was collected. We may begin with keyboard instruction when appropriate, but for some, it was visual instructions for login ac- cess and steps to open or begin the program. For our beginning students or students with more limited access, we modified how to sign in, while our more advanced students were taught how to name their work, save their information, and file it, along with emailing and/or sharing their work for teacher access. We expanded writing considerations to encourage student participation by introducing high interest areas to their writing repertoire. We also supported their learning styles by using first, next, then boards, sequence boards, journals and pen pals that facilitated writing skills within the classroom and on a personal level. In order to gain the greatest success with our student’s writ- ing skills, we needed to empower not only our students, but our staff members. We provided training to our teachers and support staff on the technology and tools needed per individ- ual students. This included visual supports and sequencing for student and staff access. We made sure to check back often with staff and students to help modify, provide additional training and suggest adaptations based on the assignments or tasks re- quired. We also worked with our students to make sure they were comfortable advocating for their technology and/or tools when working on classroom assignments or tasks. Our final em- powerment technique was to make sure that our students and staff had a back up plan. We know that technology fails, gets taken away, or modifications are not made in time. When this happens, teachers need to have access to other options so that students can continue to complete assignments and increase their confidence with writing skills. Finally, we realized that although our job description stated Occupational Therapists, we were salespeople. We needed to sell the technology to the team members. The teachers need- ed to be reassured that it wasn’t “cheating” if their student used technology. The student’s frequently required introduction of the technology in a non-academic setting, where we could uti- lize information previously learned about their family, their pets, their hobbies and their high interests. Other methods to facili- tate student engagement in writing were mad libs, pen-pals or even entries to contests ( with parental and school district ap- proval). Parents required reassurance that it would take time, it would take patience and we might need a “do over” if the first tool used didn’t work. In conclusion, even though there may be barriers for our stu- dents to overcome there are many tools and strategies that we are able to provide. We must strive to remember the answer to the question posed in our classrooms, “Who here is an author?” EVERYONE! Our job and goal is to support and empower our stu- dents so they can show us their true potential.
A publication through the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative http://www.wati.org/free-publications/assessing-stu- dents-needs-for-assistive-technology/ Assistive Technology Decision Making Guide A publication through the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative http://www.wati.org/free-publications/assistive-technolo- gy-consideration-to-assessment/
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Co-Writer Don Johnston Inc
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Explain Everything $6.99 per month for individual plans $11.99 per user, per month for team plans https://explaineverything.com/
First Author Don Johnston Inc $699 per classroom https://learningtools.donjohnston.com/product/first-au- thor/
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Resources: Assessing Student’s Needs through Assistive Technology
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