by Samuel Sennott
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Including Samuel
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ASHA 2007 ALLTOGETHER LAUNCHER
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PRC Pictures (3,385 of them) Wow!
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Hannah Montana Book,
Skateboarders Ride Transitional Book,
Dogs by Samuel Sennott
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You Can Golf
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AAC-RERC Webcasts
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Video Writing Setups
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The Tango Tutorial: An Exercise in Not Reduplicating Training
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Connecting Video to Reading and Writing
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Tar Heel Reader: An Open Source Library of Talking Books
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Padded Head Switches and Loc-Line Mounting Arms
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AAC Considerations and the Stages Framework
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AAC Consideration Materials and Checklists
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Goossens, Crain, Elder Communication Overlay Color Reminder
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Art Website Launcher
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Math Websites Core Tools
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by Samuel Sennott
We have been playing the Nintendo Wii with children with special needs and have been having an amazing time. Both for recreation and as a connection to the curriculum, it really is an amazing tool. Seeing the virtual game worlds up on the big projector is pretty cool. Our best integration is seen in a previous post about golf. There is much to share about the process we use, but for right now, one tip is to use tape or velcro to adapt the buttons. Yes, if you have the $300 for the adapted controller, definitely check it out, but look for more posts on our adaptations. We do some pretty wild stuff like swat at the controller, drop it, and use eye gaze to coridinate assistance. Also, good luck getting one. I was up very early at Best Buy on the Sunday morning we snagged ours!
by Samuel Sennott
One of my team members authored this book about Hannah Montana. It is in between a transitional and conventional text. Go to the online version or download the PowerPoint here: hannah-montana book.
Also, here is the word analysis:
Core: Can, is, be, my, the, a, like, I, with
Fringe: Fun, cool, dog, named, great, friends, sing, dance, keyboard, guitars, posters, 3-D movie,
Names: Hannah Montana, Roadie
Hannah Montana
by ShellyBelly
by Samuel Sennott
Last week, I reported on WebAnywhere, the screen reader on the go. Check out this article found in the CEC smartbrief:
Emerging tech makes learning more accessible
Electronic web narrators and tongue-driven controls continue trend toward ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to assistive learning tools
by Samuel Sennott
Things are surely getting interesting with the release of WebAnywhere, the screen reader on the go. This just may be a sign of things shifting to the power of open source/ freeware and the University connection aspect of the AT work. I look forward to speaking with some friends who are blind about this. I was on and using this screen reader in less than one minute. Check it out.
Pulled from various parts of their website, found at: http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/
WebAnywhere: A Screen reader on the go
Launch it: Try the WebAnywhere Alpha Release
Please read our WebAnywhere Paper for more information about the system.
A 2008 presentation by a team member on the project:
WebAnywhere: A Screen Reader On-the-Go, 2008
Presented by Jeffrey P. Bigham on 10/15/2007. Link: WebAnywhere PPT.
The cheat sheet:
You interact with WebAnywhere using the keyboard. A selection of keyboard commands that are currently supported is listed below. Pressing SHIFT in combination with them reverses the direction of the search, searching backward from the current cursor position instead of forward from it.
- CTRL-L – move the cursor to the location box where you can type a URL to visit.
- Arrow Down – read the next element on the page.
- Arrow Up – read the previous element on the page.
- CTRL-H – skip to the next heading.
- CTRL-I – skip to the next input element.
- CTRL-R – skip to the next row by cell when in a table.
- CTRL-D – skip to the next column by cell when in a table.
- Page Down – read continuously from the current position.
- Home – read continuously, starting over from the beginning of the page.
- CTRL – silence WebAnywhere and pause the system.
by Samuel Sennott
In the context of an Augmentative and Alternative Communication course, it is often challenging to teach the subject matter framework information, general device knowledge, device programming, as well as all of the intangibles such as Velcro strategies and light tech board hacks and modifications. As more and more information and research comes onto the scene coupled with the ever expanding list of mid-tech to high-tech speech generating devices, we need to start finding ways to compact the information. One clear focus of assistive technology research for the foreseeable future is looking at ways to get massive amounts of framework and technical knowledge to students who are often busy either in full time school programs or both in a combination of school and employment settings.
Personally, I am being called on in an ever greater way in the speech language division I work in to provide training and tutorials to students in the graduate degree program. While it is important to have a personal touch and bring the concepts to life, it has been helpful to find ways to not reduplicate training and efforts.
Here is one resource my friend Amir Shasavari and I created. It is authored in Keynote, but here is the PowerPoint version. The focus is to help train people about the relatively new Tango! AAC device from Blink Twice. Here at Nova Southeastern University, we are finding it a helpful resource for training graduate students in Speech Language Pathology in their diagnostics as well as their AAC course.
The presentation/ tutorial has features that are important for both online learning and for self study:
- linkable information that goes out to increasingly rich levels of media (video, more directions, downloads)
- solid navigation tools inside the tutorial
- a uniform look and feel to the whole user experience
I hope you find this resource useful and consider the importance of this topic.
Download the tango tutorial in MS PowerPoint
Click the image or here to go to the online flash version.
by Samuel Sennott
Connecting video to reading and writing is powerful. Last summer, I saw that power so clearly in the camp program I led. The camp was your basic extended year program revamped into a fun literacy based camp. One of the classrooms had mainly children with autism spectrum disorders. When we completed the pre-assessments, the students nearly threw the books back into our faces. There was at least a few tears during the developmental spelling test administered. Based on this initial assessment, I knew it was key to focus on the appreciation/enjoyment of literacy, so I turned to the self selected reading block. I brought in Apple laptops to each student and fired up the now classic Otis Goes to the Beach story. We showed it as a whole group to kick off the lesson. As you read, Otis comes to life with real videos of him getting ready for his walk, crying because he is so excited, swimming, and chewing. The children were transfixed. Every day, one particular student asked me why Otis is crying. Then he would say, “because he’s happy?” Within a few weeks, the students were reading PowerPoint based books on a daily basis and greatly enjoying it. One student who did not want to have anything to do with writing, started using PowerPoint to author because we could import pictures relevant to him. The rationale behind transitional texts is to draw the reader to attend to the text. I believe that connecting video can do this as well.
Yet, videos are not just for getting attention. They can be powerful for building background knowledge in both the reading and writing process. See a previous post that was regarding a guided reading lesson for Leo the Late Bloomer. Using YouTube can bring concepts to life. What a great way to do the activation of knowledge section of your guided reading lesson. Also the extensive Discovery Education/United Streaming site is rich with content.
Videos can motivate writing. The students in the AAC writers camp I am leading this summer are going wild for journaling about the videos they connect to. I believe that for my students, this is a perfect lead in to the SRSD strategy POW and TREE. Writing a persuasive essay about the video including a topic sentence, reasons, and an ending is potentially a way to tip the motivational scale during this process.
Check out the set of videos we are using this summer to motivate and fuel our journaling process:
http://otot.wikispaces.com/Writing+Setups
In summary, video can be powerful to draw attention, build background knowledge, and build motivation in reading and writing. There is so much more to be studied, researched, implemented, and written about regarding this topic. I look forward to engaging in the process.
by Samuel Sennott
Do your students want to play a fun, interactive, and engaging switch accessible baseball game? Mine do too! Check out, Super Switch Hitter, the latest terrific release from Switch in Time. The amazing Jon Adams has done it again, adding to the famed accessible music softwares Switch Ensemble and Switch Jam. I believe that your students will greatly enjoy this summer pastime. Also, consider having the students go to their journals just after they play.
Features
- Absolutely fun: Suitable for all ages!
- Students can play on opposing teams or on the same team.
- 5 play modes: From very simple single switch access to multiple switches, auto-scanning and two switch step-scanning.
- Fully customizable: Ball size, ball speed, optional auto-fielding and a special “hover ball” feature (for errorless batting) guarantee a successful experience for all players!
by Samuel Sennott
Back in the series of posts about ASHA 2008 in Boston last November, The Practical Principles of Seating and Positioning in AAC for SLPs conference session by Aileen Costigan and Janice Light was reviewed here on this blog. Recently the project has been added to the rich and expanding list of AAC-RERC Breeze powered webcast presentations. In this webcast, you get a terrific concise review of the topic, followed by a focus on the team process, ending in a series of case study questions. There are great visual supports in this presentation that get the message across in an engaging and memorable way.
The four goals of the presentation are:
- Why is seating and positioning
important? - What does appropriate
seating and positioning look like? - What are the roles of Assistive
Technology (AT) Team Members? - What resources are available, when
should a referral be made, and to
whom?
Definitely check this out and share it with the OTs, teachers, SLPs, other therapists, and families you know who would benefit.
Here is the link to the site, with how it looks below:
| Seating and Positioning for Individuals who Use AT |  |
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Presenter: Aileen Costigan, MSc-OT, Penn State University
Webcast Description:
Appropriate seating and positioning is critical for use of assistive technology (AT) and participation in a variety of environments. Aileen Costigan, a certified Occupational Therapist, provides an introduction to important issues in seating and positioning for individuals who use AT.
Video Link: Click here to view the webcast as Breeze Presentation (Recommended for PCs and Macs)
Technical requirement for Webcasts: Click here for technical information and trouble shooting
Slides and Handouts
Link: Click here to view the slides for this webcast as a PDF file.
Transcripts
Link: Click here to view a transcript of this webcast as a PDF file.
Link: Click here to download a transcript of this webcast as a TXT file.
by Samuel Sennott
Children, teenagers, and adults need books to be able to learn to read and getting accessible books to them is the goal of the Tar Heel Reader. This open source library of books that are switch accessible, talking, internet accessible, and downloadable will grow exponentially due to the terrific job Gary Bishop, a computer scientist from UNC Chapel Hill, has done designing the Worpress powered interface. This combination of efforts between computer science and education is phenomenal. He presently teaches a course in Computer Science focused on accessible software and hardware. Karen Erickson, Gretchen Hanser and Gary Bishop have been meeting and collaborating for quite some time. It is inspiring to me to see as an example as I emerge into the research phase of my teaching practice. From earlier efforts from this team of computer scientists, The Tar Heel Typer and Dance Dance Revolution mods, to the present and into the future, they surely serve as a powerful example of what we can do as educators to team up with computer science programs. Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver have worked tirelessly on the concept of creating accessible texts that are age appropriate, rich in quality, and powerful in the literacy instructional process. See the Beginning Literacy Framework by Karen Erickson, Caroline Ramsey Musselwhite, and Ruth Ziolkowski to understand types of texts helpful to early readers. This project has the potential to make texts available to people in a way only possible with the advent of the internet and the concepts behind the Read/Write web and Web 2.0.
I believe in this project and concept with all my heart and am more than happy to be now seeing it come into the world. As I step forward from teacher to both teacher and researcher, I have seen a very powerful lesson: combine your dreams, visions, gifts and technical skills with others who have other dreams, visions, gifts, and technical skills and you can create and help more than ever imagined.
So start getting these books to your students and start authoring. Remember if one thousand people each work for one hour on a project with agreed upon standards you can create…
Go to the Tar Heel Reader
Let’s See the Books and How it Works!
Here is how you choose a book.
Here is a page from a book:
You have multiple options for accessing the books:
- on the web
- download the PowerPoint File
- Open Office Impress File
- Flash File
Speech can be enabled or disabled.
Switch Scanning
Switch Scanners can access the books with various keystrokes, including most of they keys on the keyboard. (soon to be optimized to go forward and back)
The power of this project is in the exponential amount of material to be available for all types of individuals learning to read. I have been working on this concept quite a bit and I believe that this is a One to One Thousand scenario. One key concept is the availability of age appropriate texts on an unprecedented level.
Here is how the book building process works:
- You use images from the Creative Commons section of Yahoo’s Flickr.
- The images are automatically cited. See how it works here.
- You add your text to each page you create.
- Add some keyword tags, such as words about the content, if it is an enrichment, transitional, or conventional text, or anything else you would like.
- Click to post your book. A talking book that is switch accessible and and able to be downloaded offline is created.
- It is that simple. No more PP notes citations, large file problems, conversion nightmares! Hallelujah.
Let us rally behind this amazing project in a way never before seen! Let’s go! We can do it all together!
