Technology to Support Reading & Writing for Learners with Complex Needs

Starts 5th September, 2023 (5 week course)

£200 per individual.

Welcome to this new CALL Scotland course on technology to support reading and writing for learners with Complex Needs. This 5-week online course will focus on and explore a range of technologies, resources, and strategies to support learners with complex needs to develop literacy skills.

This is a technology-based course for educators and other professionals working within the education sector who want to learn how assistive technology can support children and young people with complex learning needs to develop reading and writing skills.

This course in now full.
Add your name to a waiting list by emailing call.scotland@ed.ac.uk

About the course

This is a 5-week self-study course supplemented with 5 online workshops Tuesdays from 4.30-5.30 pm delivered by the CALL Scotland team. This course would suit anyone involved with supporting learners with Complex Needs to access the curriculum.

There will be an opportunity to learn about technology tools and strategies that support the development of emergent literacy skills. Participants will consider alternative access to reading and writing for learners who use eye gaze, switches and touch access. They will also explore hardware, software and apps for Windows, iPads and Chromebook devices.

The structure of the course will be as follows:

Week 1: Accessing reading and writing - tools and strategies
Week 2: Assistive Technologies to support writing
Week 3: Assistive Technologies to support Shared Reading
Week 4: Assistive Technologies to support Independent Reading
Week 5: Assistive Technologies to support Alphabetic & Phonological Awareness

Also...

You will be added as a participant to a Microsoft Team where the course resources, files, activities, discussion boards and session recordings can be accessed.
As part of our collaborative learning approach, we encourage participants to contribute to the discussion boards by posting and answering questions and sharing information about useful resources.
Upon completing the course, you will receive a University of Edinburgh/CALL Scotland certificate as evidence of your learning.

We estimate you will need about 2-3 hours a week of self-study to complete the course successfully. This is an ideal course to undertake as part of practitioner enquiry and will support you in making changes to your teaching practice and ultimately improving the learner experience.

Aims of the course

Our main aim is that you enjoy the course and learn something new!

Develop an understanding of Assistive Technology and how it can be used to teach reading and writing.
Extend and enhance your knowledge of best practices.
Consider and engage with frameworks and assessments to utilise appropriate technologies to meet different learning and access needs.
Increase your confidence when working with technology to enable curricular access.

Learning Outcomes

Identify a range of assistive technologies, resources and strategies to support the development of reading and writing skills for learners with Complex Needs.

Explore the latest research and thinking about creating inclusive literacy classrooms.

Apply practical assistive technology skills within your setting to facilitate new opportunities for your learners.

Further questions

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions before signing up: shirley.lawson@ed.ac.uk

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