Communication looks different for everyone. Some may communicate using words, gestures, behaviors, sounds, refusals, and more. It can be different for each learner. Analyzing the form of expressive communication your student uses, can assist educational staff in designing a communication system with and for the student (Downing, Hanreddy, & Peckham-Hardin, 2015, pp. 60-61). Project Core,… Read More Professional Development Modules to Increase Communication
Tech Tools for Education
Educational, Instructional and Assistive Technologies can support all students in their acquisition of knowledge. Educators and specialists, at technology conferences, frequently share their thoughts on technology during a workshop session called a Smackdown. A Smackdown is a rapid-fire sharing of apps, tools, or teaching tricks that have been found helpful to students in the teaching… Read More Tech Tools for Education
Free Resources for Students in Virginia
A great free resource for students is Find It Virginia, which includes many links to websites that students can use for literacy, learning, and research. Free to residents of Virginia are e-books and digital resources including newspapers, magazines, and encyclopedias for elementary, middle, and high school students. Under the Elementary/Middle School tab, try Kids InfoBits for researching… Read More Free Resources for Students in Virginia
My StoryMaker
My StoryMaker, (your computer needs Adobe Flash to use this website) is a free interactive program for writing short stories hosted by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Through visuals, the author selects the characters, items, objects and settings. By selecting feelings, actions, and interactions, the author guides the characters. The program fills in sentences based… Read More My StoryMaker
Exciting News in AT at T-TAC ODU
Greetings, I am excited to join the dedicated team of professionals at T-TAC ODU as the Assistive Technology Specialist. I have over 25 years of experience as both an Occupational Therapist and Assistive Technology Specialist providing support to students and adults with disabilities and their teachers. I look forward to continuing those efforts as a… Read More Exciting News in AT at T-TAC ODU
Giving Students a Choice
Students should be empowered to select their own assistive technology. Even at a basic level, students can learn to exercise choice. User input significantly affects abandonment of assistive technology (Phillips & Zhao, 1993). Develop activities that can help increase capacity of students to self-assess and select their personal assistive technology solutions. Include them in… Read More Giving Students a Choice
Core Vocabulary
Do you need to see an example of teaching core vocabulary during morning group? Learn from Dynamic Learning Maps! DLM™ Core Vocabulary and Communication This module focuses on the use of core vocabulary as a support for communication for students who cannot use speech to meet their face-to-face communication needs and require augmentative and alternative… Read More Core Vocabulary