We've had reports of Co:Writer 6 not working properly on netbook and laptop computers, particularly those running Windows 7. This seems to be a particular problem with the thousands of Toshiba NB250/300/500 machines bought through the Procurement Scotland arrangement.

Here's how to solve it for a Toshiba NB300 with Windows 7:

1. Start up the computer and run Co:Writer.
2. If you see this message either immediately, or when you try and open your word processor:
3. then hold down the FN key and press and release F10. 
4. Then do it again.
5. Co:writer should now work properly.

In our tests, we found that you only need to do this the first time you run Co:Writer. Once you've got it working the first time it seems to work properly from then on even if you log off and log on, put it to sleep, restart or shut down and start up.

Visit the Don Johnston web site if you want to find out more about this problem.

I had a call yesterday from a parent who was concerned about her 10 year old son who is dyslexic and dyspraxic. He has been receiving good support from the school staff, particularly with regard to his reading - his mum said that his reading age had been 1.5 years behind but that followed intensive work with staff, using Toe-by-Toe and other techniques, he was now reading at the same level as his peers.

However, she was concerned about his handwriting, which because of his dyspraxia, is difficult to read. He doesn’t like writing at all, finds it very hard to read his own writing, and is getting upset about it. The parent had raised the possibility of her son using ICT instead of handwriting with staff, and said that the school were not very enthusiastic.

Now, I don’t know the details and without meeting the pupil I wouldn’t be able to say whether he should  or should not use ICT instead of or as well as handwriting. But it does make me worried and so I thought I’d offer a few thoughts around this issue. Here’s what I think.

If someone in Primary 5 is dyspraxic and consequently has slow and illegible handwriting then it’s time to stop causing them grief and time to start helping them to access the curriculum. Forcing a pupil to continue writing by hand when there are easier, faster and more effective methods is not good practice. It risks disengagement, prevents them from accessing educational opportunities and creates low self-esteem. It’s not successful, not confident, not responsible, not effective and not what schools should be doing.

Here’s an example of a (different) pupil’s handwriting – he was in Primary 7 at the time:

Here’s a sample of his writing using a simple word processor (an AlphaSmart). Much easier to read, although the spelling is a bit of an issue.

befor you go you haf to make a traye. First get a peace of fishing line about 1  metre long.  Then get a reasnedul sised hook after you have got one big enuf and sharp enuf laiy it to your trais and then get a flote. put the end of the trais that does not have the hook thro the hole at the top of the flot then tiay a not.

And here’s a sample of his writing with a word predictor (Co:Writer). Readable and much better spelling:

First get a piece of fishing line about 1 metre long. Then get a reasonable sized hook.  After you have got one big enough and sharp enough tie it to your trace

No contest, really, is there?

It’s personal

ICT, in the form of a personal netbook, laptop, tablet or iPad is vital for pupils who have difficulties with reading or writing. It’s like an electronic jotter. You need to have a device on your desk, available at all time. Getting up from your desk to go to the back of the room to use the class computer is no good: you wouldn’t expect someone to get up and go to the back of the class every time they needed to use a pencil and write in a jotter, so why accept this with ICT?

It’s a skill that needs taught

We teach handwriting. We also need to teach keyboarding (ideally, touch typing, if possible) and ICT skills. We teach handwriting skills to develop speed, fluidity and automaticity – so that ideally, your thoughts flow direct from brain to page without having to think about the formation of letters. So too with keyboarding – the main reason for learning to touch typing, in my view, is not speed, but to develop the same automaticity.

Despite the notion of ‘digital learners’ young people are not born with innate ability to use a word processor or a word predictor. They have to be taught. By their teachers. This needs staff who know the technology, and time set aside for teaching.

Use it most or all of the time

It’s tempting to think that you only want to use the ICT for ‘extended’ writing, but there can be a few problems with this. It’s too easy to leave the device on the side and not have it ready and inevitably the battery goes flat and you get out of the habit and before you know where you are, the pupil is in S4 and about to use a scribe in his exams. Avoid this: make ICT the default tool, not the exceptional tool.

To do this we need to think digital: use ICT yourself to create resources and give the same resources to the pupil so they can access them on the device. Get digital versions of textbooks from the Books for All Database. Use digital reading books. Scan paper worksheets and other materials into the computer so that the pupil can complete them on the device. (Lots of programs can do this, from the free Foxit Reader, to for example Acrobat Pro, FineReader and more specialist software like ClaroRead, Read and Write Gold or Kurzweil.)

Let’s stop making life hard for ourselves and our learners.

Take a look at this video for some inspiration.

We have some more new maths textbooks on the Books for All Database.

TeeJay Maths Curriculum for Excellence titles

We are very grateful to TeeJay Publishers who have kindly provided PDFs of their six new Curriculum for Excellence textbooks: Books 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b. These cover Curriculum for Excellence First, Second and Third levels. We have added bookmarks to aid navigation, matched the page numbers to the paper books, and 'reader-enabled' the files so that learners can use the drawing, audio recording and highlighting tools in Adobe Reader to access the books. We have not yet added answer boxes, but learners can type answers in using the Adobe Reader 'Typewriter' tool. You can read and access the books on your iPad using the free Adobe Reader app, or preferably PDFaloud or iAnnotate. Click here to see these new books in the database.  

Thanks also to Caroline Jamieson in Moray for contributing a Large Print copy of the Curriculum for Excellence Book 1b. Caroline has created the first 10 chapters and is working on the rest. See it here. 

Nelson Thornes New Maths in Action

Marie Lawson in Shetland has uploaded an 18 point Large Print version of New Maths in Action S1/1, to add to the 24 point Large Print copy of the S1/2 book that's already there. 

We have also uploaded scanned PDF copies of New Maths in Action S1/3, S1/B and S2/3. These are really most suitable for learners with physical disabilities who need digital versions of books because they have difficulty handling the paper copies. The files are PDFs that have been created by scanning the paper copies, and while we have converted them to readable text, we don't have the resources to check every word and so there may be some text recognition errors. The books can be zoomed and magnified, and the text read out using text-to-speech, so they should be reasonably accessible to pupils with dyslexia or reading difficulties, or mild visual impairment. Again, the books are reader-enabled so that learners can type, draw, highlight and otherwise annotate the files.

Click here to see these new books.

 

Recently I met a learner in first year in secondary school with a physical disability . She doesn't have the strength to hold books and turn pages, and she gets very tired handwriting. After due assessment and consideration of various devices we all concluded that an iPad was most suitable device for her physically: it's small and light enough for her to handle, and she rests it on her knees and against a desk, so that her hands are in her lap, which reduces fatigue. The iPad on-screen keyboard is just the right size for her to type on without stretching, and since it's touch-sensitive, it seems to require less effort than a physical keyboard.

Essentially, she wants to use the iPad for everything: reading textbooks and resources; completing homework and assessments; taking notes in class; etc etc

So, next questions are:

• which apps should she use for different tasks and purposes in school?
• where can she get digital textbooks?
• how does she receive and send materials to and from teachers?

These seem to be fairly basic and common questions, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and findings.

For general note-taking in class ('digital jotters'), I looked at quite a few note-taking apps including the built-in Notes, Daily Notes, EverNote and Note Taker HD, to name but a few, and I  liked the look of Notability, which lets you:

• Create notes that can contain formatted text, hand writing and drawings (with pencil and pen), sound recordings, photos (either from the camera roll, or taken and inserted directly), clippings from the web, and drawings.
• Organise your notes into categories and subjects. 
• Use different paper backgrounds (different colours, lined, square paper).
• Search your notes.
• Import and annotate PDFs.
• Save your notes in cloud service such as DropBox and Google Drive.
• Send your notes to other apps, and by email, as PDF or RTF. 

It looks ideal for taking notes in class, for gathering and sorting information for topic or research, and for writing short assignments. (In fact, I'm now using it myself for all my note-taking on the iPad.)

There are a few things which could be better with Notability:

• ‘Speak Selection’ does not work and so you can’t read your notes with text-to-speech.
• Text cannot be inserted directly on top of a PDF, so you can’t use it very easily to type answers into PDF exams, assessments or homework.
• It does not have ‘snap to grid’ for easily drawing straight lines. 
• You cannot easily edit your notes on a desktop or laptop computer: you can only save them as PDF, RTF or text. (For me, if it could share and sync notes with Microsoft OneNote, it would be perfect.)

But of the apps I looked at, and read about, it looks ideal for the secondary school context.

For word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, and particularly for importing and exporting Microsoft Office files, we suggested Apple's own Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

For reading textbooks in PDF (e.g. Hodder Gibson books from us, or scanned books from the Books for All Database), we went for PDF Expert, which has good study and search facilities, and lots of tools for annotation and commenting. It's also good for completing assessments such as the SQA Digital Question Papers. (Why PDF Expert in particular rather than others? While you can read PDFs with iBooks on the iPad, you can't annotate them; the free Adobe Reader app does let you annotate, but PDF Expert has better file management; and I liked PDF Expert's text annotate tool better than iAnnotate's, because you can type directly on the PDF rather than into a separate text field. (iAnnotate has features that PDF Expert doesn't, though, such as voice comments so pupils and staff can record audio notes into the PDF.)

For sharing work with staff, the only practical method in the school at this time is use of email, which is better than nothing but not as good as a file transfer/sharing method such as Edmodo, Dropbox or Google Drive. (The school doesn't use Glow.)

Feedback from the learner about these apps is so far very positive, so we'll see how they work out over time.

How about you? Which apps and techniques have you found helpful in a mainstream secondary context?

Lots of people have the lovely easy-to-use switch accessible software from Inclusive Technology, like SwitchIT Maker 2 and ChooseIT Maker 2. But it is disappointing to see how few schools manage to find time to make their own resources, to create personalised exercises that individual children or groups can enjoy and use as valuable learning & practice, as part of curriculum topic or theme work.

To help you, from Ian Bean of SENICT, amongst other freely downloadable goodies here, there are two simple and easy-to-use help sheets, with step by step instructions for: -

• a) how to make an 'animal sound quiz;' in SwitchIT Maker 2
• b) how to make a switch accessible music juke box in SwitchIt Maker 2

Despite the popularity of the iPad it is surprising there are only 23 background wallpapers to choose from.

These consist of a range of mellow or atmospheric images and scenes including dewy grass, a cobbled street, tree rings, a carved totem pole, flowers, crashing waves, denim and other patterned options.

Although you can download many other wallpaper scenes from a range of online sources, they tend to follow a similar vein and lack the simplicity of a plain natural background.

Many users may find the selection of wallpapers currently on offer (or as the iPad’s default) unsuitable, distracting and/or even difficult to view. I personally use a yellow background/wallpaper, and although it isn't a perfect solution, it does help me when I'm looking at the screen for long periods of time.

Choose and download a colour wallpaper of your choice

To help, CALL have developed a selection of plain, simple and natural coloured wallpapers which you can download and use on your iPad for free.

Although you can’t set the wallpaper to function as a global colour (e.g. in Settings and other Apps) you can use one of the plain coloured backgrounds when viewing the main screens and when moving between screens of Apps.

Choose from 11 different plain colours

We currently have 11 colours that you can freely download and use on your iPad, regardless of the model (iPad 1, 2 or New iPad).

I recommend that you download your chosen background by using your iPad. If you are unable to download the background then try sending it by email to your iPad (see below for instructions to set the background/wallpaper).

Download the Yellow background

Download the Cream background

Download the Mauve background

Download the Rose background

Download the Purple background

Download the Orange background

Download the Mustard background

Download the Blue background

Download the Green background

Download the Grey background

Download the White background

Changing the background with your chosen wallpaper

First, you will need to download one of the backgrounds and save it to the Photos App which comes as a pre-installed App with your iOS. When the downloaded file appears tap and hold your finger until the pop-up menu appears. Select 'Save Image' - the image automatically saves to the Photos App.

Next, choose "Brightness & Wallpaper" from the menu on the left side of the settings screen.

Choose the Wallpaper tab under the brightness settings to go to the Wallpaper settings – there is also an arrow just to the right of the two iPad images.

Look for the wallpaper you have just downloaded and select it.

After choosing your selected wallpaper, you will be taken to a preview of the picture you want to use for the iPad's background. 

To set the background, either tap the button labelled 'Set Lock Screen' to set the photo for your lock screen, 'Set Home Screen' to make the photo appear underneath your app icons or 'Set Both' for the background to be used as the global image or colour for your iPad.

If you require a 'global' colour solution you can purchase transparency coloured overlays which you fit onto the iPad's screen.

You can download the complete tutorial in PDF by selecting this link

There was considerable interest in the 'Periodic Table of AAC', displayed on the CALL Scotland stand at the Augmentative Communication in Practice: Scotland Study Day on the use of iPads for communication in Dunfermline last week.

The Periodic Table of AAC very cleverly presents key points relating to Augmentative and Alternative Communication in the visual form of a Periodic Table. The key points are categorised under the following headings:

• Guiding Beliefs
• AAC Competencies
• Instructional and Implementation Tips
• Communication Functions
• Adult Support Tips
• Assessment Considerations

If you have access to an A3 colour printer, print it out as a poster providing useful tips and points to remember when using AAC in school.

The Table was devised by Kate Ahern, a teacher of learners with multiple or significant special needs from Massachusetts. Kate writes the fabulous Teaching Learners with Multiple Needs blog - a great resource for anybody using Augmentative and Alternative Communication and other technology to support pupils with severe and complex disabilities.

This looks like a useful new publication to help families and professionals understand and manage challenging behaviour in children with learning difficulties or ASD. Copies can be downloaded free from the ENABLE website  or ordered (price £3, or £2 each for more than 20 copies) by telephone (0300 200 101) or using the order form here.

Ease of Access Centre Guide

Microsoft has included a range of accessibility features (Accessibility Options) in its operating systems since Windows 95.

Windows 7 incorporates several improvements such as a change of name from 'Accessibility Options' to 'Ease of Access Centre'. These features provide a valuable but often overlooked method of supporting learners with additional support needs.

The Ease of Access Centre, found in the Control Panel, brings together all the accessibility options and adds some new features.

You can download the Ease of Access Centre Guide from the CALL website - for free.

Windows 7 On-Screen Keyboard video tutorial

One of the new built-in features is the On-Screen Keyboard which offers word prediction to help with typing speed and accuracy. The following tutorial highlights some of the key features.

There are still a few places available for any parent interested in coming along to Saturday's Parent Information Day on 12th November 2011. You can find out about and try many of the specialised technologies available to support children and young people with additional support needs. Following on from our everpopular annual Family Fun Technology Days, Saturday 12th November will have a similar format but this time it's just for parents.

The day will run 10.00 to 2.00pm at CALL Scotland and will be a mix of displays, presentations, hands-on and a chance for one-to-one sessions with CALL Scotland staff and, of course, meet other parents. Cost is £10 and a light sandwich lunch is provided.

 

Presentations

After consulting with parent members of National Parent Forum Scotland we’re running short presentations covering:

• Overview of CALL services
• Digital Question Papers
• Apps for iPad, iPod, iPhone - we're delighted that parent Kate Farrell agreed to run this session and be available on the day
• Books for All
• Low tech to high tech communication aids
• AccessApps / MyStudyBar / Windows 7 speech recognition

Workstations

Running in parallel with the presentations we'll have a range of workstations to try things out, discuss issues, have your questions answered. Topics include:

• Software for dyslexia including NaturalReader, ClaroRead, Dragon Naturally Speaking, as well as information about Reading Pens
• Digital question papers or digital exams - find out how many schools are using them, what teachers are doing to support their use and how successful they're proving with pupil in helping them to become independent, successful learners and confident individuals
• Books for All - how this can help schools and authorities meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010 to provide information in accessible alternative formats
• Apps for iPads, iPods, iPhones for symbols users, reading books, writing and a host of other education applications. 
• AccessApps, MyStudyBar and speech recognition directly into PCs running Windows 7
• Low tech as well as high tech communication aids - from symbol communication books, Personal Communication Passports through to dynamic screen display systems
• Alternative access to computers - switches, switch interfaces, adapted mice, keyboards and much much more

To find out more download the timetable for the day and you can book a place online.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on Secondary Legislation arising from The Equality Act 2010.The consultation seeks views on new rules of procedure for the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland (ASNTS), to enable them to hear disability claims (discrimination, harassment and victimisation) cases in school education.

Details are available on the Scottish Government web site.

Came across Special Friends Online - looks interesting as a way of helping children and adults with learning difficulties to be part of international social networking communities  - but safely. They've invented 'Smiley Talk' a way of interacting, on the site, for people who can't spell/use keyboard (or think of what to say), using smiley face icons and preset questions and answers. There are also jokes and games, poems, videos, information and links, online chat, discussion forums, heroes and stars, send hugs etc. The 'Padlock' allows a carer to restrict access and lock user out of certain sections eg. 1:1 messaging or chatroom, for safety.

I've only just joined, in order to explore and evaluate, so not yet 'recommending' this site as such - but let us know how you get on if you have tried this site.  Maybe there are other similar sites out there - we'd like to hear of them? Some teachers are also using Glow groups as a way of simulating FaceBook-type facilities securely for pupils with ASN - Susan McCauley of Pinewood school gave a great presentation on this at the CALL's recent ICT and Inclusion event in East Kilbride.

The other great resource, for symbol users, of course, is Widgit's Symbol World with constantly updating symbol stories, news, personal stories, information etc. all in symbols (and also speech feedback, if you download Browsealoud).

What's this... a non-techie blog? Technology can often be used to support students with additional support needs in schools and colleges, but there are times when it isn't the answer. Even where it has a significant part to play, successful implementation depends on teachers, parents, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and other staff working together in partnership to support the student.

The Scottish Government have produced a new publication, Guidance on Partnership Working between Allied Health Professionals and Education, which presents strategies and guidance aimed at improving the quality of partnership working between allied health professionals, education staff and parents. The Guidance outlines different features of good practice and presents a number of short case studies from different parts of Scotland. There's also a useful set of tools that can be used to measure strengths and areas for development in current practice with regard to working in partnership.

Definitely worth a look if you are involved with Partnership Working!

'Sentence Trouble' - Communication Guide for helping troubled young people with dyslexia, autism & other disabilities:

http://bit.ly/doI9Fw

Although not written for teachers or education, this guide has a lot of useful info/advice that some teachers and others working with young people have still to take on board!

 

 

Come along to the AAC SIG study afternoon on Wednesday 26th of May, at Braidburn School in Edinburgh, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

Our guest speaker will be Claire Murray, who will be presenting on ‘Emotional Understanding and Language’ in the context of the 'Growing Confidence Project'.

This should be a really interesting afternoon, with the opportunity to share experiences, thoughts and feedback on this subject with other professionals.

The session is FREE of charge. Please return the AAC SIG flier to the address given, in order to confirm your booking.

For more information, have a look at Claire's webpage

Hope to see you on the day!