LiveScribe! The Greatest Learning Tool since the Protractor!!

I stole that line from the presenter at the assistive technology conference I went to last week.  But it is TRUE!  And you know how much I love the iPad, so the LiveScribe pen has a lot to live up to.

Ok, here's the link to the website for LiveScribe, which provides some visuals and details about what the pen actually is.  Think of it as a smartpen, like your iPhone is a smartphone.  It really is a pen, with ink, used on paper - but it's also a mini computer, with incredible functionality.  When you use the pen on the LiveScribe paper and press the "record" icon on the paper, the pen starts recording the audio and tracks it to the notes you're taking.  Later, you can tap any of your notes and the audio that was recorded at the time you made that note will start playing.  You can also sync the pen with your desktop, and save the notes and audio on the computer.  And THEN you can email it, share it on Facebook, create a PDF of the notes.....pretty remarkable.

Its initial intended use was probably the high school/college student taking lecture classes and writing down copious notes.  Having the playback feature would be helpful to any highschooler, but probably critically helpful to kids who have trouble taking notes and listening to lectures at the same time (e.g., kids with executive function issues, or auditory processing disorders, etc.).  One could envision a peer notetaker using the device in class, and then giving his notes and pen to the student with special needs.  What a great device to support inclusion in the classroom!

What I find *really* exciting, though, are the potential uses of the pen for kids in preschool and elementary school.  They're not taking notes during a lecture - but they are learning to read and spell.  For this age group, the pen seems most effective in the hands of the teacher or therapist. You know how preschools and kindergarten walls are covered in words and maps?  Well, the teacher can draw dots on the LiveScribe paper, cut the paper dots out, and paste them next to each word, or perhaps on a location on a map.  The teacher can then "load" the dot with relevant audio - perhaps just saying the word, perhaps providing the definition of the word.  Later, with the pen (that created the dots), a student can tap the dot and hear the audio.

I mean, whoa!  This whole dot thing has SO many possibilities.  You can make ANY book an audio book, simply by pasting in a dot and loading it with audio of the words on that page.  A SLP could make an articulation worksheet, have the child practice drills, and then review the audio later.  Another use is that a child's speech support team at school could record the child's articulation, and then provide the data to the parents that night.  (Think of the disputes that could be avoided, if everyone is accessing the same objective data!)

Then you have the possibility of the teacher creating "pencasts".  Here, a math teacher, say, would use the pen and paper and record a lesson.  Then, she could upload the notes and audio, and provide the link to her students.  This could be used in a flipped-classroom model (like the Khan Academy, where the lectures are the "homework" and problem sets are done in the classroom), or, as extra support on topics that multiple kids find challenging.

The potential cost savings to school districts is remarkable.  The pen comes in three different models, with different levels of memory (kind of like the iPad), and the prices ranges from $99-$199.  The paper is $20 for a pack of 4 notebooks, which isn't bad, especially if you think about how many dots you can draw on a single page. 

And the sheer number of technologies that the LiveScribe system can replace is astonishing.  The pen, paper, and a document camera can be used to replace overhead projectors and Smart Boards (which cost thousands of dollars.)  Second, as I've mentioned before, a LiveScribe pen can replace adult notetakers assigned to support a specific child.  Third, there's really no need for special software/computers to make tests accessible to kids with motor difficulties - teachers can create accessible tests in 2 minutes using the LiveScribe pen.

I think this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how this pen can be used to support kids - both typical and special needs - in the classroom and enable their academic success.  And I'd love to hear other ways that people are using the LiveScribe pen creatively, either in the classroom or otherwise. 

And no, I didn't get a free LiveScribe pen for writing this.  Sigh.  But I would gladly, gladly take one.

Weekly News Roundup - NY Times Expose, Time

Maybe I should call this the bi-weekly news roundup, but that doesn't have the same ring!

The big news this week was the  NY Times expose on abuses in institutions for the developmentally disabled.  It's appalling on so many levels - on the order of "this can't be happening today".  But it is.  If you haven't seen any of the coverage, check out the article - but only if you're already having a bad day.  If you're having a good day, save it for another time when you're already in a bad mood.

Time did a piggy-back piece, also depressing and a read-it-at-your-own-risk.  The author had an interesting angle, though, on the issue of power and authority, and likened what's been happening at institutions to some of the famous psychological experiments (Stanley Milgram, the Stanford Prison Experiment). 

Ok, let's find some happy news, can we? Mmmm, let's see, school budget cuts; various school districts are being accused of mishandling school vouchers for kids with disabilities; parents of kids with autism exhibit stress symptoms akin to combat soldiers (no really).....Well, this is a bit of a stretch, but I do like his work, and I do intend to post about his schools - take it away, Andre! Agassi's Charter Schools

AACs, and Social Skills, and Organization, oh my!

I've been attending an assistive technology conference this week, and man, I am so excited about the new technologies that can help our kids learn SO much and in such a variety of ways.

Wednesday's focus was the iPad, which all of you know, I am obsessed with (sorry, "with which I am obsessed").  I was really encouraged by the speaker, who had years of experience using an iPad with kids with language disorders and autism - and by the audience, largely comprised of school administrators, OTs, PTs, and SLPs.  How great would it be if schools got behind the iPad phenomenon?

Again, not to be a broken record, but what I love about the iPad is how customizable it is - and how affordable.  I want to run through some of the categories of apps that you might not have thought of as helpful to kids with special needs, as well as some of those that are specifically designed for speech, literacy, learning, and other difficulties.

And just as an FYI, I am a cheapskate, so I don't like to spend much money, if any, on apps.  A lot of the ones I've tried are free, but then again, some of the coolest ones require $3 or $4.  Pretty manageable (heck, that's 1/16th of one of Siobhan's speech therapy sessions!)

Special Education 201: What does FAPE really mean?

Since my earlier posts on Special Education law covered the really basic stuff,  this post will cover the next level up: What the heck is FAPE?

The actual text of the IDEA, and even the accompanying regulations, are (deliberately?) vague on this point.  After passage of the law, schools and parents disagreed on what FAPE even was, let alone whether or not it was being provided.  Is FAPE meant to bring kids with special needs up to the level of their peers - to even the playing field, as it were?  Or, is it designed to be an education that will enable that child to be self-sufficient as adult?  Different district and circuit courts used different formulas, and, as is often the case, where there's a split in the circuits, the Supreme Court is often willing to step in to resolve the matter.  They did, regarding FAPE, in the 1982 Board of Ed v. Rowley decision.

The Medical Malpractice Analogy, or, a Question of Trust

I recently heard a presentation about the importance of trust in the school district-parent relationship, especially when it involves a child receiving special education services.  Parents of kids with special needs are relying on the school to provide the services set forth in the child's IEP, and to provide their child with FAPE (a fair and appropriate public education).  If the system breaks down - the child isn't receiving the specified type, or amount, of services; the school isn't implementing the specified accommodations or behavior plan; the child is being "taught" by an unskilled aide in a trailer on the edge of campus (no really) - then that trust between the school and the parent is destroyed.  Even if the situation is resolved through an IEP meeting, or mediation or other dispute resolution process, how can the parents trust the school again?

The dynamic has permanently changed.  This particular parent, who may have been easygoing before, is going to be more demanding, more insistent on record keeping, and less trustful.  How can the school rebuild the trust?

Accessibility of Digital Educational Materials

So, in case you didn't know, the U.S. Department of Education has a Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that's responsible for, among other things, enforcing the ADA (as it applies to public schools) and the IDEA (the special education law).

Last week, the OCR issued some policy guidance on the matter of digital educational materials.  They first tackled this issue in June 2010, when the OCR issued what they call a "Dear Colleague Letter" (a "DCL", and no, I have no idea where they came up with that naming system) on the issue of postsecondary institutions using e-books.  Last week's DCL basically updated the June 2010 policy guidance and clarified that the same principles apply to elementary and secondary schools.

What's the concern?  Well, with the increase in use of e-books - and technology in the classroom more generally - the OCR is reminding schools at all levels that they "must ensure equal access to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of the technology for all students, including students with disabilities".  If teachers are using an online software program to track homework assignments, or assigning reading in e-books in lieu of paper textbooks, then these technologies need to accessible to all students, even those who may have learning disabilities, vision impairments, or anything else.  It really shouldn't be surprising - this is basic non-discrimination under the ADA, and isn't new law. 

Weekly News Roundup - Stop the Word, Khan Academy

I'm starting up a new feature for Fridays - I'll be summarizing some of the more notable events of the past week in the education, disability, and legal arenas (basically, what I found interesting).  Purely subjective - don't rely on me as your news source!

Probably the item that got the most attention across the press was the CDC's release of the study showing an increase in the rates of developmental disabilities in kids.  I'm still processing it myself.  It is just a number - but, like any statistic, it will (hopefully) have an impact on funding, and public awareness.  And it might even have an impact on educational policy and theories of inclusion.  I also hope it encourages a little more public acceptance.

Speaking of acceptance, the other big news was the public service announcement at the end of Glee sponsored by the .  In case you missed it, check it out on YouTube.  It's pretty powerful, and rightly a reminder that discrimination against the cognitively impaired is probably the last "acceptable" discrimination against a minority (possibly also obesity).

Lastly, our friends at the Khan Academy are in the news again!  This article in Business Week is a wonderful summary of how the Khan Academy started, and how it's being used in the Los Altos, California, school district (incidentally one of the best in the country, already).  Impressive out of the box thinking - both at the school district and at the Khan Academy.  Thanks for the tip, Jen!