October 2011

Welcome to 2011-2012!

The school year is well underway and, despite some additional challenges this year, SET-BC consultants throughout the province are working hard supporting school teams receiving Cycle 3 technology solutions, meeting with district teams for Cycle 1 screening, and attending to issues that arise as students transition between classes and schools. Our service delivery process including consultation, district screening and planning, and school team collaborative action plan meetings continues under the current BCTF job action as all groups support uninterrupted support for our students. We are hoping that there is no significant impact to our Cycle 1 timelines and teams should expect to be involved in planning meetings in October and early November, with requested technologies being delivered in early December as usual. If you have any questions about SET-BC service delivery, please contact your SET-BC regional consultant.

SET-BC Special Project Applications Now Available!

Each year, SET-BC supports a number of small technology projects that explore how new technologies can be used to support students' IEP goals or investigate the use of existing technologies within students' educational programs. This year, through the generous support of our partners and vendors, we are able to support projects that are classroom based, focus on curricular goals, utilize personalized learning (21st century) strategies, and demonstrate effective inclusion of all students.

We invite classroom teachers, school based teams and district groups to submit an application for consultation, training, and technology support for curricular based projects that explore the use of various technologies to realize students' learning goals. Specific project guidelines as well as the actual application are available on our SET-BC Projects 2011-2012 proposal form. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2011.

SETreg Online Registration for Professional Development Events

Interested in attending a SET-BC face-to-face or online professional development event? Online registration through SETreg is easy! Opportunities to learn about Kurzweil 3000, Clicker 5, Boardmaker Studio and low vision / blind technologies are available in October and November. Visit SETreg to see a complete list of events currently scheduled.

This Week in SET-BC

One of the challenges when supporting students who use technology in their educational program is keeping up to date with the information you need to make the most of that technology. SET-BC has a weekly e-newsletter called This Week in SET-BC which provides valuable news items, software update information, as well as links to professional development events, new student resources and other helpful websites. Bookmark or subscribe to This Week in SET-BC to get our weekly updates!

Accessible Books for the iPad

Our collection of accessible books for the iPad is growing! The new iPad books are in Pictello format and provide iPad users with the ability to not only hear and see accessible books but also easily create their own. For more information on these books and how to order them, check out our story in SETnews.

Provincial Software Acquisition Plan (PSAP)

For the 8th year, PSAP will be providing school districts with cost effective access to literacy, numeracy, communication and concept development software. Last year, the Kurzweil 3000 web licensing option became a very popular choice for districts as it provides more flexible use at home and school for both students and teachers. Boardmaker Studio has recently been updated - those new to this program can download a free 30 day trial from Meyer-Johnson. For more information and to see all the software licenses available through PSAP, visit the PSAP area of our website.

SET-BC is a Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program. We assist school districts in British Columbia in meeting the technology needs of students with physical disabilities, visual impairments, and autism.