November 2009 Report
The FNESC/FNSA/SET-BC project has started its third year of providing assistive technology services for students with disabilities in First Nations schools. As we add more students and their support teams to our project, expertise and effective implementation is growing throughout the province.
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 thirty-five students and their teams who received equipment in the previous two years.
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 2009.
Identified Students for Assistive Technology
As in previous years, a screening committee reviewed information sent by prospective teams to identify students with the greatest priority to receive equipment from this project.
Currently, we have fifty-one active students who have received technology through the SET-BC loan bank. Four students transferred into public schools, and their equipment has followed them to their new schools. One student graduated last spring. One student transferred from a public school to a First Nations school and brought previously-assigned equipment with him. In addition to these fifty-one students, we also provide ongoing support to students who received donated computers from SET-BC last year and those who received software from the FNESC Special Education department.
In our first cycle this fall, nine new students in eight schools received technology. One student received an upgrade of equipment he received previously, and one student transferred into the project from a public school. Planning meetings have taken place and training for students and teams are taking place as students receive their technology.
- Locations: Brentwood Bay, Duncan, Port Alberni, Bella Coola, Gitwangak, Fort St. James, Savona, Cawston and Agassiz
- Age/grade: ages six to fifteen, grades one to eleven
- 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 four more students for service. Planning meetings for these students will take place from October 2009 to December 2009.
- Locations: Bella Bella, Merritt, Fort St. James, Port Hardy
- Age/grade: ages five to seventeen, from Kindergarten to Grade 11
- Disabilities: Students have various challenges, including juvenile arthritis, autism, 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.
Assistive Technology Provided
The following equipment was ordered for students identified in our first cycle:
Computers:
- 3 desktop computers
- 5 laptop computers
Specialized devices:
- 1 Springboard Lite, voice output communication device with dynamic screen
Specialized hardware for computer access:
- Alternate keyboards - Kinderboards
- Big Trackball
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 processing: Clicker 5
- Talking word processing: IntelliTools Classroom Suite 4
- Word prediction: Co:Writer
- Drawing program: Clicker Paint
- Early reading skills program: Balanced Literacy
- Mouse skills:Teaching Access Ability
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 2009, we sent Service Review forms to teams who received equipment last school year. Replies reflect a growing knowledge and comfort with assistive technology in First Nations schools in British Columbia. Most teams reported that implementation was successful. Teams reporting minimally successful implementation indicated challenges due to staff changes and inconsistent student attendance. Many reported their student’s self-confidence increased and that they have become more independent in their classroom participation. In one case, the student had progressed so well he had outgrown the technology.
Some schools purchased copies of Kurzweil 3000 through the FNESC Special Education department this fall, which is software to support older readers and writers. This project will allow school staff members to take advantage of extended training opportunities for this software.
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. Programs such as Boardmaker, PowerPoint and Clicker 5 lend themselves well to creating materials for language instruction.
Looking Forward
School-based teams and students are continually gaining skills and independence using the equipment and resources provided by this project. As the number of individuals with technology grows, the project is reaching more communities and a greater diversity of students.
Some support staff in schools gained expertise and expressed a special interest in assistive technology, and have agreed to become school-based representatives for gathering and sharing information and become the ‘go to person’ for questions about students’ equipment. We plan to support these individuals with additional training and resources throughout the school year.
This year will be a transition year for the project, as it moves from being a SET-BC pilot project to one that is administered more actively within the FNESC/FNSA organizations. We look forward to working together to assure that quality ongoing support is maintained for students and their teams involved.
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.
- Curtis Mallett, FNESC Special Education Manager
- Madeline Price, FNESC Special Education Consultant
- Holly Le Reverend-Smith, FNESC Special Education Resource Line
Respectfully submitted Movember 15, 2009
Carol Graham, SET-BC Assistive Technology Consultant
Joe Cash, SET-BC Provincial Consultant
Elaine Ferguson, SET-BC Provincial Coordinator