DART2 – Disseminating Assistive Roles and Technology - a JISC ADVANCE FE & Skills Project

Rohan Slaughter 1/5/13

Very brief backstory 2010/12 DART1, an LSIS funded project

Beaumont College and National Star College worked with 8 colleges, in a ‘deep support’ capacity

Beaumont and Star are ISC’s : Independent Specialist Colleges

One of those DART1 colleges was Henshaws

Now we are running DART2, a JISC Advance funded project: Beaumont College, National Star College, Henshaws College,

Colleges Scotland, NATSPEC, JISC all working together 10 deep support colleges, 2 in Scotland 3 workshops, delivered twice, once in Birmingham, once in

Stirling Two workshops have taken place in both Stirling and

Birmingham, the third workshop takes place in June.

The Workshop Series DAY1: Assessment for Assistive Technology at Queen

Alexandra College / Argyll Court - February 2013. This training was aimed at practitioners such as teachers /

tutors, learning support workers/assistants and people in an AT role. Managers of these post holders may also be interested.

The event covered the following areas: What is AT assessment and who should be assessed for AT? Case study examples from DART2 colleges, (including both GFE

and ISC examples) of their assessment procedures A brief introduction to AT hardware and software Signposting to further assistance and organisations that can help

Slides from Scottish event: http://dart.beaumontcollege.ac.uk/?p=342

Slides from English event: http://dart.beaumontcollege.ac.uk/?p=358

Day2: 24th April 2013 at QAC, 30th April 2013 in Stirling This event is for managers who may wish to establish the Assistive

Technologist role in their college and also for practitioners who are in this role but wish to develop it.

The event will be based on small group interactive practice / experience sharing and is intended to be kept small so that participants all get opportunities to contribute to discussion, as such places are few in number so early booking is advisable. This event will cover: Definition of the Assistive Technologist role Examples of Technologist roles in both ISCs and GFEs will be given,

along with detailed information on the impact the roles have had (e.g. on observation of teaching and learning grades)

Training and CPD opportunities for people who are working in the role Funding the role The organisational structure and team relationships that can enable or

hamper the introduction of this role Slides from the Scottish event: http://dart.beaumontcollege.ac.uk/?p=391 Slides from the English event: http://dart.beaumontcollege.ac.uk/?p=384

The Workshop Series

Day3: 6th June at Beaumont College, 12th June in Stirling This will be a hands on session mainly designed for

practitioners such as teachers / tutors, learning support workers/assistants and people in an AT role.

The topics on offer include: The free ‘My Study Bar’ / ‘Edu Apps’ (AM) The Grid 2 for computer and curriculum access (AM) Clicker 6 (PM) The use of tablet PC’s (iPad, Android, Windows) by people

with disabilities (PM) NOTE: ENGLISH DATE FULL, SCOTTISH DATE (Argyll

Court, Stirling on 12th June 2013) HAS PLACES: http://events.scotlandscolleges.ac.uk/events/show/4591

The Workshop Series

Following an application and shortlisting process that was overseen by JISC TechDIS 10 Colleges were selected

Applications for the ‘deep support’ element were heavily oversubscribed, with approximately three times more applications than places available

This indicates that there is a large unmnet need in the sector. Unsuccessful applicants received priority booking for the

workshop series. After the priority booking period, places will are allocated on a first come, first served basis

We plan to move to a paid consultancy basis for this support going forward, but fear that contracting budgets will limit the appeal of this

The ‘Deep Support’ Colleges

The DART project board applied a set of eligibility criteria when discussing each application, and selected the following 10 colleges to receive the ‘deep support’ element of the project:

Beaumont College to Support: Bridge College Myerscough College Kilmarnock College Edinburgh College

National Star College to Support Derwen College Homefield College Queen Alexandra College

Henshaws College to support: Landmarks College Percy Hedley College Royal College (Seashell Trust)

The ‘Deep Support’ Colleges

Assessment for Assistive Technology(These slides by Mike Thrussell @ Henshaws College)

Why do an assessment? Previous information may not be reliable Establish needs / Barriers To be Inclusive To establish whether needs can be met Motivation Set appropriate goals / programme

Who to assess? Learners with disclosed disabilities Referrals where there is an area of concern Time to assess varies

What is an assessment? The aim is to implement a bespoke solution to enable the

learner to access IT More of a process than an event Individual Multi disciplinary where appropriate

What skills and knowledge are required? Awareness of others therapies (OT, SaLT) Overview of AT Hardware and Software People skills Observation Record keeping / Report writing Dissemination (plain english)

Areas To Consider Visual Physical Access Cognitive Understanding Positioning Motivators

Slide credit – Margaret McKay from JISC RSC Scotland

”achieve to find the best fit

or match between the learner and the

environment”Beattie R

(1999)

”finding the person -environment -

performance fit”Christiansen C and

Baum C(1991)

"asking not what is wrong with the

student but what is needs to be changed

within the environment”Tilston et al

(1998)

"avoid locatingthe difficulty with

student but focus on the capacity of

educational institution to respond to the

student's requirements” Tomlinson

(1997)

Introduction to AT Hardware(From: DART Project Workshop Day 1)

With thanks to Mike Thrussell

Mainstream Hardware Accessibility ‘baked in’ Cost effective Some adaptations needed

AV Cameras

Digital Voice Recorders

CD Players

Touch Motivational Simple Tablets Touch Screens

Alternative Keyboards Are many and varied, here are some examples:

Alternative Keyboards Where to buy: http://

www.inclusive.co.uk/hardware/alternative-keyboards Or try mainstream suppliers like: http://cpc.farnell.com/ Order

Code: CS20650 @ £25.62 for example:

Alternative Mice Also many and varied

Alternative Mice Again, Inclusive Technology has a great range: http://

www.inclusive.co.uk/hardware/mouse-alternatives Again try mainstream suppliers, even PC world:

Switches Lots of options (once more) Quite expensive Specialist suppliers only:

http://www.inclusive.co.uk/hardware/switches-and-switch-mountings/button-switches

Require a switch interface box for a computer:

http://www.inclusive.co.uk/hardware/switch-interface-boxes

I like the joycable: http://

www.inclusive.co.uk/joy-cable-2-p2565

Head Mouse / Eye Gaze

Head mouse uses a reflective dot, light emitter and a camera:

Head Mouse / Eye Gaze

Eye-Gaze has been very expensive, but the price is dropping See http://www.tobii.com/rexvip Market leader is

http://www.tobii.com/en/footer-pusher/business-area-footer/augmentative-and-alternative-communication/

PC-eye now (only!) £3,000

Head Mouse / Eye Gaze

Eye-gaze has enormous potential for many users Cost is coming down

Will be in consumer laptops and other devices shortly The ‘rex’ is the first Tobii consumer product It will even appear in cars

Head mouse type are cheaper than eye-gaze £250 / £300 If you want to know more see: http://

www.tobii.com/LearningCurve http://

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XK1yjYSRc20

AAC Devices Low tech:

Stored message devices Some have layers Overlays with symbols Cheap<er>

AAC Devices High tech:

Often computer based Sophisticated Multiple page sets

available Incredibly expensive Require specialist

training to implement On-going support is

very important

AAC Devices High tech mainstream: Enter the iPad

Not the first, or most accessible tablet Literally hundreds of apps See: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/iphoneipad-apps-for-aac And: http://www.appsforaac.net/

Also can use Windows 7/8 tablets and Android tablets for AAC We use a lot of Windows 7 tablets for AAC at Beaumont College

(more in Day 3 workshop and in software element today)

Introduction to AT Software(From DART Project Workshop Day 1)

With thanks to Mike Thrussell

JISC Access Apps / Edu Apps / My Study Bar http://

www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/technologymatters/enablingtech/accessapps

The Grid 2 Highly Flexible Communication aid Operating System

Supports all methods of access Excellent customer support

Websites ‘mobile’ sites (e.g. m.facebook.com) Bespoke sites (e.g. accessyoutube.org.uk) Mouseless Browsing (Firefox add-on)

Clicker 6 See: http://

www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/tools/clicker/home.aspx

Literacy tool Some free stuff too: http://

www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/content/learninggrids.aspx

Read & Write Gold See: http://

www.texthelp.com/UK/our-products/readwrite

Toolbar:

Reading Text-to-Speech Screenshot Reader DAISY Reader Screen Masking PDF Aloud

Reading Support Dictionary Picture Dictionary Speech Maker Pronunciation Tutor Translator

Writing and Self-Editing Spell Checker Word Prediction Word Wizard Sounds Like and Confusable Words Verb Checker Speech Input Speak While Typing

Study Skills and Research Calculator Fact Finder Fact Folder Fact Mapper Study Skills Highlighters Vocabulary List Builder

iOS Already mentioned AAC. Great for all sorts of Education apps. Not the only option, but best education app support? Hard to manage (your IT team may not like to deploy Apple

kit, and not without good reason: Licencing Apps is not easy Apple VL (Volume Licencing) does exist now, but it’s fairly

complex to do (legally) What follows is a list of apps that were prepared by Trevor

Mobbs (Beaumont College) for an LSIS LSW initiative.

iOS Grid Player – iOS, FREE http://www.sensorysoftware.com/gridplayer.html

iOS Clicker Docs – iOS, £17.99 / Clicker Sentences – iOS,

£14.99 http://www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/apps/clicker-apps.aspx 2 apps to support learners with literacy.

iOS Dragon Dictation – iOS, FREE http://www.nuancemobilelife.com/apps/dragon-dictation Pictello – iOS, £13.49 http://www.assistiveware.com/product/pictello Bloom – iOS, £2.49 http://www.generativemusic.com/bloom.html MorphWiz – iOS, £6.99 http://www.wizdommusic.com/MorphWiz/

iOS Beatwave – iOS, FREE http://www2.collect3.com.au/beatwave Koi Pond – iOS, Android. FREE http://www.theblimppilots.com/home/?page_id=9 Fluid – iOS, FREE https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/fluid/id312575632?mt=8

iOS See also: Guided Access:

Guided Access is not an app, but a new feature in iOS 6 which enables the device to be locked in to one app by disabling the home button. Here is a useful guide about how to use it :http://senclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/guided-access-ios-6/

Assistive Touch: AssistiveTouch lets you enter Multi-Touch gestures using one

finger or a stylus http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/physical.html

Case Study 1: Runshaw College, a general further education College (From DART Project Workshop Day 1)

Runshaw College Medium sized GFE (General Further Education College) Worked with Beaumont College in ‘deep support’ capacity in

the DART 1 project. The work included:

Work shadowing Training Support with assessment Recruitment Support from Beaumont for the Assistive

technologist role.

Runshaw College In their own words: http://dart.beaumontcollege.ac.uk/?p=175 And from Richard (their Assistive Technologist): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxnN3UxiDQY

Case Study 2: RSC Scotland / UHI (Mags Mackay & Mark Ross)(From DART Project Workshop Day 1)

University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Using VC for needs assessment In their own words: http://youtu.be/lsnax_QAl9c  UHI consists of a number of HEi's and also FE Colleges and

has a wide remit in terms of numbers and geography. Although it is called a 'University' much of the provision takes place FE college - often based in very small learning centres in small towns and villages across the UHI geographical area.

University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Using VC for needs assessment Some of the learning centres are very remote e.g. Outer Hebrides

- (Lewis, Harris, Benbecula) also the Northern Isles - (Orkney and Shetland). Take Shetland for example - its most northerly point is 200 miles from Aberdeen and also a mere 200 miles from Norway.

This last point highlights the benefit of this remote assessment of need as a viable option. Find out more:

Find out more: Full write up of the UHI case study: http://www.rsc-scotland.org/?p=514 Link to recorded webinar archive about remote DSA assessment of

need: http://www.rsc-scotland.org/?p=771

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists(From: DART Project Workshop Day 2)

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists Ace Centre training: http://acecentre.org.uk/training

Day courses Accredited courses:

http://acecentre.org.uk/assistive-technology-unit MMU courses: http://acecentre.org.uk/cpd-opportunities

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists The BRITE initiative (Scotland based, online offer to

anywhere): http://www.brite.ac.uk/about.html http://www.brite.ac.uk/courses http://brite.adobeconnect.com/p4d2l32ee53/

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists University Opportunities, start with FAST:

http://fastuk.org/services/trainingcourses.php Trevor Mobbs of BC is on this MSc course at Coventry: http://fastuk.org/services/courseview.php?id=125 http://wwwm.coventry.ac.uk/hdti/Pages/index.aspx New MSc in AAC at Dundee: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/psychology/study/masters/mscaac/

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists The technology companies:

AAC: Smartbox: http://www.smartboxat.com/support/training/ Dynavox: http://uk.dynavoxtech.com/training/ Liberator: http://www.liberator.co.uk/aac-training

Other AT: Inclusive Technology:

http://www.inclusive.co.uk/training-and-consultancy And specific software opportunities . . .

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists JISC

JISC TechDIS: Events: http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/events Resources: http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/resources http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/investinyourself http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/tbx

JISC RSC’s: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/rsc Find out who your accessibility and inclusion advisor is

Inclusivity CPD Jisc RSC Scotland:

Scoop.it!

http://www.scoop.it/t/inclusive-elearning

 http://www.scoop.it/t/inclusive-marketing

http://www.scoop.it/t/tablet-devices-living-learning-productivity

http://www.scoop.it/t/ebooks-and-accessibility

RSC Scotland Showcase

Case studies highlighting effective practice from

FE/HE in Scotland

http://www.rsc-scotland.org/

Learning & Teaching

Access & Inclusion

Assessment

Learner & Support Services

Technology & Business Systems

Regional Collaboration

RSC Scotland Inclusion Blog

http://www.rsc-scotland.org/inclusion/

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists THE DART PROJECT WORKSHOPS – Day3: 6th June,

Beaumont College This will be a hands on session mainly designed for

practitioners such as teachers / tutors, learning support workers/assistants and people in an AT role.

The topics on offer include: The free ‘My Study Bar’ / ‘Edu Apps’ (AM) The Grid 2 for computer and curriculum access (AM) Clicker 6 (PM) The use of tablet PC’s (iPad, Android, Windows) by people

with disabilities (PM) NOTE: ENGLISH DATE FULL, SCOTTISH DATE (Argyll

Court, Stirling on 12th June 2013) HAS PLACES: http://events.scotlandscolleges.ac.uk/events/show/4591

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists Informal opportunities:

ALT mail list JISC mail lists (ask your JISC RSC advisors) Karten Network Google Group

CPD opportunities for Assistive Technologists Web sites for self directed CPD:

http://www.scope.org.uk/help-and-information/communication/aac http://www.callcentre.education.ed.ac.uk/Home/ http://acecentre.org.uk/information-sheets-publications http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/page/resources/elibrary http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/factsheets http://speechbubble.org.uk/

Specific Software Tutorials eg: http://www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/tools/clicker/training.aspx http://www.youtube.com/user/SmartboxAT

THANK YOU SAFE JOURNEY HOME

Email us: Rohan.slaughter@scope.org.uk Trevor.Mobbs@scope.org.uk Mike.Thrussell@henshaws.org.uk asparkes@natstar.ac.uk Margaret.McKay@glasgow.ac.uk kh@rsc-northwest.ac.uk Maclachlan.R@Runshaw.ac.uk

Follow us: @rohanslaughter @mikethrussell @axessibility (Andrew Sparkes) @Mobbst @FilMcIntyre (BRITE) @kevhickeyuk (JISC RSC NW) @Mags_McKay (JISC RSC Scotland) @Sporygog (Richard Maclachlan)