SET-BC Direct April 18/00

Volume 2, Issue 3

Special Education Technology-British Columbia

http://www.setbc.org

SET-BC Direct is intended to assist teachers and other professionals involved in the implementation of technology for students with special needs. Subscribers may also be interested in the SET-BC program itself; our model for service delivery and the projects we develop to better assist students with disabilities.

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1. SET News

1.i. District Partner Day
SET-BC held its first District Partners Provincial day in Vancouver on April 4, 2000. Forty-six BC school districts were represented. The event provided an opportunity to network with fellow District Partners and SET-BC staff, a time to share AssistiveTechnology Success Stories, an opportunity to engage in dialogue regarding Assistive-Technology issues for students with Physical Disabilities, Visual Impairments and/or Autism in British Columbia, and an occasion to celebrate the District Partner SET-BC partnership.

What is a SET-BC District partner? What is their role?
District partners are selected by the director of special services in the school district and are usually district-based staff such as itinerant teachers, resources teachers, Speech Language Pathologists or administrators. District Partners throughout BC work with SET-BC to provide A-T support within their school districts. District Partners know their districts and have a broad perspective of district and student needs. They serve as the liaison between their district and SET-BC. District Partner tasks include coordinating the District process for identifying and prioritizing students for SET-BC services. This network of partners is an important system for sharing information and resources that enhance the delivery of A-T services to BC students.

1.ii. CEC Conference
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conference, which attracted approximately 8,000 educators, researchers, and vendors from around the world, was held in Vancouver April 5-8,2000. This conference afforded BC educators, therapists, and community the opportunity to attend lectures and information sessions presented by leading international educators, researchers, and vendors. Bravo to the Local Organizers who brought this conference to British Columbia! Thanks go to Mike Bartlett, Elaine Ferguson, and Anne Wadsworth SET-BC, PRCVI staff who served on the Local Organizing Committee. BC also thanks all presenters for their time and willingness to share their experiences and research findings.

The following is a list of the Assistive-Technology sessions offered by SET-BC staff during the CEC conference:

IntelliTools: Modern Computer Resources for Modern Educators
Shel Harris, Vicky Midtdal

Voice Secrets: Adapting Speech Recognition Software for Users with Disabilities
Doug Bowes

Lets Talk: A Communication Camp at SET-BC
Connie Bentley, Karen Wood

Model Supporting the Implementation of Technology for Students with Special Needs
Paul Carson, Mike Bartlett

SET-BC Abbotsford Technology Implementation Project
Connie Bentley, Marg Brown

Technology Inclusion Project
Lois Turner, Paul Carson

Tapping the Internet for Special resources
Mike Bartlett, Sharon O'Dornan

Opening Possibilities for Expressive Communication through Art and Technology
Joe Cash

Inservicing Paraprofessionals and Teachers on Board Maker and Overlay Maker Using Project-Based Approaches
Bruce Fraser, Fran Campbell, Vicky Midtdal

Work Smarter, Not Harder! Strategies and Resources for District Assistive Technology Teams
Elaine Ferguson, Lois Turner

Assistive Technology and Curriculum Design: Keys to Writing Development
Presenter(s): Constance McAvoy

The Power of Dreams - a Student Centered Educational Planning Model
Presenter(s): John Beames

 

2. Training Opportunities

2.i. Technology Camps for Students: Summer 2000

SET-BC is pleased to announce an expanded partnership with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind B.C./Yukon Division (CNIB) and a new partnership with Lions Club/Easter Seal regarding camps being offered this summer for students with disabilities.

@ Vision Tech 2000 will be comprised of technology camp opportunities for students with Visual Impairments.
Braille Power Camp -- July 2-10, 2000 (ages 14 18)
Braille Literacy Camp -- July 12-18, 2000 (ages 8 12)
Teen Tech (Blind/ Low-Vision) Camp -- July 20-27, 2000 (ages 12 17)

Families will register this year solely through the CNIB. SET-BC will assist in identifying appropriate candidates for the camps; District Partners and Vision Teachers are encouraged to contact regional SET-BC staff regarding the process.

@Virtual Voices 2000, is a camp for students with augmentative
communication needs, to be held at Camp Squamish from August 31st to September 4th.
Go to http://www.setbc.org/virtualvoices/ for more information.

2.ii. Vision teachers from across Canada will attend Odyssey 2001: New Frontiers in Vancouver from May 31 - June 3, 2001. We invite SET Direct readers to submit a proposal for a presentation for this 4th Biennial Conference of Canadian Vision Teachers.
Go to http://www.setbc.org/odyssey for more information.

2.iii. The Association for Media and Technology in Education in Canada encourage you to attend their 27th annual conference, AMTEC 2000, to be held in Vancouver, May 28-31, 2000 at the Coast Plaza at Stanley Park. The conference theme is: Where Eagles Soar: Discovering New Educational Horizons.
Go to http://www.langara.bc.ca/amtec2000/ for more information.

 

3. Project Updates
SET-BC projects for the 1999/2000 year are:
Mountbatten Project Coordinator: Anne Wadsworth, PRCVI
Kurzweil Project Coordinator: Constance McAvoy, SET-BC
TIP Project Coordinator: Paul Carson, SET-BC
Project reports will be available in June 2000.
Contact project coordinators for more information.

4. Software Kudos
IntelliTools launched its new product Intellitalk II. This revolutionary word processor from IntelliTools combines speech, graphics, and text in exciting new ways.
Go to Intellitools.com for more information.

5. Web Travel

Mike Bartlett and Sharon ODornan presented a session entitled Tapping the Internet for Special Resources at the CEC conference.
The following are some of the websites they visited as part of their presentation.
http://www.isaac-online.org/
http://snow.utoronto.ca/
http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/acolug/
http://www.cast.org/bobby/ (or CAST home page)
http://www.tsbvi.edu/
http://www.schoolnet.ca/sne/e/index2.html
And, of course: http://www.setbc.org.
ISAAC & acolug are recommended for their interactive/listserv components, and cast/bobby for its web accessibility information.

 

6. Partners

6.i. AAC Training is Thriving On Vancouver Island

SET-BC applauds the efforts of Sue Philips and Jim Foulds, instructors for the HSW 210 course, which was offered for the first time during the fall of 1999 at the Port Alberni and Comox Valley campuses of North Island College.

HSW 210, "Introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication" was introduced as an elective course in the Human Service Worker program. It was open to Human Services students, teaching assistants and parents of children with special needs.

Read the entire article, Island AAC Course, on the SET-BC website at http://www.setbc.org/setevents

 

6.ii. Announcing the New UBC VI Program!

Beginning during summer 2000, the University of British Columbia will offer coursework leading to a master's degree in visual impairment which will allow participants to attend classes full time during summer term on campus in Vancouver and complete additional coursework during the academic year through a variety of distance options including video conferencing, web-based courses, and other distance options.

Students enrolling in this program should already possess teaching credentials. It is the intent of this program to allow teachers who are currently working in school districts to participate in this graduate program without interruption of their teaching schedules.

For more information please contact:
cay.holbrook@ubc.ca
or visit the UBC website@ http://ecps.ubc.ca/whatnew/html/index.html

 

 

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Questions or comments can be directed to direct@setbc.org.

SET-BC is a Provincial Resource Program funded by the B.C. Ministry of Education. Its purpose is to assist school districts in British Columbia in meeting the technology needs of students with physical disabilities and visual impairments.

SET-BC Direct is copyright © 1998 by Special Education Technology-British Columbia. Excerpts used for the purposes of quotation must be attributed explicitly to Special Education Technology-British Columbia.

The information contained in this newsletter is drawn from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed, nor in providing it does Special Education Technology-British Columbia assume any liability. This newsletter is a public commentary for informational purposes only and does not represent an invitation to purchase or endorse products, and is not to be construed as a source of buy or sell recommendations.