Assistive Technologies 3-Year Project

The Assistive Technologies Project includes several Key Demonstration Projects, which were implemented and researched over the past three years. These action research projects have resulted in data driven learning outcomes and provided extensively researched examples of the use of Assistive Technologies solutions as they contribute to learner success.

The Key Demonstration Projects:

• Text-to-Speech
  

  In collaboration with Alberta Education, this component of the project seeks to examine the use of text-to-speech software for evidence of benefits for learning disabled students in the area of reading. In addition, it seeks to investigate impacts on the practice of teachers, who are engaged in designing learning experiences using text-to-speech software.

  

  Assistive Technologies:

  • Kurzweil 3000 Version 9
  • Compatible Scanner HP 5590c

  School involved in project:

  • Senator Patrick Burns Jr. High (Area II)

  Final Report

  • Text-to-Speech Final Report (pdf)
  • Text to Speech Presentation (pdf)
  • Text to Speech Video
• Speech-to-Text
  

  This component of the project seeks to examine the use of speech-to-text software for evidence of benefits for students with identified learning disabilities.

  Assistive Technologies:

  • Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 8
  • iListen software for Mac

  Schools involved in Project:

  • Braeside Elementary (Bridges Class) – Area V
  • Ernest Morrow Jr. High (LL Class) – Area III
  • Sir Wilfred Laurie (LL Class) – Area III
• Optical Character Recognition Project
  

  This project aims to examine the academic improvement for learning disabled students in the “regular classroom” who are given access to a variety of scan and read systems to assist them with decoding paper text. A secondary outcome of this project is examining the impact of OCR technologies on the acquisition of the English language both written and spoken for ESL learners.

  Assistive Technologies:

  • Read & Write Gold or Read & Write Gold for Mac
  • Portable Scanner (Docupen)
  • Wizcom Quicklink Reading Pen

  Schools involved in project:

  • Connaught Community School – Area IV
  • Keeler Elementary – Area III
  • Piitoayis Family School – Area IV
• Communication Project
  

  This project focuses on children with severe communication and behavior needs. The purpose of this project is to examine the interaction of the Intellikeys technology and SmartBoard technologies with the identified student population and its impact on the development of communication for students.

  Assistive Technologies:

  • Intellitools Classroom Suite
  • Intellikeys
  • Intellikeys Overlay
  • SMART Board

  Schools involved in project:

  • Chinook Park Elementary – Area V
  • Brentwood Elementary – Area I

  Interviews were conducted with Teachers and Educational Assistants involved in the project at Chinook Park Elementary and Brentwood Elementary Schools during the 2007/2008 school year.

  Classroom observations and recordings of the interviews provide a snapshot of the positive changes and some of the challenges encountered in implementing the Inclusive Learning Technologies and Communications Project at these two sites.

  Video Clip Video Clip

• Designing Web Based Instruction Project

  The focus of this project is to set a CBE standard in regard to the development of universally accessible web based resources that enhance access to learning.

  In web site design, accessibility is a measure of how easy it is to access, read, and understand the content of a web site. Many educators design, build and use web sites for teaching and learning purposes on a daily basis. The development of an ePD course on Web Accessibility provides a professional learning opportunity for educators to learn how to evaluate web sites and how to incorporate accessibility options as they build their own websites and teach these concepts to students.

  The three week course provides opportunities to:

  • increase teacher awareness of website accessibility issues
  • develop an understanding of how to create appropriately accessible web-based resources for students
  • allow teachers to potentially provide leadership for students in their own creation of web-based learning resources

  Hear what teachers who have taken the course have to say about what they have learned:

  Jan Video Clip Kim Video Clip

• Integrated Infrared Sound Amplification Project
  

  The Integrated Infrared Sound Amplification Project investigates the impact on diverse learners of transforming teachers’ aural language into digital text through infrared technologies in an Elementary, Middle School and Junior High Setting.

  Assistive Technologies:

  

  • Kurzweil 3000 Version 9 & Kurzweil for Mac
  • Compatible Scanner HP 5590c/Epson Scanner for Mac
  • Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 8
  • iListen software for Mac
  • Infrared Sound Amplification System

  Schools involved in project:

  • Janet Johnstone Elementary – Area V
  • Senator Patrick Burns – Area II
  • Colonel Macleod – Area II

Results from these projects will be examined on a larger scale and used to inform future models of allocation of such resources for all Calgary Board of Education Learners.