The number of assistive technology users in our school board is growing every year, as is the amount of time that non-AT users are getting. Despite a modest population of student and staff experts, within our board we continue to struggle in many ways to fully implement technology effectively across all grades and subject areas. This project aims to reinvent the way students, parents and staff are supported in their ongoing knowledge and understanding about technology that students use in Halton. The Help Desk inquiry aims at gaining a better understanding of student, staff and parents needs with assistive technology to provide direct collaborative support. As a team, we will have students and teachers developing mentor/support systems for technology through student-generated tutorial videos. These videos will be accessed by parents, students and teachers of two different school populations. Collaboratively, students and teachers will identify IT skill sets needed by students and teachers. Students will then create a variety of tutorial videos based on identified needs. They will screen-capture, edit and upload videos to our shared website which will be curated by older students who have gone through the process before and will act as mentors.
Team Members
Cameron Steltman
Halton District School Board
Shaun Else
Halton District School Board
Richard Parker
Halton District School Board
Ryan Henderson
Halton District School Board
Professional Learning Goals
- Promoted reflective practice on a board level as we responded to the needs of the students we were supporting
- Built confidence, engagement and ability in students with all levels of ability
- Reflection and encouragement met the different academic needs of children and continue to grow as a professionals
- Engaged and deprivatized the use of technology for the parent community in both schools
- Built cross-grade and cross-school connections through a professional learning community (PLC)
- Gained a deeper understanding of staff, student and parent needs in supporting learning through assistive technology
- Developed a wider array of skills for facilitating a collaborative inquiry by leading a group in improving our practices around assistive technology
- Promoted reflective practice on a team level as we responded to the needs of the students we were supporting
Activities and Resources
- Explored form and function of tutorial videos (through exploration and guided instruction)
- Conducted assessments of parent, student and teacher needs in advancing their understanding about assistive technology – built forms for this assessment
- Students identified list of crucial technology skills to explore in tutorial videos
- Worked with student groups to co-create videos to be uploaded to website
- Students aided in the creation of easy-to-navigate hub to host all videos
- Ran lunch and learn training co-facilitated by student leaders on effective assistive technology implementation for staff
- Held lunchtime sessions to provide follow-up training for interested students on how to produce screencasts for tutorial purposes using a wide array of technology
- Presented concept to York University, parents of Halton, ECOO, Board level Technology Symposium
Unexpected Challenges
- File management of the amount of videos and labelling with different languages
Enhancing Student Learning and Development
Students will identify learning topics, thereby promoting authentic student ownership of their learning. Students were encouraged to engage parents at home in order to help share their finished products and increase the home-school ties. We promoted self-advocacy among AT users by giving them opportunities to demonstrate their assets as learners and act as leaders within the school. Students provided an authentic, enduring resource that can be utilized not only by our schools but other schools on a system level for years to come. Students developed resilience in working as a team to create both online and in-person learning opportunities that are responsive to the ever-changing needs of our school populations.
Sharing
Our project is currently live on techhelpdesk.ca and will continue to be a living repository for our board, as well as AT users, ESL users and parents in Ontario.
We have shared our project at a number of events, conferences and among different schools. We presented at the following locations:
- ECOO 2016
- Parent Involvement Committee in Halton
- Technology Symposium Halton
- Lunch and Learns in respective schools
- Special Education Course for York University
- Working with River Oaks, John William Boich and Brookville Public Schools
- Our resource was shared with itinerants in the board
- Shared with the ESL community in the board
Project Evaluation
We feel that our project was a success.
In our opinion, our goals were met through the feedback from superintendents within our board, colleagues from other schools, and the support we received after presenting at conferences and staff meetings.
When we presented our project at the multiple conferences, reception was strong and people are taking the idea and moving it into their respective boards.
Moving forward, the connection with the ELL community at Halton has potential for even further growth and development.
We felt that we grew as educators in our ability to connect with both ESL and Assistive Technology students.
Resources Used
The following is the website that we have created to host the student created videos. Each page is designed to focus on a different aspect of technology that is utilized in our classes.