainment for All: raising attainment for learners with Additional Support

Needs by using technology

NPFS Scotland Conference 14 November 2015

“Getting the best for your child”

Curriculum for Excellence 'Our aspiration is to enable

all children to develop their capacities as successful

learners, confident individuals, responsible

citizens and effective contributors to society.'

A Curriculum for Excellence: The Curriculum Review Group (2004).

Curriculum for Excellence

How can you be a:

z Successful learner - if you can’t read books and learning materials?

z Confident individual - if you depend on others to read to you, write for you or talk for you?

z Responsible citizen - if you don’t have access to information?

z An effective contributor - if you can’t speak, write or communicate?

Use Assistive and Communication Technology!

3

x

Every child / young person in Scotland with a disability or additional support needs has the

curriculum materials, the Assistive Technologies (AT) and/or Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools they

may need - and the support to use them effectively – in order to participate effectively and fulfil their potential through learning and

achievement.

CALL Scotland’s Vision

CALL Scotland • Strategic Leadership

• Pupil Assessment and Support

• CPD and Training

• Information and advice: books,

guides, resources, videos, web site

• Loan of assistive technology

• Knowledge Transfer, research and development

www.CALLScotland.org.uk

Introductions

Primary

Secondary

Introductions: support needs

• - Seeing

• - Reading

• - Writing

• - Communicating

• - Learning

• - Other

• What to look for in school and from services

• How to help your child

Getting the best for your child

“My name is Hamish and I am 11 years old. I am going to tell you

about my experience using an iPad.

I started using an iPad in primary 5 to help with homework and

found it so helpful that I started using in school in primary 6.

I find text very difficult so use voice activated technology. I can

search the web by asking Siri to find websites for me. I then use the

screen reader to read them out. Most websites have a button to

remove all the adverts and clutter from the page leaving just the

important stuff. This makes listening to the websites much easier."

"If there is a website but I really like and use a lot I turn it into an

app. I did this for the Calibre audio library. I can screen shot things

and attach them to my digital note app Notability.

Article in Dyslexia Voice March 2015

Example

I can send voice notes to my teacher. My favourite new app

is a digital dictaphone. It makes me dictate and edit my

homework and send it to my teacher via the edmodo app

or email. I don’t have to write anything.

My teacher puts all my homework on Edmodo so I can listen

to it on my iPad. If it is a worksheet I can move it to ClaroPDF

and fill in the answers using voice-to-text or a voice note.

"When I go to high school after the summer, I plan to use

the iPad to video science experiments and other lessons.

I will use the reminders app instead of homework diary

so I don’t have to write anything down". I would recommend using an iPad to anyone.”

Article in Dyslexia Voice March 2015

Example

Hamish’s iPad

Hamish

Voice-activated technology

Siri

Text-to-speech -

Speak Selection

Digital notes and jotters

Notability

Voice notes

Notability, ClaroPDF

Communication between teacher and student

Edmodo

Digital resources

PDF and ClaroPDF

Video and multimedia

Windows

Windows

Voice-activated technology

Windows, Dragon

Text-to-speech -

e.g. WordTalk, NaturalReader

Digital notes and jotters

OneNote

Voice notes

OneNote, Adobe Reader

Communication between teacher and student

Edmodo, Glow, OneNote

Digital resources

PDF and Adobe Reader

Video and multimedia

Wilson uses a tablet at school to: • See the IWB on his iPad

= software on teacher’s laptop • Zoom in on books and materials

= digital books and materials • Write and create

= Accessible apps

What to look for in school – Digital Resources

What to look for in school - Digital Resources

“10. Disabled pupils have exactly the same curriculum entitlements as their non-disabled peers.

11. Many of the barriers to full participation in education may be

similar for groups of children and young people and, therefore, it will be useful for the responsible body to take a strategic approach to removing these barriers.

They could consider implementing a strategy to make

curriculum resources, that are currently paper-based (such as textbooks or worksheets), available in electronic formats to assist pupils with print disabilities.”

Guidance on Planning to Improve Access to Education for Pupils with Disabilities: Guidance on Preparing Accessibility Strategies 2002

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2002/09/15494/11272

Digital Textbooks

Books for All Scotland Database Load2Learn The Seeing Ear Commercial eBooks Audio books

Digital Teacher’s Resources

Teacher creates resource using Microsoft Word

Pages

Word for iPad

ClaroPDF

Save to PDF

Adobe Reader

Word

Digital Workflows

• Glow / OneDrive

• Glow / OneNote

• Edmodo

• Showbie

• Google Drive

• Dropbox

Glow & OneNote for note-taking and sharing files

• Ask your school to sign up to Books for All Scotland Database, Load2Learn and The Seeing Ear

• Find out about your school’s file sharing system

• Help your child to access the school’s file sharing system

How to help – digital resources

• “All school computers have text reader software installed for reading documents and web pages.

• All school computers accessed by pupils have the free Heather and Stuart voices installed.

• Headphones are available for use with TTS where required.”

Planning improvements for disabled pupils’ access to education: Guidance for education authorities,

independent and grant-aided schools October 2014

What to look for in school – Text to Speech

This guidance describes “the requirements the [Equality] Act places on education authorities and schools to work to improve the education of disabled learners and to help ensure that they are properly included in, and able to benefit fully from, their school education.”

Scottish Government Guidance

“Tools in this Appendix are not intended to be comprehensive but to provide a sample of practical functions which disabled pupils may require in order to access the curriculum. ICT managers, commissioning staff involved in procurement functions and schools can use the first tool to review whether certain reasonable adjustments are in place.”

Appendix D - Checklist for use in planning ICT

Technology is replacing readers and scribes

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of Requests for Assessment Arrangements in SQA examinations

Reader

Scribe

ICT orDigitalPaper

• Install text reader software and the free Scottish voices on your child’s device(s)

• Try it out – TTS can help you: – read faster – understand more clearly – proof read your own writing – spot mis-spelled words – read your text back to improve sentence

structure, sense and meaning.

How to help – text to speech

What to look for in school – a digital culture

Access to a digital device

Accessibility Software / hardware

Accessible resources

“The school or local authority’s stock of shared netbooks, laptops or tablets can be booked out by pupils with disabilities for specific learning tasks. Some or all of the stock includes the requisite accessibility improvements described in Appendix E. The school or local authority has a pathway or procedure and staff with expertise to: • Identify pupils who require ICT and/or AT to access the

curriculum. • Assess and provide appropriate ICT and/or AT.”

Planning improvements for disabled pupils’ access to education: Guidance

for education authorities, independent and grant-aided schools October 2014

What to look for in school – devices

• “Control Panel settings can be easily and quickly changed to enable access for each disabled pupil, including where needed facility for Right click functionality. Such adjustments can be saved with the user’s profile.”

Accessibility of school computers and ICT

• P6 pupil with muscular dystrophy who can’t use a physical keyboard.

• CALL Assessment identified the Windows on-screen keyboard as being a suitable access method, together with a Marble Mouse.

• The on-screen keyboard is built in to Windows in the Windows Ease of Access Control panel - which is not available to learners in school.

• The teacher requested access to it… and got a less than helpful response…

How not to do it

“The on-screen keyboard is part of the Windows

operating system and so there is no need to purchase

anything.

Control panels (including the ease of access control

panel) that are required by students with disabilities

should be made available as a reasonable adjustment

under the Equality Act, and in my opinion this

overrides the policy from the screenshot you sent. In

fact, if this is the policy, I think it contravenes the local

authority's duties under the Equality Act and if action

were taken against the authority, I am virtually certain

that the local authority would find itself in breach of

the act.”

Time to wield the big stick

• Glasgow Accessibility Folder, with: – Ease of Access Control Panel – MyStudyBar – Ivona MiniReader – WordTalk

One example of good practice

“The school or local authority’s stock of shared netbooks, laptops or tablets can be booked out by pupils with disabilities for specific learning tasks. Some or all of the stock includes the requisite accessibility improvements described in Appendix E. The school or local authority has a pathway or procedure and staff with expertise to: • Identify pupils who require ICT and/or AT to access

the curriculum. • Assess and provide appropriate ICT and/or AT.”

Access to ICT and Assistive Technology (AT)

• Ask if your school computers have accessibility software and adjustments for your child

• Buy your own

• Help your child to learn how to use the device and software

• Take your own device into school?

How you can help - devices

Posters and information from CALL

http://www.callscotland.org.uk/downloads/posters-and-leaflets/

• CALL’s Wheel of Apps for Learners with Dyslexia

• iCALL: iPads for Communication Access Literacy and Learning

How you can help – iPad apps for dyslexia

• CALL’s Wheel of Android Apps for Learners with Dyslexia

How you can help – Android apps for dyslexia

• AAC Scotland Online Learning

• How do I communicate?

• CALL’s Wheel of Apps for AAC

How you can help – apps for communication

CALL’s Apps to Support Creativity

How you can help – apps for creativity

• BBC - Apps and autism

• Ruby

• Wheel of Autism Apps

• Apps for Students with ASD

How you can help – apps for ASD

Tell us how! Web: http://www.callscotland.org.uk/contact/ Email: call.scotland@ed.ac.uk Phone: 0131 651 6235 Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CALLScotland1983 Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/CALLScotland

How can CALL Scotland help?