SETDirect
SETDirect is an electronic newsletter for educators on assistive technology issues and resources. SET-BC publishes SETDirect to provide current information to support the implementation of technology for students with special needs in British Columbia. If you would like to be added to the SETDirect mailing list, click here to Subscribe. If you wish to Unsubscribe from SETDirect, Unsubscribe here
SET-BC Direct: April 16, 1999
Volume 1, Issue 4
Special Education Technology-British Columbia
Email Circulation: 572, Website Visitors Last Month: 20,285 (March)
http://www.setbc.org
Welcome to SET-BC Direct, an on-line newsletter for people who are interested in issues and resources regarding the use of assistive technologies in education.
SET-BC Direct is intended to help teachers and other professionals who have questions regarding 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.
In this issue:
1. SET-BC Information Bulletin #3
2. Resources: Speaking Dynamically
3. SET-BC Feature Student: Meet Dylan
4. Results of the SET-BC Website Readers Profile
5. Links: Closing the Gap
6. Communities
We hope you enjoy receiving SET-BC Direct. However, if you would rather not receive any future issues from SET-BC, please follow the subscribe/unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this page.
1. SET-BC Information Bulletin #3:
Once school based teams complete the process of identifying appropriate strategies and technologies for student use, SET-BC consultants provide training and inservice activities to support the implementation of these strategies and technologies. School teams can request additional supports after the initial training activities. A map and chart illustrate the number of students currently receiving SET-BC support when requested by school teams.
http://www.setbc.org/servdeli/bulletin3.html
2. Resources: Speaking Dynamically
School team members from 4 different sites shared information about student use of "Speaking Dynamically". Information and resources are available from the SET-BC website.
http://www.setbc.org/res/equip/speakingdynamically/files.html
3. SET-BC Feature Student: Meet Dylan
Meet Dylan, an eager, enthusiastic eight year old boy who enjoys school and the process of learning. Dylan accomplishes a variety of tasks with the use of a computer, an IntelliTalk program and a closed circuit television (CCTV) provided by SET-BC.
4. Results of the SET-BC Website Readers Profile
Thank you to everyone who responded to our SET-BC Website Readers Profile. Students and parents, school administrators and teachers, as well as health professionals and technology manufacturers helped us to develop a profile of our typical website reader. We learned that our readers are knowledgeable and informed: 55% rated themselves as somewhat familiar with the educational uses of assistive technology, while an additional 40% rated themselves as very familiar with this area.
Our readers interests are fairly evenly distributed amongst technologies for alternate access, augmentative communication, and vision. They are looking for useful resources and information, and gave us the following directions:
85% want strategies for implementing technology in the classroom
70% want information, tip sheets, or tutorials on specific technologies
66% want case studies or examples of student use of technology
55% want news about upcoming events or conferences
40% want forums for discussing technology issues
We also asked our readers to share their success stories and challenges with us. Some people expressed their concerns about providing adequate training, time and resources to support students using technology in the classroom. Others focused on the satisfaction of motivating teachers and the value of technology for creating learning opportunities for students with disabilities.
One technology consultant reported an interesting technology solution for a deafblind student with a degenerative muscle disease. This student uses a laptop computer mounted on his wheelchair, within his 8" viewing distance. He uses a trackball and an onscreen keyboard for access and a talking word processor for communication. The regular keyboard is mounted behind his chair so other children can use this to ask him questions or tell him stories. "He had great fun communicating with other students he had been unable to communicate with before due to their lack of sign language knowledge."
5. Links: Closing the Gap
Closing the Gap
Computers are tools that can provide solutions to many problems facing people with disabilities today. Closing The Gap, Inc. is an organization that focuses on computer technology for people with special needs through its bi-monthly newspaper, annual international conference and extensive web site.
The Closing The Gap newspaper and web site highlight hardware and software products appropriate for people with special needs, explaining how these technologies are being implemented in education, rehabilitation, and vocational settings around the world.
Closing The Gap's annual international conference, Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation, is held each fall in Minneapolis, MN, exploring the many ways that technology is being used to enhance the lives of people with special needs. The 17th Annual Conference will be held October 19-23, 1999.
6. Communities
SET-BC invites you to re-visit the SET Communities site, a forum for the exchange of ideas regarding issues in Special education. Browse through the different topics, or start a new topic.
SET Communities includes a variety of useful features. Two great features are Subscription, which let's you know when a new message has been posted under a particular topic; and Bookmarks, which allows for easy return to a topic or topic areas that are of high interest to you.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE TO SET-BC DESKTOP DIRECT
To subscribe to SET-BC Direct, reply to this email with the word "Subscribe" in the subject header.
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SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE is also available on-line from the SET-BC home page: http://www.setbc.org.
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.