Smart Table Review

Products using Smart technology have the power to personalize and engage students. Many people do not realize that products from this company are more than just Smartboards, rather several products would be beneficial to special needs students. The Smart table is perfect for several reasons as shown below.

• Active small-group collaborationUp to eight students can learn together at the same time, interacting with activities on the multitouch surface.
• Accessible for allThe horizontal, 360 degree surface makes it easy for all students to participate, including students in wheelchairs or with limited motor skills.
• Designed for the active classroomThe sturdy pedestal prevents tipping by even the most enthusiastic learners. The SMART Table can support 200 lb. (90 kg) on its scratch- and spill-resistant surface.
• Engaging, interactive contentAccess ready-made content for preK – 3 from the SMART Exchange website. You can also create new activities using the SMART Table Toolkit or import SMART Notebook files.

As exemplified above from Smart technology, the Smart table is perfect to engage and personalize programs for your learners. The table is also adjustable which is great for wheelchair bound students.

Simultaneous multitouch capability	SMART Table supports up to 40 simultaneous touches, enabling eight students to collaborate on lessons at the same time. It also supports simple, intuitive gestures like rotate, toss and zoom.
Extensive content and resources	SMART Table comes with over 1,500 ready-made activity packs. You can download them for free from the SMART Exchange website™, which can be accessed directly from SMART Table. The SMART Table Toolkit makes it easy to create and enhance SMART Table activities. You can also import SMART Notebook lessons, so you can use the same lessons you create for your SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard on your SMART Table.
High-quality display	SMART Table features a 42" (106 cm) LCD, 1080p display that is virtually free of shadows and glare. The images are sharp, the colors are vibrant and students can work in almost any lighting conditions.
Rugged design and easy set up	The sturdy pedestal prevents tipping by even the most enthusiastic learners. The SMART Table can also support 200 lb. (90 kg) on its scratch- and spill-resistant surface. Set up is easy – the SMART Table can go from the box to being in use in 30 minutes.
UDL friendly	SMART Table was designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind, giving you the flexibility to provide multiple ways for students to interact with lesson content and express their knowledge. You can also develop and personalize interactive content to accommodate students with special needs.
Mobile design	SMART Table is designed to fit through standard doorways, so it's easily moved from classroom to classroom, allowing one school to share interactive learning centers between multiple rooms. Optional casters are available.
Bring objects to life	Connect a SMART Document Camera to SMART Table to capture and display images and video. If you have a SMART Notebook file with 3D content in your activity pack, you can use the SMART Document Camera with a Mixed Reality Cube to manipulate the content.
Free training and support	A wide variety of training and support options are available to help you get going quickly and start experiencing the full benefits of your SMART Table.
Share SMART Table content with the whole class	The SMART Table comes with a free license for SMART Sync™ classroom management software, which enables you to share SMART Table content with the whole class via the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. You can also send activities from your own computer to SMART Table.
http://youtu.be/WaUxBkkvcmE link for video tutorial Source: smarttech.com Source: Dell, A; Newton, G and Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experience of Students with Disabilities. Pearson Education.

Co-Writer Review

The Co-writer is word prediction software perfect for special needs students.  It works with Microsoft word, web browsers and google. Students in any grade would benefit from such technology.  According to donjohnson.com, autistic and dyslexic students would benefit most from the Co-writer.

Watch Nichelle’s Story: Overcoming Dyslexia with Technology

Nichelle’s reading issues were ultimately diagnosed as dyslexia. In her first year of high school, she asked her 9th grade teacher, Ms. Ellen O’Ryon, “Is there technology that could help me become a better learner?” Ms. O’Ryon requested the assistance of Mollie Kropp, the Assistive Technology (AT) Resource Teacher and today, the 16 year old proudly displays A’s and B’s on her report card. Her reading skills jumped four grade levels and she carries a binder with her in school to remind her how far she has come. The binder includes assignments, report cards, inspirational quotes, IEP goals, certificates of achievement and a photo of Whoopi Goldberg, who also has dyslexia. The cover reads… “Failure is Not an Option.”

How could this quiet, reserved teenager excel at such a rapid rate after failing for nine years? The solution rested in the hands of insightful teachers and specialists, like Ms. O’Ryon and Ms. Kropp, and a handful of AT tools on a laptop computer. Because of her dyslexia, Nichelle needs to hear content read aloud and the ability to repeat and review subject matter often so that her mind can process the data. “Ms. Kropp changed my life,” said Nichelle, “by providing me with these technologies.”

Today, Nichelle is the Fairfax County’s first Student Technology Ambassador. She is honored by the position and speaks to teachers and parents about her learning journey with dyslexia. Recently, she spoke to 100 Virginia educators in the TOPS program, (Technology Outreach Program Support Team). They wanted to know about the AT tools that led to her ability to succeed at reading, science, math and history. She created a storyboard (see photo left) to demonstrate the literacy tools that continue to help her improve her reading and writing skills.

• In her AT toolkit, Nichelle uses four literacy tools daily to keep up with her schoolwork:
• Read:OutLoud, an accessible text reader that reads eBooks, electronic text and the Internet aloud
• Co:Writer, a word prediction tool that improves spelling and grammar
• Write:OutLoud, a talking word processor that reads words and sentences as students write

Pricing

Co:WriterCodePrice Per SiteCall or request a quote
online for
your best price!Unlimited Desktop Subscription LicenseP40LSLWB$99.00 / Site, Per Month*Unlimited Desktop Subscription License — 3 YearP40LSL3WB$99.00 / Site, Per Month* (Summer months are FREE—2 per year)

Source: donjohnson.com
Source: Dell, A; Newton, G and Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experience of Students with Disabilities. Pearson Education.

Assistive Technology for Reading Webinar

 If you follow "Humans of New York" you may have seen this picture and caption.  Although this blog post is about writing, let's remember the impact teachers can have on a student.  We have the ability to make the school experience either the best or worst part of a students day.

Assistive Technology for Reading Webinar




Assistive Technology for Reading's webinar begins with the listener learning the differences between  text readers vs. screen readers.  Shonda Goldren explains that text readers, however is the primary focus of the webinar.

First, Bookshare is a way to get electronic materials.  It is an accessible on-line library and membership fees are waived for schools so long as students qualify, such as students who have impairments, like 504's or IEP students. 
The site's address is www.bookshare.org

 



Under "getting started" there is also a link to Youtube videos, which is a great way to support ALL your learners.

Second, on the website, you can access a "Text to Speech/Reading Support" Table.  The webinar explains a few of these software programs.

 

Although I have included a link to the webinar, here is a summary of the program and some additional information of how teachers can include assistive technology to help their readers.  According to this webinar, the quality of voices has become better over the years.  Higher quality voices come in programs that are paid for vs. free programs.  "Heather and Ryan" are the best voices, according to this webinar.  In addition, starting a student with text to speech, there is no stopping or as much natural inflection or summarization.  It is a straight read which is a difference to students.  You may want to only have your students read certain parts at a time or how long they are read to before they must interact with the program.  The teacher can choose how the text is read, such as self paced over continuous.  The breaks teach students the breaks that good readers already have during their reading.  Research says students will ask to read twice before the student gets embarrassed, according to this webinar.  Students who are struggling may need to read this 5x, however.  Yet text to speech can read this for the student.  In addition, text to speech can be found on iPhones.  Rate can also be controlled.  When first starting text to speech, rate SHOULD be slowed down making it easier for students to comprehend.  In addition, dictionaries are built in to these text readers.  It is also important to note that different programs do different things when highlighting information.  Some text readers allow teachers to modify or scaffold reading.  Some students cannot do a straight read and need guidance on what to pull from the text.  Text readers can also OCR  (Optical Character Recognition) documents, thus transforming picture to text.  Toolbars can be different as well for the different text readers.  You need to know your students and what they need; this is explicitly expressed in this webinar.  Using these programs does take time to set up, but does seem worth it.  Something that also seems neat is the ability to use a translater for your ELLs (some programs will even read with Spanish inflection!)