The Greatest Show

Nothing quite gets me hyped up like a good theme song. The one that I started listening to this morning to start off my live webinar was, “This Is Me” from the movie The Greatest Showman. I was looking for American Sign Language (ASL) songs on YouTube to start off my webinar on a great note. When I stumbled upon this one: "This Is Me" The Greatest Showman - ASL by Sarah Tubert, I knew I had hit paydirt. 

After watching this video, I realized the connection to this song for our students and educators. Educators are equipping students for their greatest show, that is, their adult life. In many ways, this school year (2020-2021) will be most educators’ greatest show yet. This will be the year for educators to really show what they’re made of. I already know - they’re made out of a great deal of awesomeness. This year, countless districts are stepping up to support students and families in order to improve their delivery of distance and in-person learning. Students and families are also demonstrating great compassion through understanding and giving it their all to help make this year a great year.

We have heard many times that we need to take care of ourselves (e.g., eat better, get more sleep, exercise, read, connect with nature, etc.). We do need to be healthy before we can help others, and we need to nurture our own mental health. Similar to the flight attendant’s instruction “to put on your oxygen mask first” so that you can help others. If we aren’t prepared, we won’t be able to help others. We must take care of ourselves. I hear this so often yet I’m not quite sure what it means for me. Much like student rewards/motivational charts/options change over time, our own self-care choices may need to change to meet our current needs. What worked before the pandemic doesn’t seem to be working for my own self-care. I’m trying though. I am always looking and willing to try something interesting and different to try to keep things novel and fun. However, lately, I’m hanging out more and more in bed when I’m not at work watching Netflix and the series, Good Bones on Hulu. If I wasn’t careful, this social isolation could easily sabotage my mental health. So, I made a change. I’m on to seeking new things that spark joy in this new time in our lives. I found sunflowers bigger than my head at the local farmer’s market and I’ve been getting back into a safe routine at my gym.


Gym time has been a refreshing self-care choice and is something that I am clinging to lately. Oddly, that had never really been the case for me. I realized why I love this gym so much, it demonstrates universal design like the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) we advocate for in our classrooms. I’ll give you a little rundown of the similarities (Engagement, Representation, Action & Expression); 

• one main coach, 
• objectives and activities are written on the board, 
• sometimes we work with partners but we all need to do our own work, 
• we can learn from my peers by watching how they do different lifting exercises, 
• everyone is at a different place in their fitness journey, 
• no one is compared to each other, 
• each activity can be scaffold to meet each person where they are, 
• all the tools and activity access options in the gym are available to everyone at all times,
• those who are ready to be above the prescribed work out can do that and it’s not displayed in a way that everyone else can’t achieve that as well, and 
• there is a timer for the workout but you can take longer if you need extra time. 

My favorite part is that we use a smartphone app to track our individual progress, but each week we celebrate our growth together! Although we all work separately, we root for each other together.  Each visit improves my mental and physical well being, I am excited too by seeing my progress from my last session. 

Everyone’s self-care will be different and can change with the seasons of life. Make time and do something for yourself even if it’s a small change. Let’s all put on our oxygen masks first and ready ourselves to support our students, families and fellow educators. If we are healthy and ready, we can help change the lives of our students in an even bigger way than we have ever thought possible.  This is the year that we show everyone that each educator is The Greatest Showman/Showwoman and the amazing impact we have in every student’s lives that walks in the doors or logs into their device. Let’s give them the greatest show!

If you are feeling even a little overwhelmed by all the cute Bitmoji classrooms, digital files, or unique access materials questions, please come visit with a PATINS staff member during our new Monday - Wednesday - Friday open office hours. These are drop-in, no appointment needed support for any educator, we are available to brainstorm ideas and offer technical support at no-cost by a PATINS Specialist. Links for the office hours can be found on the PATINS training calendar. 

By now most of us know that the 3 categories of a print disability specified by the IDEA are 1.) Vision Impaired, 2.) Physical Disability and 3.) Reading Disability, such as dyslexia. Since technology, teaching strategies, and universally designed classrooms make these disabilities navigable, I prefer to call them differences when possible. The first 2 typically are evident at birth, so the child will enter school with a good deal of documentation of their learning needs concerning the condition. 

The most frequently identified reading difference, dyslexia, is one of the most researched and documented conditions, affecting 20 percent of the population (1 in 5)  and represents 80-90 percent of all learning disabilities. 

Here in Indiana, Senate Enrolled Act No. 217 was signed into law in 2018, which requires Indiana schools to develop and implement specific measures regarding dyslexia. In response to that, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has written and posted several guiding documents to help schools and parents understand and meet the tenets of this law. 

As indicated in the guide entitled Dyslexia Programming Guidance for Schools a parent may request that the student receive a formal educational evaluation from the school. After the evaluation, if it is determined that the student requires special education services to successfully meet their educational needs, then the case conference committee (CCC) will assemble to determine if the student has a print disability, in this case, a reading disability. If the answer is yes, then the student requires accessible formats to access the curriculum. In the Individual Education Plan (IEP) a reading disability is indicated as an SLD (Specific Learning Disability) in the Area of Reading.

The following tips will guide you in serving students who have a documented print disability. Also, the Indiana Center for Accessible Materials (ICAM) staff has posted a guide to clarify the AEM  process for the CCC that explains DRM (Digital Rights Manager) and teacher tasks in detail.

• With the new partnership between the ICAM and Bookshare, ICAM staff can search the Bookshare library and place those requests for you, if a needed title is not in the ICAM repository.
• For the ICAM to fully support Indiana schools as they meet the AEM needs of their students, all students identified with a print disability must be registered in the ICAM.
• The PATINS Project (Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students)/ICAM services are free to schools and grant-funded by the state. Therefore, by using the ICAM, schools are facilitating the provision of services to Indiana schools by adding to the data that PATINS presents to the state.
• If you are a DRM, please copy/paste this DRM Badge into your electronic signature to identify yourself as a DRM. Also, enlarge the badge, print and hang it outside your door, then take every opportunity to explain to others about AEM, the PATINS Project (Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students)/ ICAM, and the IERC (Indiana Educational Resource Center). Becoming a DRM requires an appointment by a school's superintendent, or their designee, and training.

• The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) 2004 states that accessible materials must be available to qualified students in a "timely manner" which means at the same time their peers receive their learning materials.                                                                                                                                    
• When to place orders: 
  • For VI orders of hard copy Braille and Large Print, orders should have been placed in April of this year. If you have received orders since then and for any future orders, enter those as soon as you get them. The IERC (Indiana Educational Resource Center) and the ICAM work very hard to help you meet "timely manner",  including for orders placed throughout the school year.
  • For orders of ePub and PDF from the ICAM repository, enter those as soon as possible so we can address unforeseen snags.
  • If you need a title from Bookshare and/or audiobooks from Mackin, you will order those through ICAM Web Ordering, as follows:
    • 1. As a DRM or teacher registered by a DRM, log into ICAM Web Ordering.
    • 2. Choose Make Special Request.
    • 3. Fill in all fields that have an asterisk*, indicate Bookshare or Mackin in the note field, and submit.

Clipart of racially diverse students

Recently, a colleague shared an article with me that threw me for a loop and spurred my thinking. Could what I’ve been so passionately sharing with educators all along be wrong? Yikes! 

Well, of course it could be. Because if what we love about teaching most is learning (and I do), then we always seek to expand our knowledge. We also keep open minds and regularly reflect on our practice and understanding. And when we know better, we have the opportunity to do better!

So, here’s what I’m wondering and questioning… “Have I as a white, middle-class American citizen been touting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a solution that may only be designed in ways to support other white individuals?” Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes. That now put in writing, let me reflect upon why I feel this way. 

Simply based upon my race, gender, and lack of diagnosed disability, I have experienced privilege in ways that I both understand and still have yet to comprehend. Take, for example, my gender and personal experience, as an educator I have always worked with far more educators who identify as she/her than those that may identify as he/his, or they/their. Since I also consider myself to be neurotypical and able-bodied, I find myself pondering what proactive steps I must take in order to appropriately advocate for UDL when my experiences and thus my true empathy are first and foremost limited by traits I did not choose.

My new knowledge on intersectionality from Ijeoma Oluo’s book, So You Want to Talk about Race is also making me question the ways in which I’ve been promoting UDL. For example, I know that I’ve shared how implementing the UDL framework can change the game for a student with an intellectual and/or physical disability, but I have neglected to challenge myself and others to think about more than one demographic of students at a time as the philosophy and culture of UDL represents. 

This neglect has me now reflecting upon how a person of color with a disability may be experiencing their education; or, how a person who is transgender, Black, and has a physical disability may be experiencing their education. Have I been promoting UDL to specifically level the playing field for these individuals? The answer is again sadly no, which tells me that I haven’t been serving all students and that I’ve missed the mark on explicitly sharing the true definition of UDL, which does include a framework for all demographics and their intersections, with educators.  

With equitable access to education for every single student and the gaps in opportunities that have been created through well-intentioned educators like myself, I’ve begun to explore new (to me) research and changes I can make to best serve each and every student. One element I have found and believe is worth sharing is that while there is much research in support of UDL for a variety of students, it is worth noting that Indar (2018) and Azawei, Serenelli & Lundqvist (2016) point out that many studies conducted on UDL leave out specific student demographic information. 

These studies leave me questioning the general population’s comprehension of or attention to who is actually a part of our student body. Thus, I believe the time has come to put our UDL practices under a microscope in search of their demographic weaknesses and to boost true equity in our classrooms both in-person and virtually.

Some ways we can get started are to:

1. Find and explore research studies with a critical eye for participant demographics and the potential for researcher bias - are a variety of student populations being studied or is it unknown?
2. Don’t be afraid to admit that some changes may need to be made in your classroom.
3. Like my colleagues, Jessica Conrad and Bev Sharritt, have mentioned over the past few weeks, explore your own implicit bias using these tests and this study on implicit bias in the early childhood setting. Finding yourself feeling uncomfortable is normal, or at least I hope so, because I certainly had my eyes opened to some of my biases and subsequent actions in and out of the classroom.
4. Don’t forget that bias isn’t always assigned by a different demographic onto another. Many, if not all, of our students have been socialized to hold both positive and negative beliefs about themselves based upon their cultures, race, gender, etc. Check out the Doll Test to gain more perspective on this idea.
5. Promote more racially diverse workplaces or push yourself to find more diverse educators and professionals to converse with (as a white person, I consider these tips in more difficult conversations about racism). Social media can be a great place to connect with others from more diverse backgrounds on student, classroom, and school issues.
6. Ask your students and their families for feedback. How can you make them feel more included?
7. Consider your shared resources and teaching?
   1. Are you including diversity in your shared images and graphics?
   2. Are you including diverse titles for reading and research?
   3. Are you using inclusive language?
   4. Are you open to constructive criticism when it comes to diversity and genuine inclusion of everyone; not just those students that look and sound like you.
8. Consider crafting a statement on diversity and/or anti-racism for yourself as an educator or as a school/district to follow. We have dedicated ourselves at PATINS to our statement on anti-racism.
9. Reach out for support. We are here to explore these issues together!

References:

Al-Azawei, A., Serenelli, F. & Lundqvist, K. (2016). Universal design for learning (UDL): A content analysis of peer-reviewed journal papers from 2012 to 2015. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(3), p. 39-56. doi: 10.14434/josotl.v16i3.19295

CAST. (2020). About universal design for learning. Retrieved July 29, 2020 fromhttps://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl.

Indar, G.K. (2018). An equity-based evolution of universal design for learning: Participatory design for intentional inclusivity. Retrieved June 25, 2020 fromhttps://www.learningdesigned.org/sites/default/files/Done_INDAR.EDIT_.DH_.JEG%20copy.pdf.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication tools are like a tangible bit of your student’s soul.

I love working for PATINS. Going into work knowing there’s something I can do to help Indiana’s public PreK-12 staff and the students they serve at no cost to them? Amazing. A true dream job. However, there is one part of this job I really, really hate because it's so preventable.

At the time of this blog publishing, it has been 19 days since the last Least Favorite Thing happened. It hurts my heart, a feeling of mad-sad unlike any other, and it makes the list as my Least Favorite Thing because it’s so easily preventable:

Back up the AAC tools.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication tools are like a precious tangible bit of your student’s soul. These tools have words for family, friends, and favorite things. It’s organized and situated just right, like a perfectly organized office, where things are just the right style and everything is in its right place and no two are exactly the same. Just like the perfect office where all the most important things happen, it might burn to the ground and your student might be left with nothing. It is always heartbreaking when the tool is lost forever, sometimes life-threatening, and always preventable.

Reasons I've heard staff share while fighting back tears and screams of frustration:

1. An art project resulting in q-tips and jello shoved into the charging port
2. Dropped device in toilet
3. “I don’t know, I just looked away for a minute and then suddenly all the buttons are gone!”
4. Frisbee’d device across the room
5. Well-meaning IT staff “updating” the device
6. His sibling used it like a step stool to get to the kitchen counter
7. App updates corrupted original file
8. Left on the playground during a rainstorm
9. “She got mad and deleted the app so she didn’t have to talk to us, but now she’d like it back.”
10. He ate it

When backing up files, three really simple rules:

1. If it's not set up to be automatic, backup at least 4 times a year if not monthly, especially if you've done a big "vocabulary dump" or settings change.

2. Backups should be shared and shared confidentially with at least 3 people in a way that it could be retrieved in the dead of night in the middle of winter break on the way to the hospital. Google Drive, One Drive, or Drop Box are very popular options, others offer options owned by the software company.

Backing Up AAC Files:

These are a sampling of AAC products and directions on how to back up the files. Are you supporting software not on this list or have a tool that’s not software and need some help with backing up and using it? Please reach out to one of our AAC Specialists and we will help!

TouchChat iOS App

Proloquo2Go iOS App

LAMP Words for Life iOS App

Avaz Android and iOS App

TD Snap iOS App 

TD Snap on Windows

Empower (PRC-Saltillo Accent devices)

NuVoice (PRC-Saltillo Accent devices)

NovaChat devices

Speak For Yourself iOS App

Audio Version of the AAC Awareness Blog  (4 mins)

I have heard comments like these. 

"She's stubborn or won't use the system."

"He thinks the iPad (with AAC app) is a toy." 

"He might break the device."

When I hear these, I immediately consider alternative interpretations:

She is not interested in what you are saying, doing, or requiring her to do.

You need to teach him or her how to use the device and provide engaging opportunities to communicate.

Install a secure case with a screen protector, consider mounting the device, or installing and utilizing a should strap or tether.

Observe, collect data, perform a task analysis and teach the necassary pieces that demonstrate the power of communication for each unique student!

What can you do?  Connect with the student!

Begin with determining what motivates the student. Connect with the student and family by using a Preference assessment for the family to expand. You may need to abbreviate and/or provide a visual vision (parents/caregivers can circle or check items rather than write out). Another idea would be for parents and caregivers to send a picture of favorite foods, items, activities, family members, places, etc.).

Learn how to model core vocabulary and then teach others!  Project-Core Professional Development has 12 free modules - Teaching Communication During Daily Routines and Activities Module (9 min video).

Give your students a reason to communicate instead of requiring the student to simply locate and identify icons/symbols (Yes, you will need to teach individual icons but make it fun). From the Communication Matrix (free online resource) - consider these four areas of communication:

Refuse - Teach students meaningful and more socially appropriate ways to say "no", "stop" or "I don't like this." Recognize/honor all of these messages from students and ensure access in each part of their communication system (their body, paper based, device).

Request - Provide opportunities for students to ask for things, people, repetition, more of something, commanding others, etc. Give them lots of practice!

Social - This one is essential. Most kids want to interact with peers yet complex communicators are often left out. There are numerous ways to get AAC users communicating with peers and others. Use the preference assessment information to incorporate into your student's communication system and then offer numerous opportunities for your student to share. Check out this resource for over 101 ideas for using voice output devices Single Message 101 Ideas  and Sequential Messages 101 Ideas.

Information - How can your students share and gain information? Make activities fun. Instead of focusing on simple rote tasks with the communication system, teach your student the power of sharing information (personal information, preferred activities, and asking questions).

AAC Awareness Month - many developers and companies with apps/software offer discounts in October.  

LAMP Words for Life®, TouchChat®, and Dialogue® AAC (50% off) - Oct 10-16

Assistiveware AAC Apps (extra month trial and 50% off) - Oct 11-17

If you have an AAC case you would like help with, request a FREE consultation with a PATINS AAC Specialist by completing our AAC Consultation Form. You will meet with one or more Specialists to review, brainstorm ideas, and generate a plan of action.

Continued professional development is vital for staying up with AT and AAC: Learn from presenters who use AAC at the free Connect With Me Conference sharing various topics. October 24-28 8-9pm ET.

Join us at the PATINS Access to Education (A2E) Conference on November 2-3 at the Crowne Plaza Downtown - Union Station. Registration is open now!

Do you want to learn more? Check out the PATINS Training Calendar. If you don't see a training that meets your needs, look over the PATINS Professional Development Guide for inspiration. The guide offers summaries to some of our most popular in-person trainings and webinars developed by our team of specialists that are available year-round upon request. These are offered at no-cost for Indiana public LEA employees.

Every year I have the pleasure of writing my blog the week of Mexican Independence Day on September 16. And no, I am not confusing it with our beloved Cinco de Mayo, a holiday to celebrate the removal of France’s support of the Confederates via Mexico during the Civil War. This year our family has a bilateral celebration as my husband got his U.S. citizenship. We have proudly been flying our U.S. flag since the day he got his naturalization papers and on September 16th we will proudly fly our Mexican flag in its place.

As we navigate the life of a bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural family, one of the most important things for us is to honor and celebrate both U.S. and Mexican traditions, language, and culture. Oftentimes we have to choose between the two instead of simultaneously representing both. When this happens we have to be cognizant of how to bring both back to the forefront of our lives or balance spotlighted time for each. 


 [Image: Hugo, Amanda's husband,wear USA jersey, smiling with U.S. flag in background]

When we travel to and from Mexico different documentation is required. Passports, resident cards, visas, and tourist documentation; we’ve had them all, folks! These powerful papers indicate our status and our qualifications for privileges, responsibilities, and regulations. Without this documentation we would not be able to enter into either country and there would be no defined representation of our mutual commitment to individual and/or nation.

Although students are not defined by paperwork that they carry in school systems, the Individual Education Plan (IEP)/Section 504 Plan/Individual Learning Plan (ILP) often referred to as English Learner Plan, represent a similar promise from the school to make sure that the student is provided resources, accommodations, supports, services, and opportunities to succeed. The IEP/504/ILP are all legally binding documents of which school staff are responsible for identification, creation, and most importantly, implementation. 

This documentation follows a student through grade transitions, school transfers, and ultimately to independent living/employment/higher education, making it similar to the documentation required when traveling from one country to the next. Each of these documentation forms have different core purposes. All of them are living documents in need of regular updates, as students’ skills and abilities change, placement changes, technology changes, etc. Just like our balancing of bicultural life-- when one culture will falls back to bring the other to the forefront, these documents and their purposes might not always shine simultaneously, but they concurrently exist. 

This can often happen when schools move towards Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which is something to celebrate. Many schools in Indiana are leading the way in UDL by creating their own Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) for students and providing school-wide accommodations, including Assistive Technology, (AT), such as text-to-speech and dictation. 

While these are impactful and noteworthy actions, the spotlight has to re-adjust for students who formally only had access to these supports through IEP/504/ILP. Meaning that through the implementation of UDL, these students will benefit from an inclusive classroom in conjunction with continued documentation of their required services, accommodations, and specialized instruction. When these occurrences happen simultaneously, balancing the spotlight honors both inclusion and specialized needs. 

As we move toward a more inclusive school environment through UDL, remember that documentation with necessary AT and AEM is still part of equitable access for all. They can exist synonomously. 

Related Webinar: 

5 part series: AT in the IEP

Part 1 and Part 2 on September 29, 2022 

Register:

AT in the IEP: Getting the Money

AT in the IEP: Boots on the Ground

Sandy smiling with her family.

With all the craziness going on in the world today, I wanted to take a moment to pause and to be Grateful! I consider myself to be very lucky and I am going to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. I have so many people in my life that make my life better in so many ways.

My family is a big part of my life and through this pandemic, I have been able to spend time with my parents, my daughter, her wonderful boyfriend, and my husband. We have shared so many wonderful meals, played cards and games, and worked on countless puzzles.

My daughter has also chosen this crazy period in time to join a school corporation as a Speech-Language Pathologist. I am grateful that she has a job and is able to meet the needs of her students who need her so much. I am also so grateful that PATINS and ICAM have another great advocate out in the schools and she is already raising awareness in her school. 

I also have a fantastic extended family and we have been able to play tennis and to get out and take walks. I am also so grateful that while one member of my family has contracted COVID-19 that they had very minimal symptoms and they have recovered. We also survived a COVID-19 scare with my daughter, she had Bronchitis and we were grateful for that!

I am blessed to have a magnificent group of friends that I am very grateful for. I have so many women in my life that I can reach out to. I have my tennis friends who are always there to not only hit a ball around but to listen to me and take my mind off the world for a while. I also meet every Thursday for dinner with three friends. I look forward to our night out every week. I am grateful that I can call any of these women and know that they are there for me. 

Finally, I am so grateful for my current position as the ICAM Digital Services Specialist. I have been employed by the PATINS Project since 2001, so this will be my 19th year. I have the privilege of being able to work from home for an organization that I believe has made an enormous difference in the lives of so many students, teachers, and other school personnel. Just last year, the ICAM served staff and students in over 180 school corporations! I am grateful that the work that I do is so rewarding! I hope that you will take a pause and think about everything you are grateful for, I know it made me feel better.

My sister Linda is fourteen years older than me. So the year I was born, she began high school. She taught me how to count and sing and write my name and read and spell. There were three more children between us who may have encouraged these tasks, as did our parents, but she took seriously her role as the “older sister”, which was of great benefit to me in many ways, over many many years. And counting.

I loved looking at Sister’s textbooks; they fascinated me. I had only children’s storybooks, with gold painted on their little spines. I loved my books, but her books were great objects of mystery. One of her favorite classes was called Civics*. The cover of the book was dark blue and plain, but inside were amazing, unsettling photographs--a building burning, men arguing in a courtroom, people carrying picket signs in front of a school, soldiers standing at salute, a hand on a Bible, a circle of women raising their fists. I didn’t know what Civics was, but I loved the pictures.

When I began 1st grade, Linda was off to college. By the time I got to high school, there no longer was a class called Civics. Now we had Social Studies. That class had a nice textbook, with color photographs of people in daily life in cultures far away. Dark-skinned men trudging through jungles wearing loincloths made from animal hides, bare-breasted women in bright woven skirts, carrying babies and baskets of grain. I wasn’t nearly as serious and percipient about that as I’d like to remember. So much giggling. 

We also had U.S. History*. That was largely about our presidents and their backstories, American inventors, the Industrial Revolution. Important to know, very interesting, but I do not recall discussions about why laws were written and passed, or which laws were left up to the states. We didn’t discuss the appropriate actions to take if we saw a Policeman act in a way we felt was wrong. Or the results on future employment and other endeavors after one has been incarcerated.

Linda and I recently spoke of our different school memories, and she said something stunning:

“By the time your generation needed Civics class, they had quit teaching it. Schools stopped teaching teenagers how to be good citizens; how to thrive in and support their communities, their state, our country. The United States was at several crucial crossroads, and while there were strong voices shouting their views and there were few good maps.” *

Hmmm. Perhaps that depended on where one lived? Or if one grew up in a family that discussed current events from an historical perspective

We talked about the political/social icons of my generation, as she was raising young children: the Ban the Bomb emblem (aka ‘Peace Sign’). The red, white and blue VOTE patches we sewed on our bell-bottoms. The Uncle Sam Wants You! posters. The POW bracelets we wore to honor soldiers in Viet Nam who went missing in action. We participated with enthusiasm even though we didn’t fully understand. 

Many of us were not natural-born activists, and our interests ran to football games and dances more than Poli/Sci. Civics class would surely have helped mold our thinking and would have better prepared us for the world. 

The real puzzle is, why was it decided that Civics would no longer be taught in American public schools? Did a committee decide that instruction in our duties as citizens would somehow impede our process of becoming free thinkers?

Five decades later and still America is muddling through the same entangling and destructive social ills as it always has: racism, sexism, classism. Problems that result from illegal immigration, like detainment, family separation, and disease spread due to overcrowded conditions. Climate change, unemployment, income inequality. Disability law, freedom of speech, international travel laws.

These are important issues that depend upon our democracy. We should be teaching students to be informed about the civil rights of themselves and others. Kids should leave high school with a base understanding of how our federal government works, and how their local government works within it. I’m probably not the only adult in the room who has a rudimentary understanding of many such topics. Of course, we tend to become more informed when an issue touches us specifically in some profound way.

So maybe teachers and parents just start talking about it. This is a win-win, as we’ve seen the best way to learn something is to teach it. Discuss scenarios between someone who comes from a place of privilege and an obvious underdog. What unites and divides such individuals? Can this be fixed? Open conversations about racial tension kids may experience or see on the news and discuss ways we can become a solution, not another problem. What values are we purporting, in the ways we interact with certain students, or teachers or parents? We all know we lead by example, so are we setting good ones?

Sister is right. Kids need a map. We can help our kids learn how to help others. How to ponder and talk about hard subjects, and how to navigate the maze of social turmoil by thinking and engaging their friends, schools and society at large. The pandemic is forcing students and teachers to find new approaches to teaching and learning. So maybe this is the perfect time to work a renewed Civic awareness into our lessons, no matter what subject we teach.

Check here for suggestions on engaging children in civic matters, and learn how each of the United States is working toward greater Civic understanding. There is much work to be done.

Thanks so much!

Recently a friend, an educator, asked me for advice on a student with autism who was sweet natured, but lacked friends because he was a grabber: of food, milk, books, toys, whatever he wanted, he grabbed, and his classmates disliked him. I suggested using a social story. She was unfamiliar.

When I first learned about Social Stories, it was as though I had discovered pencils; here was a simple tool that could have profound effects in my classroom that included 4 students identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Carol Gray developed Social Stories in 1990 as a tool to help individuals with ASDs respond to others and to situations more appropriately. More complex stories may be used with higher functioning students, however my students were younger and still learning basic skills, in many cases, with limited support from home. I had participated in a full-day workshop of strategies for reaching students with ASDs, and social stories were my light-bulb take-away. Implementation was immediate.

One afternoon I met with my classroom assistants for several hours of brainstorming. We discussed frequent stressful situations and wrote social stories for those. High stress times were: upon arrival at school, before lunch, before bus-boarding, intercom announcements, and any occurrence that was out of the ordinary, such as a whole-school assembly, or a fire or tornado drill. Other situations included another student having a meltdown, being asked to end a preferred activity, or being presented with food that was not a favorite, at breakfast or lunch.

We used positive words to guide the students to appropriate behavior; for instance, instead of saying “When the bell rings I will not throw a fit” say “When the bell rings, it is time to go home.” Writing the stories for the students was fun, and we shared a few good belly-laughs as we
wrote stories for each other! Following is a story for a 4^th grader.

When the Bell Rings

When the bell rings, it is time to go home.

I will keep calm and quiet.

When I go home, I can play with my dog.

First I will put my books in my cubby.

Miss Patty will help me pack my backpack.

I will get my coat.

I will get in line behind Teacher. I will walk to the bus.

I will keep calm and quiet.

When I go home I will see Mama and play with my dog.

Stories can of course be personalized: My name is Charlie. When I go home I can play with (my dog) Hank. More generic ones may be used with several students, for our class we decided that was best in many cases. We typed, printed, and laminated the stories we created, and filed them in a basket on my desk. Once we began using them, we’d find them everywhere at the end of a day. A story would be grabbed in a hurry, read with a student, and left behind. I found them with the corners chewed, damp, sometimes stuffed in a desk. It did not matter—the stories worked, by preparing students for changes ahead, limiting outbursts, and giving them some power over their behavior. We were fairly consistent in recording behaviors, which should be done to measure progress. In addition to the stories for recurrent issues, my assistants and I became quite proficient at writing stories off-the-cuff, as needed. If you have card-stock paper and a Sharpie pen, you can write a story in a minute. Later you can add pictures and make it look nice.

I talked to the General Education teachers about the stories, and we designed stories for behaviors they saw when my students were with them. One of the teachers had a cd and license for Boardmaker, this was another life-changer, since my students preferred stories with pictures. I had also used free resources from Do2Learn and am happy to see they’ve expanded services and added color to their web site. When you click a heading, look for the green tabs: Free Area. There are printable symbol cards, teaching resources and more.

Of course this sounds like old-school. Now there are on-line resources, and many of you may be using these. And some of you may be like me, and will have a head smacking moment.

There are myriad social stories on YouTube --just search on the social or academic skill you need to address. You will want to preview the stories before presenting to your students; some are just too long; some characters may have an annoying voice for a particular student. Social stories are great for teaching skills such as sharing and taking turns, as well as more complex issues such as expecting a new baby in the home. Check out One Place for Special Needs and Small Steps, Big Skills from Sandbox Learning; the latter provides options for designing individualized stories by creating student profiles so the child in the story physically resembles the student.  

The use of digital social stories requires planning, preparation and time. For example, after you preview and choose an appropriate story, you will need to upload it to the student’s device. If you personalize it, there is another step. Some may find it is effective to use a combination of digital and hand-designed social stories. You may want to review a few guidelines before you begin, and soon you will be able to execute a story quickly for nearly any situation. Parents will also find social stories helpful for home-life skills, so please share your resources.  

On a lighter note, once I began writing social stories for my students, I would sometimes find myself in circumstances where I felt that adults could use a social story: Can you imagine when you encounter a grouchy or inattentive server while eating out?

When I Have a Customer

My name is ______.

I work at Nikko’s Cafe.

When I have a customer, I will be helpful, patient, and kind.

This is my job.

When I do my job nicely, we all feel better.

Social Stories could lead to a kinder, gentler world. Which could start in your classroom!

• At CCC meetings, on IEPs, and on your school’s website, start talking about dyslexia. Everyone should know by now that “if we just ignore it, it will go away” is a negligent fallacy. Talk to other teachers about what they are seeing in the classroom. Get familiar with dyslexia, get comfortable talking about it.

• Screen early for the risk factors of dyslexia. We now know that children can be screened at age 5 with 92% accuracy, and some studies have stated by age 4. There are red flags that parents will see at home, share with them what to look for, however you can.

• Use the IDOE-approved system of supports to address the reading needs of students that present characteristics of dyslexia. Be careful not to spend too long in a tier if it’s not working for the student. Time spent ineffectively addressing dyslexia is time wasted, and studies have shown that a poor reader in 1^st grade has a 90% chance of always being a poor reader. Interventions that are timely and effective increase opportunities for academic and life-long success.

• Obtain parental consent before screening. This should be no problem. When I speak with parents about this, they are hungry for solutions; they want honest discussion between teachers and their families, they want their child screened, they want outcome driven interventions, yesterday. Last year. Two grades ago.

• Dyslexia interventions may include certain types of instruction. So vague, but so easy. The research is in and we know what works here: instruction that is Explicit, Systematic, Multisensory and Phonetic. If your instruction curriculum does not include these, let us help you find one that does.

• By July 1, 2019, each school corporation and charter must employ at least one authorized reading specialist trained in dyslexia. Depending on school population more than one may be necessary. Begin making the decision on who will be designated as soon as possible, and find a certification program.

• IDOE will provide professional awareness information on dyslexia to each teacher in each school corporation and will develop and update an Indiana dyslexia resource guide. Lean into the support they will provide.

If you asked me, in an elevator, "What is a digital rights manager (DRM)?" I might say, "a DRM is an individual designated to oversee copyright protections for digital materials that are provided to students with a print disability and an IEP." That's not wrong. But I should never say that unless I've begun to exit the elevator when the question is asked, and the doors are already squeezing together on my leg. Because being an ICAM (Indiana Center for Accessible Materials) DRM can be so much more.

In fact, if you are a DRM for your school district, congratulations! Someone felt that in addition to your other tasks at school, you would do a good job in this role. Now, you have a special opportunity to help students increase literacy skills and improve learning outcomes across all content areas. You have the means to help certain students elevate their attitude toward school as well as lift their expectations of themselves as a reader and as a student in charge of their own path because reading changes everything.

As the DRM Specialist for the ICAM, I encourage you to display your DRM badge proudly. This badge (pictured below) is provided in the ICAM’s welcome letter to new DRMs. 

You can copy/paste it into your electronic signature so that your communications throughout the district identify you as a DRM for your School Corporation. You can also enlarge the badge, copy and hang it outside your door to invite interest.

Share your enthusiasm for your new role by contacting other DRMs in your district. Experienced DRMs may offer valuable tips and tricks that could help you. You may reach out to a DRM who attended the required training then proceeded to languish in the role; your energy may be the nudge they need to up their DRM game and get more involved.

Talk to professionals in your district who may notice students struggling with reading, writing and language, e.g. Librarian, Reading Specialist, Study Hall Teacher; of course the Special Ed Teachers, and Gen Ed Teachers in all content classes; Special Services Providers such as SLP and OT. If everyone knows you are a DRM, perhaps they'll approach you: "I've noticed that student A always asks what's for lunch even though the menu is posted." A simple comment like this can lead to an investigation that can lead to knocking down a learning barrier for one student. And that is big. 

Recently, an educator asked me if DRMs should still be appointed if their district currently has no students who need accessible educational materials (AEM). My immediate response to this was, "Your district does have students who need AEM, they just have not been identified." Because research proves that 1 in 5 students has some degree of dyslexia. In fact, during our AEM Grant Mid Year Update, one district found that 95% of students who took uPAR benefitted from some type of read-aloud accommodation. See the January PATINS Pages for more AEM Grant results. 

My secondary response to her inquiry was also, “Yes, because when a student is newly identified and becomes eligible for AEM, and/or moves into the district, there should be a DRM trained and ready to order AEM on behalf of that student.”

If you’re reading this blog and are unsure of who the DRMs are for your district, contact the ICAM staff. They can quickly tell you who the DRMs are in your corporation. Should you learn you are the only one, report that to the person that appointed you. There should NEVER be less than 2; 3-4 is better yet;  5 DRMs is a full staff, allowed by the state and recommended by the ICAM.

If you've been appointed as a DRM and have completed the DRM training, remember that beyond your connection to other DRMs in your district, comprehensive support is at hand. You can contact the ICAM anytime with any question, including "I've never ordered and don't remember the training." Also, look for You, as a Digital Rights Manager on the PATINS Training Calendar. This training will explain the tasks required of a DRM as they acquire AEM for students with documented print disabilities through the ICAM. The next one is February 3 and you can register now!

Thanks so much!

Failing “The Stranger Test” means you’ve failed a student, and that failure can mean, literally, life and death

My first year writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) an administrator coached me in “The Stranger Test.” I would argue it was one of the hardest ongoing writing assignments I will ever have: everything you ever learned in graduate school, all the jargon and technical language, hide it. Write and communicate in such a way that a stranger on the street would understand what you mean.

It’s important because in practice, failing “The Stranger Test” means you’ve failed a student, and that failure can mean, literally, life and death.

A student I got to work with for a few years had moved across the state. I got a friendly email from the new team asking if I could help them out. When I recognized the student, I asked about the  Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools that he had been using at his previous  school.

“He has specific AAC tools? All the IEP says is that he gets ‘high and low tech AAC.’”

What in the world could that mean?

1. A picture of snack choices and an eye gaze controlled computer
2. An alphabet board and an iPad with any random app.
3. The cases of DVDs from his video collection and the Speak & Spell from my childhood.

All of those would satisfy the legal document. Yet none would match what this student had been using for years, the only way the team had figured out how to help him communicate what he wanted and gave him access to his education.

Why had the IEP been written in such a way that one of our most vulnerable students potentially lost all of his access to language? The most common answer I hear: “I was told not to name the exact brand/type of device in the Assistive Technology box.”

In the words of the greatest movie of 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean, the unwritten rule about not naming brands is “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” Individually, with the case conference committee, consider what the student needs and be clear about the features. In some cases, one and only one specific language system or product may meet that student’s needs and it may need to be named. For other students, several options might be appropriate, and then it’s critical to name the features that make that tool successful for that student, and “high and low technology” is not professional vocabulary for a stranger test.

In other words: the language systems of Proloquo2Go and LAMP Words for Life are not interchangeable for many students. The language system that is only available in iOS is not often interchangeable for whatever language system that can be found on a Chromebook. They might both be “high tech AAC” but for many people it’s like exchanging German for Mandarin. That change move might mean the difference between being able to communicate pain, needs, and accessing education and not. It might mean the difference between life and death.

Of course, we at PATINS have nothing but good news:

If you need help, a friendly stranger for your stranger test, PATINS is here with Specialists to assist you in making sure that you accurately describe the features in the tools your team has trialed. If your student has outgrown those tools and you’re looking for something new, we are here for that too!

Also, I have created a list of common feature terminology used in Augmentative and Alternative Communication tools with descriptions of what they mean, a little study aid for your ongoing Stranger Tests.

The hardest writing assignment of your life, the one in which the futures of children rest in the words you choose, is a living, breathing group assignment. Don’t hesitate to reach out if PATINS can help.

Introduction to our guest blogger, Emily Ott

Access to Education…Access to Thrive

As I began teaching, accessibility was an educational term that, quite honestly, really intimidated me. I wanted to be an inclusive educator. I loved my students and wanted them all to succeed. The issue? I wasn’t sure how to get there. I wasn’t sure what accessibility was all about and I definitely wasn’t confident in my ability to make and provide educational materials accessible to all learners. Hopefully this post will encourage, challenge, and inspire you, as an educator, supporter, school nurse, parent, administrator, student, or, school guidance counselor, etc. Yes, you, the one in the thick of it. Let’s break it down now, y’all…

The What

Caption: A student having a conversation through sign language with his classroom teacher reflecting on how his day had gone, what behaviors he had improved upon that day, and his behavior goal for the next day.

The When

Students deserve to receive an accessible education every single time they step through the doors. Whether students come to school ready to learn or not, we as educators have the opportunity to create a safe place for inclusive learning with each interaction we have with each individual student. So the “when” is the moment the student walks into the building.

The Where

This is where accessibility becomes tricky. We can control what we can control, yes. However, we must also fight for what we believe to be right. Fluidity and communication throughout my building and district is started by ME. I can choose to begin a conversation about accessibility with colleagues in my area of expertise. When push comes to shove, the culture in my building and in my district is changed through me. The same is true for you. Challenge yourself to see each inch of your building as your “where.”

The Why and Who

The why and who are our students. They deserve it. They deserve the best. They deserve someone who fights for and believes in them. I believe in my students. I believe that their best is good enough, but I also believe that they can handle adversity. I believe that they are worthy of endless love and support as they journey through life. They’re just like me, just wandering around trying to figure it out. Let’s not forget why we show up and who we show up for. Here you’ll see some faces of my “who”. They also happen to be my “why”.

Caption: (Left) A student is smiling with his work after completing an assignment using Co:Writer. (Right) A student is smiling holding a note that says “I love you.”

The How

1. Start a conversation.
2. Be vulnerable about where you are on this journey.
3. Think deeper about accessibility.

About Me

I’m a second (and a half) year special education, teacher/dog mom, living and working in central Indiana (Greenwood to be exact). I began teaching in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It has been a wild ride, but I am working on being mindful, staying present in each moment, and remaining grateful. I love reading, spending time with my family and friends, supporting students, and encouraging others! I also recently started an accessibility team for my building as part of goals our district team created. We were third year recipients of the AEMing for Achievement Grant, so this was the perfect opportunity to think outside the box and create something great for students, families, and staff! 

Caption: Miss Ott is smiling with her two year old Miniature Australian Shepherd, Maisie.

Extra Special Thank Yous

Thank you to Amanda Crecelius at PATINS Project, accessibility extraordinaire, for all of her support as I’ve dipped my toes into all this accessibility stuff. Thank you to Greenwood Community Schools and its leadership for being a community of lovers and includers.

My family and I, like many of you, travel over summer break. Exploring a new place is the highlight of any trip. Walking down mysterious streets, eating unfamiliar food, hearing the unique voices and sounds, and getting insight on the history of the region based on graffiti or architecture are a few of the reasons wanderlust is written on my heart. But pioneering a new path in an unknown place can also be terrifying. Without warning that right turn was the wrong turn, and now, everything that you know is out of sight. Loneliness and panic fill your brain and tears well up in your eyes. That feeling of being lost can seem demoralizing, making you feel helpless. Then, you turn one more strange corner and the home base comes into view. It is in that moment that you have this overwhelming rush of pride in finding a new road home. What was once obscure and complicated is now recognizable and familiar. Exploring and being lost become essential parts of the same story and are now part of all my trip agendas. 

Balancing the excitement and fear of being lost have not always been so smooth. When I was in first grade, I felt lost while the other students learned reading with ease. My classmates pronounced each of the words on the page effort-less-ly while I struggled to know the sounds and fumbled through read alouds relying heavily on images, context, and the whispers of the other students. It was scary and I felt like I was the only one who couldn’t learn to read. Those feelings of loneliness and fear impeded my reading progress and made every reading assignment feel like an overwhelming task. I had all but given up on reading until fourth grade when I turned a corner. One of my teachers, seeing my reluctance to read, suggested the short chapters of the Choose Your Own Adventure books. Engulfed in the stories and all the possible outcomes, I would read the same book several times which helped build my skills. I then moved on to The Babysitter’s Club book series (the 90s equivalent to binge watching), and I devoured each one, rushing to the library for the next adventure. Being lost in the learning process of reading made me feel ashamed and excluded but exploring topics that interested me gave me a safe space to practice reading. Today, my safe space resides in historical fiction which I read either with my eyes or with my ears on a daily basis. I was lost until I found something that I loved.

This was not my sudden shift to embracing being lost. Fast forward to college decision time. As my peers began looking at career choices and college, I reflected on my understimulated time in high school. I had moved through general education classes with little connection or interest which led to an increased lack of effort on my part. I was lost in the possibilities since there was not a high expectation that I would even attend college. My grades were dismal and my confidence shot, high school did not seem like a good fit for me. Feeling pressure that I should do something with my life, I finally settled on studying business at a local community college. While I was attending this community college I turned a corner. My local church was looking for a youth group leader so I stepped into that role and found a love of project planning and working with teens. Soon I was headed off to university to study education. I thought that I had finally found my dream job until the results of my Praxis came back and I had not scored high enough to complete my course and get my teaching license. I felt I had taken another wrong turn and those feelings of being lost returned with increased hopelessness. But where Praxis said no, Spain said yes. Soon after my graduation, I took a position as an English teacher to multilingual students in Madrid, Spain. Following a month-long intensive training program, I stepped into my first classroom teaching English to adults. I followed that experience with getting my teaching license, and soon after, my master’s in education. Being lost led me to teach for over twenty years in three different countries and seven different subjects. I was lost until I found a place that was right for me.

My last experience solidified my many similar lost moments throughout adulthood. Arriving in Indianapolis after living in Mexico for 10 years, I stepped into job interview after job interview knowing that my lack of professional connections in Indianapolis overshadowed my background and education. I started in a job designed for a high schooler with low pay, long hours, and little consideration for multiple years’ experience, a master’s degree and being multilingual. Being lost and exploring work options with a small child depending on me took me to a new level of scary. I accepted those wrong turns and settled into a world of being lost. Those wrong turns seemed to be endless with each job leading only to temporary positions and little promise of a home base. The corner that seemed out-of-sight came into view when I was working as an adjunct professor at IUPUI and Jena Fahlbush and Katie Taylor came to present about UDL and PATINS. I started to see some familiarity return. Collaborating with co-workers, working with educators in Indiana, and seeing students get access to materials like those that I missed out on brought me full circle in my exploration process. I was lost until I found people who recognized that the road to success may look different for each individual.

Having access to materials that students love, creating a space that feels right for them, and recognizing various ways to get to the same target can convert feelings of being lost into an adventure of exploration. Experience the joys of being lost as you search the many titles on MackinVia and Bookshare through the ICAM for students with print disabilities, including dyslexia. Additionally Vox books, C-pens, and Livescribe Pens are just some of the items available in the Lending Library that any IN educator can check out for a six-week trial period. Don’t forget the built-in text-to-speech, word prediction, and dictation features on your student’s computer. Also connect with a PATINS Specialist to explore strategies, tools, and resources to open up new routes for you and your students.

I have often been off the beaten traditional path but in the midst of a state of “being lost” I have had many opportunities to explore the multitude of ways to reach my goals. Being on the outside has its own feelings of loneliness but knowing that this path is MY path has led me to embrace and even love being lost. 

This is my story, what’s yours? Share on Twitter #PatinsIcam.

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day.  September 16, 2020
Photo Credits:  Hugo Salmeron

Those principles led me to leave home and live abroad in both Madrid, Spain and Mexico City, Mexico for over 13 years of my adult life. From living abroad, I gained a language, a family, and an infused culture. I gleaned empathy for the struggle of a newcomer and an understanding of cultural clashes, racial tensions, and the unfairness of discrimination. Privilege and value were given to me through circumstances that I did not earn and taken away from others for no reason other than their place of birth and/or color of skin. I wrestled with the predetermined value of my voice against the unheard voices of those deemed unimportant, those who showed generosity with empty pockets, who showed love despite abuse, who when I looked in the mirror of their hearts, I saw my own reflection.

When I returned to my home state of Indiana after living abroad, I wanted to find some way to use my voice for the voices that do not have the words to speak for themselves. Many times when I was on the streets in cities abroad, I was not able to communicate my thoughts, my beliefs, my objections, my concerns, my rights, or my dreams. As I state this, I acknowledge that many others have language barriers amplified by poverty, discrimination, and racism.

The first step for my voice to be used was to become aware of the current situation in my area. According to the 2018 Census, approximately 63 different languages (identified on the census) are spoken in the state of Indiana. Of the 559,000 who speak another language and that completed the census (and remember that some did not), 195,000 approximately identified that they did not speak English well. Meaning that 195,000 voices are not being heard. They are not invited to participate in the conversation, in the community, and sometimes in the lives of their children and grandchildren. It's not only language that is unshared but also culture, traditions, and community connections.

When we moved back to Indiana, my daughter at age 3 spoke only Spanish. My husband and I spoke Spanish to each other, while a mix of Spanish and English to her. She went to daycare and soon learned that not everyone understood two languages. Within three short months, she stopped speaking Spanish completely. We were shocked at how quickly she rejected her first language for another. The thing that I have observed over the past 2 years is that she has slowly and unintentionally moved away from her father’s language, culture, and traditions, a heartbreak that I can only imagine for any parent. I know that many parents are experiencing this and want to find ways to connect and participate. If my child and I do not share a language, how can we share the joy of our traditions? How can we build and curate our shared culture?

Over the past 10 years, I have witnessed a growth of the Latinx population in Indiana. This has led to an increase of written material provided for Spanish speakers. I am thrilled to see this incorporated into many aspects of our daily lives but what about those that speak Spanish but do not read it? Apart from providing written translations, how are those who do not speak English invited to participate in our community conversations? In classroom conversations? What about those that speak another language that is not English or Spanish? What do they do? How is their voice heard?

As someone born and raised in a small town, I know the love that a community has and how that love is shown and used to surround each of its members. What are the first steps for us to extend to those that are in our community? I am still in the process of learning how to be a voice. I invite each of you to brainstorm with me about how to use tools, technologies, compassion, and love to build our community to be inclusive and to recognize the value of inviting those that do not share our language and culture to the decision-making table.

Now that we are aware, how can we show that we care? As this is deeply personal, I am hoping that we can each look for ways to create and project the silenced voices around us. Here are some of my resources to help aid in your next steps. If you are a teacher, I am currently offering a Power Series to help ELL parents. In addition, I am happy to set up a time to discuss the needs of the students and the parents in your community and how we can help to get them involved. Also we have many organizations who need volunteers for connecting foreigners to the community, such as, Exodus Refugee and Immigrant Welcome Center to name a few. Also if you have a neighbor, a friend of a friend, or even a stranger on the street, acknowledge them, be patient with them, and listen to them. There is value in their voice. Let it be heard!

Sources:

[QR Code to Audio Version]

After much of my adult life as a happy nomadic creature, my husband and I decided to put down roots and purchase our first home. We found our nest tucked in our favorite neighborhood and near some of our favorite people. It had just a few “fun” DIY projects. Once we started the DIY process I discovered that it really stands for Discovering an Infinity of Yikes, rather than Do It Yourself. We dove into project after project with high hopes that our inspiration could overpower our inexperience. We wanted to do each project correctly from the start, knowing that a good investment now would help create a home we could truly love. Despite the ups and downs, we came through with a beautiful home filled with love AND with sore muscles, paint splotches, tears of frustration, and lots of other things that we shoved into closets.

I see a lot of parallels between my family’s DIY home projects and the “Discovering an Infinity of Yikes” school year. Just as a strip of duct tape here and glue there can be quick patches, this school year has seen a number of temporary fixes. But, I believe that if we take the time to make repairs correctly from the start, we can reshape our educational system into one that we all love.

The Right Tools

This school year, we awkwardly slipped back into remote learning with packets and phone calls. The struggle was similar to turning a rusty screw with a butter knife. Yes it might eventually work; but, the extra time and effort, combined with the possibility it might not work should be enough to start the search for a better tool. In my family’s case, an electric screwdriver made seemingly impossible tasks more manageable. It was just one example of our learning process, as we moved through various never-before-needed gadgets and equipped a toolbox with enough to be the envy of any contractor. 

Just as my family struggled, through tears of frustration and sore mental muscles many teachers and schools have started utilizing support tools (like Schoology, Google Classroom, Canvas, and Seesaw) to enable centralized communication for students and parents. The hard work early on of teaching students (including Kindergarteners) to login and find assignments built independence and a foundation for success when students later moved to remote learning. Through evaluation and reflection, schools using synchronous learning moved from full-class zoom calls to focused, short, small-group sessions with specific goals like collaboration and interaction. Schools also created a balance between asynchronous and synchronous learning, adding even more tools (like Epic, Starfall, Khan Academy, ABC Mouse, BrainPop, Kids Academy, TED, Mendeley) to help balance teacher workload and student engagement in other ways. Another example of added tools were: a variety of Chrome extensions and apps for students are used to practice, learn, and respond in a variety of ways supporting a more universally designed classroom. This has included the increased acceptance of accessible materials and assistive technology, breaking emotional and educational barriers for many students. 

Tips, Tricks, and Expert Advice

When we first opened the door to our adventure in home remodeling, we had many inspiring dreams of what could be; but, the reality of our inexperience prevented us from taking the first steps. So, we called in the experts. We had many professionals give us recommendations on types of paint, low-cost options for tile, and how best to arrange our kitchen. Without this advice, we would have spent countless hours struggling to do these projects. With this support to boost our confidence, we googled how-tos for smaller issues and watched YouTube for our mini projects. 

For teachers, this year has been Professional Development after Professional Development (PD). Consults, webinars, and YouTube tutorials have been equally accessed. Teachers have been in a state of emergency, training and (in some instances) being forced toward technology integration. 

Some popular tips from PDs that I have noticed include: creating a Bitmoji classroom to build a fun space to communicate with students, using Flipgrid to create videos for and by students, and using interactive slide tools like Pear Deck. 

Inexperience with technology is a barrier that continues to be a stopping point for some teachers trying to reach their students. At PATINS, we have seen an increase of teachers and administrators requesting personalized/individualized training or one-on-one sessions (provided by the PATINS/ICAM team) to create universally designed online classrooms for ALL students. 

The Risk

For many of my family’s projects, one of the biggest barriers was fear. Fear of the first step, fear of messing it up, fear of the cost, and fear it would take too much time or turn into something we hated. One of my biggest fears was to use power tools, especially the table saw. It is big, scary, dangerous, and once you have cut something, it is final. However, at one point in a project, we needed a small piece of wood to be cut before we could move forward. Waiting for a contractor would have increased our wait from one week to up to three months! I stayed up all night convincing myself that I could use this saw. I finally got up, put my safety goggles on, and picked up the table saw. I practiced on a couple of scrap pieces, took measurements, and marked where to cut. I blasted through it with no fear. Did I do it perfectly? No. But, we were able to move forward quickly after that point, and I now can start building my table saw skills. Before this school year, many teachers dabbled in technology integration in the classroom, but some avoided it at all costs. 

Today, many still struggle with the same barrier: fear. One of my AEMing for Achievement Grant  team members, Melissa Harrison, has an inspirational quote in her office: “You never learn anything by doing it right.” In many of life’s fearful experiences this rings true, such as bike riding, public speaking, going on a date, or starting a new career. The level of risk is high, but necessary for success. 

As for our DIY school year, we have all been risk takers and continue to learn new methods and use new tools. The results are not perfect, but the more steps educators have taken toward a seemingly scary new form of teaching and learning, the more enriching experiences have resulted for both students, parents, and teachers.  We are forming bridges and exploring methods that have not been utilized before, and as a result, we are seeing a bright path toward an educational system that we can all love.

Like any new homeowners, our new place will probably be under construction for the rest of our lives, but the process of creating and recreating a space that we enjoy and cherish is invaluable. Similarly, teachers, parents, and students continue to grow as our schools are reimagining what education could be. We still have a long journey ahead, but a universally designed educational system is in our sights. Just like any home remodel, it was not easy and there are still are many unfinished jobs, surprise repairs, and exhausted workers. But we can continue to build our toolbox, seek expert advice, and be brave enough to take risks with that we can continue to build a place we truly love. 

Download This Track

Artist Name - For-the-Love-of-Reading-Audio.mp3

For the love of reading 
By Amanda Crecelius

I love reading. I love reading for pleasure, for current news updates, for educational purposes, for self-improvement, and tips and tricks. I love reading with my eyes and with my ears. I L-O-V-E reading. I often have a stack of books by my bedside that I have started to read, some in the living room, and at least one in my daughter’s swim class backpack. My Audible account has around 30 books on my wishlist waiting, not so patiently, for my next credit. My top two genres are Historical Fiction and Psychology. Sometimes, I read both at the same time. As my eyes move over the letters on the page or my ears tune into the tone of the reader, my mind chain links the information to various parts in my memory, my knowledge, and my experiences and it is close to euphoric. There is nothing equally as satisfying yet saddening than finishing a good book. As I look around my world, I see fellow lovers of reading and others who have little or no interest in reading at all and this baffles me. This mystery has been slowly deciphered as PATINS’ staff work our way through the LETRS curriculum, along with several social media groups and podcasts dedicated to the science of reading. Through each I am reminded that our brains have not evolved to naturally develop reading like our brains pick up the spoken language. According to the US Department of Education, most children aren’t reading until the age of seven. While speech development can be heard in the babbles of babies shortly after birth according to The Journal of Child Language. 

I have blocked out my own reading preparation and the challenges that I faced in a curriculum of guessing and memorization. I forget that I myself struggled with reading early on and that I still have a mini panic attack when I need to read out loud (also when I read aloud for blog recordings). Those panicked moments bring flashbacks to sentence counting, so that I could practice the words that I would be called upon to stumble over in front of a class full of excellent readers. Every now and then I come across a word that I do not recognize and I stop, pronounce each letter, and my usual response is “huh, so that’s how you spell that.” Since working at PATINS these personal experiences and the knowledge that I have gained through professional development, including the LETRS training, have enriched consultations and webinars. One of those sessions is coming up on March 30th as we discuss the overlapping literacy strategies used for English Language Learners and students with Specific Learning Disabilities.
 
Over the past few months my daughter, who is nearing the end of kindergarten, has been going through this learning process. And although she is learning through methods fueled by the science of reading, she still has to force her mind to practice and focus on rewiring itself for comprehension of the letters on the page. Frustrations can result in books flying through the air or a stalemate when it is time for bedtime reading or doing homework. 

So how did I develop the love of reading that I have now? I remember my mother sitting with a book in her hand at the kitchen table, on the sofa, in the car, at my volleyball practice, and basically any free second in her day. She read book after book, sometimes not able to put them down until she was finished. I was drawn into her passion for reading. And she filled our lives with exposure to books. She took my siblings and I to our small local library to listen to storytime and let us pick out books to take home for her to read to us. As she read the books she replicated an imagined voice of the characters, showing excited energy for each word on the page. She took us to “The Big Library” which was a two story building in New Albany, IN. For a small town girl, this library was gigantic. She let us wander around freely choosing books and playing throughout the stacks and shelves, as she worked on research. I remember checking out materials that sparked my interest from “The Babysitters Club” to the latest issue of “Seventeen” magazine, even learning Spanish via cassette tapes. Being able to obtain information in a variety of different formats opened the door to the travels, tales, and tips that made me keep coming back.  

Valuable strategies to help students with developing reading skills, include phonemic awareness, vocabulary building, and comprehension. These strategies build the ability to read but do not necessarily create a love of reading. A love of reading is held in examples of others reading with their eyes and ears, of others sharing their reading experiences, of connecting stories and information to student’s interests, and allowing them to choose from and float around in the sea of reading options in the different formats including read-to-me, audio, parent/teacher/peer read alouds, ebooks, captions on videos, and physical books in large, small, and braille print.

Although I value my daughter’s development of reading skills, I also want her to love to read. So tonight as the stack of Bob books (a series of simple phonetic stories that we use for practicing reading) sit at my daughter’s bedside, I ignore them and the urge for me to rush her brain to learn all the strategies of reading. Instead, I let her dash excitedly to her bookshelf to find her favorite adventure for the evening. As I prep my character voices, we cuddle up and turn the pages to take us away to a castle or a pirate ship and I watch my daughter’s eyes light up with love.

Sources:

Oller, D. K., Wieman, L. A., Doyle, W. J., & Ross, C. (2008, September 26). Infant babbling and speech*: Journal of Child Language. Cambridge Core. 

Exactly one year ago, I wrote my first blog post for PATINS. I introduced my family and displayed our picture as we celebrated Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16, 2020. This past year has brought me knowledge, friendships, frustrations, heartache, and awareness. I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of adapting that we all have had to do in this time period. As I write this blog on the eve of a celebration of Mexican sovereignty, I am struck by our own paths to liberty as we merge back into our lives with “battle” wounds, weary bodies and minds, and cautious steps toward a hopeful future. 

As we walk toward that optimistic horizon, we are often faced with fear of the unknown. In an effort to move forward, we tend to rely on our former strategies and situations, albeit negative, to guide our way. Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and British former Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” 

If I could modify these two famous quotes I would say that “those who do not analyze, trim, add, and tailor lessons from the past will remain in a perpetual state of former struggles.” (Quote by: Amanda Crecelius, September 15, 2021) 

During the pandemic, schools scrambled to confront the arising (hidden) inequities that staff, students, and families faced in our own “battlefield” for accessibility and that got meshed with our “battlefield” against COVID. No one was truly prepared for the situation. Some schools used paper packets to reach their students academically, while others connected frantically to new platforms, extensions, and apps. Many educators, students, and families were frustrated with learning new technology, with new methods, with new home/school circumstances. After a long and, in some cases, painful struggle, we settled into a new normal. In many schools, family communication did increase, materials for learning became digitized and distributed via the web, and new methods of teaching and learning surfaced. 

And then a shift happened. It seemed that we were out of the danger zone and moving away from the COVID “battlefield”. So we filtered back into our school buildings. We set aside our virtual meetings. We picked up our paper and pencils. And we began again. This time we had increased our technology use and application and did utilize new techniques. But for some the opportunity to slip back into old ways was a sign that we had made it through. Unfortunately, for many students and families who had been provided accessible materials or tools to access materials, that ‘easy’ move back to the old normal was detrimental.  

Pre-pandemic we had methods, tools, and techniques that worked and we had some that did not. During the pandemic, we maneuvered into a new environment that had new methods, tools, and techniques that worked, sometimes better and sometimes worse. For each individual student, educator, and family the effectiveness varied in both in-person and online. What didn’t change was the need for all students to have access to equitable education.

So as we analyze, trim, add, and tailor from our past, we can look at a few guiding questions:

1. What accessible educational materials (AEM) were developed in a virtual setting that did not exist or was limited in face-to-face settings? 
2. What methods were used to provide materials to students and families in a virtual setting? 
3. Are there options for providing materials digitally and physically? 
4. Can we reevaluate materials that are one-size-fits-all?
5. What worked for some and not for others (including family communication)? 
6. How can we balance both old normal and new normal tools and tactics to create an inclusive environment at our schools?

PATINS staff have specialized expertise to guide this process through consultations and training. Just this week the session: The Barriers that COVID Conquered: Shining a Light on Equitable Ed 4 All Webinar was offered and can be recreated and tailored for individual school’s specific needs. Also, this topic will be covered in our upcoming virtual conference Access to Education (A2E) in the session titled: “Returning FTF Without Abandoning Virtual Strategies" by Sarah Gregory & Kelly Fonner. Check out a preview of the session. 

I wrote the following blog post in 2019 and I wanted to update the post. So much has happened since 2019 and we have all been through so much. There have been many ups and downs and I am grateful to have made it through.

Courtney, my daughter, has changed jobs and is thriving in her new environment. She also met a wonderful, young man and I am happy to call him my son-in-law after a beautiful wedding in June.

I am now in my 21st year of serving students and teachers and am looking forward to another great school year. Please let us know how we can assist you and your students.     

First day of school….wait a new job?

It is unbelievable to think that my daughter will be waking up and going to her new job on Monday.  Didn’t I just send her off to Kindergarten a minute ago?  It seems like it, but she has finished her Masters in Communication Disorders at Murray State University and is heading off to her new job as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) on Monday.

In talking to her over the last couple of days I can tell she is both excited and filled with a little anxiety.  “Mom, they are going to send ME real kids!” she said to me recently.  Don’t you worry Courtney, you have all the skills you need, you just may not know it yet.  

Courtney has so many resources to help her along the way and she has and will utilize them.  She follows specialists in her field on social media and has already used many of their ideas and suggestions.  She has met and worked with many great SLP’s during her college experience and they have also been great mentors giving her resources and support.  She will be surrounded by other SLP’s at her new job and I do not doubt that they will help guide her when needed.

Courtney has been preparing for her new job along the way.  My mom and I have had fun scanning yard sales and the thrift stores for items she will need.  We have found many toys, puzzles, and games that she will use with her clients!  After attending the Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students (PATINS) Tech Expo in 2019 she decided she needed a Blubee Pal and a Time Timer.  Her wishlist for graduation presents included the Bluebee, the Time Timer, a baby doll, and a race car set.  My family found her list to be quite interesting!  Come join us at the PATINS Tech Expo, April 20, 2023 In Carmel, IN, to see what exciting items you can find for your classroom.

Being around the PATINS Project for almost 20 years has given her an insight into Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) and AAC devices, switch use, basic and complex Assistive Technology (AT), iPad use and Apps and many other concepts that many of her colleagues have not been exposed to.  She was helping me do presentations in high school so I know that she is prepared!

She is also very lucky to have the support of the whole PATINS/ICAM team behind her!  We have a fantastic staff that is ready to help not only Courtney but all Indiana Public School personnel.  How can we help you?

Welcome back to School! While you are planning your seating charts, prepping lunch option boards, and digital homework options take a peek below at 5 easy tips to make sure you are universally including access to the curriculum and participation for all students in your classroom this year. 

Printable Poster to share at your case conferences and beginning of the year in-services. Thumbprint image of the poster below. 

1. Flexible Seating: Students who are deaf or hard of hearing need sight of everyone’s face to follow the conversation. U-Shaped desk arrangements or kidney-shaped tables are best. 
2. Representing Content: A visual representation (open/closed captions and descriptions) of the spoken language on all media and presentations/lectures are suggested for full access to auditory information in the classroom. 
3. Small Groups: Students who are deaf or hard of hearing often participate and learn from peers best in small groups. Provide device for live captioning software and ear level FM/DM systems to be utilized. Allow students who are deaf or hard of hearing and their group to move to a quiet room or hallway to work to ensure an optimal signal-to-noise ratio. 
4. Options for Repetition: Students who are deaf or hard of hearing often need options for how the information is represented and may need early access to materials before the information is presented in the classroom. Pre-teaching vocabulary and early access to reading materials and media content allow students to participate in discussions.
5. Expression of Knowledge: Flexibility in the ways that a student who is deaf or hard of hearing can express what they have learned will increase engagement and motivation to participate in activities. Provide back channel or alternative ways to ask questions, visual presentations in slides, google draw, etc. 

If you and your team need suggestions on implementing any of the above please do not hesitate to contact Katie Taylor, PATINS Project’s deaf/hard of hearing state-wide specialist at ktaylor@patinsproject.org.

Student using C-Pen.

Here's the Story

When I received a referral to do an evaluation for Assistive Technology for my student, I met with his teachers right away. They both said he struggled immensely with reading. My student was in 5^th grade and was reading at about a 2^nd grade level.

During an observation, I watched and listened as my student attempted to read a worksheet with sentences at his reading level. He frequently got frustrated, resulting in a couple of outbursts and avoidance strategies, and had to take several breaks. When he reached the end of the worksheet, I was astonished.

The worksheet was comprised of about five sentences, and it took him about 45 minutes to get through it. I could see that comprehension wasn’t a problem though. Once he was able to get through the reading, he could answer the comprehension questions just fine. This is what made me think that a tool like the C-Pen might be a good fit for him. 

As soon as I introduced this device to him, he immediately loved it! It was almost a night and day difference for him. He loved all the features and was able to pick up on how to use the device very quickly. We trialed the device through the next few weeks, his teachers and I keeping track of his progress using the pen.

His teacher was just amazed! One-page worksheets that would have taken him at least a half an hour to complete were now being accomplished in ten minutes with satisfactory work. My student made several comments to me about how much he loved using his pen, and you could just see the boost in his confidence towards his schoolwork.


His teachers’ goal was to make sure he was prepared to move into 6^th grade as close to the level of his gen ed peers as possible. Before, they weren’t sure this would be possible due to his frequent outbursts and frustrations when given work, even with material modified at his level. Now, he completes work independently and is able to work through longer assignments that are closer to his grade level. He is motivated and able to focus better.

I am so happy to say that he finished his 5^th grade year off strong! The C-Pen is an awesome tool that I have tried with several other students since when evaluating for the best tools to support assistive technology needs. It is absolutely in the top favorite devices among my students!

I am so thankful to have PATINS as a free resource to be able to trial devices like the C-Pen, as well as other fun technology like touchscreen Chromebooks, adaptive keyboards and bone-conduction headphones, just to name a few, to support equity and opportunity for all of my students. I find the lending library catalog on the PATINS website easy to navigate so I can always find what I’m looking for, and the borrowing process is smooth!  

I recently found my high school yearbook online. It is almost 50 years old and yes, I am not a spring chicken. As you can imagine, it was interesting to take a walk down memory lane.

As I scrolled through the pages, our introduction to the yearbook caught my attention. What follows are a couple screen shots.

This was followed by several photographs of high school life over the preceding year.

Even some 50 years ago there was text inserted with pictures. I can’t say this was the first time it was done. We didn’t predate cave inscriptions or hieroglyphics, but it was a different way of presenting information.

There are a variety of software programs, apps and picture dictionaries that are now available to help students and individuals grasp content.

Technology has taken it even further with the introduction of the Emoji, Bitmoji, Memoji, Animoji and just about any other Moji you can think if.

So, if this was my yearbook today, what might it look like?

However, for me there’s nothing like the original.

Just show up and help make something beautiful. It will matter to at least one.

One of the most surprising things that happened to me last year was learning how to make stained glass art. By chance, I ran across a video of someone making a suncatcher and I immediately fell in love and bought a beginners kit.

It has been pretty easy to draw parallels between two of my favorite topics: stained glass art and accessibility, especially Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

Learning only takes place when other people are involved.

Being self-taught is a myth. No one on this planet is “self-taught” because learning takes other people and the environments they design. While I have yet to attend a formal class in stained glass, I’ve benefitted from dozens of knowledgeable people. I’ve learned through the thoughtful design of hundreds of experienced teachers through the environment and tools they created for me. Our students are no different: the support we give and the environments we design are the soil, air, and water to their growing minds. No one learns in a vacuum.

I need a lot of tools.

So many tools! Six of them are for breaking glass in slightly different ways. But that makes sense because just like in AAC ecosystems we’re supporting an environment of creativity and communication and we need lots of tools to do it. We can’t teach someone one tool, even a really great tool, and expect it to work for all situations and times.

Good tools don’t make up for good technique.

Breaking glass is very easy, it’s breaking it the way you want it to break is the difficult part. It takes practice and learning and reflection. In the same vein, predictably I will get at least six phone calls this school year complaining that the communication tool they borrowed from the PATINS library didn’t work for a student, and when asked if they modeled on it and how often, the phone goes silent and we begin the conversation about how students do not learn by osmosis and a good tool doesn’t make up for evidence-based techniques. Every single item in our lending library we provide no-cost support and training so you can hone your skills and maximize your student’s success.

Everyone benefits if we design accessibly.

I choose many of my tools because they were designed for “people with arthritis” or “if you have cataracts.” I have neither, but my own disabilities and preferences, the specialized allow me to make things. Without them, I wouldn’t be able even to try! Providing multiple ways to communicate to and with learners also makes sense, even if they don’t “qualify” or aren’t someone you’d suspect would need that tool or technique.

Forget “go big or go home”: show up and do a little. 

I’ve spent most of my adult working life thinking everything had to be in 20-60 minute chunks to “count.” Even when I feel tired and uninterested, I try to spend 5 minutes in my “creative space” even if it’s just cleaning. 5 minutes is perfect to start. Modeling 5 phrases on a device are always better than 0. Spending 5 minutes connecting with a child is always better than none. Not every day can we or our students summit a mountain. Just show up and help make something beautiful. It will matter to at least one.

In honor of that "it matters to this one" mentality, I made a starfish and shared the process. I hope you enjoy it!




Video Description: Jessica Conrad narrates the starfish story while creating a starfish suncatcher. First, she pulls out sheets of blue glass of different colors and textures. Then with a red marker, she writes numbers on each part of a paper pattern of a starfish. Placing a blue-green stained glass sheet on top of the pattern she scores the glass with a glass cutter. Then using running pliers (decorated with googly eyes) she snaps the glass into pieces along the scored line several times breaking it into the desired shape. The pieces are taken to a glass grinder where the edges are smoothed. She then lines the edge of the cut glass with copper foil tape and uses a tiny roller to smooth out the foiled edges. She then lays out all five pieces of her stained-glass starfish onto the table and brushes the coper with flux. With a soldering iron, she applies the solder to the copper and a jump ring to the tip of one of the starfish legs. Finally, the finished star fish spins in the light by a window.

If you have attended any of our recent PATINS Tech Expo events, you may have had the opportunity to talk with Greg Blackman of EYE can see, Inc. His company is located right here in Indiana and provides services, products & support for individuals with low-vision or blindness that assist them in their daily lives. As my guest blogger this week, I’m excited to give him the opportunity to let you know a bit more about his company.

EYE can see, Inc. started in 1998; we are local providers of Assistive Technology for low vision and blindness in Indiana, and work with schools to find tailored solutions to help students succeed in the classroom. We focus our treatment on the students’ specific needs and goals, and how these are best met in their classroom environment. We work with the entire spectrum of equipment from low vision to blindness solutions, hardware and software. We provide equipment to the PATINS Library and are happy to provide on-site demonstrations, assessments, and trainings. We have been the local representatives the top manufacturers of low vision/blindness solutions since we started including Freedom Scientific, Optelec, ZoomText, JAWS, Fusion, HIMS, LVI and OrCam. Over the years of working with schools we’ve identified a few categories of tools that work best for students and schools.

Portable video magnifiers are the most common devices that schools get for students in the classroom.  These devices range in size from a 5” – 17” screen, are battery powered and can easily be taken from class to class. They all will magnify text as much as the students needs and provide different color enhancements as well. Depending on the needs of the students, these devices can come with several advanced features such as distance viewing/magnification, text-to-speech/OCR, and the ability to save documents and record lectures. These devices are small and discreet, very easy to use and great for the classroom environment.

Another device that is very popular with schools and effective with both students with any level of vision loss or reading comprehension issues is called the OrCam READ. It’s a smart pen that will read printed text out loud. The OrCam READ is a laser pointer pen that will read any text you point it at. It reads printed text on hard copy materials and any screens such as computers or tablets. The OrCam Read is a very small, discreet device that is very easy to learn and use. It is a great tool for any level of vision loss or reading comprehension challenges. 

Lastly, for students with any level of visual impairment looking to access the computer, we provide software such as ZoomText, JAWS, Fusion and OpenBook. With these software programs, students with any degree of sight loss can do anything the need to on the computer. These programs all have free demos you can download to try and then we can provide the full product with training and support alongside the PATINS Specialists! 

With all of these products, as well as all of the others from our Assistive Technology Lending Library, PATINS provides Indiana public schools with implementation training and support at no cost! Reach out to our Specialists! Additionally, we work with EYE can see, Inc. to provide local education discounted pricing for many of these items and free on-site demonstrations of any of them. Many of the EYE can see, Inc. products are available through the PATINS Lending Library as well. We ship them to your school and we pay for you to ship them back! Please feel free to contact us directly and let us know how we can help support you and your students!

Most of us have completed a project, repaired something, helped a friend, written a letter (or blogpost!) at some point.  When planning for these endeavors we usually have a plan and/or a tool in mind.  Often everything goes well but sometimes it doesn't.  To be successful, we must have access to more than one solution or tool.  Students must be offered and taught how to use a variety of tools.  Need ideas?  Please check out the PATINS Project training calendar.

My plan was to help a friend dig three post holes for a pergola (unique design).  We were warned by his neighbor that the ground was hard clay, and the preferred tool would be a towable, one-person auger/post hole digger (available to rent but would take about one hour of our time to borrow and return). I've dug many fence post holes in the past and I have manual post hole diggers.  During my site prep we measured, used my diggers to start the holes and everything looked good (i.e., somewhat soft clay and no rocks).  To save that hour of time, I figured we could use my neighbor's small, gas post hole digger.

I forgot to mention that his neighbor had just built his own pergola and successfully dug six post holes…in the clay. You know what happened next, we were forced to rent the larger one-person auger/post hole digger.  Unfortunately, we had more obstacles; three rose bushes and an outdoor grill/kitchen brick wall.  Respectively, they didn't appreciate the one-person auger’s wide wheelbase or large obtrusive handle.

It took us almost twice the time we planned, and we used three different tools.  However, we got those holes dug!  One tool did not get this task completed.

When students are assigned academic tasks, they should be allowed to choose from several tools to successfully complete those assignments. When writing, students could respond with handwriting, with a keyboard, speech to text, audio recording, video recording, scribe, etc. 

When reading, students could read with their eyes, ears (speech to text solutions), have someone read aloud to them, audio books (e.g., Hoopla or if they qualify, access digitally accessible materials from the Indiana Center for Accessible Materials (ICAM)).

When communicating, students could use gestures, vocalizations, sign language, partner assisted scanning, static/paper-based communication boards, single message voice output devices (e.g., BigMack), multiple message devices or high-tech dedicated speech generating devices (SGD).

What tools are in your teacher's toolbox?  If you want ideas to fill it up, please reach out directly to one the PATINS specialist.

For my birthday and spring break last month, I was fortunate enough to celebrate in Mexico with my husband, Chris, and some friends. We spent the first part of the trip in Puerto Vallarta. It is a remarkable city filled with buzzing culture, delightful foods, beautiful beaches, and lovely people. As one of Mexico’s tourist destinations, many local staff speak English in addition to their native language. This was much appreciated by the majority of our group since we are English speakers trying out our tiny bits of conversational Spanish on occasion. 

Friends at the beach in Puerta Vallarta. From left to right: Andrew, Chris, and Jena.

The second part of our trip took us to Mexico City to continue our vacation with our close friend, Andrew, who recently moved there for a new job. It was wonderful getting to see where he resides and to be guided through the city by someone who knew his way around. It was especially nice having a guide who is multilingual and speaks Spanish fluently. This is because I naively overestimated the number of English speakers in Mexico City based upon my previous international travels to tourist destinations in non-English speaking countries. 

Despite a language barrier for my husband and me, Andrew confidently led us through a handful of the city’s neighborhoods, to some amazing restaurants, and to some of the “can’t miss” sites to see. One of our adventures included a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the architectural site of the pre-hispanic city of Teotihuacan. It has gone down in my book as one of the coolest experiences I’ve had to date!

Vantage point from a hot air balloon of one of the two remaining pyramids of Teotihuacan.
Overall, the trip was refreshing, enlightening, and a total blast until the language barrier came for us the morning of our flight home… 

It was 6am and we were pulling up to terminal one, the domestic terminal, because Andrew was also flying out to venture to another part of Mexico the same morning. Thankfully, before getting out of the Uber, he had chatted with the driver about taking us to the international terminal--terminal two--upon his departure.

So we said our goodbyes, Andrew walked into the airport, and we got back in the Uber. Expecting the Uber to head to terminal two per the conversation he had with Andrew, Chris and I buckled up and I said, “Terminal two,” to which the driver began responding to me in Spanish as we stayed parked at terminal one.  

My anxiety was immediately awakened, and Chris and I looked at each other with confusion. I began asking myself what are we going to do? Why isn’t he driving? How far is terminal two? Is there another way we could get there? 

I decided to get out of the car and look around for someone that could possibly interpret for us. The only language I was hearing was Spanish, and there were not that many people around. Failing to find an interpreter, I got back in the car and pulled out Microsoft Translator on my phone. Now, I wish I could tell you a success story about how this app magically saved us and opened lines of communication in this moment, but sadly, it did not. Instead, when I would put the phone close enough to the driver for my speaker to pick him up, he would stop talking. I tried asking him to repeat in Spanish (though I wasn’t even conjugating the verb correctly), but he remained silent. 

With my anxiety becoming palpable, I decided to give Andrew a call, though I wholeheartedly did not expect him to answer. Luckily, he answered my call. I explained that the Uber driver wasn’t leaving terminal one and that we were not able to figure out why. I then put Andrew on speaker phone so that he could talk to the driver. 

After a short conversation between the two of them, the call went silent. I could tell Andrew was still on the line, but he was not replying to my frantic calls of his name and asking him what’s going on. I look over at Chris and think, what are we going to do? Why isn’t Andrew answering me? At this point, I made the decision to get out of this car and be done with the ride. Chris and I got out, and I began knocking on the trunk to communicate that we needed to get our luggage out. 

Our efforts were gratefully met with the driver saying, “Hey, hey!” and pointing to his phone. This is when I noticed that Andrew had requested a new Uber ride with our driver to get us to terminal two. With some cautious relief, we got back into the car. The driver accepted the ride on his app, and off we went. 

I couldn’t have been more relieved to arrive at terminal two. As it turns out the terminals are far enough apart that we couldn’t have easily walked, and navigating a way there would likely have proven just as stressful as our Uber situation due to the language barrier. 

Heading into the international terminal and being greeted by someone who was multilingual began to tamp down my anxiety, though now I was feeling somewhat nauseated from the stress. Regardless, we had made it with enough time to get checked in, through security, and to grab a snack before our flight departed. 

I’m sharing this story with you because it highlighted the anxiety and full body stress I felt in a single experience in which a language barrier was present. Upon reflection of this moment, I’m filled with empathy for our English learners in our schools and communities. This is because as someone who knows some Spanish and how to use translation technology, all my knowledge flew out the window in a time of elevated stress. Your students and families have likely felt the same way in more than one instance. 

It is my hope that this story helps you reframe the experiences of your students and their families who are learning English. Could you be offering a more inclusive experience at your beginning and end of the year events and gatherings with Office 365’s Present Live in PowerPoint? Have you implemented apps like Microsoft Translator during conferences or meetings to support equitable communication? Have families been included in the training of their student’s assistive technology through an interpreter? 

We know there are many languages present in our public schools and not all languages are supported through translation technologies, but we are here to help you navigate those waters. Microsoft, iOS, and Google do have some great translation tools for many languages though. It would be my pleasure to support your use of any Microsoft or Windows based tool as the Microsoft/Windows PATINS Specialist. Email me any time! Plus, our passionate English Learner Specialist, Amanda Crecelius, would be happy to support language access for your multilingual students. 

Summer is almost upon us once again and one great thing about summer is that it allows extra time for families to spend time together. Activities such as cooking can teach many skills while being fun and educational at the same time.

Families can start small and build up to bigger and better creations. While cooking students can learn many skills. The following list was on the Norton’s Childrens Hospital website entitled “Cooking activities for kids can teach confidence and skills that can prepare them for a lifetime of healthy habits.”

Here are seven skills that your children can develop while helping in the kitchen:

1. Explore their senses. Invite children, especially younger ones, to experience the activity of the kitchen. If you’re baking bread, for example, kids can listen to the whir of a mixer, pound dough and watch it rise, smell it baking in the oven and finally taste the warm bread fresh from the oven. If it smells good, looks appealing and is easy to eat, they may just be willing to try it! Seeing you enjoy the process of cooking healthy meals can help them see cooking as fun and not a chore. Processed foods are readily available and fast; watching you take the time to make a quick, healthy meal instead of something fast can help reinforce the behavior as they grow and start making food choices on their own.
   
   
2. Expand their palate. If you have picky eaters, bringing them into the kitchen to help cook can help open them up to new foods and flavors. Introducing new foods to children may be more successful if you introduce only one new food at a time along with something that you know your child likes. Consider trying healthy recipes from different countries and cultures to not only expand the palate, but your child’s worldview.
   
   
3. Working in the kitchen provides kids and teens opportunities to gain a sense of accomplishment. Even if the end result is not exactly what you expected, praise your kitchen helpers for their efforts.
   
   
4. Making healthy choices. Planning a menu and grocery list is an opportunity to explain smart food choices. Talk to your child about different food groups and encourage him or her to try new foods. Kids who have a hand in making the vegetables may be a little more willing to try a sample when they sit down at the dinner table.
   
   
5. Responsibility. From following a recipe and learning how to safely handle kitchen equipment to cleaning up spills and putting things away, helping in the kitchen provides ample opportunities for children and teens to learn responsibility.
   
   
6. Sharing good conversation. Share with your child or teen family stories and recipes. Or ask thought-provoking questions about food choices, school, friends and other activities. Developing these conversations while preparing dinner teaches your child how to carry on a thoughtful conversation and can enhance your relationship.
   
   
7. Basic math, science and language skills. As kids learn to crack eggs and stir sauce, they also gain new science, language and math skills. Basic math skills (“How many eggs do we need?”) and sequencing skills (“What is first … next … last?”) give way to fractions (“Is this ¾ of a cup?”) as your child gains confidence in the kitchen. Reading recipes helps improve reading comprehension, and you can demonstrate basic science principles with something as simple as salt sprinkled on an ice cube.

I also wanted to share the following which I shared last year at this same time and it follows.

Summer is almost here,and I’m excited to share some outdoor time with my cousin who will be in 9th grade in the Fall. I work with him during the school year, helping out with his homework and studying for quizzes and tests. We work especially hard on Math, and he has shown tremendous growth and I want to keep it going. So I have been looking for ways to incorporate Math into the activities he enjoys. Here are a few ideas I have come up with so far:

1. Having him pay with cash when we go somewhere, and then checking to see if he receives the correct change.
   
   
2. Letting him help with navigation to the places we go. Which direction are we going? How many gallons of gas do we need?
   
   
3. He enjoys baseball, and there are many statistics that we can talk about and how they are figured.
   
   
4. Cooking may not be his favorite activity, but occasionally I can get him to help out. We talk about measurements and conversions. When we have cookouts, he gets to figure out how many hotdogs, hamburgers, etc. we need for everyone.
   
   
5. When we go shopping for shoes or something he truly wants, we get the opportunity to compare prices and to figure out how much 20% off saves us.
   
   
6. I am hoping to build a project with him, and we can use the tape measure and figure out the amount of materials we will need.
   
   
7. I take him out to eat, and I have him look at the calories we will consume. He can also help me figure out the tip.
   
   
8. We play board games like Monopoly, and this includes money skills and budgeting. Battleship helps with graphing and logical reasoning. Connect 4, Clue, Chess, and Checkers help with planning strategy. Yahtzee and Rummikub are fun ways to work on math skills as well.
   
   
9. He spends much of his time playing video games, so I encourage him to play games that involve strategy and planning.

I also encourage him to read all year long, but especially in the summer. I must admit, this has undoubtedly been a challenge! These are some ideas that I have used, or that I am planning to use over the summer.

1. I take him to the library. I can’t always get him to read while we are there, but they always have a puzzle out so we work on it, and I encourage him to find something to check out.
   
   
2. I am also going to encourage him to listen to audiobooks over the summer to see if he would enjoy them.
   
   
3. I buy him used comic books which he seems to genuinely enjoy. They are inexpensive, and he will usually read them. I try to ask lots of questions about them when he has finished, so we can work on comprehension.
   
   
4. When we build our project, I will have him read any written directions that we come across.
   
   
5. I will also take any chance I get to have him read in any activity that we do. He can read directions when we are playing games, and he can read recipes or the grocery list when we go to the store.

These are just a few ideas that I have come up with. There are many other ideas, activities, and a wealth of information available with a search on the Internet. What ideas do you use with your students or children that you have found to be successful? Please share with me via the comments section.

Educational Interpreters: Considerations for Schools

This week's blog is brought to us by our guest blogger and Language First founder, Kimberly Sanzo, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL. Kimberly's biography is at the bottom of this blog. 

Educational interpreters are an important part of the educational team and their work in providing language accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students is critical. However, it’s important for school districts contemplating hiring an American Sign Language (ASL)-English interpreter for their DHH student(s) to consider a few vital factors. First, what is the language level of the DHH student? If the student has strong signed language skills, they may benefit from having the academic information interpreted into a visual language. If, however, the student has strong oral language skills and minimal signed language skills, then perhaps there needs to be a discussion as to the ultimate goal of having an educational interpreter in the classroom. If the goal is for the student to learn some ASL, then simply being provided an interpreter will not help them acquire a new language. Educational interpreters do not provide language instruction, and it would not be fair to expect the DHH student to attempt to acquire a new language while simultaneously trying to take in academic information. Additionally, having information interpreted into a language they barely know will likely be unhelpful. 

Most crucially, if the student has minimal signed language skills and minimal oral language skills, an interpreter may not be beneficial. In fact, providing an educational interpreter to a DHH child with no complete first language may be more harmful than helpful. As Caselli et al. (2020) assert, there is no evidence that DHH children with language deprivation can overcome their language difficulties from a single language model, even if that model is fluent in the language. School-aged DHH children without fluency in any language will not be able to simply acquire a signed language from an educational interpreter. Rather, they need intensive and purposeful language intervention in their most accessible language as well as plenty of language models and same-language peers with which to interact.

Another important consideration is the skill level of the educational interpreter. In a study by Schick et al. (2005), the authors found that 60% of the interpreters evaluated did not have the skill level necessary to provide DHH students with full access to the curriculum. This may be a result of state-by-state variation in requirements for interpreter skill levels. Many states don’t have standard requirements for educational interpreters, while others have standards that are gravely below the needs of DHH students (National Association of Interpreters in Education, 2021). Thus, it is critical that the school properly vet ASL-English interpreters who may be working with their students by ensuring they have an objective measure of adequate skill level. 

This is vital for a few reasons. First, interpreters themselves may not be able to accurately estimate their skills. This is due to a human cognitive fallacy called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, or the tendency for less-skilled individuals to rate themselves as highly skilled, and highly skilled individuals to rate themselves as less skilled. Indeed, Fitzmaurice (2020) found that the least skilled interpreters overestimated their skills, while the most skilled interpreters underestimated their skills. Therefore, a score on a standardized test like the Educational Interpreter Proficiency Assessment (EIPA) can be helpful in offering a more objective evaluation of an interpreter’s skills. Second, less skilled interpreters are less accurately interpreting information for their DHH students (Schick et al., 2005). The lower the percentage of accurately interpreted information, the less access DHH students are getting to academic content. Indeed, Schick et al. (1999) found that “many deaf children receive an interpretation of classroom discourse that many distort and inadequately represent the information being communicated” (p. 144).

Our DHH students need and deserve 100% access to academic information at all times, just like their hearing peers. It is our responsibility to ensure that a.) the student is a good candidate for an educational interpreter (if they are not, other educational placements should be discussed), and b.) that interpreter is highly qualified to provide full language access.

References:

Caselli, N. C., Hall, W. C., & Henner, J. (2020). American Sign Language interpreters in public schools: An illusion of inclusion that perpetuates language deprivation. Maternal and Child Health Journal.  

Fitzmaurice, S. (2020). Educational interpreters and the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Journal of Interpretation, 28(2).

National Association of Interpreters in Education (2021). State Requirements for EducationalInterpreters. https://naiedu.org/state-standards/

Schick, B., Williams, K., & Kupermintz, H. (2005). Look who’s being left behind: Educational interpreters and access to education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 11(1), 3-20.

Schick, B., Williams, K., Bolster, L. (1999). Skill levels of educational interpreters working in public schools. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 4(2), 144-155.

Kimberly Sanzo, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL

Kim is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who is committed to educating parents and professionals on the neurological effects of a late or incomplete first language acquisition for Deaf and hard of hearing children. She received her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Gallaudet University in 2012 and is a board-certified specialist in child language (BCS-CL) through the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders.

Kim is also the founder of Language First. Language First aims to educate and raise awareness about American Sign Language (ASL)/English bilingualism and the importance of a strong first language foundation for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children. You can find more information on Language First social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and website.

A long while back, prior to becoming the ICAM Technology Specialist, I dabbled in getting eBooks on the iPad, Android, Nook, Kindle, Palm, Symbian, Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, Blackberry, Franklin, Casio, Psion, Clie, Garmin, etc. I must admit, it was quite a challenge, because most had to be sideloaded. Sideloading is the installation of an application on a mobile device without using the device's official application-distribution method.

The process was trial and error. What worked for one device, wouldn’t work for another in quite the same way if it worked at all. Once they were “loaded,” it would become a game of hide and seek. I knew I had loaded it, but where did it end up? Once found, would it open on the devices app?

I enjoy a good challenge, and at that time, that is exactly what it was. Today, the process is much simpler. The devices and apps are much more forgiving. However, back to the beginning, if there was just an easier way to get content on a device, it would make the process so much easier.

I stumbled on a website that did just that. The website is freekindlebooks.org, but don’t let the URL fool you. The website is straight forward text and hyperlinks to thousands of the classics that are in public domain. The website itself dates back to 2008!

I am sure the question can be raised as to who would want digital content that is that old? Well, considering that the authors are famous for their literature, hence classic, their content is timeless. What Free Kindle Books appealed to me, however, was twofold.

Firstly, these are novels that have tested time. Read and enjoyed by millions. For many a window into our past, and for some a prediction of the future. Secondly, the unbelievable ease of getting the content on devices.

There is not a lot of content at the Free Kindle Books website, but a thing to note is the content are file format conversions of Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg has an enormous amount of content in a wider variety of formats than Free Kindle Books, but the one feature that drew me to Free Kindle Books was the Magic Catalog of Project Gutenberg E-Books. If that is the only thing you take away from this blog, this is it.

Once you have clicked on Magic Catalog of Project Gutenberg E-Books has two links to consider. One link is for MOBI (Kindle) Edition to the catalog and the other is the EPUB Edition. Both are hyperlinks with the MOBI format for Kindle devices and the EPUB format for all other devices.

Clicking on the EPUB Edition will download the catalog file as MagicCatalogE.epub. This file will probably be found in the users Download directory. Import this file into any app that supports EPUBs, and it will create the eBook in the device library.

Upon opening the Magic Catalog of Project Gutenberg E-Books, the user has access to thousands of authors with titled novels which has a direct hyperlink that once selected will automatically download the file and place it in your device library. They can also be opened in a browser once downloaded.

In the screenshot below, this page is one of 629 pages of authors/titles.

The ease of adding classic digital content from the Magic Catalog of Project Gutenberg is simply amazing.

Does it have today’s popular best sellers? No, but it offers access to novels that can fit anyone’s taste that enjoys reading. It is never too late to pick up, I mean download a good novel.

I recently attended a Professional Development Webinar from edWeb.net the presenter is a high school biology teacher in Massachusetts named Bonnie Nieves. Check it out,  "Increase Student Engagement: Decrease Your Teacher Workload."

The very beginning of her presentation really got the wheels in my head spinning. Getting kids to have more ownership in their learning is an important first step - it gets students more engaged too. The hook for me was her discussion about routines and how vital routines, plans, and expectations are for students.

Students must feel safe before they can engage and learn. They need to know what content to expect, classroom rules/expectations, daily schedule, quiz/test schedule, modules of learning, and throughout all of these routines - there must be a clear beginning, middle and end. You can start with Visual Schedules - It's good practice. If your student has a visual impairment, review the schedule aloud or offer an accessible format.

Reach out to PATINS staff on our Educator Support page for assistance.



We all have routines (e.g., wake up, (some exercise early), let the dogs out, start coffee, feed the dogs, get dressed, eat, brush teeth, go to work/school, etc.). Each of us has a morning routine and it's hopefully something that sets a good mood for the day. It's comfortable and known.

Routines can be stressful if they don't occur as planned. Morning routines can vary depending on planning from the night before, work schedule, and more. Stress can factor in when the routine is disrupted…overslept, allergies kicked in full force, spilled coffee, out of coffee filters (solution = use a paper towel), no clean socks, or forgot lunch at home. What if your students don't have exposure to positive routines at home (e.g., inconsistent food, disrupted sleep, minimal/no homework support, etc.)?

You can't control your students' routines outside of school but you can at school!

It's a beautiful, sunny and warm day. You arrive at work early, find a close parking spot, all is well. Upon arrival to your classroom, it's clean and organized, you prepare for your students with the lesson you created last night. You feel good. You used the PATINS Project UDL (Universal Design for Learning) Lesson Plan Creator. 

Using the Lesson Planner can help with your teaching routine to ensure that you consistently consider the needs of all students in the areas of Engagement, Representation and Action & Expression. Your students will feel safe because they know you have optimized your teaching and their opportunities for learning for every lesson you create. It's part of your routine and thus you have increased their independence and success.

Be clear in your routines (e.g., time, expectations, lesson format, options for response formats, access to Accessibility Tools, organization, etc.), use the resources that are available to you and you will also decrease your workload.

postcript: I did not initially follow the PATINS guidelines/routine for posting this blog as shown below:

Proofread, proofread, proofread

1. Have your screen reader read it back to you
2. Have at least 1 other staffer proofread your blog 
3. Grammarly extension helps to identify mistakes
4. Hemingway helps clarify wording
5. Print it out and read it on paper

I had a fellow staff member proofread and was ready to publish...I thought I should review the guidelines!  Practice what I'm preaching here. Original word count in MS Word was 450...good. [updated word count is 595]. Below is a screenshot of me using Read&Wrtie to read aloud the content I was preparing to release. Yikes! Numerous errors, mostly you/your substituions. What an eye opener!

Teacher and student smiling at one another. Tech Expo 2022 PATINS Project with IN*SOURCE. April 14, Carmel IN.

Almost one year to the date, I wrote the blog “PATINS Tech Expo 2021 with IN*SOURCE - Exciting Updates!” about our second virtual Tech Expo. Fortunately, we are back 100% in-person in Carmel, Indiana for PATINS Tech Expo 2022. We are excited to partner with IN*SOURCE for the fifth time!! It’s quite apparent over 400 of you are looking forward to hands-on time with assistive technology, face-to-face conversations with resource organizations, and fun and networking too!

The presentation schedule has been set with 20 excellent sessions from knowledgeable experts, including representatives from Apple, Don Johnston, Inc (makers of Snap&Read, Co:Writer, uPar), Texthelp, Microsoft, and many more! All sessions will show you how to boost accessibility in your classroom without adding more to your plate and provide valuable information to share with parents/families about their child’s future. Nearly all presentations tie into a big topic for educators - literacy!

In addition to the presentations, there are over 40 exhibitors available throughout the day! They will answer your questions, provide resources for supporting Indiana students both in and out of the classroom, and introduce you to their transformational products and services. Attendees will not want to miss the live Exhibit Hall to find out how to win educational door prizes from our generous donors!

Check out the presentation Schedule-At-A-Glance and Exhibit Hall List now.

There is still plenty of time in the school year to make an impact on that one student who needs better access to communicate, read, write, and/or socialize. Tech Expo 2022 is the spot to find your a-ha solutions.

Only two week’s left to register for a no-cost ticket. This includes free parking and complimentary breakfast and lunch, plus you can earn up to four Professional Growth Points (PGPs)/Contact Hours for attending.

I hope to see you on April 14 in Carmel, IN!

Welcome Cassie Weaver of Cowan Community Schools, as our guest blogger today!
We are fortunate to have Cassie share her experiences with us. Cassie is a military wife and mother of two children, which she adores. They lived in North Dakota for three years and Alaska for four years before moving back to Indiana. She currently works as a special education teacher at Cowan Community Schools and in the past she has worked at the K-12 level for about three years. Prior to that she ran a daycare for four years. She has a contagious passion for working with kids and teaching them through STEAM activities, allowing to spark their creative and involvement in their own learning. Cassie is an advocate for Universal Design for Learning, students in Special Education, and students who are English Language Learners. She shares that she decided to write about MTSS because she found lots of resources that tell what MTSS is but not as many resources that say how to use MTSS in the classroom. When looking at the big picture of MTSS it can be overwhelming and Cassie felt like many educators might not know where to start. So she wanted to try to put a resource out there that shows how to build off of what the educator might already be doing. She also wanted to talk about how to make material more accessible for all learners, since that aligns with her educational philosophy. We hope that our readers find this information helpful.  

How to incorporate MTSS into what you're already doing. 

Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is a framework for making data driven decisions. When developing a corporation's MTSS framework, it’s important to take into account universal screeners that are already being used and utilize those as the first step in the process. 

Teachers are currently overwhelmed with making up for the learning loss due to COVID-19 and students being quarantined. This is why it is crucial to use the tools already in place to make MTSS effective. If your corporation gives NWEA in the fall that should be step 1 of MTSS. Use that data to identify the students who may be falling behind more than others and have not already been identified under IDEA. Additional assessments for the MTSS students need to be conducted to determine skill deficits. 

EasyCBM lite, is a free resource that allows you to assign benchmark assessments for K-8th grade students. When deciding what interventions or accommodations the MTSS teams would like to put in place it is important to make sure you are using evidence-based practice. 

Let’s talk about how to simplify MTSS. 

Adding in academic support to your daily routine doesn’t mean completely throwing away your current lesson plan. When examining your lesson plan, look for areas that you can add to it. For example, if you are preparing a lecture, you can add closed captions using Google Classroom, or add pictures to help illustrate a concept. Another option would be when teaching using multiple steps or directions, have each step listed out in order for students to refer back to. You could also add an extension for creating audio recordings, such as Mote, so the directions or content can be read aloud as needed. 

Use independent work time as intentional re-teaching instruction for students identified as needing MTSS. Rather than counting on the students to come to you for assistance, go to them. Engage with them 1 on 1 and have them explain what they heard from the lesson. This gives you the opportunity to correct any misconceptions or reinforce any positive behaviors or processes.  

Goal and progress monitoring

Create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound) goals for your MTSS students. Don’t expect a student to produce a year's worth of academic growth in 6-8 weeks. Set a skill specific goal that can be met in the 6-8 week timeframe. For example student A will create a checklist of assignments and meet 8 out of 10 assignment deadlines per subject.  

Conclusion

Incorporating MTSS doesn't need to be time consuming, nor should it require you to rework your lesson plan. Use the resources you already have available. Make your material more accessible to students, by incorporating visuals, hands on materials, or written text paired with oral support. Use guided practice as a time to focus on breaking down objectives into smaller steps to help build students skills. I hope that this helps you in your journey with MTSS in the general education classroom.

Audio version of this blog (8 minutes 35 seconds)


Derek would scratch, hit, scream, and was unable to remain still for more than a fraction of a second at a time. It was May of 2000. It was 22 short years ago and it was the beginning of an experience that would shape the next two decades of both my professional and personal lives and would help to continually reignite the passion in me to keep going in this challenging educational work, year after year. 

I was still an undergrad at Purdue and my side-jobs as a paraprofessional, respite worker, camp counselor, and Big Brothers volunteer all had me so frustrated in the missed potential I perceived in many of the older students and adults I worked with, that I quit all of my part-time jobs and started a behavioral consulting service for young children on the autism spectrum. One of my very first clients was Lianna, the loving, smart, determined, caring, patient, and strong mother of Derek. It is with great honor that I welcome Lianna as my guest blogger this week who graciously shares a portion of her journey! 

Things were normal until just after he turned two years old. He started displaying some odd behaviors, like staring at his hands and flapping them. If he didn't recognize a person, he would start screaming until the person left. When his dad took off his eyeglasses, Derek would start screaming and it would take a considerable amount of time for him to settle again. There were a lot of behavioral issues, including scratching himself and hitting his siblings because he still couldn't talk. I thought he was just a late talker, and I expressed my concern to his pediatrician, who gave us a referral to a neurologist. At the next doctor’s appointment, the pediatrician gave us the diagnosis of “Severe Autism with Mental Retardation.” That was 1998 and I had never heard of autism before, so I asked his pediatrician what the cure for it was. With a sad face, I remembered what he said to me vividly: “Mrs. Dawson, there is no cure for autism, you have to prepare yourself that your son might live in an institution because he will be hard to handle for you later on.” That was the last time we saw his pediatrician or any doctor.

I immersed myself in finding a cure or at least, how to help improve my son’s berserk behavior. I lived and breathed autism. The Barnes and Noble bookstore became our favorite place to visit until I stumbled upon one particular book on behavior intervention for young children with autism. That book became my bible. Luckily, we lived one town away from Purdue University and I put an ad in the Purdue Exponent newspaper. I started hiring Purdue University Special Education pre-service teachers and Speech, Occupational Therapy, and art students. This is when I met Daniel McNulty, a special-education pre-service student, along with some other bright students who were willing to make a difference in Derek’s life. Daniel McNulty facilitated the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) with Derek when ABA was not even known or accepted in a school setting. It is not easy to implement, especially with a child who lives his own little world. Pulling him out of that world and his autism-related behaviors, I pictured was like pulling him out of a darkness filled with repetitive and odd behaviors. This was not an easy task for Daniel McNulty or for myself. Daniel seemed a miracle worker, rewarding Derek’s positive behavior with popcorn and other tangible items that Derek preferred at the time. He started sitting at the table and doing the short tasks that he was prompted to do, starting with things like clapping his hands, pointing to letter sounds of the alphabet, and identifying colors.

It was a long, dark, difficult road ahead, full of twists and turns. I was a desperate mother who was desperate to give my son the best chances in life that I could! I integrated different approaches, as to not leave any stone unturned. Applied Behavioral Analysis, Auditory Integration training, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and Gluten-free and Casein-free diet. Following his diagnosis, I started seeing a naturopathic doctor who did some biofeedback along with lots of vitamin therapy. It turned out that Daniel McNulty accepted a classroom teaching position in the school corporation that would be where Derek attended Kindergarten through 12th grade, which meant that Daniel wrote Derek's Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and ensured that the appropriate accommodations and assistive technologies were in place! This also meant that Derek never had the same sort of summer vacation as many other kids. His school sent a teacher to our house all summer long for extended school year services to help compensate for the lack of progress during the school year. We were very lucky to be living in a good school district that wanted the best for Derek, as we did. 

Fast-forwarding through substantial behavioral therapies and other educational services, and never-ending hope, high expectations, and perseverance; Derek graduated last year with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology at the age of 24 from one of the best engineering schools in the country, Purdue University. There were a lot of challenges along the way, but somehow, we managed to get through them, one by one, and to conquer that uphill battle. I always told Derek that he was a warrior and I called him Victor. From the background, in the stands, I always cheered him on with “Go, Victor!” I'm sure some people thought I must have had two sons out there! Derek always asked me why I called him Victor, especially when he was wrestling (his favorite sport, which he was great at, and perhaps channeled some of his aggression onto the mat). I told him I called him Victor because he is my warrior and while this road is full of barriers, he will be victorious. I told him he is one in a million and he is very lucky, that not all kids with autism are afforded the opportunity to overcome their challenges and function independently as he does. I thank God, that I met his angels like Daniel McNulty, Shelly K., and Betty R., who introduced me to a holistic approach to autism. Without these people who helped pulled him out of the dark, he probably wouldn’t be living independently now. 

Autism is not a life sentence as I once thought it to be and as our pediatrician made it out to be. It may not be an easy journey and there will be times of seemingly insurmountable challenges, but those make the victories that much sweeter as well. Derek is now working in engineering for Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives, and lives independently out of state! When I talk to Derek on the phone now, he complains that he has a lot of meetings and big projects at work. I just smile in deep gratitude for that, and in my mind, I scream, "yes, Victor!" 

For all the parents, family members, and educators that are a part of the critical team supporting a "Victor," do not give up. You are probably the strongest advocate and the biggest voice for your children. There is hope!  Derek is the living proof of it. Seek out resources and help, as it's out there for you! Search for Daniel McNultys, the Shelly K's, the Betty R's, and the many tools and resources that are available through organizations like PATINS. 

Derek's IEPs always included accommodations for text-to-speech (TTS), word-prediction, graphic organizers, reduced verbal instructions, extra time, and additional non-verbal prompts when needed, and others! While some people viewed these accommodations as "cheating" or "lowering expectations," Derek's amazing success as a young adult and highly productive professional member of society is proof that these accommodations actually facilitated setting and achieving incredibly high expectations for a once young, non-verbal, physically aggressive child who was not able to focus!" 

PATINS
1. Lending Library of Assistive Technology 
2. Training and Professional Development Specialists
3. AEMing for Achievement Grant (Open now, Closes May 30th)
4. Statewide Conferences in November and April (Tech Expo Registration Open Now) 

The ramp AND stairs

Next time it snows, I invite you to take a look at your ramps outside of your school buildings. Are the ramps AND the stairs shoveled and salted or just the steps? One sign that your school or district is fully inclusive is that the ramp is included in the clearing of snow. Every staff member needs the mindset that ALL of our students are included in ALL of the classrooms and buildings. This means the ramp is included. After all, who can use the ramp versus the stairs? EVERYONE. 

I am calling on each one of you to have this very important discussion with your staff on behalf of each one of our unique, bright students. As we are charged with educating ALL of our students as they come to our buildings, let’s not make accessing the building their first barrier to their education. 

The photo below was captured at an Indiana school the week of February 7th, 2022. 

This week I would like to introduce guest blogger, Matt Brenner, District Technology Coach for Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) and SACS AEMing for Achievement grant team member. Each year as part of the grant process, all the teams meet in January to share positive outcomes thus far and goals for the remainder of the year. As the representative for his team, Matt shared four guiding questions they are using to drive their team's and district's discussion on accessibility. Because many other teams were finding the use of these guiding questions to be insightful and inspiring during the meeting, I'm grateful and excited that he agreed to share the four questions in this blog just for you!

Educators have always believed that variability exists between learners, yet our instructional practices do not always address this belief. While this gap between our educational beliefs and our practices was already worthy of attention prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a renewed awareness of it because of the many struggles students, educators, and families experienced during the past two years. These common struggles have created an opportunity for us to re-examine our beliefs, continue to ask questions about our instructional practices, and work together to determine how to make learning more accessible to all students.

Making learning accessible for all is the goal of educators. While accessibility is a simple concept in theory, it can become more complicated as it is put into practice. We need to acknowledge its complexity by modeling the practice of asking questions to gain a better understanding and to frame our conversations about accessibility. This will lead to logical, purposeful, and well-intended discourse to occur and to better outcomes for all of our learners. Let’s explore what questions we can use to guide our conversations around accessibility.

Four Fundamental Questions About Accessibility

1. To whom are our learning environments truly accessible? A learning environment includes more than just the physical space of a classroom. We need to expand our understanding of both where learning can take place and what needs to be available for learning to take place. A learning environment includes the physical location of the learning, the resources and curriculum available to the students, and the lesson design. Let’s quickly examine a typical curriculum or lesson materials. Most curriculum and educational materials are designed and developed to address the needs of the so-called ‘average student’ and the ‘average brain.’ Through modern educational neuroscience, we have learned that there is no average student, nor is there an average brain. But because the majority of our curriculum and instructional practices are implemented through this lens of designing for ‘the average,’ we unintentionally make learning inaccessible by placing barriers within our environments.  This means that for many of our learners, much of their learning is not accessible because of a barrier that was inadvertently placed within the lesson design. For example, we may introduce a concept to a student and assume that they have the background knowledge necessary to become (and remain) engaged throughout the entire lesson. However, their lack of background knowledge to the topic is actually a barrier to them engaging in the lesson. To reduce that barrier, a teacher can activate or supply background knowledge through providing visuals, demonstrations, or models. By doing so, that barrier has been reduced and students are more likely to engage and persist in their learning. We need to acknowledge that the barriers to learning are not within the learner, but in how the learning environment is designed.


2. Under what conditions are they truly accessible? Educational neuroscience has also made clear that learners do not have one global, or fixed, learning profile. Instead, they have jagged learning profiles that may shift depending on a variety of factors. Context truly makes a difference. Simply put, what may be accessible to one type of learner in one setting may be inaccessible to the same learner in a different setting. We need to be mindful of this reality as we consider the accessibility of our learning environments. We can design for variability within our learning environment by embracing flexibility in our design. Flexible resources and tools can be used in several different ways to express understanding over the same information. For example, flexible resources are used within a learning environment when a teacher allows students to use a resource in a way that is meaningful to the student rather than requiring the resource to be used in a specific, predetermined way. Based on its inherent flexibility, technology can also offer opportunities for students to make their learning more accessible, regardless of their context. As an educator, it is not as important to know why a particular student would need to experience this level of flexibility; it is more important to offer the flexibility to all your students based on our classroom’s variability and jagged learning profiles so that they can all have access to their learning.


3. What if we saw accessibility as the ‘main course’ of our design decisions instead of the ‘leftovers?’ Accessibility is often discussed through the reactive response of special education versus the more proactive approach of general education. General education teachers may see it as “one more thing” to worry about or that “we do not have time to worry about making everything accessible.” These are natural responses given educators’ heavy workload and limited time. However, when taking a more proactive approach in our design, we usually discover that “What is essential for some, is useful for all.” If we did a little digging, we would find that there is an inherent, common, and yet incorrect assumption that “general education students” learn similarly to each other. Based on educational neuroscience, we know that is not true because of learner variability. Because of the variability that exists within the “general education” population, there are likely students that could benefit from greater accessibility. By increasing access for our specialized populations, we are actually increasing usability for everyone because so many hidden learning barriers exist in our student population. This subtle, yet profound shift in our design has tremendous implications in improving learning outcomes for all. Accessibility should not be viewed as “one more thing,” it should be viewed as “the thing.” It should be our SWAG…the stuff we all get.


4. What if we viewed greater accessibility as an opportunity for us to raise the bar for all learners instead of lowering it? As educators, our goal is not simply to make information accessible to all learners, but to make learning more accessible. Accessibility is not about lowering expectations, in fact it is the opposite. When we make learning more accessible, that means we are providing learning materials, tools, and environments that make it possible for all students to be challenged to their fullest extent. This is accomplished by allowing students to choose flexible tools within their learning environment that are meaningful to them to express their understanding of the teacher’s learning goals. This will provide students with the opportunity to truly demonstrate what they know within a learning environment with fewer barriers in it. It is essential to know our students, their learning profiles, and our instructional goals so that we can determine when to provide support and when to challenge them. With this mindset, balance, and alignment, we can continue to raise the bar for all of our students by making their learning more accessible.

There is no doubt that every learner learns differently and has different needs. Educators will continue to search for instructional practices that will enhance their ability to reach all learners. As educators we can proactively address those needs by adopting a mindset focused on making our learning environments more accessible to all. If we do this, we will discover and unlock the potential of all our learners.

Resources:

Nelson, Loui Lord. Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning. Brookes Publishing Co, 2021.

Ralabate, Patti. Your UDL Lesson Planner: The Step-by-Step Guide for Teaching All Learners. Brookes Publishing, 2016.

Rose, David H., et al. Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2002.

As my first year at PATINS wraps up, I reflect on all the beautiful relationships that were built solely via Zoom. Not meeting people in person has taught me that the heart behind the screen is bigger than circumstances and that educators utilizing PATINS has made an impact in the lives of their students. Our guest blogger, Erica Telligman, is one of those educators. She has been teaching for 16 years in second grade, junior high special education and currently first grade at North Knox, one of our AEM teams. She is currently finishing up her administration license this summer and she works with her teaching team to utilize tech tools to enhance her teaching by reaching all students. She has two kids, 13 and 10 years old. They enjoy fishing, riding four-wheelers, and playing in the mud on their farm. Erica’s enthusiasm for having a UDL focused classroom has helped her students engage with materials and build their confidence in their work and with their classmates.

Realizing Student Capability
By: Erica Telligman

As a teacher, have you ever stood in the middle of your classroom feeling like the plates you are spinning could all come crashing down at any minute? I have been in this scenario so many times. There would be 20+ of them with their hands in the air staring at me and only one of me available to answer their questions. They aren't able to access all the components to be independent... or so I thought!

Enter Snap&Read and Co:Writer to the rescue! If you have never heard of the Don Johnston resources, you are missing out. I teach first grade. The thought of my students being able to utilize their technology to seek out information and understand that information when it more than likely is above their comprehension level made me seize up like an old rusty motor every single time I thought about trying to get out and use Chromebooks.

The journey of implementing and using these extensions was slow and steady for me. I knew after last spring being sent home due to COVID, we had to have more resources in place to help our students reach their full potential and our instruction to make the most impact. Phase one of implementation began in small groups. Two groups were taken and shown how to use both Snap&Read and Co:Writer. Apprehension was a major understatement. I couldn't sleep at all the night before this lesson. I just knew there was no way this was going to go well at all. I couldn't have been more wrong. These students were like sponges. It only took us 10 minutes to have all of theirs completely customized to their preferences. I was shocked. I decided to press on to the planned lesson for the next day of accessing information online so that they could use Snap&Read.

We picked the generalized topic of animal facts for kids for the students to type in for their search. I am quite sure I looked like a deer in headlights when my students typed that in, found an article they wanted to read, clicked on it and used Snap&Read to listen to the article. I actually went numb. I was partly excited because they could do it, but mostly I was terrified my students were going to come up with questions I wasn't prepared to answer. My fears were in vain. My students didn't have questions. Instead, they had facts they learned that they wanted to share with me and their classmates. It was so exciting!

Phase two was where I literally felt like my brain might actually explode. I now had two small groups (10 students) who knew how to use Snap&Read. These students were now my resource and allies. They partnered up and showed another student how to use Snap&Read. I stood useless in the middle of my classroom. We had done it!  They were independently working without an ounce of help from me. They were actively engaged and learning all kinds of facts that we would turn into a story later using Co:Writer. That was the day that changed my students' education and my instruction forever. I had now equipped them with the knowledge and access to the world at their fingertips in a classroom.

The discussions and conversations we had in our classroom from this point forward were never the same. My students were able to make deeper and more meaningful connections to concepts. They could find and report facts to extend thoughts and defend answers they had come up with.  Because my students were able to do fact-finding independently, it freed me up to be an active participant in conversations.

I continued pulling my level of support back and gradually released my students to initiate the process of discovering they had questions that they needed answers to, finding the answers to those questions, and stretching their thoughts even further. We even used Co:Writer to write our letters to Santa this year. Due to COVID restrictions I couldn´t have parent volunteers come in to help me write all 20 letters, so I turned on the topic of Christmas and away we went. My students were so proud of their letters to Santa. It took all the frustration away from students not being able to get their thoughts down on paper due to struggles with spelling.

Children are truly not given enough credit for the power they have for their own learning. I know I was probably a teacher who never truly realized the potential my students had for taking control of their own learning or their abilities to seek out and obtain information independently. I know I learned just as much from my students this year as they learned from me. I pray they realized their own potential the same way I realized the capabilities of them.

Photo Credits: Tricia Hall
Photos used with permission.

Recharged and raring to go!

Winter break often cannot come soon enough. Up to this point in the school year, we have been depleted by so many things such as lack of connection with family, daily workload, testing, grading, COVID worries, our own health, unexpected changes, and advertising. Advertising is all around us knowingly or unknowingly shaping our behavior and not necessarily for the better. So, we strive to counteract these forces in the new calendar year by planning new goals for personal habits, health, finances, professional growth and more.   

Change is inevitable, growth is optional. Considering the number of ads we encounter on a daily basis, how easy it is to neglect our physical health and how we may not make time for professional growth, I ask you to pick three things to change for the next year and choose to grow.



Figure 2 Man running away while looking over his shoulder at advertising icons chasing him.

We are bombarded with advertising on TV, Radio, Billboards, emails, social media and more. Just yesterday while I was trying to enter and update my password on the vendor’s website, I had to close pop-ups from the vendor inviting me to enter my email to win $100!

In 2004, “The advertising industry spends $12 billion per year on ads targeted to children, bombarding young audiences with persuasive messages through media such as television and the Internet. The average child is exposed to more than 40,000 TV commercials a year, according to studies.” – Protecting Children from Advertising, American Psychological Association 2004

In 2007, it was reported that on average, people were exposed to 5,000 ads per day.

In 2021, that number is estimated to be between 6,000 and 10,000 ads per day!

#1 Reduce the amount of time you spend on social media and talk about social media's impact and effects with your students.

To Do: 

• Connect with a family member or do something active that brings you joy (i.e., electronics break). These are actions that can recharge you mentally and physically.
• Block ads (Android, iOS, WIN, Mac, Chrome)
• Use built-in tools to reduce website distractions [great to help with focus]:
  • Mac - Reader Mode (Safari)
  • iOS – Reader Mode (Safari)
  • Chrome - Mercury Reader extension
  • Windows – Immersive Reader for Edge
• You can also use 3rd party solutions to improve focus like:
  • Snap&Read – Remove Distractions from Don Johnston, Inc.
  • Read&Write – Screen Mask from TextHelp 

Figure 3 Before using Reader Mode, example similar to what one might see when accessing an article on a website showing the extra content that can be distracting.

Figure 4 Using Reader Mode, example in Safari on a Mac computer. Irrelevant content has been removed, the background color and text are higher contrast and the only content on the page is from the blog post.

#2 Make healthier choices.

It’s easy to skip taking care of yourself given work and family commitments. Convenience and fast food are easy but will cost your body in the long run. Working into the late hours of the night to “get one more” thing done also comes at a cost.

Keeping your body healthy helps you have more energy to meet the mental and physical demands that your students bring. Rest, drink enough water and reduce caffeine. That’s a tough one. I like coffee! I am fortunate enough to still be able to run. Running keeps my heart, body and mind healthy.

To Do:  

• Choose something physical that you enjoy and do it!
• Maintain a regular bedtime routine
• Consume some mindfulness blogs, newsletters, books or podcasts
  • James Clear, author of Atomic Habits has a great weekly newsletter
  • Leo Babauta, author Zen Habits, has a blog
  • Dustin Odham, author and podcaster, Change Starts Here (latest podcast "Taking Time to Refuel, Renew & Reconnect"

#3 Improve your knowledge and expertise.

No single educator can know everything. Hopefully, you are already part of a team (e.g., grade level, focus area, specialty area, etc.) that shares knowledge and information to overcome problems and improve learning. If you are not or your team needs assistance, you can:

To Do:

• Connect with a PATINS/ICAM staff member to learn new ideas to help you improve your instruction and take your students' academic, literacy and communication skills to the next level!
  • Contact PATINS Specialists
  • Contact ICAM Staff
• View Free PATINS Training Videos and earn Continuing Education Hours.

Figure 5 Battery showing Full Charge

By making just three changes, you will recharge your mental and physical batteries, have more focus and provide better instructional support for your students! Have a great New Year in 2022!

I stopped knitting in March of 2020. It was a small thing that happened amidst some big things. There was this new thing called a pandemic. We were all blinking like Dorothy staring out into Munchkin Land. My daughter and her family moved in with us. We had a toddler in the house and a daily wifi supply that needed to be stretched between two high schoolers, one grad-schooler, and 3 adults with full time jobs. So the knitting got shoved into a cupboard because we had to figure out grocery pick up and all the Zoom features.

Then time became blurry. The initial event felt a little thrilling like being stuck at home during the blizzard of ‘78. Then came the slump of daily reality. We stopped making homemade bread and added routines for checking the numbers in our county and the emails for school status. We’d pause while ordering another box of masks on Amazon and ask, “are we in Season 2 of the pandemic or have we moved on to Season 3?” 

In my work with PATINS and supporting teachers for the blind the pandemic has caused me to view my stakeholders in a new way. I had always known that the 140 or so itinerant teachers for the blind in Indiana struggle with feelings of isolation. When your caseload is spread over several districts or counties and you’re also educating staff about a low incidence disability, isolation comes without “unprecedented times”.  

Now they were being called to work in isolation from their students, and find ways to teach tactile skills remotely over a visual medium. They kept going, and they kept calling asking for ideas. We established some online professional learning communities to share obstacles and ways to overcome them. New strong bonds forged between teachers and families. Many who were hesitant to learn new assistive technology for braille were now forced to get a crash course, and finding they could stare down their fear of the blinking braille curser.

Many teachers and districts were forced to look at the accessibility of their online content. They worked to learn how to post and curate higher quality lessons and materials. The daily showing up to do the next impossible thing has generated better methods for future education. 

I’m trying to restart knitting. The weather is turning cooler, and life is feeling cautiously calmer. I have mastered the grocery order, which I will stick with post COVID. It saves time, I waste less food, and I’ve learned that it is much easier to leave the M&M’s out of my virtual cart than out of a real one.  I can make it to the Zoom meeting like a champion, putting on my earrings and lip gloss 2 minutes before it starts. 

I’m not sure why I’m restarting now. The daily showing up doesn’t feel much different, and I can’t say that I feel like the crisis is over. I’m hearing the phrase “new normal” lately like we used “unprecedented times” in the spring of 2020. “Normal” isn’t a real thing, right? But I can see glimpses of “new” on the daily, and will continue to look for them. 

A student with blue plastic gloves completes a frog dissection using an iPad to enlarge her view of the task.

Once upon a time there was a girl in middle school. She was like every other middle school girl, in that she wanted to succeed in school. She was also like every other middle school girl who wants to be noticed but is painfully averse to being singled out. 

Her inner heart cried out, “Look at me!” and “Everyone is staring at me!” at the same time. 

This fairy tale intro is one that I’ve heard throughout my years as both a PATINS specialist and a teacher for the blind before that. Adolescence is hard. Needing to use large print books that don’t fit in a backpack and using a magnifying device to see the board makes it harder. 

Most of the students I’ve worked with have been able to move past the “everyone is watching me” mindset. Once I got a teen girl to use her magnifier because she had a cute student teacher and she could see him in hunky detail with it. Another teen girl used the technology for some mean girl antics, inviting a peer to her desk and zooming in on other peers to make fun of them. This made me cry, not because she misbehaved, but because it was so normal. When you have a disability, feeling normal can be a luxury.

The advent of one to one devices and built in accessibility has been a game changer for all folks with low vision, and especially for the teenage folks feeling all the feels. Now students are able to get digital texts delivered to their devices through the Indiana Center for Accessible Materials (ICAM) and facilitated by their district’s Digital Rights Manager (DRM). And whatever is projected onto the board at the front of the room can be sent electronically to the student’s device. 

All of the platforms continue to race like a fairy tale hero on horseback to outdo each other with built in accessibility features like enlarged/bold format, enlarged mouse/cursor, special color filters for folks with color blindness, and many ways to have text converted to speech with more and more human-sounding voices. 

I received the cover photo for this blog from one of our stakeholders of an 8th grade girl using an iPad Pro clamped in a stand to enlarge her frog dissection in science class. She wrote, “In observing her during the frog dissection lab it was evident that her confidence and efficiency with the task grew using the tablet clamped to her lab table.” She went on to describe how the student took the lead in the dissection where before she would have been dependent on the partner to report observations. 

This also made me cry because 

1. A CONFIDENT adolescent is more beautiful than any Disney Princess. 
2. When I was a science teacher at the Indiana School for the Blind from 1996 - 2000 all we could do was buy the extra jumbo frogs from Carolina Biological Supply. 

This student and many others are benefitting tremendously from new technology. Here’s to their continued success and just the right amount of getting in trouble so that they can live happily ever after. 

Let me preface by saying I have always been a sucker for technology. I personally found that I have a sense of wonder in what continues to evolve in my own interests. I suppose I can be classified as a “Dabbler” in wide range of devices.

I have made my way through the cell phone jungle from ones that had pullout antennas, to flip phones, to ones with touchscreens of various sizes. I found it a little hard to part with one of my latest cell phones that I had upgraded from. It is a Samsung Galaxy 8S.

I liked this phone because it has a nice screen, an external SD card slot for my music, but it also fits into an external device that turned it into a Virtual Reality (VR) headset. VR has not been around long. Google Goggles had appeared with its cardboard VR, but it wasn’t as solid as what I had. My first few experiences were tours of the solar system, a walk through a museum, and a VR ride on a roller coaster (more about that later).

These experiences seemed somewhat real enough, but they were limited in variety and length. I kind of let it fall by the wayside because my phone’s battery needed to be replaced as it didn’t seem to hold a charge long given the VR demands on the hardware.

Jump forward a couple of years, and we now have a handful of dedicated VR devices and companies working on providing a multitude of VR experiences. Was this the time to reexplore VR? YES!

I did some research and decided to get an Oculus Quest 2. A dedicated VR device that interfaces with Meta, formerly known as Facebook. It not only has the headset but also has 2 handheld controllers.

The Quest 2 fits over the head with adjustable straps to fit snuggly on your head. This takes a little getting used to, as there is a fair about of weight and some critical adjustments to get it just right. The controllers are ergonomically designed to fit in the palm of your hand with a light grasp and it has a variety of buttons and joystick combinations on each hand.

Once set up there are a variety of built-in experiences and ones which can be purchased much like any other device. When the Quest boots up there is a choice of creating a fence or field around yourself to limit your movement before you get too close to objects or there is a stationary selection for when you are standing still or sitting. This component is extremely important, as it is very easy to get so involved that you lose your sense of spatial context. Just Google “VR Fail Compilations” and see why this is important.

What is amazing is how involved you can get in the VR experience that you can easily lose your sense of direction, time and act out with the experience. I mentioned earlier about the VR roller coaster. I have one that is so realistic that I tilt my head left, right, up, and down to the point that I get uncomfortable with the experience. I’ve parked that one for now.

I have found that the documentaries and 360-degree views like climbing Mount Everest or scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef are so immersive that one could feel the sensation of truly being there.

It is taking me some time to get oriented to the controls. Both controllers have a variety of buttons and toggles that all represent and input commands of some kind. However, there is a hands-free interface that mimics hand movement without the controllers which will probably be more suitable for me as I am discovering my inability to manipulate the controllers. I also just set up voice control as if the controllers and hands-free weren’t confusing enough.

A quick Google search for classroom VR setups and not surprising there are several companies that have classroom packages and curriculum to support VR. I will admit that although I have had my Quest 2 for a little over a month, I can connect with how valuable VR would be to engage students in a classroom.

In a matter of seconds, you can be dropped just about anywhere in the world in a 360-degree environment or experience a virtual reality constructed from computer-generated realism. One such scenario is the International Space Station or ISS. The user can experience real footage shots on the ISS and maneuver around with the crew, or a VR setting where there are missions to perform in and out of the ISS. The experience is breathtaking.

I have only scratched the surface of Virtual Reality, but it is enormously engaging. I have already virtually experienced places I will never get to see in person and have a greater appreciation for how I can closely emulate being there. The journey has just begun.

Image: screenshot of a text message that asks

Over a year ago I shared some thoughts about bias in assistive technology: technology was created by humans, so the technology has biases. Biases hurt humans, but humans have the capacity to fix it.

Not surprisingly, some things have changed since I wrote it! There have been small steps towards a more equitable and representative access for all. In 2020 we hadn’t had a single synthesized voice option for Black Americans, and the first one, Tamira, was developed and released earlier last year which is now an option for many Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) software programs.

Also not surprisingly, we have a long way to go.

When someone mentioned to me that we now could finally have Black AAC users with a representative voice, I had to stop and think for a moment.

It’s a start, but that one voice is one attempt to represent a diverse umbrella of accents in the United States. That voice alone can’t accomplish all that needs to be done to have a "representative voice" for Black American AAC users. For example, when you look closer at the language in most of the robust software for AAC, you notice the bias: you can’t conjugate sentences properly in African American English (AAE). In some software you can say “he is sick” but you can’t say “he be sick” which is a common linguistic feature of many varieties of AAE. The “habitual be” in some AAE and Irish varieties, for example, shows the difference between being sick once or habitually being sick. I can’t conjugate “ain’t” or say “finna.” The word prediction doesn’t predict the correct grammar or vocabulary of AAE.

“Of course not. We don’t want them to sound uneducated.”

Oh yikes. Or as many would say in the Midwest: “ope!”

Prescriptive grammar, the idea there could ever be “the right way” to speak a language, is still a prevalent bias in education and assistive technology. As a speech-language pathologist, there is a lot of harm to children and families by describing a linguistically valid way of communicating as “uneducated” and not representing it properly.

We want all students to be able to sound like their community. There is power in knowing how to communicate in the way your community expects (or to defy the rules, as you choose). To know the very words you say tie you to your family and generations of history is like having a bit of your ancestors in every sentence. We still haven’t created technology that allows that for every person, only some, and that’s a problem.

As perhaps some English speakers could have said 900 years ago:

Englisc meagol witodlic un−l¯æd fâgung (very roughly translated to Old English: English is strong because of its variety).

It’s said that addressing bias is a lot like tending a garden, not winning a race. You put in a lot of sustained effort and you might see a little growth. Sometimes you don’t (yet). When you’ve addressed the bias you notice, give it a few weeks, and then your work and effort will be needed again for something you never noticed before.

It’s the garden worth tending to as we have a lot of human potential to grow.

Resources:

Do You Speak American? from PBS

Contact a PATINS Specialist on how to incorporate your student’s language(s) and dialect(s) into their communication system.

PATINS also has a webinar on "Culturally and Linguistically Representative AAC" that any Indiana PreK-12 stakeholder can request live. Email me to schedule it at a time that works for you.

As educators, we are all quite aware of the many reasons it's challenging to keep pushing on, especially right now. Rather than spend even one more sentence reiterating those reasons, however, I want to emphasize the reasons it's so critical that we don't stop moving forward, that we find ways to re-kindle the fires that fuel and warm us, that we remember there are people who need us to do just that, and that we will likely also need someone else to do that for us at some point in our lives, as we are all inevitably Temporarily Abled. 

It's been a good while since I've had a guest blogger. In fact, it was August of 2019 when Beth Poss graced my blog with her wisdom on designing and decorating a classroom with more function than form! ...definitely, a read worth revisiting! I'm pretty picky when it comes to sharing my turn to blog with another writer. It was a pretty easy decision, however, when I learned about the most recent PATINS Starfish Award winner, Mandy Hall, M.S. CCC-SLP! All Indiana educators, administrators, related service staff, and all other school personnel are eligible for this award that is presented to the super heroes who consistently go above and beyond to meet the needs of all students through Universal Design for Learning, the implementation of Accessible Educational Materials and Assistive Technology, in order to be most meaningfully included in all aspects of their educational environment! Mandy Hall absolutely embodies all of this and while we wait in eager anticipation for her official Starfish Award video to be released on PATINS TV, she has most graciously agreed to guest-blog with me this week! Mandy has worked as a speech-language pathologist for sixteen years serving students ranging from preschool through high school as well as volunteering her time to support the communication needs of adults in her community.

"One busy evening at work (summer job) led an unexpected customer to me. Our eyes met and she immediately looked so familiar. It was Karen, Tony’s mom! I remembered her son from my own grade school when I was little! He was the young boy who carried around ‘that thing’ because he never spoke. I never knew the name of it, or got to use it with him, but I now know the importance of those things! Anyway, I remember not seeing him very much; he was always in the smaller room down the hall, with “that bald teacher.” I also now realize the extreme importance of inclusion!

Karen looked at me and said, “I heard you’re the girl I need to talk to!” Her son, Tony, is now thirty four (oh my gosh!) years old. Karen shared that he still lives with her, and that he is still unable to verbally communicate with his mouth. I shared with her that I am, indeed, a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and that I love helping people learn to share their voice through Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC)! 

Working with learners who have intensive needs can be very tough, and sometimes you get to feeling like it’s never enough, or questioning how you will ever be able to make a difference. Progress can often be slow, but the (SLP) life is fast paced! It can be easy to lose your direction, your passion, your spark, and to feel like you’re drowning in frustration and piling tasks. There are some keys though, that I want to share, to keeping your drive strong, your passion thriving, and the outcomes with your learners trending upward! Mentorship, collaboration, the support of a partner, family, continuous learning and development, community resources, and celebrating the small wins each day.

Fast forward - I would finish my day at school and began visiting Tony every Wednesday evening to work with him using an AAC device. I will say that magic happens at their kitchen table on those evenings! Well, perhaps not magic, but many small wins that are celebrated with vigor! Tony and I share many moments of joy, filling my heart, his parents’ hearts; and Tony is communicating! I quickly realized that I was getting my ‘spark’ back through each of these small wins with and through the support of this family and them with my support! Oddly enough, sometimes it’s the finding of extra work like this, that can reignite the passion! This includes the sharing in joy from our littlest students, at 3 years of age, to adults at thirty four plus! First words, first moments of experiencing in learners that eagerness to communicate and a readiness to learn; the first time parents and caregivers are hearing and seeing their loved ones communicate their feelings, their wants, their preferences in life! 

Reaching those milestones to be able to share in those particular joys with other people isn’t usually an easy task, that’s for sure. It takes an entire team, which can include SLPs, SLPAs, teachers, OTs,
parents, administration, support staff, and community partners! You just have to be all in and open to utilizing them all!

For me, it all started with an amazing mentorship, with the incredibly skilled SLP, Cathy Samuels. I was an SLP Assistant for her. She showed me the ropes and I witnessed the powerful and moving changes she was able to initiate with kids. I wanted to be able to do that! I remember navigating through our first AAC user experience, which was uncharted waters at the time, and we felt like it was just too complicated for us. Paintbrush man, a bucket, a pot boiling? What are these pictures and how will kids ever figure this out? Well, they do. And they do it beautifully. We doubted initially, and they proved us wrong over and over. This may just have been the start of me embracing continual life-long learning, professional development, and not capping possibility!

The tables have now turned. Me, Cathy's former SLPA, finished graduate school and became an SLP myself! In turn, I then find an irreplaceable SLPA to work alongside me; my own sister! Without my sister/SLPA, there is absolutely no way that I could do this job. She jumps right in with some of the most inspiring bravery I've every seen, to help with any and every group of learners, any level of need, and has also found a love of working with kids in their AAC journeys! Her shared passion, drive, and support of me, has allowed so many of the kids we work with, to be true communicators, which in turn, feeds my ‘spark’ even more! Find those people around you who support you and believe in the work that you do and utilize them!  

Helping people, kids and adults, obtain their own communication device can certainly be challenging. Writing funding reports, fighting medicaid, writing appeals, attending appeals hearings with attorneys and parents; all to fight for a person who is unable to tell us their basic wants and needs. The frustration with that, easily reaches high levels and there are times when giving up seems like the only option, and sometimes it’s easy to forget about the resources that are available to you, but critically important to those people you're serving!

A family shared with me a foundation that is now, near and dear to my heart, and many of the families we serve here; Anna’s Celebration of Life. When devices have been denied funding for various reasons, this foundation has pulled through for us and graciously gifted communication devices so that our learners voices can finally be shared! One young girl’s short life on this Earth, is now changing the lives of so many others with exceptional needs in Indiana. Brad Haberman has built a phenomenal foundation that provides to so many children; including 4 of our own here!

The PATINS Project of Indiana has also helped in big ways! Learning of PATINS, a few years ago, I was able to acquire items from the Lending Library for 6-week loans, for free! I was reminded of all the wonderful things PATINS does this past Fall. I was able to attend their 2 day Access To Education conference, learning, listening, and taking in so much useful information! I’m not afraid to reach out, ask for help, and request devices for loan. How do we know what our kids can and cannot do unless we try as many possibilities as we can find? ...and how do we possibly do that without organizations and services like PATINS! That’s the beauty I have found through PATINS. Their support and understanding goes far beyond the loaning of a device or the provision of an accessible material. It’s the implementation support, the follow-up, the training, the feeling of someone holding my hand through the process if necessary, that makes all the difference! PATINS has allowed for some of my learners to figure out that an expensive speech generating device is just too heavy, and that the keyguard is better than a touchguide, and that headpoint access, while exhausting, can work! We learned through two loaner devices that one particular student needs a lighter, more accessible device with special features that cannot be accessed through an iPad, for example. That trial and error process simply wouldn’t be possible without PATINS!

Circling back to Tony, it’s tough to realize, after 34 years and multiple therapists and educators, Tony was only able to communicate with two people (his mom and his dad). I am going to do my best to make sure that Tony gets his forever voice; to keep and never have to return. Though you may not be able to reach them all right away, if you can change the life for even just one by recognizing, facilitating and encouraging communication, then that one will make you want to dig and reach even harder to find the next! Seek out mentorship and try to recognize it when it falls in your lap even if it might seem like a challenge to your current way of thinking! Share the accountability and the responsibility with your team, partner, family! Seek out and utilize the resources that already exist and are so eager to serve you, for free, like PATINS! My goal; to be able to make sure that all of my learners find and have their voices before they walk through their school’s door for the last time."

While Mandy is super-busy, I have no doubt she'll do whatever she can to support you in your own journey to support others! Please reach out to me if you'd like to be put in touch with our latest Starfish Award Winner, Mandy Hall! And... if you know someone who's also doing inspiring work to include all students meaningfully, please don't hesitate to nominate them for a PATINS Starfish Award of their own! You can also learn about the past 13 Starfish Award Winners!

For now, I'll leave you with an email I was sent back in April of 2018, from a Director of Special Education in Indiana. It's an email that I'll never forget and it absolutely reinforces the passion, dedication, and urgency that Mandy Hall represents. Thank goodness someone thought to borrow a speech-generating communication device from PATINS near the end of this 3rd grader's year, but... what about all the things he never got to share during the previous 8-9 years of his life... things that we'll never get to know. Stay passionate, stay eager, driven, fighting for those who need you right now, and using the resources around you! PATINS is here to support you!

20 years ago, I received a phone call that changed the course of my professional career. At the time, I was actively seeking a full-time elementary teaching position. There were few openings and it was difficult to even get an interview. I decided to take a part-time position in the Tech Department so that I could make some contacts and hopefully, this would help me to at least get an interview.

The Tech Department job ended up being a wonderful opportunity. I learned so much and was able to build on my computer skills while assisting classroom teachers and other school personnel. I worked with so many outstanding staff members including Media Specialists and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP). 

Unbeknownst to me, an SLP who I had assisted and worked closely with had made a phone call to the Special Education Director about a job that was posted for an Assistive Technology (AT) position with the PATINS Project. She felt that my education background along with the Tech experience made me a great candidate for this position. I received a phone call from him and he asked me to come in for an interview. 

While I was excited, honored, and surprised I was also caught off guard. I was not sure what Assistive Technology was, but I was eager to do some research and to discover more about this field. Luckily for me, the interview went well and I was named the new PATINS Project Coordinator for SW Indiana. 

I have since moved into the position of ICAM (Indiana Center for Accessible Materials) Digital Services Specialist. These 20 years have been incredible for me both professionally and personally. I have been blessed to be able to impact so many teachers, staff, and especially students. I am so proud of the work that the PATINS Project/ICAM does every day.

On the personal side, I was also exposing AT to my daughter. I frequently used her to try out new AT products and solutions. When she was old enough, I took her to trainings and workshops, and before I knew it she was jumping in to assist and even to present! Now, as many of you know because I tell everyone as a very proud mom, she is an SLP with a school corporation in Indiana. 

An SLP changed the course of my professional career and now an SLP (my daughter) will be changing the course of many students.