Posted by Allan Wilson on the 3rd May, 2021
People don't always have time to study the programme for an online event like our ASL and Technology conference on 16th June so we are posting a series of blogs to highlight particular presentations that may be of interest to help decide what to see. This blog focuses on Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties.
Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties - What to See
There are several sessions with a focus on the use of technology to support learners with dyslexia or literacy difficulties at this year's online conference:
- Claro Software, (9.10 - 9.35). How ClaroRead helps you Read, Write and Study. This session will focus on ClaroRead, a very flexible product that provides text-to-speech and other useful support tools for learners with dyslexia. Different versions are available, so check the features chart on their web site to make sure you get the one that best meets your needs. Claro also make some excellent apps - we particularly like Claro PDF and Claro ScanPen.
- Rachel and Kate Miller, Dyslexia Scotland Ambassadors, (9.10 - 9.35). Spreading positivity about dyslexia and sharing strategies to enable the successful use of technology. Rachel's presentation on finding out about her dyslexia and coming to terms with it through good support and the use of technology was a highlight of our 2019 Conference, so we're looking forward to finding out how these Young Ambassadors have been getting on over the last couple of years.
- Scanning Pens, (9.45 - 10.10). Strategies for supporting students with reading difficulties using a Reader Pen. Jim Bowen will explore how the ExamReader and ReaderPen can help students with reading difficulties such as dyslexia access the curriculum confidently and encourage engagement in the classroom.
- Texthelp, (10.20 - 10.45). Supporting students' literacy & learning at school and home with Read&Write. Andrew Campbell will show you how Texthelp's leading literacy software, Read&Write, can support all students at school and home, Robert Quigley, Highland Council, will explore how Texthelp's software helped Highland teachers navigate the most challenging year for educators.
- Kirsteen Steven, Dedridge Primary School (10.20 - 10.45). An introduction to Microsoft Sway to support literacy learning & parental engagement. You may think that Sway is only for use at presentations, but there are many meaningful ways to integrate this into your literacy lessons. In this session Kirsteen will demonstrate how to put together a SWAY and show how it can support listening and talking, reading and writing in your class.
- Crick Software, (12.05 - 12.30). Assisting communication and writing for all pupils using Clicker 8. In this session, Phil Hackett will give an overview of Clicker software and apps for Windows, Mac, iPad and Chromebook. You will see how this child friendly word processor can increase the confidence of pupils by providing them with speech feedback, a talking spellchecker, word prediction, word banks and audio notes.
- Shirley Lawson, CALL Scotland, (14.00 - 14.25). Why it's important for dyslexic pupils to use technology. Dyslexic pupils can become disengaged with education and suffer from anxiety because accessing the curriculum is too difficult. Shirley will demonstrate a range of assistive technologies that can help raise attainment - and confidence - for those with literacy difficulties. Many of these technologies will be readily available on your school laptops, iPads and Chromebooks - come find out what they are!
- Dekko Comics, (14.35 - 15.00). Communicating Mental Health Through Comics. Rossie Stone will introduce the very popular Dekko Comics, a series of fun comic stories designed to educate through enjoyment. Dekko's new Mental Health and Wellbeing comic was created to teach children important information about their mental health. This comic aims to ensure that children can see how simple these coping skills are, while having fun and learning the importance of managing their emotions in a child-friendly way.
- Glean by Sonocent, (15.10 - 15.35). Glean's note taking support solution to improve students' learning and productivity. Glean is the note taking support solution designed to improve students' learning and productivity. By taking multimedia notes using the web and mobile app, students have time to focus on active listening in class and a process to review information effectively at their own pace. In this session, Lee Chambers will demo the app and explain how this technology can support students in school and in Higher and Further Education.
- Kirsty Dunn, Ormiston Primary School (15.10 - 15.35). Creating an inclusive learning environment with Google Classroom. In this session, experienced class teacher and digital leader, Kirsty will demo how she has set up Google Classroom to provide all her pupils with a virtual learning space which they can access in school and at home. She will highlight the assistive features built into Google Documents that can support learners with literacy difficulties such as the use of text to speech, speech recognition and spell checking.
Coming to ASL and Technology
We hope that teachers, therapists, parents and others with an interest in assistive technology in education will be able to attend ASL and Technology for the full day, but we recognise that people are busy, so it is perfectly OK for people to just come along for a couple of hours in either the morning or the afternoon, or to just dip into a couple of sessions that may be of particular interest.
Remember that the sessions will all be recorded, so if there are two sessions that you particularly want to see, you'll be able to catch up with the one you missed when the sessions are made available online, probably by the early part of the week beginning 21st June.
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