etech 2011 Assistive Technology used at Lawrence School including Read & Write Gold and FluencyTutor

1. Sally Garza
Director of Technology, Lawrence School
sgarza@lawrenceschool.org
440-832-7840

2. ABOUT ME
Sally Garza
 Director of Technology
 Lawrence Upper School

3. ABOUT ME
 Lawrence School is an independent school in
Sagamore Hills and Broadview Heights, Ohio
that specializes in teaching students with
learning differences.
Mission: Our mission is to teach students who have distinct learning styles,
ignite their potential, and inspire academic and social success.
Vision: One day all students who learn differently will have the opportunity,
encouragement and resources to fulfill their potential and benefit society.
Slogan: Where differences are not disabilities;
where great minds don't think alike.

4. LD POPULATION
AT LAWRENCE SCHOOL
 Students typically come from unsuccessful educational
settings
 Bright students (average to above average IQ)
 Many diagnosed with:
 learning differences
 Dyslexia
 Dysgraphia
 Dyscalculia
 Executive Dysfunction
 Expressive Language Disorder
 Phonological Processing Disorder
 Receptive Language Disorder
 Visual Motor Integration Difficulties
 attention deficits
 ADD
 ADHD
 organizational problems & executive function issues
 other processing differences

5. LAWRENCE SCHOOL TEACHING
METHODS
Multi-sensory platform
Organizational strategies embedded in all
subject areas
Brain-based learning strategies
Differentiated instruction
Opportunities for social and academic
experiences and success

6. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Started in early 2003 with in computer lab
Tested every AT program on the market at
the time
Had students help evaluate software
 Was it easy to use?
 How long was training period?
 Would they use it?
Students and staff selected Read & Write
Gold as Lawrence School’s assistive
technology software

7. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
 Late 2004, piloted a laptop AT program with 5
students
 Computers without wireless service
 Office 2000, Inspiration, and Read & Write Gold
 Digitized a few major textbooks/literature books for students to
“read”
 Very successful pilot!
 Students with C’s and D’s became A & B students within 1
school year
 All students in pilot program showed improved grades

8. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Late 2006, built new Upper School
building in Sagamore Hills to
accommodate 1-1 program for 7-12
graders using assistive technology
campus wide
Infrastructure included:
 Pervasive wireless throughout campus
 Laptop lockers with power to allow mid-day charging
 Expanded server farm to allow digital files by
students to be saved on network

9. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Early 2007, opened Upper School building
and rolled out 1-to-1 program to all Upper
School students
Training included:
 Tablet & laptop training for all staff and students
 Read & Write Gold training for all staff and students

10. TRAINING FOR STAFF & STUDENTS
1 full day training session for pilot teachers and
staff in 2005 from a vendor
Since then, have done all training in-house
 Teach tools as needed to students and staff
 Teach tools in short increments with opportunities to
practice & play
 Videos for each tool are great resource as well!

11. HOW STUDENTS & TEACHERS
USE READ & WRITE GOLD
95% of students who use text-to-speech
80% use study skills tools (including
screen masking)
8-10% use speech-to-text
More staff use speech-to-text than students!
2-3% use word prediction

12. HOW STUDENTS & TEACHERS
USE READ & WRITE GOLD
for ALL students, not just students who
typically use RWG
 English teachers use Spell Check, Word Wizard,
Dictionary Tool and Homophone tools as
proofreading/editing tools
 Science/Math teachers use Talking Calculator
conversion tools
 Spanish teacher/students use Translator tool to help
reinforce vocabulary and pronunciation skills

13. DIGITAL TEXT
Biggest challenge with our Assistive
Technology program is not using Read
& Write Gold or training students or
staff how to use it…
it is making digitized material available to
students!

14. DIGITAL TEXT
Tried many ways to digitize text
 E-books
 From textbook manufacturers, typically web-based/flash or html
pages
 PDF (eBooks from Amazon….)
 Public domain books
 Project Gutenberg
 VitalSource Bookshelf
 Google Books
 LD/Visual Disabilities resources
 Bookshare.org

15. DIGITAL TEXT
Best way for Lawrence School:
 Scan books ourselves
 We’ve created in-house digital library to support
students’ assistive technology needs
Issues with scanning yourself:
 Compliancy with copyright laws of books
 Students only receive digital copy if they have a physical copy of
book
 Control over who gets copies of what books .
 Need a GREAT scanner!

16. EXAMPLES OF DIGITAL TEXT
Textbook
Literature book
Word format
PDF format

17. EXAMPLES OF HOW WE UTILIZE RWG
IN THE CLASSROOM
 Lower School Demystification Project
 Online researching for 6 th graders
 Topics typically written above reading level
 9 th Grade Learning Strategies Class
 Teach skills most teachers assume students know but are never taught
 We actually teach these skills, including RWG
 This year all high school midterms were required to
available in digital format to allow use of RWG during
test
 Negated need for 95% of the adult readers needed for exams

18. EXAMPLES OF HOW WE UTILIZE RWG
IN THE CLASSROOM
English teachers
 Study skills tools especially for research projects
 Homophone checker as just a great
proofreading/editing tool
 Math & Science teachers
 Use the Calculator Conversion tools

19. HOW WE VIEW ASSISTIVE
TECHNOLOGY
 Not just for LD kids, but for everyone!
 As a “prosthetic processor”
 Alleviate processing needs of some readers who can decode
with a lot of effort
 RWG allows them to build fluency and decoding skills without
the struggle of processing and decoding
 Similar to GPS
 Originally invented for people who struggled spatially but
almost ubiquitous in our society now and used by more than
the original intended audience

20. FLUENCY TUTOR
Just started using in June 2010
As a summer pilot with 15 kids on a voluntary
basis with no instruction to student during the
pilot
Most students showed staved regression in
reading skills over summer break
 Some even showed progress and confidence in their
reading

21. QUESTIONS
Sally Garza
 Director of Technology
 Lawrence Upper School
 sgarza@lawrenceschool.org
 www.lawrenceschool.org
 Twitter: smg421girl
 Technology blog at msgarza.wordpress.com
 Handouts available at www.slideshare.net/smg421