CALL Scotland has been organising the FREE annual ICT and Inclusion road-show since 2001. It provides people with an opportunity to see and compare the latest software and technology to support students with additional support needs from most of the leading UK companies.

Location and dates for the exhibitions are:

• CALL Scotland, Edinburgh - 18 June 2013
• Thistle Hotel, Glasgow - 19 June 2013

Suppliers will describe their key products in timetabled sessions and there will also be short presentations by staff from CALL Scotland.

The exhibitions will be open from 9.00 am until 4.00 pm.

Free Lunch! A free buffet lunch is provided at each of the three venues. It is therefore important that people register for the exhibition in advance so we have an idea of numbers before the day. Please indicate when you book a place if you wish to stay for lunch.

To find out more and to book online, go to the ICT and Inclusion web page or telephone CALL Scotland on 0131 651 6235 to book a place.

CALL Scotland has been organising the FREE annual ICT and Inclusion road-show since 2001. It provides people with an opportunity to see and compare the latest software and technology to support students with additional support needs from most of the leading UK companies.

Location and dates for the exhibitions are:

• CALL Scotland, Edinburgh - 18 June 2013
• Thistle Hotel, Glasgow - 19 June 2013

Suppliers will describe their key products in timetabled sessions and there will also be short presentations by staff from CALL Scotland.

The exhibitions will be open from 9.00 am until 4.00 pm.

Free Lunch! A free buffet lunch is provided at each of the three venues. It is therefore important that people register for the exhibition in advance so we have an idea of numbers before the day. Please indicate when you book a place if you wish to stay for lunch.

To find out more and to book online, go to the ICT and Inclusion web page or telephone CALL Scotland on 0131 651 6235 to book a place.

There are still places available for parents interested in attending CALL’s Parent Information Day on Saturday 24th November 2012. We will focus specifically on the use of iPads and apps for children and young people with additional support needs or disabilities. 

The day will run 10.00 to 2.00pm at CALL Scotland (Edinburgh) 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.

In response to the many questions raised by parents, teachers and others who work with children with additional support needs CALL has written a new book on the iPad - iPads for Communication, Access, Literacy, and Learning (iCALL). CALL has looked at loads of apps (and there are thousands more), many of which will be discussed and there will be opportunities for hands-on use at workstations. This is an opportunity to have many of your questions about iPads answered in an informal, supportive setting.

CALL Scotland has been organising the FREE annual ICT and Inclusion (originally called ICT/SEN Update) roadshow since 2001. It provides people with an opportunity to see and compare the latest software and technology to support students with additional support needs from most of the leading UK companies.

Location and dates for the exhibitions are:

• Best Western Invercarse Hotel, Dundee - 15 June 2010
• CALL Scotland, Edinburgh - 16 June 2010
• The Bruce Hotel, East Kilbride - 17 June 2010

Suppliers will describe their key products in timetabled sessions and there will also be short presentations by staff from CALL Scotland.

The exhibitions will be open from 9.00 am until 4.00 pm.

Free Lunch! A free buffet lunch is provided at each of the three venues. It is therefore important that people register for the exhibition in advance so we have an idea of numbers before the day. Please indicate when you book a place if you wish to stay for lunch.

To find out more and to book online, go to the ICT and Inclusion web page or telephone CALL Scotland on 0131 651 6235 to book a place.

Please remember about the Saturday event on 13th March, the Technology Discovery Day for adults (and teens 15/16+ years) who use augmentative communication.

More details and booking available from the Technology Discovery Day web page. Phone (0131 651 6235) or email CALL if you have any questions.

It will be fun, please come!

Act NOW and book a place at one of the forthcoming Scottish Communication Matters Road Shows. It is completely free, and you get a free lunch as well! Choice of three venues (all 9.15am - 3.30pm, or 'drop in'):

• Tuesday 1st December - Edinburgh (Murrayfield Stadium, with CALL)
• Wednesday 2nd December - Aberdeen (Pittodrie Football Stadium, with TASSC)
• Thursday 3rd December - Glasgow (Hampden Park Stadium, with SCTCI)

This is THE opportunity of the year to find out about all the equipment and software available to support people with complex communication support needs. Suppliers of communication technology exhibit their wares and highlight any new products. As well as each giving a short presentation - you choose which you wish to attend - product experts are on hand all day to answer any questions you may have, demonstrate equipment, supply catalogues and literature, give you mini 1:1 tutorials. Unlike with visits from one particular company, you get the chance to 'compare and contrast' systems. Staff from the local specialist AAC services in Scotland are on hand to help to point you to local sources of informaiton and support, and you will also be able to 'network' with like-minded colleagues. Hope to see you there!

To find out more and to book online, go to Communication Matters Road Shows. Or, you can email Communication Matters or ring 0845 456 8211, giving your name, full address with postcode and contact telephone number. You will receive an acknowledgement of your booking.

You are also always welcome to contact CALL for further information, on 0131 651 6235 or 0131 651 6236.

Janette Graham and Andrea MacBeath, based at the ASL Technology Service in Richmond Park School in Glasgow provided their top ten tips (well at least twelve, really) for supporting literacy. They covered Word Prediction such as using Penfriend or Co:Writer; symbol support using Boardmaker; use of WordTalk and a host of others. Not only that but they kindly offered to share their PowerPoint slides for the presentation with others.

Katie Robinson, a teacher at Middlefield, a school in Glasgow for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder,  presented on her use of the SmartBoard with pupils she works with. She has found that Smart technologies offer particular advantages for pupils with ASD. These include:

• being bright and attractive, drawing on the strengths of visual learners
• being interactive, pupils really can "Do to learn"
• allows the teacher to reduce his or her use of verbal language – free from multiple sub-clauses
• easier to focus on, helping when teaching the skills for taking part in a group – such as turn-taking

Katie noted that she had found Education City particularly appropriate software with the pupils she worked with. Problems of positioning the board, using a touch sensitive screen as opposed to the kind that lock you into using a particular kind of pen (options of magic wands, conductor’s batons and such like led to some useful discussion).

About 130 people attended here in CALL Scotland, in Edinburgh, for the second very successful CALL Scotland ICT and Inclusion day. It's quite ambitious to try and meet the CPD needs & interests of everyone from staff working with Primary pupils with severe and complex additional support needs, to NHS therapists, to tutors of students with disabilities in Further Education. But somehow our mix of exhibition displays, suppliers' presentations and good practice workshops seems to have pulled it off! Evaluation forms show that participants liked everything a lot, and especially the chance to have 1:1 discussions and hands-on with suppliers, the ideas provided in the practitioner workshops, and information about free software resources.

About 80 people enjoyed a great day at the Ross County Victoria Park stadium in Dingwall yesterday on 16th June. There were 18 presentations from suppliers and practitioners on a wide range of topics as well as a chance to look at software and hardware in the exhibition space. A quick glance at the evaluation forms shows that all the participants found the day useful. Craig Mill's AccessApps and 2Simple software got several appreciative mentions, as did the lunch and the weather. Next up Edinburgh and then Glasgow.