2008-2009 Reports
March 2009
FNESC (First Nations Education Steering Committee), FNSA (First Nations Schools Association) and SET-BC (Special Education Technology - British Columbia) have collaborated a second year to implement this pilot project, and students in First Nations schools in British Columbia received technology and support throughout this school year.
This report outlines the services that have been provided by SET-BC up until March 15, 2009.
Students Participating in the Pilot Project
Representatives from FNESC’s Special Education Department and SET-BC reviewed the requests and prioritized students to receive equipment and support. The screening committee identified 19 students to receive equipment in two service cycles.
We also continued to support 22 students who received equipment in the 2007-08 school year.
6 students who received equipment last year through this project have transferred to schools in the public school system. The equipment they received has followed them to their new schools and the SET-BC provincial program will now support them.
In our first cycle, 11 students were selected by the screening committee and the SET-BC consultant met with school teams for the students in September through December.
- Schools: Brentwood Bay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Agassiz, Mt. Currie, Skatin, Kispiox, and Iskut
- Age/grade: from 5 to 19 years, from Kindergarten to grade 12
- Disabilities: Students have various challenges, including autism, Down Syndrome, developmental delay, communication disorder, language development delay, sensory-motor integration disorder, and fine motor difficulties.
In our second cycle, we identified 8 more students for service. Equipment has been delivered to these students and training is currently taking place.
- Schools: Kispiox, South Hazelton, Moricetown, Coal Harbour, Kuper Island, and Port Alberni
- Age/grade: from 5 to 12, from pre-school to grade 7
- Disabilities: Students have various challenges, including Cerebral Palsy, cortical visual impairment, autism, moderate to severe cognitive delay, and fine motor difficulties
Equipment Provided During this School Year
Please see the attached document, ‘Assistive Technology Equipment Descriptions’ for more detailed information on the following technologies that have been requested for student’s use.
Computers:
- 7 desktop computers
- 3 laptop computers
- 7 donated computers* – 2 desktop, 5 laptop
Specialized devices:
- 2 SmartSpeak voice output communication devices
- 1 Dynamic Screen Voice Output Communication device
- 5 Fusions – portable word processors
- 1 setup for physical access to classroom computer, included switch, switch interface, alternate keyboard and switch software
Specialized hardware for computer access:
- Alternate keyboards
- Alternate mouse
- Switches
Software:
- All students who received computers also received specialized software to support writing and reading
- 1 student received software to support writing and reading using a donated computer
Specialized software:
- Scan and read: Kurzweil 3000
- Talking word processor with picture support - Clicker 5, IntelliTools Classroom Suite 4
- Word prediction - Co:Writer
- Communication software –Boardmaker Plus!
- Switch training – Teaching Access Ability, Old MacDonald’s Farm, Choose & Tell Fairy Tales, Early Learning Suite, Switch It Maker 2
* SET-BC was also able to support the FNESC/FNSA/SET-BC project by providing 7 donated computers to students in First Nations schools this year. These computers are fully functional but come without supporting software or with future technical assistance. They have become the property of the schools the students are attending. This donation helps greatly to provide technology solutions for students who were not yet selected for service by the Screening Committee.
Training
Training is arranged to take place as the equipment arrives in the schools. Various training opportunities are available for teams in this project:
Within First Nations schools – one to one, small group sessions and/or larger school workshops
- Every team that has received equipment has had training opportunities
- SET-BC regional staff has assisted in training for students and their teams in Fort Nelson, Fort Saint John and Iskut.
Online – individuals and/or small group sessions
- Some teams in remote locations have received training through online sessions
- Some equipment trouble-shooting and implementation collaboration has occurred through online sessions
Many larger-group training sessions for Clicker 5 and Boardmaker have taken place for general staff training
SET-BC regional workshops in BC provincial schools – larger group sessions, when available in area.
- School teams have been contacted by SET-BC regional staff to invite them to regional training opportunities
SET-BC online training that is available to all schools in BC for software training has been attended by some staff of First Nations schools
Some training sessions have taken place for First Nations language and culture teachers to explore how use of computers and software can be used for language instruction
Comments on the Project to Date
The enthusiasm and commitment of school teams supporting students with assistive technology in First Nations schools have grown through the second year of this project. Levels of expertise are growing and implementation is becoming more and more successful.
School administrators continue to support the project by their personal involvement in implementation and through their acquisition of equipment not provided by the project, for example, printers, scanners, cameras, internet access, and release time for teachers and teaching assistants for training.
School-based technical staff has also been supportive, assisting when they can with setting up internet connections and access to school networks, printers and educational software.
Service Review Forms are sent from SET-BC near the end of the school year to track implementation and support needs. A designated member of the team receives and reports information on behalf of all team members.
Last school year, returned Service Review Forms reflected that a good portion of teams felt that implementation of assistive technology with their students was successful. Some felt that the process needed more time and that they needed more training opportunities to increase their level of success. Factors that influenced teams that reported minimal success were identified as student attendance and changes in school team members. A common comment was that they were happy to have access to this equipment and that their students were becoming more independent in its use. Most indicated they would like additional and more in-depth training.
Information from these forms and from feedback from teams throughout this year reflects a growing awareness of what assistive technology is and how it can assist students with disabilities to access their curriculum successfully.
Applications for service have increased significantly; we now have more new applications for equipment than we can provide service for with the funding we have at this time. Our screening committee is now more challenged to prioritize students with the most need and with the most urgency.
The second year of this project has been very successful. We are hoping to collaborate once again to support students with disabilities in BC’s First Nations schools, finding a way to move from a pilot project to an ongoing service delivery plan that works best for all in the future.
The FNESC Special Education Team has been exceptionally supportive as a partner in this project. The expertise and experience of teachers and Speech-Language pathologists have contributed much to quality of service provided. Kelly Kitchen has provided excellent leadership in all aspects of the project these two years.
It is, once again, a pleasure and an honour to participate in this very exciting project, and we thank you for the opportunity.
Respectfully submitted March 15, 2009
Carol Graham, SET-BC Assistive Technology Consultant
Joe Cash, SET-BC Provincial Consultant
Elaine Ferguson, SET-BC Provincial Coordinator
November 2008
The FNESC/FNSA/SET-BC project has started its second year of providing assistive technology services for students with disabilities in First Nations schools. It has been an exciting and busy time for students and their support teams as they plan how students will use their new writing and communication tools to access the curriculum.
The FNESC/FNSA/SET-BC partnership takes advantage of SET-BC’s infrastructure and resources to support students with disabilities in First Nations’ schools. SET-BC is providing the services of an assistive technology consultant at 0.8 FTE, technology loans for a defined number of students, and training and support for their school teams. Training and support continues for the twenty-two students and their teams who received equipment last year.
The webpage for the FNESC/FNSA/SET-BC project is up and running at www.setbc.org/setinfo/FNESC_FNSA. It features general information about the project, as well as useful information and downloadable resources. Further information about SET-BC can be found at www.setbc.org.
This report outlines the services provided by SET-BC in September and October 2008.
Identified Students for Assistive Technology
As last year, a screening committee reviewed information sent by prospective teams to identify students with the greatest priority to receive equipment from this project.
In our first cycle this fall, eleven students in nine schools were selected. Planning meetings have taken place and training for students and teams will occur as the technology is delivered.
- Locations: Brentwood Bay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Agassiz, Mt. Currie, Hazelton, Iskut, and Merritt
- Age/grade: ages five to nineteen, grades Kindergarten to Grade 12
- Disabilities: Students have various challenges, including autism, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, developmental delay, vision impairment, communication disorder, language development delay, and fine motor difficulties.
In our second screening meeting in early October we identified eight more students for service. Planning meetings for these students will take place from October 2008 to December 2009.
- Locations: Port Hardy, South Hazelton, Port Alberni, Kispiox, and Kuper Island
- Age/grade: from age five to seventeen, from Nursery School to an adult program in an Education Centre
- Disabilities: Students have various challenges, including Down Syndrome, autism, sensory-motor integration disorder, severe articulation and receptive/expressive language disorder, moderate to severe cognitive delay, and fine motor difficulties.
At this point, we have many more eligible students with applications than we have funding to allocate services from our project. We are doing our best to assist schools to support these students until a time when they may be priorized in the future. This process has been helped greatly by the donation of seven redundant computers from SET-BC to First Nations schools. These computers do not come with any software or repair services, but they will be a great help for some of our students who are waiting.
Assistive Technology Provided
The following equipment was ordered for students identified in our first cycle:
- Computers:
- 6 desktop computers
- 3 laptop computers
- Specialized devices:
- 1 SmartSpeak, voice output communication device
- 1 Springboard Lite, voice output communication device with dynamic screen
- Specialized hardware for computer access:
- Alternate keyboards
- Specialized mouse
- Specialized software:
- Scan and read: Kurzweil 3000
- Talking word processing - Clicker 5
- Word prediction - Co:Writer and WordQ
Please see the document, ‘Assistive Technology Descriptions and Examples’, available on the project page on the SET-BC website for more information on these items. www.setbc.org/setinfo/FNESC_FNSA
Comments on the Project to Date
In June 2008, we sent follow-up forms to teams who received equipment last school year. Most teams reported their students’ implementation of equipment to be in the successful range. Challenges reported were the need for more time to implement, some attendance issues and changing staff issues. A consistent request was for more training for staff and students as transitions occur and as the needs of students change.
This fall seven students from the first year of the project have transferred from First Nations schools to public schools in BC. These students will no longer receive support from this project, but their equipment follows them to their new schools and they will receive service through the SET-BC provincial resource program.
In our first year, many of our referrals were for younger students, many in preschool, nursery schools and primary grades. Many of those young students required voice-output devices to help with communication and language development. This year we are receiving more referrals for older students, with requests for writing tools, such as computers, dedicated word processors, and word prediction software.
Many schools purchased copies of Clicker 5 software prior to the start of this project. This is a talking word processing program with features that greatly support early learners in the reading and writing process. Some schools also purchased copies of Kurzweil 3000, which is software to support older readers and writers. This project has allowed school staff members to take advantage of extended training opportunities for both of these programs.
Some extra training has taken place to assist some teachers of Culture and Heritage in developing materials for First Nations language instruction and content for the computer, including accessible books and activities in Clicker 5.
Looking Forward
Working in this project continues to be a very exciting experience. Stories from schools reflect new levels of success and inspiring personal growth for some students. Some individuals and teams have expressed a special interest in learning about this technology and have demonstrated impressive commitment to making implementation meaningful and positive for their students.
As First Nations schools continue to identify students who could benefit from assistive technology services, it is important to have a vision for the future of this project. We are discussing future plans for the project and sincerely hope to provide a continuing, quality service for students with disabilities in British Columbia’s First Nations schools.
We appreciate the interest and support of all of the teams and students involved in this pilot project. We would also like to thank the FNESC special education team for their ongoing support throughout this first phase of the project.
- Kelly Kitchen, FNESC Special Education Manager
- Madeline Price, FNESC Special Education Consultant
- Holly Le Reverend-Smith, FNESC Special Education Resource Line
Respectfully submitted on November 15, 2008
Carol Graham, SET-BC Assistive Technology Consultant
Joe Cash, SET-BC Provincial Consultant
Elaine Ferguson, SET-BC Provincial Coordinator