Monday, March 31, 2008

Back to Basics

I set out to find ways in which technology could be used to enhance learning for students with disabilities and to this point, the information I’ve found does focus primarily on this topic. However, after a lot of searching last week, I decided that it may just be time to find some solutions to the writing problem without worrying so much how a computer or electronic device could help me.
I believe the programs I found last week are decent and would likely be helpful and it’s certainly not an exhaustive list. I also have come to realize that there is a lot I can do to help students the old fashioned way—by teaching them with paper and pencils. The article found here http://www.readingrockets.org/article/6213 outlines a study titled “Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities”. Again this is a long one so I had to decide what parts of it I wanted to focus on without turning this blog entry into a 6 page essay (although it’s a good read and the authors make several comparisons and points using the Peanuts Characters to keep things interesting). One particular statement validated my current frustrations: “The writing problems of children with LD are not transitory difficulties that are easily fixed.” Thank goodness! I’m not the only one who sees this!
About a third of the way down the page, under a section called Table 1, the study outlines key points that represent “Exemplary Writing Instruction”. I focused heavily on this because I want to make sure that I am, at the very least, providing exemplary instruction. Of course I wasn’t surprised to see there are things I can do differently like the ninth tip:
“Instruction covering a broad range of skills, knowledge, and strategies, including phonological awareness, handwriting and spelling, writing conventions, sentence-level skills, text structure, the functions of writing, and planning and revising.
We typically isolate handwriting and spelling from the subject of writing to allow kids an opportunity to be successful in at least one area without worrying about the others. For example, kids can be great writers and horrible spellers. If you combine the two it brings down the so called quality of the writing. It’s interesting to see the suggestion of combining all the areas of writing into one instructional set and it’s worth trying.
Another tip was to integrate writing across the curriculum. This has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while now and something I do attempt now and then but the biggest obstacle to having students write in other subjects is the sheer amount of extra time it takes. It’s one thing to spend 45 minutes of a writing class on writing, it’s quite another to spend 45 minutes of social studies on writing. I think before we get to this point we still have to overcome the hurdle of simply not knowing how to put thoughts on paper.
There are adaptations listed as well but realistically, the teachers at my school have been doing these things for years so this area wasn’t particularly helpful.
The last item of interest is towards the very end. The research describes the importance of early intervention. It states that to the point the article was written, only 4 studies had been done on the effectiveness of early intervention for writing disabilities. Interestingly, in one of the studies research showed that supplementary handwriting instruction raised compositional quality. This is of great importance to me because we focus very heavily on teaching kids to type while spending only about 20 minutes a week on handwriting instruction. Unfortunately a separate study was not able to replicate these results. In any case, all studies demonstrated a positive result for struggling writers when early intervention took place which is further evidence for me, that as a teacher of students with disabilities, the most important step I can take is to return to basics and in the future, start earlier.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Hopeful

Well I think I was taking the wrong approach looking for the “magic” program or technique to fix writing problems which was naïve of me. I know better than to think any one approach will work for everyone, after all, I’ve built my entire class on coming up with ways to teach kids individually. Regardless, my few students with severe writing difficulties probably need to start at a more basic level and I’m starting to see how I am probably part of the problem and so is the school system. I am pressured by the school and parents to prepare kids for middle school and I in turn try my hardest to get my students to write even those that simply can’t. I’m really just frustrating them. I discovered a program called Fast ForWord. There are a number of products associated with this program. I have had some students use the reading programs with great success but I was not aware that they also had language programs. At this site: http://www.scilearn.com/products/elementary-products/fast-forword-language-basics/index.php one can find a description of the Language Basics program. For those who are unfamiliar with Fast ForWord, it is a set of products that “develop brain processing efficiency through intensive, adaptive software exercises.” There are products for the elementary and secondary levels and the program claims to have one to two year gains in 8-12 weeks of use. The Language Basics program works to improve memory, visual and auditory attention, visual processing, and sequencing skills. It also builds computer skills and techniques. For students who advance past the Basics program, there is a follow up program called Fast ForWord Language which is for slightly older children. Perhaps my only concern is the cost. The website does not display a price for the program but I’ve been told it is quite expensive. It still seems worth recommending to parents and even suggesting it is placed on the school wish list.
It is my belief that without the proper foundation for learning and acquiring knowledge, students will be lost. For students with severe language problems, one must consider the idea that extreme remediation needs to take place. The website explains that the software works as an exercise program for the brain and this makes good sense. Right now I’m asking kids to run a marathon before helping them practice running a mile. Regardless of what program is used, remediation seems to be the answer.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

What Now?

After the goal I set for myself in my last blog I’m starting to understand why in my four years of teaching and actively seeking an answer to this question I’ve not yet found a solution (not that I’m giving up). After a great deal of searching, the same program kept coming up as a solution for kids with expressive language disorders: Kidspiration. Towards the middle of the page on this site http://www.synapseadaptive.com/learning_disorders.html there is a brief outline on the various types of language disorders (articulation, expressive and reception which are just to name a few). The site then provides a link to Visual Thinking Software which is this site http://www.synapseadaptive.com/inspiration/default.htm discussing Inspiration.
I must say I am a bit disappointed and not because Inspiration and Kidspiration aren’t fantastic programs—they truly are. I use Kidspiration in my classroom already and kids enjoy it. I should actually say that some kids enjoy it because others, the same that I keep in mind when searching for writing programs, are completely frustrated by it. The blank screen stays blank until they get direct assistance. If they work with a peer, the peer ends up doing it for them. Pre-made graphic organizers remain blank as well. I routinely get the question, “What am I supposed to put here?” And before any reader thinks I leave my students directionless, please let me assure you I typically spend 2-3 class periods preparing for writing before asking students to put the first word on paper. We go through an extensive process of brain storming and modeling. It works well for probably 85% of them. I still have a few that are unable to produce a single sentence. Kidspiration doesn’t help them. So what now? More searching.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Writing Programs

This week, I’m hoping to find as much valuable information about teaching language and writing to kids with disabilities as I was able to find about teaching reading. Since I’ve only been teaching Reading this school year and Language/Writing for the last 4, I’m much more familiar with the curriculum however, I’m always on the search for new ideas and I like to hear the thoughts of others on how to teach writing to kids with disabilities. I went to a writing workshop a few years ago and came back armed with all these great techniques to try. Sadly, they all failed miserably (and I tried and persisted with all of them to no avail). With any luck this search will result in a more fruitful acquisition of knowledge.
There are countless products out there to help students with writing disabilities (or even regular ability). The product described on this website http://www.wordq.com is called Word Q. This software program works with any word processor. It predicts words and provides speech feedback. You can also have text read back to you. It doesn’t correct spelling or grammar but that is rather irrelevant because the word processor itself does that. I think one of the most key tools associated with this software is that it claims to have the ability to predict words based on “creative spelling” and if it can predict the spelling of words for some of my students then it’s worth its weight in gold. One of the biggest problems with using the regular word processor is that kids type stories and essays and get discouraged because every last word is underlined with a squiggly red line. I would hope this program could alleviate some of those problems.
So Word Q is one of many products out there that aids students with writing disabilities and I can see how it would work for some, even many students. I feel like this program is still just a band-aid for the real problem which is that students with learning disabilities and expressive language problems would be doing well to put ANY idea down on paper. I have on many occasions asked frustrated students to dictate stories, sentences, and ideas to me so I can write it for them. Many are still unable to get thoughts out on paper. So while I’m pleased to find programs like Word Q, I am still on a quest for a solution to the greater problem: how do you get students to form ideas, organize those ideas and put them on paper in the form of a readable essay/story/sentence?

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Reading for Real Life

Today I’ve taken quite a turn from my last several blogs but there is good reason behind it. First of all, I had a conference today. The parent wanted to discuss her child’s progress and where she is headed. This child should be in 7th grade but is currently performing at around the 4th grade level. The mother said she had heard all you really need to get through life 6th grade reading and math proficiency. She hoped her daughter would achieve this. (Yes, if I have anything to say about it and oh yes, I do!) So of course I got to wondering about this 6th grade level thing. After doing some searching I found a web article that claims newspapers are in fact written at the middle school level.
See: http://www.timporter.com/firstdraft/archives/000418.html
On the one hand, I feel a sense of relief for my students some of whom will struggle with reading their entire life. I’m pleased to know that they will be able to read the news as adults, even if they never become “great” readers. On the other hand I am completely appalled that these are the standards in our country. We as teachers work incredibly hard to build and sustain the foundation that children need to excel through school. We pour blood sweat and tears into teaching struggling readers how to read and purchase hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of equipment in an effort to aid these students. Then we have parents shooting low because that’s where the rest of society has already set the bar. There is however, a bright spot. The article talks about the Flesch-Kincaid tool which measures the readability of any document. The scale measures on a scale of 1-100 with, as the author puts it, 100 being a stop sign, and 1 being “practically impossible to read”. The average newspaper story falls between 70-80 (about 8th grade level) while the top 5 internet blogs (based on a source called the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem http://truthlaidbear.com/ecosystem.php ) score significantly better scores-- between 45 and 55 (10th-12th grade level). What this tells me is that when given the opportunity, people want to read more challenging work and as a teacher, this tells me that if I want to give my students a good challenge I should encourage them to read blogs rather than newspaper articles for a good mental workout. I hope that if students become more accustomed to reading quality writing they won’t want to stop at the 6th grade level of reading, that they’ll push beyond that to read what is interesting and challenging. Why should we let students settle for mediocrity when something better exists at our fingertips?
Before I close I found something else interesting. It’s called “The Blog Readability Test”. Simply enter the URL of your blog and it will tell you the reading level. http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/reading_level.aspx. This blog is currently at the college level.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Super Pens

Well the name of the item isn’t really “Super Pen” But I just can imagine putting one of these in the hands of one of my students. In my mind this is what he called it so that is the title of this blog.
The article http://jset.unlv.edu/20/JSETv20n1.pdf is rather long. If you’d like to read it, it’s on pages 31-40 in the Journal of Special Education Technology (Hey, perfect! Right?). The title of this research is, “The Compensatory Effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities.” And I know now that you’ve gotten through the title you’re thinking I’m crazy if I think you’re going to read through this whole article (It’s okay). Basically a study was done to see how effective this new OCR pen is for students with learning disabilities. In the past there was somewhat conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of the pen. This one is different because students are intended to use it to decode single words, not entire phrases of text which can interfere with comprehension. The pen is connected to an ear bud which allows a student to use the device privately. The research points out that students with reading disabilities often have no trouble understanding spoken language so if you can aid a student with the reading aspect, then comprehension will follow. Thirty children ages 10-18 were trained on how to use the pen. Then, students were tested twice using the Formal Reading Inventory (FRI). Students scored significantly better when using the pen. Obviously there is more to the research than this short summary but the important part is that the research indicates that this pen can benefit students with reading disabilities. My thoughts upon reading this research went immediately to my students, not now but in the future. While they are in my classroom, I know I can help them get through their reading assignments. I accommodate in every way possible. But I also know that the time will come when they leave my school and hopefully attend a regular high school. A device like this would be a fantastic tool for students who just need a little extra help but who, at the age of 14 or 15, don’t want to ask someone to read a word for them. It grants independence while aiding studying and comprehension. The best part is, it’s so small and portable that peers may as well not know it exists. I know for my students, it is important for them to feel “normal” around their peers. They don’t want others to know they need help. I did some further research and this pen is available for around $275 (some cheaper on ebay) which if it helps a student, is really a small price to pay for the potential benefits.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Storybooks on Computer

It had been my intention to move forward this week in the blogging, to focus on another of the classes that I teach. Last week I covered reading and this week I was going to try to cover writing but I don’t feel finished with Reading. In doing my research, I found so many promising programs and interesting articles that I want to continue with Reading for now and see where that takes me. Maybe I’ll move to writing next week, we shall see! For now I’m thinking of readjusting my topic (yet again) to focus not just on technology for students with learning disabilities but also on how different programs can be integrated into the daily curriculum. I teach reading and language. While I don’t teach Math this year, it is something I’d like to cover as well. Finally, I’d like to see what I can find that has to do with social skills training. I’m hoping that if I cover all these concepts, I’ll be able to have a really good grasp on how to use technology to benefit achievement for students with learning disabilities.
So for my first link of the week:
http://www2.edc.org/ncip/library/ec/storybks.htm
This article is called Storybooks on Computers: An Overview. It outlines the many benefits of having children listen to stories. What is neat about this program is that it’s not a simple recorded book. This program actually allows kids to “turn” the pages on the computer. As the article point out, this is helpful for kids with fine motor difficulties because it allows them to experience reading like a peer would. It also allows a visually impaired child to enlarge the text. One of the best features in my opinion is that the stories are illustrated with interactive graphics. The example given in the article states that a child can click on a dog in the story and it will wag its tail. There are several other variations that can be selected (changing the speed of the reading, gender of the reader, and whether syllables, words or whole sentences are highlighted, etc). I was thinking about how this sort of thing would be great in the classroom as a center in the younger grades, especially in a mainstream classroom because “normal” (I hate that term) children and children with disabilities could work together. Both children could benefit from the activity without one feeling as though they were different because of the accommodations. Another great place to use this would be at home although my fear would be of parents using the program as a replacement for actually reading to their child. I’m sure in some cases however, this program would be better than not being read to at all. The article starts by saying “All children can benefit from having story books read aloud to them.” I couldn’t agree more. With or without disabilities, all children could enjoy a program like this.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What's Available?

Well I couldn’t talk all about reading accommodations without finding a program that could actually do it and do it well. One of the programs recommended by http://www.readingrockets.org is called NaturalReaders. A demo of the product can be seen here http://www.naturalreaders.com/. In spending a bit of time with the program I can see how tremendously beneficial this could be for my students. The program is available as a free download or it can be purchased for around $40 to $100 depending on how fancy you want to get with it. While I didn’t purchase it to see for certain, I believe the $40 version would be sufficient for my students because it reads Web pages and Word documents (among other things). This would be unbelievably helpful when my students are doing research. Right now what happens is this:
Student types their topic into the internet search bar. Student pulls up a list of web pages. Student clicks on the first page that comes up. Student calls me over to the computer to read the page to him or her. All other students throw a party while my back is turned.
Well maybe that last part isn’t entirely true (most of the time).
The fact remains, students would gain a tremendous amount of independence if they did not have to rely on a peer or me to read everything to them. Even kids who are grade level readers can’t necessarily read all the words on a webpage. Having this program available empowers students both at school and at home where parents are not always around to help read aloud either. One thing I’ve discovered is that children with reading disabilities often can comprehend quite well (at least in my experience) so these students will actually get much more out of a lesson that is read to them than a student who tries to read it him or herself and only decodes every third word.
Furthermore, if the program reads word documents then a student could type his or her report and then have the program read it back to them so they can hear their mistakes and more easily make corrections.
I believe I’ve found my first product for classroom implementation!
Feeling a little wiser,
EmTech

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Fighting for Accommodations

Just about more than any other thing I hear from new parents was how unwilling the public school system was to accommodate their son or daughter’s special learning needs. It’s pretty sad because I have spoken to public school teachers who complain about having to deal with kids with learning disabilities in their classroom. I can’t help but wonder why a school doesn’t just give students the accommodations they need since it would benefit everyone involved, most importantly—the student. Then I remembered, oh yeah, it’s the money. Assistive technology costs money, usually a lot of it. Once it goes in a student’s IEP, that’s it, the school must provide it. Really it’s rather unfair not to since the school is getting more funding for that child to begin with. But I digress…
The author of this blog: http://specialedlaw.blogs.com/home/2008/01/accessible-e-te.html talks about how important it is for students with reading disabilities to have texts that can be converted to spoken word. He emphasizes how valuable e-texts have been for his son. His post led me to this nifty article which helps parents realize the full potential of the provisions of IDEIA. This article http://www.readingrockets.org/article/16308 provides essential tips for parents including information on the IEP process. It also encourages parents to try out the many e-text programs available before committing to one in the IEP. The blog posting and the article do more than describe some of the resources available, they talk about something perhaps even more important, that no matter what technology is out there, it takes parent intervention to make sure it becomes available to their child. If parents are not advocates for their kids then who will be?
EmTech

Monday, March 10, 2008

Audio Books

After selecting my topic, I had a bit of a fear that I’d picked something too specific; that maybe it would be difficult to find information on technology for ESE students. Wow, was I wrong! There is a ton out there but at least in my first round of searching, a great deal of the information seems to focus on products—adaptive technology. So I decided that instead of picking something too specific, I really went too broad. I have chosen to focus on technology for students with learning disabilities since this information can and will directly impact what I do for a living.
So where to begin? I thought for the first two weeks I could focus on the subjects I teach. I’m starting with reading. Many of my students have reading disabilities. In fact the breakdown goes like this: of 20 total students the youngest is 9 and the oldest is 12. Age has no correlation to reading grade level. I have 11 students reading (some struggling) at the second grade level. I have 3 at the third grade level. There are 4 at the fourth grade level and 2 at the fifth grade level. Ironically, one of my fifth grade readers is only 9. So reading is a struggle for most of my kids. Probably the most high tech thing they use right now is a tape recorder to listen to their stories on tape. In fairness, my students have made terrific progress this year but I’m sure there are programs and devices that could help them more.
http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=1066
The link above takes you to an article about an organization called Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) that provides audio recordings of all varieties of books. These aren’t just regular stories. Many of the audio books they offer are actually textbooks. The books allow a student with a reading disability to listen along to assigned reading and stay up to speed with classmates. The article really hit home on some of the issues I find myself defending to other people who are not as familiar with learning disabilities and sometimes, sadly, even parents of students. One of those issues is that listening to something being read to you is actually cheating because you don’t have to read it yourself. The article disagrees, as do I, saying that anecdotal evidence provides countless stories of kids who once hated reading and now enjoy it (and who also learned to read in part by following along with the audio and the text). RFB&D calls audio books a bridge of the “remediation-accommodation continuum.” Essentially saying that while you’re trying to teach a student how you read, you also should provide them with a means to learn their other subjects since a reading disability creates a barrier to the understanding of all other subjects.
The article really validates what we do at my school which is a private school solely for students with learning disabilities. We accommodate students in any way we can and if that means giving them their lessons on tape then so be it. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to look into the services of RFB&D to see if any of our textbooks are available. Decades from now I know that most of my students will be leading successful and fulfilling lives and if they listened to their science rather than read it, who cares? There is no rule on how one must acquire knowledge. Audio books just level the playing field.
EmTech

Saturday, March 8, 2008

A New Blog is Born

The first question I should answer is maybe not even your question. I’ll explain anyway. The title, Something-Insightful comes from my main site found at www.something-insightful.com which began as a way for me to explore the world of web design and blogging. I’ll only ask that you not look for updates there if you expect to find them here.
Posting to a specific topic is new to me. If you read any of my other blog, you’ll find there is no pattern, rhyme or reason to the topics which are so varied they sometimes make even my head spin. For the sake of good grades and useful practice, I’ve decided to explore the world of technology in exceptional student education. It’s an easy choice for me. As an ESE teacher any information I find can be used to better serve my students. As someone truly interested in what technology can do for students with special learning needs, I am excited to explore what’s out there in this field.
You’ll be “seeing” me soon!

“Expert” in the making,
Em