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Writing & Assistive Technology

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Assistive technology can help empower students by unlocking barriers to reading, writing and consuming information while learning. This workshop is based on twenty years of experience in guiding hundreds of students with neurodiverse conditions to write more effectively and use assistive technology tools and strategies to express comprehension.

 

Assistive technology is any device, piece of equipment, or operating system used to support student learning. Assistive technology allows learners to use their strengths to bridge learning gaps and support their individual needs.

Audience: K-12 Classroom Teachers, Student Support Teachers, Educational Assistants

In this workshop, attendees will discover the systems and techniques teachers can teach students with written output issues to help empower students and to simplify the writing process and make writing more enjoyable.

 

At the end of this workshop, participants will:

  • Understand how to apply assistive technology tools to write different kinds of documents and work through the writing process;

  • Understand the important role that assistive technology plays in supporting writing assessment and writing accommodations;

  • Understand how to use all the functionality on the Texthelp Read and Write toolbar to increase written output;

  • Understand how to support their students in managing and organising large amounts of information;

  • Leverage digital research tools to simplify the writing process;

  • Use digital graphic organizers to help students structure their writing when engaged in the writing process;

  • Understand how to utilize Google “Keep” to help students structure and organize their ideas;

  • Implement tools to support spelling, grammar and punctuation;

  • Understand how to help students communicate more effectively and successfully to express their ideas using assistive technology;

  • Understand the process for capturing students' voice using Voice to Text effectively.


The techniques shared represent best-practice in this field of education and training. Handouts will be provided to attendees to use in the classroom.

Please contact to info@consiliencelearning.org
if you would like to offer this course for your faculty.

Instructor:

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Kelly Rasmussen is a learning strategist working with schools to integrate assistive technologies into their systems and to create first class learning environments. She introduces teachers to the uplifting world of educational technology, providing them strategies for helping students to uncover their true learning potential.

A Canadian educator for over twenty years, Kelly has a degree from Queen’s University in Sociology with a concentration in Education, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Certified and is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

Kelly founded her company GotSmartz in 2015 to introduce struggling students, their parents, and their teachers to effective learning strategies and assistive technology that support literacy skills, executive functioning, mathematics and study skills. Kelly’s students become confident, more self-aware of their personal learning preference, accountable for their learning and able to self-advocate. Teachers and administrators are empowered to effectively integrate educational technology into the curriculum, and parents are better aware of how to support their children’s unique learning preferences.

Presenting to Learning Disability Associations, hundreds of schools, parent groups, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Homeschooling Conferences, and International Education Technology Conferences, Kelly enables teachers and administrators to embrace and integrate cutting edge technology into their education system while supporting them in their journey to create inclusive, diverse and equitable learning environments.

Community minded, Kelly co-founded an award-winning non-profit organization, iSisters Technology Mentoring, that helps women in need gain back control of their lives and reenter the workforce through mentoring and technology. Her award winning iAssistive Technology Program has helped women improve their literacy skills, increase their confidence and advance to postsecondary education.

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