Bett SEND preview 2018

THE BETT SHOW, the world’s largest edtech exhibition is back at Excel from 24th to 27th January,  and whilst it continues to attract criticism for becoming increasingly corporate there are still plenty of reasons for classroom teachers to visit. Even specialists in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will have plenty to interest them, despite the lack of a SEN village, and only four seminars that are tagged to be of interest.

For a start there are tools for recording assessment and monitoring achievement. B Squared, (Stand B241 www.bsquared.co.uk)   long the leaders in this area, will have their refreshed recording system, updated to take the Rochford Review into account (even though this isn’t finalised, yet). They will also have their Evisense evidence gathering tool. This is an online resource that can run on any device and accept all types of media. So you can catch a child showing off what they can do and quickly post for reports and sharing with parents.

In the same field are GL Assessment, (Stand C143 www.gl-assessment.co.uk) whose  also big news is Doddle. This not only provides a space to record and monitor but it also provides multi-media teaching materials right across the curriculum so you can respond to the pupil’s identified needs. The materials can be differentiated at a range of levels, and parents can have accounts, too, so they can share they offspring’s successes.

More specialised assessment is provided by Neurotech Solutions (Stand F34 https://www.neurotech-solutions.com) with Axon. This is an online ‘attentional profiling engine’ which can apparently help to identify elements of ADHD and provide online interventions. Whilst a broader look at pupil behaviour, along with their well-being, is offered by Kanda Care (Stand FS18  www.kanda.care). This is a tablet based system for all staff to contribute to and share evidence of concerns about children and young people, which can help to lead to effective interventions. A similar approach to People Diagnostix  (Stand G70 www.flourishingatschool.com) whose focus is mental health more directly. They provide survey software and staff development materials to identify and support children and young people at risk of developing mental health issues, a growing area of concern in schools.

A long established area of concern continues to be learners who struggle with text, particularly those thought of as dyslexic, and there is plenty on offer to help. The well established Matchview (Stand C142 www.matchware.com) – a high specification mind-mapping tool – has become even more dyslexia friendly with greater control of colour contrasts and an improved ability to structure documents in Word and PowerPoint.  Then there are the offerings from  Kurzweil (Stand B454 www.kurzweiledu.com) , Claro (Stand A4 www.clarosoftware.com), and ReadSpeaker (Stand C66 www.readspeaker.com)  who have variations of bolt-on toolbars providing prediction, screen-reading, smarter than usual spell-checking, study aids and so on.

Texthelp, (Stand C141 www.texthelp.com) also have a similar product with Read and Write Gold, but they are also introducing two new products at Bett. The first is WriQ, a free add-on to Google Docs that keeps a track of technical aspects of a students writing, such as sentence length and the typical age level of their vocabulary, which could be particularly useful for monitoring the growing language development of EAL learners.

The other one is EquatIO, which provides support for recording mathematically, whether that is equations, graphs or formulas. All can be transcribed through the keyboard, writing on the screen, or even by voice. which should make it easier to demonstrate learning in maths for those with a broad range of difficulties.

As well as means of supporting pupils recording of work, there are also offerings to helps with learning and reinforcement. Spellbots, (Stand E140 www.thespellbots.com) is a website that uses alien characters to teach spelling, whilst Actiphons, (Stand C40B www.actiphons.com)  encourages movement as a way of learning phonics.  Then there is  Ascentis (Stand G399 www.idlcloud.co.uk) who are showcasing their IDL system, a multi-sensory approach to addressing dyslexia.

Whilst there might be something familiar in those resources, Yellow Door (Stand G95 www.yellow-door.net) and Magikbee (Stand FS8 www.magikbee.com), could both have something that combines traditional approaches with newer technologies. The first of these has a number of apps that use tangible objects – such as 3d letters – that interact with what’s displayed on the screen. The second uses similar objects, but also has printed books with augmented reality – where objects become three-dimensional when viewed through a screen, such as a smartphone or iPad.

Another good use of newer technologies comes from NoIsolation (Stand B390 www.noisolation.com). This is a highly portable camera that can sit in a classroom on behalf of a student should they be absent for long periods. The built-in webcam observes the lesson, and the learner can even join in by answering questions – or chatting to mates – but whilst the audio is two-way the video is not. This is so those undergoing medical treatment can sit in bed in their pyjamas but don’t have to miss their lessons. A fellow student can carry the device, known as AV1, from room to room, with the long-distance learner logging-in when they feel up to it.

There’s a novel use of established technology from WeCanRemember (Stand FZ15 https://vocalrecall.co.uk), too. Here a QR code is used along with a voice recording. This could mean a teacher does their marking by sticking one at the end of a piece of work and giving their feedback orally, which the student listens to by scanning the code with their phone. But this is a highly flexible, versatile, tool, ripe for creative uses by SEND teachers. For instance, instructions for a task could be provided with a sticker at the top of the page, listened to with a mini iPad in class. Displays could become multi-sensory with the text read aloud when scanned. Home/school liaison books might include pupil’s spoken comments. A simple tool with lots of possibilities.

Lot’s of possibilities is also what TTS-Group (Stand C195 www.tts-group.co.uk) have with their myriad toys and devices, always worth dropping in on for a bit of a play. Amongst all the other stuff to keep you happy for hours there is now the Chatter Chum, a toy bee with a voice recorder and a motion sensor. This means that you can record a message which Chatter Chum will speak when it detects movement nearby. Great for creating multi-sensory displays, or engaging activities when pupils move around, even outdoors.

And once you’ve finished playing it could be time for a story with their Storytime Phonics. This is a well made resource for teaching  phonics using real books read by the Phonic Fairy. These are high quality videos that use good practice in sharing books with children, along with activities that teach the focus sound. A very useful resource for supporting the teacher, and for small groups run by specialist teaching assistants.

There is also loads on offer from the London Grid for Learning (Stand D260 www.lgfl.net). Their SEND and inclusion resource bank continues to grow, now with materials on job seeking for older pupils, bereavement support for staff, a comprehensive EAL package, and whiteboard materials for SLD learners. Through their  Trustnet offshoot these are now available across the country.

So, still plenty of reasons to head on down to Excel, even if SEND stalwarts like Crick (www.cricksoft.com) , Widgit (www.widgit.com), and Helpkidzlearn (a brand of Inclusive Technology www.inclusive.co.uk) aren’t there. Although if you want to know what they are up to they are all putting on free or low-cost seminars across the country throughout the year as their way of keeping connected with classroom practitioners. Visit their websites to find one near you in 2018.

 

 

 

Accessibility – a Good Reason to use an iPad

Lots of schools have iPad in classrooms, sometimes one for each child, sometimes a set between classes; however your school uses them generally, iPads are invaluable for children with special needs. Obviously, you can load some excellent apps, but also the iOS Accessibility Options make them very versatile in accommodating the needs of our special learners.

There are some decisions you need to make before using the iPad with a child.

You may have a child with poor mobility who needs the iPad positioned on a desk to use it. What size iPad is going to be best? Will the child use the iPad in landscape or portrait position? Will their fingers reach the keyboards? (This is an important question if the child has poor motor function and may need to rest a hand on the iPad to steady herself.) The iPad may need to sit on a “sticky pad” to stop it being pushed along the table when being used.

What cover and stand do you need for this particular child? (Do you need a very rugged case?) An iPad holder with a “foot” that allows the iPad to stand without being held will be useful. There are also all sorts of mounts that can be used if the child you work with has a wheelchair.

Are you using apps with speech feedback, so do you need headphones and if so which ones? Make sure they are rugged enough to stand up to daily use.

Ideally each child with SEND should have a machine personalized for them that they have access to whenever it is needed.

Some iOS Accessibility options

With Typing Feedback your device can give you feedback as you type as well as speaking corrections and word suggestions.

To set up typing feedback go to Settings >General >Accessibility >Speech >Typing feedback

Here you can turn on character feedback, speak words or speak auto text.

You can also have predictions spoken: you can touch and hold on a word to hear predictions as you type.

Speak Selection lets the user highlight text in any application and will read the text. Users can increase the font size in various apps and iPad also offers an audio option for confirming keyboard actions.

Guided Access on the iPad may be the most useful accessibility option! It temporarily restricts your device to a single app, so the user cannot navigate away from it until the activity is complete.

You can also disable areas of the screen that are irrelevant to the task and you can disable the hardware button to set up guided access.

Go to Settings >General >Accessibility >Guided Access.  You must set a pass code that controls the use of guided access and prevent someone from leaving an active session

With the iBooks app (available as a free download), ebooks can be downloaded, organised, and read. iBooks is compatible with VoiceOver, so you can have books read aloud. It is possible to read in different orientations and to choose larger font sizes or different fonts.