Feb 11 (Class)

WEll first of all it was great to see a few of the samples of books. Once we figured out how to use Boardmaker it will be a great tool for several of our students.
We then continued on to try other AT devices for students to type with. The dot on the nose was very difficult, but just imagine the smile on that student's face when he completes an assignment like another child in his class. IT was great to explore these devices and I think every teacher should have to experience all of these devices and see how much a child's world is opened up with the aid of technology.
Looking forward to next week's class.

Thanks for the experience, Barb.

Boardmaker +

Well 2 snowdays, I wondered what the assignment would be!
I thought great that sounds great, free download and create
a book for a student.. EASY right?????? WRONG!!! I downloaded the
program, and printed off the tutorial. I could create the single
boards no problem.. I even printed one off to prove I did it, when
I could not get the book created. (3 nites in a row I tried)
The tutorial had a little different
wording. I tried this for many hours, and I am not one to give up
and I am not one to QUIT, but with everything else I thought, what am
I going to do? Well I went to school and dowloaded it on the teacher
computer and I went down to Ian's room. We took each step and away we
went. 2 books later and many hours of worry, what if I can't do this?
I thought wow imagine what my students think, when they can't understand
an assignment! Panic does set in. Finally with determination, my little
snow book was created!! Phew...
Thanks for calming me down, and the assistance, Ian.

AT Manual

What a great time to review the AT manual and Scherer's chapter on AT and the MPT factors when we were sent home from school because of a snowstorm. Reviewing these readings just reinforces how important it is to have a team together and willing to work with the child using the new assistive technology. If there isn't a person trained in the use of the technology and the interest in supporting the child it will never be successful, nor will it be used by the student or the teacher involved.