Category Archives: listening

Multimedia Authoring, with Shakespeare…

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Year 5  were studying Romeo and Juliet.  There was a small group of children in the class who were really struggling to get  their ideas, responses and their words onto paper alongside the rest of the class. The class teacher thought we might make podcasts with this group eg: interviews with characters, “What is the most tragic thing about this story?”  or video diary entries from the Montagues and Capulet families; but in the end we thought it would work better with multimedia authoring using either Book Creator or Glogster.We decided to use Book Creator.

Book Creator is an app on Windows and iPads which allows the user to include sound files, videos, images, drawings and text  as well as shapes and speech bubbles in their work and is excellent for using across the curriculum. It is  also great for science reports, research journals and comic adventures.

The children enacted and filmed the scenes, and then we interviewed the characters themselves, and interviewed onlookers who “witnessed” the fight between Benvolio and Mercutio. We gave our opinions about why this was almost inevitable, how this could have been avoided, and what the repercussions of the family feud might be.

We edited sound files (voice recordings of the interviews) using Audacity to create news reports of the events in Verona.

Our completed book included the “mobile ‘phone camera footage” of the deadly sword fight, the empassioned appeals for calm from innocent bystanders, interviews with people who knew both families and an official announcment from the Duke of Verona.

If you are doing something like this, also have a look at Glogster which is a cloud-based platform (app and website) for creating presentations and interactive learning. Glogster also allows users to combine text, images, video, and audio to create an interactive, Web-based poster called glogs on a virtual canvas.

            

Soundfields – improving focus and outcomes

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One of the challenges  in many classrooms, particularly in older schools, is their acoustics. Every teacher has found themselves raising their voice, even to the point of straining it, to be heard above the general chatter and hubbub of the room, even when everyone is on task.

This may be because it is a big, airy, spacious room, with parquet floors and big windows, perhaps from Victorian or Edwardian times, or even from the post-war period, with concrete walls and linoleum on the floors. They are not, generally spaces, where the focus has been on  acoustic properties and the ability of the teacher to be heard without raising their voice.

The result is that teachers struggle to be heard, and pupils find it hard to make out what they are saying, even more so if they have a hearing impairment. A Soundfield might the answer.

What is it?

Essentially it is a classroom amplification system. The teacher wears a discrete microphone and anywhere  between one and six speakers ensures that their voice is subtly enhanced. Louder, yes, but also clearer. So everyone in the room distinctly hears what is being said. Handheld microphones can also be used, perhaps for pupil contributions and questions. And, with enough speakers, any space can be catered for, regardless of size, or additional distractions, such as extractor fans in design technology or science labs.

Who is it for?

Whilst pupils with hearing impairments will undoubtedly benefit from having a better quality version of what the teacher is saying – there are also add-ins that can connect directly to hearing aids – anyone in the room can find it helpful. It means not having to strain to hear clearly, which makes it easier to focus on what is needed to be heard, without extraneous sounds, and getting information clearly and accurately the first time – meaning less need to ask peers or staff what was said, or what needs to be done.

How do I use it?

At the most basic level you plug a speaker into a socket and put a microphone on, then adjust the volume to a comfortable level. For more complex installations speakers are hung on the walls at optimum intervals and peripherals added.

When learners hear clearly they understand better, and respond more quickly and accurately. Hence, outcomes improve.

What else is there?

It is possible to get classroom amplification very cheaply. Even an 8watt speaker hung on your belt, such as a tour guide might use on a walking tour of London, can make a significant difference, and can be had for as little as twenty pounds from Amazon.

You could also use a commercial amplification system. The difference with a Soundfield is in working to ensure even sound across the space, at volume levels that are not particularly loud.

There are a few companies providing Soundfield systems. For more information try these

https://www.pcwerth.co.uk/store/soundfield-and-pa-systems

https://www.connevans.info/page/soundfield

 

 

 

Using iPads to make a podcast using GarageBand

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Make sure you have GarageBand on your iPad and it will help if you have a microphone that you can connect instead of using the built-in microphone on the iPad. (Maybe even some earbuds with a microphone that is nearer to your mouth.)

Open GarageBand on the iPad, click on the add song button (or the + sign) and select AUDIO RECORDER >  Voice. On the studio view select Narrator.
Right under the control bar (on the right) hit the + sign (Song Sections) and change it from eight bars to Automatic. Tap off the menu. In the control bar tap the wrench, tap “Metronome and Count-in“. Change it to No sound and tap off the menu. Adjust the input level (on the left side) to show as much green as possible and now you can record.

When you press Record, the ruler becomes red and moves along. Touch the stop button when you’re done recording that track.Tap the tracks view icon on the control bar to listen to your track.  Press play to preview and move the play head around to listen to different parts of your track if you need to.

(To add another track press the + on the bottom left of the screen. If you need to record your voice again choose “narrator” and check that the settings are as they were before.)

When editing you can move the tracks around by touching them and sliding them with one finger and if you want to zoom into the track you put two fingers on the screen and pinch them apart.

To see more options for different parts of the track you can double tap on the track and a menu option comes up which includes Split. If you swipe down somewhere on your timeline it will split the track. The yellow bars on the end of each region allow you to trim the ends of each of the recordings.

You can add music tunes as a background tracks. There are some built-in to GarageBand but it is possible to import your own tunes. Choose another track with the same settings then choose the Loops icon on the control bar and choose Audio Files, and drag in the audio file that you want.

To edit the music, slide the side bar (next to the track) over to the left to show the title of the track, the solo & mute buttons,  the metre and the volume.

Tap the microphone icon  and select Automation. On the top left of the screen slide the pencil over until the button is red. Click on the timeline to create automation points to create slight raises or decreases in the volume. When done slide the pencil to lock the automation points.

Listen to the entire episode to make sure you don’t need to do any more editing and then you can share your track. It will save into the “My Songs” folder. It saves as an .m4a file and so can be loaded onto Podcast Central on the London Grid for Learning.

 

LGfL’s Space Adventures – designed for everyone?

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In 2018  the London Grid for Learning published online a resource for primary schools created around a sci-fi story of a young woman undertaking a journey to the moon for a mining company. Set not far into the future, the story is told in a series of talking head videos as the mission gets underway, as the astronaut, Taz collects rock samples on the moon, and then as it goes alarmingly wrong on her way back to earth. It is an exciting, engaging story, that comes with a wide range of resources to help with differentiation in the classroom and to make it inclusive for all learners.

The videos themselves were shot using a professional actress, so the various emotional states the astronaut goes through are well-portrayed, helping children to understand how she responds at different points in the story, and her associated feelings.  They are kept reasonably short and will work as engaging lesson starters.

Each video is sub-titled so learners with hearing impairments can enjoy the story, but this may also help those who are learning English as an additional language by linking words to text. And it makes it easier to follow a noisy environment.

They also come with transcripts, either to download for further study or re-enactment in the classroom, or  for use with screen readers for visually impaired learners to follow what is going on. Similarly each episode is also written as a chapter of story, so it can be studied as a book. In order to make sure this is accessible to more pupils in the class the story is also available in an ‘easy read’ format, with shorter sentences and a less demanding language level, but still with the core elements of the story present.

Then there are the audiobooks, designed so pupils can follow each chapter as it is read, or listen to it as a standalone story. Useful for visually impaired learners, but also helpful for those who are dyslexic, new to English, or even those who simply like having stories read to them.

Beyond this the resource comes with ready made worksheets, including some that are simplified and created using Widgit symbols that help with decoding the text.

It’s not just  the printed materials that are symbolised, the website itself has the Widgit Point system activated, so any word on the web-page that the viewer hovers the  mouse pointer over will activate a pop-up glossary with the Widgit symbol for that word, to help with decoding. Other accessibility option include a choice of using the Dyslexie font that is said to make reading easier for those with dyslexia, and a switch to a high contrast  colour scheme – helpful for some visually impaired users.

Of course, travelling into space also supports study in subjects other than literacy, so additional materials include lesson plans, starter presentations, and worksheets for Computing, Maths, and Science, too. Whilst these are not differentiated or adapted for SEND, there are some useful activities, particularly in computing. These latter activities are built around the trip to the moon, with learners creating animations in Scratch. To get them started there are explanatory videos, files of code to work from, and assets such as rockets and re-entry capsules so that they can focus on the code rather than creating the  individual elements of the project.

There is a lot of material here, much of it deliberately created with learners with a broad range of challenges in mind. There content is interesting and engaging, and it can be used as a launchpad for many creative hours in the classroom. The only potential downside is that you need to be a London Grid for Learning (or Trustnet) subscribing school to get access. But that is over 95% of schools in the capital. To find out if you are one go to www.sainfo.lgfl.net

Resources for teaching online safety to SEND pupils

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Regardless of age, ability or learning needs, the essentials of online safety remain consistent: look after your personal information; be sure you know who real ‘friends’ are; don’t meet anyone offline you first met online; and tell an adult if something concerns you. However, the media we use to convey these messages needs to be varied in order to put them across to audiences with the whole range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In some instances this can be straightforward. For example, Thinkuknow have produced a couple of videos specifically for older pupils – teenagers – whose first language is British Sign Language (BSL). These are well made, with age appropriate content, and using deaf, adolescent, actors that the intended audience can relate to. In fact, although there is no spoken dialogue, the use of sub-titles means that videos such as Sam’s Real Friends could be used inclusively with wider school groups. But this is a very specific cohort, with a clear learning need – materials in their first language, BSL.

Other groups will need different approaches. The STAR Toolkit was developed with learners with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) in mind, although they could be useful for learners with a wider range of needs. They address several different concerns including ‘Safe sharing,’ ‘Trust,’ ‘Action,’ and ‘Respect,’ (hence the name).  However, the materials provided, PowerPoints and worksheets, will need adapting for the audience as some of the slides are quite busy, with a lot of text and some demanding language.

Widgit have also produced resources intended for learners with a wide range of challenges who may have difficulty in decoding text with materials which use their symbol set to aid access to a number of straightforward online rules.

The Thinkuknow website also has some resources targeted at SEND learners, which can be searched for by age range in their resource library , although the results can be quite mixed. In the 4-7 age range the same videos are offered whether or not the SEND group is chosen. The content across all age groups can be quite demanding, although age appropriate for the audience, but requiring a level of understanding that those with cognitive challenges may find difficult to comprehend.  One suggestion might be to use materials for a younger age group with a simpler content level, but this raises issues of age appropriateness.

Other providers have also created materials that could, with the right level of support, be helpful, even for secondary students. Discovery Education’s video on Youtube has very direct messages using cartoon characters. Whilst these are intended for a primary audience the content is clear and the presentation is not patronising, nor talks down to its viewers. The characters whilst obviously children are not of a particular age group, so may be acceptable to older learners.

A similar way of offering content focused on young audiences offered in a way that older students might find engaging too, is to use the Disney Corporation’s Safety Smart with Timon and Pum ba video which can be found on Youtube here. The whole video is quite long for an SEND audience, and in the balance of entertainment to education tends to favour the former, so it may need to be watched several times, stopping and starting to pick up the teaching points. There is also a shorter version. Whilst the content might need unpacking, it can prove effective, as ever yone, regardless of age, loves the Lion King so won’t mind watching the antics of two of its stars.

With the range and complexity of SEND, and the added layer of online safety being a subject that needs to be revisited throughout a child or young person’s time in school, the task of finding appropriate materials to engage and educate can prove challenging. But if we want them to live and to learn independently, it is a task that benefits from  a bit of research.

Online sources for Speech and Language Resources

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One of the largest areas of learning need in schools is speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), with almost a quarter (22.6%) of pupils requiring SEND support having this identified as their primary type of need, and 14.6% of EHCPs issued for this reason. (2018 SEND Census)  It is an area that is fundamental to learning, to socialisation, and to functioning successfully in society. Yet it is also an area where there is a challenge to get specialist support in schools, with shortfalls in provision, sometimes considered due to shifts in NHS priorities and CCG commissioning, with some schools contracting private speech and language therapists to bridge the gap.

Many schools, in all phases, will be facing challenges in meeting pupils’ needs, both in assessment and provision. One place they could look for help is, inevitably, the internet, with a lot of sites providing useful information for staff development and practical guidance for working with pupils.

A good place to start is the Communication Trust,  an umbrella organisation for not-for-profit groups  providing guidance and support for a broad range of practitioners. Their self-assessment framework  helps anyone to evaluate their current level of knowledge and understanding and offers suggestions for training that can move their practice on.

The trust also have a plethora of practical resources focused on working in schools, for instance, there is a very straightforward booklet on teaching phonics to learners with SLCN,  which has sections on specific conditions such as dyspraxia, stammering, and Down’s Syndrome.

Another good source for online CPD is the SEND gateway, now hosted by NASEN. Several sets of materials were developed in 2012 that can be approached in different ways. The SLCN modules  have a strategic element for whole school approaches and the management of  resources, through assessment and profiling of pupils to working with other agencies and delivering interventions.

Some training providers offer  well regarded courses such as  Ican  who also have the free Talking Point booklets  a range of guides for various stages of speech and language development with appropriate activities. There is also a link to the Communication Cookbook, originally sponsored by BT, which can be purchased online. However, it can be downloaded for free from the TES.

It is also well worth paying a visit to Commtap . These are a range of activities for all levels compiled by speech and language therapists to guide non-specialists in how they can work with children in school. They can be filtered in different ways, such as key stage or area of focus, and give clear instructions on how to conduct sessions.

A more structured set of free resources have been developed by Tobii-Dynavox, a company known for providing electronic communication aids, including eye-gaze devices, and for its Boardmaker software and the associated Mayer-Johnson PCS symbols. They have been working on Core First learning. This is a  structured approach to reading development based around core words, those that make up the bulk of our interactions.    Thirty-six words are included, with three books concentrating on each of them, making 108 books in all, which can be downloaded in pdf format. These build on previously learnt vocabulary and use colourful photographs on each page as illustrations. A scheme of work is provided, although some practitioners may choose to simply use the books to supplement existing approaches.

Speech language and communication is a complex area, which often benefits from expert advice and guidance, however, if you know where to look, practical support can easily be found.

Podcasting

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Children who struggle to get things onto paper may show how much they have learned and understood by recording their work onto MP3 devices, editing the sound file, adding a music sound track and publishing the podcast on a platform like Podcast Central on the London Grid for Learning.

What is a Podcast?

A podcast is a pre-recorded audio broadcast that can be downloaded from the Internet. They may be played directly on the computer,  or copied to a personal media player such as an iPod, or portable players, mobile phones, mp3 and other players.

Podcasting has become a significant method of communicating across the Internet.  Podcasts can be created and used effectively by users of any age, community or culture.

They have become a universal way of communicating with sound and vision freeing your audience f rom reading text.

Podcasts are (relatively) simple – the MP3 files generated by podcasters are relati vely easy to create and don’t require high-priced equipment,  allowing teachers to record without a large investment of time or money by the school.

You can use podcasting when you need a targeted audience to receive audio and video files as soon as they are published (maybe revision files for a college course)

Podcasting offers the opportunity to:

  • Show an understanding of elements of stories, main character, sequence of events & openings
  • Talk activities through, reflecting on actions.
  • Interact with others in a variety contexts negotiating plans, taking turns in conversations.
  • Use talk to organise, sequence, & clarify thinking, ideas, feelings, & events, exploring new words
  • Initiate communication with others, develop confidence in more informal contexts
  • Be confident to try new activities, initiate ideas, speak in familiar group

And why use Podcasting with children with SEN?

Podcasting encourages children and young people to improve their speaking and listening skills by raising their awareness of their own voice and of their listeners.

It supports collaborative learning and teamwork by requiring children and young people to work as a team to create a podcast.

It enables children and young people to review, modify and refine their work and share it with others.

With the technology available, podcasting has the potential for releasing the imagination of young people, their teachers and parents/carers.

The pupils’ best efforts should be celebrated and put on show, just as would be done with putting paintings or other work on display on the wall.

One of the advantages of podcasts is that they can be accessed by the pupils’ families, and can generate external feedback to add to the process of pupils reviewing their own and their peers’ work.  The pupils’ best efforts should be celebrated and put on show, just as would be done with putting paintings or other work on display on the wall.

What sort of things could we record?

I have worked with different groups of primary and secondary children with special needs.

With one group we focused mostly on speech production and vocalisation and found  how the relatively straightforward work of recording and editing voice could be combined with publishing the children’s work in a new format as a podcast.

One pair of children made a podcast about Sir Francis Drake. Both had serious difficulties getting legible work onto paper, but their podcast was informative, interesting to listen to and demonstrated their learning.

One idea was to look at CBBC Newsround  decide on a story, watch any videos, read  the story together drawing out the key words, then reconstruct the story in our own words, perhaps from a different angle, in smaller groups  talk the story through, working out individual contributions from each pupil, and practising them, supporting each other to reflect on clarity, volume, speed of talking and other considerations.

Finally, they recorded their voices onto an easispeak MP3 recorder (you can use iPod or other voice recording device)

Using software like Audacity extraneous noises and teacher’s prompts can be cut out making the recording more fluent and easier for the listener.

In another blog post I will describe the equipment that may be used and how to make podcasts with very little equipment.

 

Bett 2019 – What’s in it for you?

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The Bett Show is back at Excel from 23rd to 26th January, as big and as daunting as ever when it comes to finding what you want. The organisers have created an app to help you get organised which you can find here  https://www.bettshow.com/download-the-official-bett-2019-mobile-app . But to help you get started I’ve had a trawl through the exhibitors and to identify  a few that might help develop inclusive practice in schools.

If you want to see where technology can take us then some of the stands have examples of how it can provide multi-sensory experiences that would be difficult to create through other means. Immersive interactive (Stand H 361 www.immersive.co.uk) build multi-sensory environments with all round projection, surround sound and interactive floors and walls. Whereas a more personal, all-encompassing environment is provided by Avantis with their ClassVR system (Stand C205 www.advantiseducation.com) . You might also want to look at iSandbox (Stand F86 www.isandbox.co.uk) with their promise of a system involving both real sand and virtual reality. Whilst there remain questions over how far VR suppliers have thought about the actual needs of learners with SEND, the potential should be great.

Something else which so far has showed greater promise in the potential than in the practice  is artificial-intellingence (AI). Century (Stand E192 www.century.tech) are offering a learning platform that, ‘uses learning science, artificial intelligence and neuroscience, to create constantly adapting pathways for students.’ Although it may be too much to hope that this extends to SEND.

Another futuristic offering comes from Connect Training (Stand A20 www.connecttotraining.co.uk) who provide real-time avatars to practise difficult conversations in a safe environment. These are intended to help improve performance in everyday job roles. I’m not sure whether this extends to teaching.

Avatars are also the basis for Mind Rocket’s approach (Stand 254 www.mindrocketsinc.com), only here they are used to teach sign language. It is a product developed in Jordan, so it may have a regional accent, but it could be helpful for children and young people, and the adults around them, to learn these skills.

We will also want to keep a record of what has been learnt in school, to provide evidence and to monitor progress. Both Bsquared (Stand C134 www.connectingsteps.com ) and Tapestry (Stand F62 www.tapestryjournal.com ) will be present, and talking about how their products support a post-Rochford approach to assessment.

You might also want resources to help them make progress in the subjects you are monitoring. In numeracy DoodleMaths (Stand E100 https://doodlemaths.com) continues to grow in popularity, particularly for use on tablets and touchscreens, whereas Numberfit (Stand G188 www.numberfit.com) eschews such a sedentary approach for one with lots of movement and activity. Also present will be Jellyjames (Stand A400 www.jellyjames.co.uk) with their Dynamo Maths, specifically targeted at pupils with dyscalculia.

In the field of literacy a couple of stalwarts will be present, including Crick (POD1 www.cricksoft.com) creators of the ever useful Clicker range of products, and Texthelp (Stand C141 www.texthelp.com) with their add on toolbar of resources to support literacy, including dictation, prediction and a screen-reader.

More specific support is on offer for both reading and spelling. For the former Yap (Stand C40 www.yapbooks.com) is offering voice controlled books to help develop reading skills, whilst Lexplore (Stand B303 www.lexplore.co.uk ) uses eye tracking to ‘to quickly and objectively determine a child’s exact reading attainment.’ Which sounds like a novel approach. It will be interesting to see how that copes with reading comprehension.

For spelling both The  Spelling Shed (Stand FS141 www.spellingshed.com)  and Magic Spell (Stand FS33 www.brainbox.games) promise fun ways to learn spellings whilst allowing adults to control the focus of the work.

And if science is what you are after then the Wellcome Trust’s Explorify Science (Stand G306 https://wellcome.ac.uk) is said to be ‘inclusive and accessible to all pupils.’

Finally, for older pupils,  there is the all encompassing offering from Your Favourite Teacher (Stand C48 www.yourfavouriteteacher.com) which is an online classroom  aimed at GCSE with ‘a focus on pupil premium, alternative education and targeted intervention groups.’ Which would be a welcome resource if it does what it says on the tin. The content includes videos, podcasts and animations with  interactive activities and quizzes.

Whatever your area of interest there is bound to be something at Bett that’s useful. The challenge is in tracking it down.

 

 

 

Immersive Reader in Office 365

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What is it?

During 2018 Microsoft brought out a few changes to both their online product, Office 365, and updated their installed version, MSOffice. Both now have a ‘Dictate’ function, that can operate in several different languages. They also introduced a ‘Read’ function, which, in the installed version is  a button on the toolbar.

However, the most exciting development was the introduction of the ‘Immersive Reader.’ This is available in both versions, however, I think it works best in the online product, so that’s the one I shall focus on here.

It is a tool to aid reading, and to analyse the make up of a text, through a number of easy to use functions. These include text to speech, changing the colour scheme, widening the space between letters, breaking the words into phonemes, and an on-screen ruler to isolate particular lines. There is also a function to highlight different parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs – to focus on them.

Who is it for?

It could be used by both teachers and students. When teaching from the board teachers can use it to make points about grammar, or to focus on spellings.

For pupils it offers ways to customize the text to make it easier to read, or to have it read to them, as well as helping them to make sense of it.

How do I use it?

Using it is fairly straight forward. Opening, or creating, a document in Office 365 puts the Immersive Reader option into the ribbon at the top of the screen. Clicking on this changes the appearance of the screen, taking away the usual toolbar and providing only the Immersive Reader tools, with a ‘Play’ button at the bottom of the screen, and the other options sitting at the side. Operation is simply a matter of clicking them on and off.

For instance, the Text Preferences button allows for enlarging the font, changing it to something that may be easier to read, increasing the spacing, and changing the colour scheme, to high contrast, perhaps, or to a blue background.

The Grammar Options are where you can highlight different elements of the text, and break it down into syllables, and the Reading Options provide the on-screen ruler, in three sizes. There is also an option to link to a Picture Dictionary (using Boardmaker PCS symbols) where hovering over a word brings up an image to illustrate it.

What else is there?

You can probably find a way to provide  all of these functions in other ways. For instance, there are free on-screen rulers that allow you to provide a line focus. Or you can download overlays to change the colour of a screen, and there are now a number of screen readers, several of them free, to use as add-ons in your browser – such as Googlevox.

You could also put a text on a white board and use coloured pens to pick out the  different elements of grammar. Or even load a document in MSWord then use the highlighter tool, in various colours, to provide the same sort of analysis.

What’s useful here, though, is that all these tools are available together,  in a very commonly used product. They are easy to find, simple to use, and serve a very useful purpose, either for accessing the text, or for understanding it better.

Person Centred Planning? What’s that?

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Person Centred Planning? What’s that?

It’s a way of approaching planning and reviews that puts the learner at the centre of the process. The 2015 Code of Practice for SEND   talks of it focusing on, “the child or young person as an individual,” and of involving them and their parents in decision-making (Paragraphs 9:22 and 9:23). It is a more holistic approach to viewing pupils than simply focusing on academic achievements and learning needs.

Tower Hamlets has taken a lead on putting it into practice. A good overview and guidance for putting it into practice can be found here.

How can ICT help?

With person centred planning (PCP) putting children and young people at the centre of deliberations there are many ways that ICT can help.

The use of collaborative tools, such as Google Docs or Office365 can allow professionals and parents to share information prior to the meeting. A Google form could be used to ask for reviews and reports.

Another obvious way it can play a role in this process is in recording and evidence gathering. It has become common practice for staff to capture achievements through the use of photos and videos, including those taken outside of school and at home. An easy way to prepare these for use in a review is to create a Photo Album in PowerPoint. This is very straightforward. Start a new presentation, then choose Insert, and Photo Album. This will direct you to go to the folder where the images are. You select those you want, click ‘Done,’ and they will automatically be placed on one slide each. From there you, or better still the learner, can add captions or record a commentary.

Are there particular resources that will help?

A useful model for appreciating how far a learner could expect to be involved in the PCP process is the Ladder of Participation. This suggests eight levels of engagement.

The bottom rung is ‘Absent,’ where the learner isn’t in the meeting and their voice, their views and wishes, are not considered. Here technology might help the adults present to consider evidence from photos and videos and come to their own conclusions

Next up is ‘Informed,’ where the child or young person is told that a meeting is happening, and about the outcomes, but they are not asked to become involved.

A pupil may be ‘Considered’ when the adults take account of what they think their views are. The absence may be because they are unwilling or unable to participate, but the outcomes should be considered as available for amendment, should the child or young person decide to make their views known at some point. Here technology can help to share the outcomes and be a means for commenting on and changing them if need be.

The child or young person is ‘Represented’ when their views are shared with the meeting either by being quoted, or as a report on choices they have made. For some pupils with more challenging SEND this could be through the use of approaches such as Talking Mats, with its associated app, where questions are based on previous responses and become more granular as information is added. Alternatively a video, perhaps using iMovie on an iPad, or a PowerPoint presentation, could be used where the learner is reluctant to come into the room, so that even in their absence their  voice can be heard.

When they are ‘Consulted’ a child or young person is present at the meeting and is able to answer questions put to them, or they can respond to decisions being made. They might start the meeting with a film or presentation, giving others present a chance to find out more. If they are reluctant to participate in the meeting they might be able to join in through a video-link such as Skype, Facetime, or Google Hangouts.

As a ‘Participant’ in the meeting the learner asks their own questions of the adults present, and contribute to the decision-making. One useful resource for this could be the Rixwiki . This is a secure, online, space for them to post information, not just from school but  from any aspect of their lives, and share it with others. This can just be used as a presentational tool, and it provides a solid scaffold for that, but it also allows for others to contribute and for farther reaching information to be included than might not ordinarily be the case at a review.

When a child or young person becomes a ‘Partner’ they will be helping to set the agenda, to determine outcomes and targets, and even to take a lead on achieving them. Technology can be a useful resource for planning and structuring this participation.

Once they become a ‘Planner’ the learner is able to provide feedback to the adults involved with them on what works, and what doesn’t work, for them, and how  services could be improved. Here technology might help to present evidence, and be used to share information, and provide feedback.

Is there anything else?

Technology helps in many ways. It can;

  • Provide tools for gathering, and sharing, information. Gsuite, Office365, Rixwikis, Typeform, and even Surveymonkey can do this.
  • Give them a voice. For some this might be through a communication app, such as Clicker Communicate, Proloquo2go, GoTalk or The Grid. For others it could mean recording a video or working through a Talking Mats exercise.
  • Demonstrate their achievements and present a fuller picture of their lives. Whilst videos and photos will help here, putting them into a framework such as a Rixwiki will help to structure their thoughts.
  • Presenting their idea and views. Here PowerPoint can be very useful, but there are many apps that can be simple to use, even independently, such as Our Story, Story Creator, Clicker Books, Book Creator, and 2createastory.
  • Let’s others contribute. For instance, people who can’t attend, or fellow classmates, can record a video to share at the meeting.
  • Making information more accessible. Here Widgit’s Communicate InPrint, or Widgit Online can help, or something such as Commtap’s symboliser for PowerPoint. This is a toolbar that will help to add symbols to presentations.

Technology also makes it easier to see progress over time, and to reflect back on previous meetings, not just through the record of the meeting, but also by reviewing the evidence, the photos, videos, work and comments from last time to see what has changed.