All The Help
You Need
You Need
the Special Needs Fringe Seminar Programme
the Special Needs Fringe ICT seminars are a great way to keep abreast of new developments, discover the latest products and find inspiration for using technology to support your learners. They are free to attend and you don't need to book places.
Wednesday 12th January 2005
Thursday 13th January 2005
Friday 14th
January 2005
| Suite A | Suite B | |
| Liberator LIBSymbols - a comprehensive new British symbol set Presenter: Tony Jones An explanation and exploration of the 25,000 plus symbols in this new and exciting set of symbols. The presentation will include an exploration of range of symbols; how the symbol set addresses grammatical issues; how to obtain a free set of the symbols for assessment purposes; and an exploration of AAC applications already using the symbol set (Copperhead, Rattler, Sidewinder and Mamba). Participants will not only be able to see the symbols for themselves but also view the symbols working inside existing applications and gauge their usefulness to their own particular needs. |
11:00 | Penfriend Literacy support in many European languages Presenter: Roger Spooner The seminar will concentrate on our new product Penfriend XL. It provides word prediction in many European languages, a full screen reader and on-screen keyboards for the major European languages all in one program. It will help those with dyslexia and physical disabilities, now in many languages. But it will also be valuable to anyone learning and working with foreign languages in mainstream education, university and beyond. It has improved English lexicons and the quality of prediction of Penfriend XP, already the best available, has been further improved. |
| 12:00 Keynote Speaker! Maggie Wagstaff, Warwickshire LEA Chart topping hardware and software for recording Recording work for students with differing needs can be made so much quicker and smarter with judicious use of ICT. Come and see some successful routes to writing for these students. The seminar will feature freely available access software, portable solutions that really work and software to help staff and students. There will also be some word processing wizardry. Focusing on ease of use and organisation as well as hardware and software, we will look at what is top of the writing charts for the busy teacher and student with a back-log of writing! |
||
| Toby
Churchill adVOCAte+: communication and environmental control in single compact device Presenter: Simon Churchill An introduction to new equipment from Toby Churchill, which moves into the field of environmental control. adVOCAte+ combines digital speech recording with easy to use environmental control in a small lightweight piece of equipment. The timer and latch module works with adVOCAte to teach cause and effect and scanning skills. Both pieces of equipment will be demonstrated on our stand as well as discussed in the seminar. |
13:00 | Crick
Software Clicker 5 - New ways to support struggling writers Presenter: Kevin Lynch Attend this seminar and be one of the first to see the exciting new features in version 5 of this best-selling supportive writing tool. This completely re-written version enables you to use all your existing grids but offers some astonishing new features that make the program even more accessible. The presenter has many years of experience in special needs education and will be covering real classroom use of Clicker as well as the new features of this version. |
| 14:00 Keynote Speaker! Trish Davidson, CENMAC AAC to support the Curriculum This session will look at the use of materials and AAC (high or low tech) to support the curriculum with real activities for the class. In my work across the London schools, I am often asked about including a pupil with an AAC system into the class activity. In this session, I will go through just a few of the ideas that I use to help people get started. Starting with a communication system, (photos, real objects or symbols), is vital. Often, CENMAC is the first to help with access and developing some inclusion into the classroom activities. I am going to show support materials that I have collected over many years of working in schools and things that motivate pupils to communicate. Pupils are best motivated by taking an active part and all have something to say. |
||
| Mayer-Johnson Integrating Mayer-Johnson into the classroom: creative applications and strategies! Presenter: Lisa Petit This session will feature practical classroom applications using many Mayer-Johnson products. Creative applications will be demonstrated using BoardMaker and Speaking Dynamically Pro, along with other low-tech materials. Use these programs to create both print-based and on-screen interactive activities to adapt a theme-based unit, reinforce concepts and encourage communication. We will discuss a variety of activities including adapted books, interactive stories, and writing activities. You will also learn how to use symbol-based materials to reduce behaviour problems in the classroom plus exciting strategies for creating a communication conducive classroom. Leave this session feeling inspired and excited to use these practical ideas to enrich instruction for all of your students. |
15:00 | QED Starting from scratch Presenter: Nadine Farris A down to earth, step-by-step introduction to communication for a wide range of developmental needs. This seminar will address how to start to facilitate an individual user's communication development. This will include how to progress to more complex discrimination and choice making activities. Practical resources will be demonstrated from our extensive range of innovative products. |
| Suite A | Suite B | |
| Prentke Romich
International A whole team approach to developing language in AAC Presenter: Mark Street PRI will show how the new communication software on its Vanguard and Vantage communication aids provides entry level access to the building blocks of language, with easy progression for the AAC user. Effective teaching support, including PRI's innovative support staff training programme, Cracking Constant Communication, will also be outlined. |
11:00 | The Force Ten
Company Technology for sight and sound hearing loss Presenter: Norman Lilly/ Rebecka Bowman The Force Ten Company Ltd is a one stop shop for all vision and hearing related technology requirements. Our range of technology supports people with a vision or hearing impairment in their daily lives. This seminar looks at some of the existing and some of the emerging technology helping those in education today, including the latest in graphical embossing and interactive (spoken) tactile diagrams. |
| 12:00 Keynote Speaker! Sal McKeown, Becta Supporting children with dyslexia Many will know Sal McKeown from her articles in Special Children magazine, sponsors of the Fringe. Sal will be talking about her book Supporting children with dyslexia published by Questions Publishing and showing how to make the classroom more dyslexia friendly. The talk will cover ways of working with children in primary and secondary, hints and tips on good practice and good things to do with a computer to help children fulfil their potential. |
||
| Sherston
Software How educational software can support Government strategy by providing personalised learning for pupils with SEN Presenter: Sarah Helton The Government's new strategy for SEN - Removing Barriers to Achievement - includes goals for providing personalised learning for pupils with SEN. The presentation will explore how educational software can help realise those goals. We will also look at how Sherston software meets the general needs of pupils with special educational needs, as well as giving the teacher the opportunity to set up individualised settings for each of their pupils, thus enabling personalised learning. During the session there will also be a demonstration of Sherston's new products for SEN. |
13:00 | Sensory Software
International Using dyslexia tools to enhance text based AAC Presenter: Paul Hawes A large number of people using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems have some difficulty with text production due either to slow input speed or problems with spelling. In this session we will look at programs that provide prediction, word banks, symbol support, homophone-checking, spell-checking and rate enhancement. Any text generated can also be sent as a fax, email or SMS text message. All these methods of communication are very useful to people who use text based AAC, but some users can be shy of using them if they are unsure of the accuracy of their text output. |
| 14:00 Keynote Speaker! Ian Bean and Carol Allan Express yourself! ICT has the potential to empower, enable and include children and young people with disabilities. This session will explore some of the many ways that new (and not so new) technologies can help support literacy and expressive communication through examples of classroom practice. From simple stories to digital video, discover new and exciting mechanisms for children and young people to record and present their ideas and knowledge in a meaningful way. |
||
| Immersive Media
Spaces Access to music through movement - the MIDIcreator system Presenter: Mark Hildred This seminar will look at accessible music technology equipment and how it can be used in a variety of settings. The session will start with an overview of the MIDIcreator system and the variety of sensors available to allow those with even the most profound physical disabilities to make and control their own sounds. Hints and tips on choosing sensors to suit individuals will be covered, as well as ideas from teachers and therapists who have already used the equipment. |
15:00 | Home Farm
Trust Multimedia life stories This seminar will outline how HFT (The Home Farm Trust) is using multimedia to produce an interactive life story with adults with a learning disability. Many examples will be shown of how staff have worked with people, many with little or no verbal communication, to produce their life story. The presenter will show how both the process of producing the life story, and then using it to present themselves to new staff or at reviews, can empower the 'owners'. This is an exciting concept and will be of interest to anyone working with people with a learning disability. |
| Suite A | Suite B | |
| Renard
Associates Strategies for reading and writing success Presenter: Pegg Dalton, Director of Professional Services, Leammy Systems Group, Freedom Scientific This session will provide an overview of how WYNN can be utilised to support reading and writing success for struggling students. Functional strategies will be provided including step-by-step tip sheets for using WYNN to support different learning styles, vocabulary development, Internet research and more. There will also be an introduction to TestTalker, new software to support test talking. |
11:00 | IntelliTools Unleash the power of your IntelliKeys® with Overlay Maker® 3 Presenter: Arjan Khalsa IntelliKeys is the alternative keyboard that uses overlays, enabling you to change its look and functionality. This new version of the popular Overlay Maker program brings powerful new functionality to IntelliKeys. See pre-made overlays, for example literacy overlays that provide the steps to success for beginning readers and writers. See off-computer activities for cards, dominoes, lotto and game boards and Braille overlays for visually impaired students. Overlay Maker 3 now offers direct and seamless access to any Mayer-Johnson BoardMaker 5 symbol libraries that are previously installed, and has a new interface for sending overlays to the DynaVox 4. Overlay Maker 3 can also be used to quickly and easily create your own keyboard layouts. Samples such as a reduced alphabet keyboard, Dvorak keyboard, JAWS overlay and keyboard designed for visually impaired users can be used as is or quickly modified using the accompanying template. |
| 12:00 Keynote Speaker! Val Brown, Woodlawn School Enabling all learners Woodlawn is an LEA special school for pupils with a physical, medical or sensory difficulty. ICT is a very important part of the every day life of the school and has proved to be the tool to enable our pupils to succeed. This presentation gives a school's perspective of how we have used the many facets of ICT, not only within our establishment, but also through developing inclusive practice within the LEA to enable pupils to learn. |
||
| Inclusive
Technology Innovative behavioural software for Autism, choice making, and learning about cause and effect Presenter: Imogen Wedgewood We're passionate about great ICT products for SEN at Inclusive Technology. Come and learn about the research behind these new programs, and add in your opinions on how the software might evolve. Emotions and behaviours - new simple, switch accessible, software to help people disadvantaged by their inability to understand or cope with social interaction. Choose how the animated characters deal with the problems life throws at them. Choose and Tell: Legends - be the first to see the latest addition to this massively popular series, featuring dragons, knights and fair maidens: a wonderful resource for learners of any age. SwitchIt! Maker - Updated for 2004, this program allows you to create your own cause and effect activities, using photos and sound clips, in seconds. |
13:00 | The Advisory
Unit Ideas for using interactive whiteboards with pupils who have SLD and PMLD Presenter: Sally Paveley Interactive whiteboards offer pupils with SLD, PMLD and ASD a highly motivating medium for learning. They offer teachers opportunities to present resources and involve pupils in new and exciting ways. Sally and her colleagues at The Bridge School in Islington have been using interactive whiteboards with students who have SLD, PMLD and ASD for the last year. They have created teaching resources, worked with digital video, developed collaborative writing tools and added a new dimension to cause and effect activities. This seminar will share their ideas and experiences; what worked, what didn't and what next! |
| 14:00 Keynote Speaker! Pete Wells, Portland School Gobbin Hood and his merry phlegm – A week in the life of Pete Wells. This session explores a week in the life of Pete’s class at Portland School in Sunderland. Pete’s passion is producing early literacy activities for people with profound and complex learning needs through the medium of humourous (often disgusting!) sensory stories. Brimming with massage, music and ICT, Pete’s creative stories are age appropriate and suitable for a range of abilities. In this seminar you will ‘experience’ the story of ‘Gobbin Hood and his merry Phlegm’ as well as a range of extra curricular activities used as extension lessons to highlight how ICT can be used effectively both as the focal point of a lesson as well as discretely in a range of activities. |
||
| AMDi Touch the future with the Tech/Touch: a new dynamic display screen communication device Presenter: Rob McPherson Experience the Tech/Touch by AMDi, a new generation dynamic screen AAC device. The Tech/Touch is the newest additional to the Tech series family that offers unique design and application. The presentation will introduce this new dynamic screen product and demonstrate the multifaceted ways in which it can be used in the augmentative communication field. With the ability of providing special applications, the Tech/Touch presents unique options to computer users of all ages and challenges. The demonstration will also highlight three communication software packages that are featured in conjunction with the Tech/Touch: Speaking Dynamically Pro™ by Mayer-Johnson, Viking Communicator™ by Viking Software, and The Grid™ by Sensory Software. |
15:00 | SoftTouch Writing books pupils want to read Presenter: Roxanne Butterfield Do you want to provide literacy experiences to pupils with more significant disabilities? Do you have a limited amount of time for adapting the curriculum? Please join this seminar to learn how to do it all efficiently with My Own BookShelf. We will use digital images and movies of pupils, recorded speech and text. We will share ideas for organising materials and publishing books for the library. We will examine the data collected during a literacy session for pupils' access and choice making skills. We will learn how to export books and the SoftTouch BookReader to share with others. |