Teacher Leader Spotlight
Teachers Rock! That’s why we put the spotlight on them in our 'Teacher Leaders' section. Thanks to their passion for teaching and implementing technology, students get more opportunities to be successful readers, writers and thinkers. Read on to be inspired by their stories and check out our Schools In the News section to explore district-wide initiatives.
Carole Ries
Carole Ries, OTR, Assistive Technologist
Wayzata Public Schools, Plymouth, MN
“I have worked with students for over 20 years in the Midwest and East coast. It is clear to me that our students’ learning styles are becoming increasingly diverse. Gone are the “spray and pray” or “stand up and teach” methods. The question for us is… “How do we as teachers or administrators reach and teach every student? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides an excellent framework to help us prepare lesson plans, select textbook material, set up our classroom environments, evaluate software and collaborate with others.”
Read: Wayzata Public ‘Schools in the News’ article.
Shelly Lawrence and Mollie Kropp
Shelly Lawrence and Mollie Kropp, AT Specialist, Fairfax County, VA
Shelly and Mollie describe the premise of accessible instruction materials (AIM) and the benefits for students who struggle to read and write.
View Video (2:10)
Read Nichelle's story about her journey with dyslexia.
Nancy Hoppe
Nancy Hoppe, AT Specialist, Lee County, FL Public Schools
“My dream is for all students to have access to quality assistive technology tools, like Don Johnston’s. When ARRA stimulus funds became available, my first priority was to purchase the SOLO Literacy Suite (Write:OutLoud, Co:Writer, and Read:OutLoud) site licenses for 90% of our schools. We installed SOLO this fall and now provide training to teachers and administrators. We want to get them ‘fired up’ about the technology and its direct benefits for students.
In our multi-faceted training and implementation approach we:
- Wrote a Blackboard training for each SOLO component which will include video.
- Provided mini-in-service days for our IT dept., a critical team for our success.
- Set up additional trainings for core groups who provide implementation strategies for RTI, intensive academics and ESOL
So far, response from all groups has been very positive. We are fortunate to have a great collaboration between our AT and IT teams. This partnership is a key factor to ensure that our technology initiative is sustainable and will be an effective strategy to improve our students’ literacy skills.”
View Video (0:55)
Stanley Tom
Students at
The Prentice School, California, under the direction of Mr. Stanley Tom, AT Specialist, use
Read:OutLoud, which speaks the text, so that children with dyslexia, dysgraphia and other processing problems learn more easily. The program is part of the school's assistive educational technology class, which teaches students to use computer programs that help them read and write for a lifetime. School officials say these programs will help the students advocate for themselves in high school and college. "
It is safe to assume that school-age children already know about technology in the given age of blogging, texting and tweeting," said Mr. Tom. They are familiar with word processing and know about the Internet. However, if they are poor spellers, have trouble organizing thoughts into written expression or have difficulty comprehending, what they read, than these types of materials are largely inaccessible media for students with learning differences. For them, it becomes essential to know what accommodation technologies can enable them to keep up with increasing academic workloads, specifically to support reading comprehension and written expression. When students find themselves in a remediation situation, they are already behind and face challenges ahead. If we provide these students with opportunities to learn what educational assistive technologies are available, and how to master these tools, they are more likely to reach grade level achievement, continue to make academic progress, and expand their expectations of themselves. A vicious circle is broken and competency with tools leads to accomplishments, which engenders greater confidence, and ultimately a sense of responsibility for one's own progress and purpose."
Amanda Boone
Amanda Boone, King High School, Corpus Christi ISD, ELA, Math, Reading and Color Guard
OK. . . When I was asked to go to a SOLO training, I thought, ‘just great,’ … another thing to fit into my already hectic schedule and I’ll probably never use it. Within minutes, I was hooked! Let me assure you, it is an amazing writing software that can really benefit students who need that extra push. The SOLO training doesn’t take long, and I could see how the software could be used in lots of different classes and learning settings. Outlining, mapping, writing, reading, research. It has a dictionary, thesaurus, bibliography, frequently used word lists that align with curriculum. You can build your own word banks or use the templates already available. Check out SOLO. You can watch the SOLO Demo (SOLO contains the four products Co:Writer, Write:OutLoud, Read:OutLoud and Draft:Builder) online to explore it on your own. I’ll guarantee you will think of a way that you could implement the program into your daily instruction with students.
Mary Murnighan
Mary Murnighan, a teacher in Charlotte County, FL wrote to us recently about Read:OutLoud. Can you tell Mary is excited to use technology?
“Your Read:OutLoud accessible text reader has only been operational for a few days…And we’ve had LOTs of issues…Kids jumping up and down, high-fiving, rushing to the teacher with big grins on their faces, shouting, "This is great!" What a GREAT problem to have! We have now used it with readers at all levels, from the lowest to highest levels (advanced college reading level in middle school). I don't know who was most impressed; our students or teachers. We are getting kids to write comments about the software program so that we can include it in our grants and have just sent a proposal to the MacArthur Foundation. I am thrilled with the software and look forward to working in our computer lab where more teachers, like me, will come to see how students react to the technology. It’s going to be a frenzy among teachers to give up their lab time so others can get in to use it with students. I LOVE it when this happens! It is just the spark some of us teachers need to expand what we do in our classrooms."
Barbara Avery
Fifth graders at Colquitt County Schools, GA participate in a nine-week program called CHAMPS where they explore and discuss self-esteem, drug resistance and good citizenship with leaders from their National Sheriff’s Department. To graduate, they write essays about the program. Barbara Avery, the 5th grade teacher said,"One of my students, who is not in special education, struggled forever with poor penmanship due to motor skills challenges. She is far behind in class and it always takes her a long time to turn writing assignments in. When she does they are difficult for me to read and score. I put her on
Co:Writer (word prediction software) to write her CHAMPS essay and WOW did she take off! She was thrilled that she actually wrote a whole paragraph and was so proud and so was I. Co:Writer will open many learning opportunities for her now and in the future. Thanks again for all your great support, products and ideas!"
Velita Cochran
Velita Cochran, an IRR Teacher at Northwestern Middle School, Fulton County, GA was able to create a school-wide, sustainable ‘writing with technology’ initiative to impact the writing skills of hundreds of students with special needs. How did she do it? With the support and guidance from the district’s administrators and the AT team. Ms. Cochran set out to change the way writing instruction was delivered. She used SOLO to develop a peer-to-peer editing process using a writing rubric on capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling. Her student’s liked the collaborative learning approach and using the computer to write papers. Students’ writing skills improved. Evidence showed increases in their vocabulary skills. They exhibited improved ‘background knowledge’ and demonstrated higher writing scores on benchmark tests. Hearing this evidence, more teachers at Fulton wanted to learn how to integrate SOLO to improve students’ skills in English, Science and Social Studies. Summer institutes sprang up for teachers to work together to create electronic assignments and instruction through the assistive technology literacy tool. At the end of the school year, Ms. Cochran and several colleagues were presented with an award and recognized as early classroom adopters who bridged daily instruction through the use of assistive technologies. Watch a video of Shonda Golden, AT specialist for Fulton County talk about this literacy initiative.
Linda Bates
Linda Bates, Certified Special Education Teacher at Pomfret Community School, CT and her students created a winning digital storybook presentation acting out the characters in Don’s book, Building Wings. Learn more about the Building Wings Reader’s Theater, including free lessons and worksheets. Watch a video of Linda and her colleagues sharing the secrets to individual student reading success.
View Winning Video (28:29)
Elizabeth (Betsy) Rohrbaugh
Mrs. Elizabeth (Betsy) Rohrbaugh, AT Specialist for Fulton County Public Schools, GA and her student, Brandon, who has dyslexia and ADD, demonstrate Co:Writer, the assistive technology word prediction tool. See and hear how Brandon uses Co:Writer to overcome writing barriers such as poor spelling and sloppy handwriting.
View Video (2:44)
Barbara Wollak, M.S., CCC-SLP at Highland Park Junior High, MN, Dr. David Koppenhaver, Professor, Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities Department, College of Education, Appalachian State University, NC
e-Mail Buddy Exchange with Students with Autism Breaking Down Traditional Learning Barriers
This unique e-learning program created by Mrs. Barbara Wollak and Dr. David Koppenhaver broke down the typical learning barriers for students with autism and developmental cognitive delays using email, video email, a blog and a supportive word prediction assistive technology tool. Barb’s creative learning approach has served students successfully for the past seven years on many learning fronts; giving students with disabilities new opportunities for reading, writing, and communicating with a real audience.
Read this informative interview with Barb Wollak presented by AbleNet. Barb discusses her successes, strategies and the benefits for students using assistive technologies. Read how she uses the Four Blocks Model and gives credit to the Building Wings Reader’s Theater, as a great reading resource.
Watch Winning Video. On October 1, 2009, Barb won the ATIA (Assistive Technology Industry Association) education video award for her use of Co:Writer, word prediction software to build writing and communications skills to benefit students with autism.
Read Barb's Article and locate AT resources at the FCTD (Family Center on Technology and Disability)
Teachers working with students with autism will be inspired by this article, ‘Teaching Words as Symbols', written with Daniel McNulty, NE Coordinator of the Indiana PATINS program. (Promoting Achievement through Technology and Instruction for all Students.)
Daniel began his career as a behavioral consultant in private practice. He later taught elementary children with autism in a rural K-6 elementary school. This school had few computers and fewer teachers who used, or even believed in, technology. Some teachers told Daniel that his students would never be able to phonetically decode words or recognize letters. Daniel, from his past experience, knew that children with learning disabilities are capable of reading and expressing themselves. He set out to change the teaching landscape for his students and accomplished more than anyone predicted.
Assistive Technology Teacher, Rocky Run Middle School, Fairfax, VA shares the success story of Camp Write On!
Imagine standing in front of a room of 8th graders who
just gave up a week of their summer to strengthen their writing skills.
Not a very excited crowd! As the week at our writing camp progressed,
however, this apathetic group of students changed from not wanting to
write into empowered self-advocates excited about using SOLO and other
assistive technology to improve their writing skills. In Fairfax County
Public Schools we would say "Rock On!"
I am excited to share this case study (PDF, 288 KB) which demonstrates the positive outcomes we produced to improve students' phonics skills using good teaching strategies and Simon S.I.O.
Debbie Brigner, Wayne Trace Payne Elementary School in Payne, Ohio wrote to us about her experience with Don Johnston's autobiography, Building Wings.
Read about Debbie's experience...
Lynda Mattison began her teaching
career in 1974 working for the Atlanta Public Schools as a high school
special education teacher. Unlike some other wonderful teachers, Lynda said she was a reluctant
beginner with lots of doubts about how effective or helpful she could
be.
Educators and parents…please join Don’s Blog and follow us on Twitter for ongoing and thoughtful discussions about the needs and successes of children with disabilities.
