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SET-BC News from Region 4 - the Kootenays (from
Kerry Randle)
Special Education Assistants Tackle the World
of AAC - Special Education Assistants (SEA’s) in School
District #6 (Rocky Mountain) will be attending a 16 hour course
on Augmentative and Alternative Communciation at the end of February.
For a Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday, these hardy
souls will be hard at work learning the basics of communication
assessment, alternative low tech communication support, features
of mid to high tech communication devices, and how to use some common
communication software like Boardmaker and Writing with Symbols.
This is the second in a series of three courses being facilitated
by the SET-BC Region 4 office with support from the Provincial Center.
The first, on Access Technologies, was very well received and resulted
in a dramatic increase in SEA general knowledge and skills in this
area of assistive technology. Hopefully, this second course will
have the SEA's "communicating" their skills to the students
they support!
Intellitalk II Developer Group Meets in Kimberley
- Early in November 2003, five Teaching Assistants met in
the Region 4 office for a three day Intellitalk II development meeting.
The TA's were experienced in using Intellitalk II and quickly got
to work creating activities based on B.C. curriculum and life skills
goals. The three days flew by as the TA's huddled over their computers
exchanging ideas, techniques, and positive feedback. It was all
the Region 4 Coordinator could do to tear this enthusiastic group
away for meal breaks! The activities created during this power session
are being compiled at this time and will be available for sharing
on the SET-BC website very soon. After three long days, amazingly
all five TA's requested the opportunity to meet again – only
with laptops so they could continue working in their hotel room
at night! CommQuest 2004 "A Lifetime of Communication"
May 13th to 15th, 2004
The second annual CommQuest Communication Conference
in the Rockies - is coming to the beautiful town of Radium
Hot Springs, BC. Sponsored by SET-BC and School District #6 (Rocky
Mountain), this conference promises to be a wonderful opportunity
for practical and hands-on training for educational professionals
and para-professionals who support our students with communication
challenges. For more information on CommQuest 2004, visit SET-BC's
Upcoming
Events.
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