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Engage All Learners: 5 Must-Know Tricks for Accessible Presentations
As I was catching up on the latest episode of the For the Purpose of… podcast on Accessible Design, it struck me—how can I, as a graphic designer, ensure my slide decks cater to all learners? Crafting inclusive and captivating presentations is essential for anyone who shares information. After all, if your audience can’t grasp…
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Increase Productivity in Your Classroom with “Ed Tech or Treat” in October!
It’s almost October, which means this is the time of year when many educators are looking for ways to increase productivity by improving engagement, social emotional learning, equity, and maybe even integrating computational skills. So, what is a good way to implement these improvements? Through technology! “Technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning.…
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Technology as a Social-Emotional Learning Tool
December days can be dreary, cold, and somewhat miserable. Teachers are working hard to make it through certain content before holiday break and students are distracted, excited, and sometimes focused on everything but the content. Teacher mentality plus scattered student attention can equate to an extremely challenging learning environment. Not to mention unspoken stressors that…
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AssisTechKnow On-The-Go
Assistive and educational technology supports are an important component in every student’s education. The annual AssisTechKnow conference, held at Kent ISD in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focuses on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), educational technology tools and assistive technology strategies for diverse learners of all ages. However, with changing times, comes changing professional learning, so AssisTechKnow is On the…
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Ensure Digital Access in 5 Simple Steps
Are your learners experiencing troubles accessing content for remote lessons? In this post, the Kent ISD Remote Learning Implementation Support Team (RLIST) discusses considerations for teachers to improve learner access. For a quick look at digital access considerations, see the accompanying infographic. Digital Access List- Remote Learning Resource Infographic Visibility Can learners & caregivers view…
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Upcoming Conference for Special Needs Parents and Caregivers
Gain Insights and Support through the LEAP Conference LEAP, a bi-annual conference for parents & caregivers of children with special needs, offers support and resources. Looking for new ways to overcome the unique challenges of being a parent or caregiver of children with special needs? Looking for support from other parents and caregivers? Well, look…
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AssisTechKnow – Addressing the Needs of Every Learner
As Michigan strives to become a Top 10 educational state in 10 Years, four focus areas have been identified as key targets. One of these focus areas, “Learner-Centered Supports”, includes personalized learning, aligned curriculum and differentiated learning. In order to attain this, all of our students will need to have equitable access to learner-centered education…
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Closed Captioning to Improve Literacy
Captioning, or Closed Captioning, has a proven track record of improving literacy for learners of all ages. In one randomized study, students who engaged daily in content with “Same Language Subtitling” (SLS) scored significantly higher than students in the comparison condition on the reading comprehension achievement post tests. Data from PlanetRead has shown that even 30…
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Assistive Technology Conference was a Huge Success!
On October 15 & 16, we hosted our annual AssisTechKnow Assistive Technology Conference at the Kent ISD. The atmosphere was electric and we filled the Education Service Center with over 225 people each day. Participants came from near and far to learn about how to use Assistive Technology in their teaching and learning practice. This…
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3 Unique Reading Strategies You’ll Want to Try!
Learning to read can be difficult for anyone. Michigan’s proficiency on the NAEP is just over 30 percent for third-grade readers. Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) Region Three superintendents are tackling this problem through the Reading Now Network, which is beginning to develop resources for the classroom. This morning I watched a TedX talk that…