A weekly half hour chat focused on improving access to education for PK-12 students through the use of Accessible Educational Materials (AEM), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Assistive Technology (AT).
Welcome back after a couple weeks off! This is our first chat of 2018 and we'll be discussing Engaging Reluctant Writers After Winter Break! #PatinsIcam
I'm Daniel McNulty, Director of PATINS, former Sp.Ed. Teacher, Behavior Consultant, and Parapro. ...honored to serve up our questions tonight! #PatinsIcam
Hi #PatinsIcam Chatters! Kelli in Indiana, Specialists of Autism, Aspergers, Specific Learning Disabilities, AEM & AT Integration, Chrome Accessibility
I will post questions as Q1, Q2, etc. Please tweet your responses with A1, A2, etc. All thoughts are valued greatly! Don't forget to add our hashtag to each tweet! #PatinsIcam
A1: Because they can’t? Perhaps there is a processing disorder or another source of personal embarrassment with writing or writing performance. #PatinsIcam
A1: Some Ss with OCD could struggle with perfection of writing and aligning...constant erasing, etc with leads to frustration...but not only frustration for themselves #PatinsIcam Impatience can lead to reluctant writers.
A2: KNOW your students so you can choose topics that interest them. Get Success, and then have them practice a few others. Comedy helps in junior high! #patinsicam
There is a concept of "Error Friendly" not error free, but there must be ways Ss can correct mistakes or change their minds w/o it being a catastrophe ie. typing, word prediction. #PatinsIcam
A3: provide a variety of seating and places where voice to text could be used, bring out the special non-scratchy sounding pens or delightful scented markers #PatinsIcam
YES! I had ES kiddos in classrooms journaling and the parents sent topics in...like chopsticks from dinner the night before, or movie stubs from a recent flick! GREAT prompts! #PatinsIcam
A3: I need a well organized and distraction free desktop to do good writing. Took me a while to learn how to do that, Ts need to model and talk about it! #PatinsIcam
A3: I found that having a 'visual' support (aquarium perhaps) for students to look up at when needed, actually helped sustain engagement in writing. #PatinsIcam
A3: Surround them with objects, pictures to write about. Be a story teller yourself! Verbally engage them in a way a writer does. Talk with adjectives, excitement, etc! #PatinsIcam
Yup! Writers are welcome! Also allow music - their choice - earbuds ARE OK. Hate when adults think Ss aren't working if they have music on. #patinsicam
A4 4.#PatinsIcam Encourage reading, or read to students. Research shows a direct correlation between reading and writing leads to more writing and reading.
A4: lots of reading of good writing, talking about why it is good, oral storytelling, creating graphic stories, or object story bags for tactile learners. #PatinsIcam
A4: I have a 7th grader who struggles to write but can tell the most beautiful story in wordless comic strips he draws himself. He then narrates as someone else writes. AMAZING! #patinsicam
A4: Ts may have to step & think that if their Ss does not have the skill of organization, it may fall into their organization of writing skills as well. Take time to teach THAT #PatinsIcam
Yes! I have students who need to write 1 sentence per Slide. Then can put it together as a paragraph - but can't see the whole without the parts. Again, Flexibility rules! #patinsicam
A4: Ts may have to step & think that if their Ss does not have the skill of organization, it may fall into their organization of writing skills as well. Take time to teach THAT #PatinsIcam
A4: the Expanding Expression Tool and Story Grammar Marker are two great tools in our no-cost lending library that support from PK-high school for language, literacy, and writing #PatinsIcam
Today in math we...shocking...WROTE! We answered a math journal prompt, asked a peer for suggestions (social skills), and Tweeted. Who knew writing in math brings learning! (sarcasm intended) #patinsicam
Taken! HA! One of my best friends is a math teacher from Slovakia. Her biggest shock in the US was that we separate math and writing. Me too! #PatinsIcam
A5: Connect Globally. I have Ss who don't care about ANY writing until someone across the world might see it. #Globalbellylaughday is Jan. 24th. Virtual Valentines Project is amazing as well. Find connections - somewhere! #patinsicam
A6: there are lots of ways! Voice to text, partner assisted scanning, switch access to keyboard, tools embeded within AAC software, @JulieHKuhn is a great resource! #PatinsIcam
A6: Often Ts may unknowingly be the barrier to our writers if they feel that writing is used with a pencil or pen. It's not...& it's not about us...it is about our Ss. Let them tell their story in a way they are engaged and able #PatinsIcam
Yes, if we are assessing their ability to tell us their thoughts & not the mechanics of writing & they may struggle to write...LET THEM USE SPEECH TO TEXT #PatinsIcam
A7: When I took creative writing in high school I called my teacher out on her vague comments in my journal—it was the beginning of a wonderful more specific conversation with her through the journal. #PatinsIcam
A7: Tell ur Ss a story with minimal detail....next, blow their mind w the SAME story right after with descriptives and action. I truly believe being a story teller for Ss will help make them better writers & engaging ones. #PatinsIcam
Speech to text requires that you know how to spell and correct spelling and grammar. It is intense and can be laborious. You and the computer develop a relationship. You can do any computer task by voice alone or a combo voice and keyboard. #PatinsIcam
A8: my HS creative writing teacher told me I’d make a great teacher while I was peer editing with another student. She also encouraged us to enter writing contests, and my senior year I won Purdue poetry contest with a poem about milking cows. #PatinsIcam
