You Need
SpecialneedsIT 2003
 Becta's Terry Waller, Education Officer - Inclusion and SEN, and Tracey Shawcross, Project Officer - CAP. |
Communication is key to effective education. Children can learn as much through conversation and comment as by labelling or matching objects. Teachers can share ideas, experiences and simply offer each other mutual support in juggling the pressures of school life.
Events like SpecialneedsIT offer a forum for communication, a meeting place and a melting pot for sharing ideas, as well as enabling educators to see what is new on the product front and refresh the memory about the old favourites. This year's show at Bolton was a particular success in helping teachers to develop their support networks: Terry Waller of Becta, the Government's lead agency for ICT in education, unveiled the new Inclusion website at the show - http://inclusion.ngfl.gov.uk.
Always a popular resource for teachers, health professionals, parents and others involved in the education of children with special needs, the website now has brand new features. It is not just a reference library of the best resources or information about special needs; it is an interactive forum, which allows users to contribute their expertise. They can 'Ask the Experts' about issues or pose questions to their fellow site users. They can join an online community such as the SENIT forum, to access ongoing advice and information - all in a friendly, supportive environment where no one need feel silly about asking a question.
During the How-IT-Works seminar programme Lisa Petit of Mayer-Johnson gave a lively and very practical presentation about using Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) in the classroom. She described how they could be used to adapt curricular activities - but also to encourage communication and to help reduce behavioural problems.
Adding a communications board to the front of a book can create opportunities for the child to comment, taking activities beyond simple labelling or matching. Did the child like the book? Do they want to read it again? Having communications boards ready and at hand can also help a child in social situations. When taking a game out of the cupboard, symbols already on the box can help them to ask 'Will you play with me?' Anticipation really is key to creating opportunities for a child to join in a conversation or start a new friendship!
Lisa also shared ideas on how symbol schedules or the strategic use of 'shush' or 'sit down' symbols as visual cues can lead to better behaviour in the classroom. And the new PCS Animations can be put to very good use in reinforcing good behaviour in on-screen activities, as can a well-placed sound file - try adding a cheer as a reward!
Teachers could also experiment with the DynaVox at the
DynaVox Systems stand -
a well-established communication aid that provides a voice for non-verbal
children. This is a great device, which can be set up to suit people with
different cognitive abilities or disabilities and can be used in every
situation. The user can choose from ten different voices to make it gender and
age specific and even complex sentences can be constructed using symbols or an
on-screen keyboard.
Trevor Millum of Resource Education gave some useful hints about engaging children with special needs in writing activities. Word lists, frameworks and software with picture support can all be used to help pupils have fun while developing literacy skills - and to create activities which will help everyone achieve success.
Telesensory's latest technology for the visually impaired showed how people of all ages can continue to read. Children in school could take the Olympia portable magnifier from class to class and take control of the magnification, brightness and image output to join in with their classmates. It removes the need for the child to sit separately at a screen, which can make them feel excluded, or just different.
Let's Go To Town, a new story-based
software title, could be seen on the Inclusive
Technology stand. This is a product that helps motivate pupils to learn:
the characters interact with the user, to encourage them to explore the
charming town scenes and to help overcome any reluctance to engage with the
computer. It also has simple interfaces and set-up options to make it easy for
teachers to adapt it to their learners' individual needs. Visitors could also
get a sneak preview of the new P+G
Inclusive Scan4 - developed in collaboration with Penny and Giles - a
fantastic new message device with large, coloured buttons and bright scanning
lights to help switch users to gain an understanding of the scanning process
and learn to make choices.
Special needs educators have always made good use of technology to help their pupils communicate and learn. Bolton showed just how the choice of hardware and software is expanding all the time - and how those developments, in the right hands and with the right support, can be transformed into personal breakthroughs for learners.