Smart Inclusion Adventures in the Classroom
By Roy, Peggy; Mason, Tania; Snider, Healther; Closing the Gap, Volume 30, Number 3, Pages 28-30Publication Date: August/September 2011
Article provides an overview of the implementation and effects of the Smart Inclusion program in the classroom. This initiative uses SMART Boards (www.smarttech.com) with what has historically been thought of as “special needs software,” set within a framework of Universal Design for Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Aided Language Stimulation, and the Participation Model to support communication and participation for students with significant communication disabilities and inclusive educational programming. An example illustrates the use of Smart Inclusion in the classroom to create an interactive story to engage students in the use of technology and accommodate their needs. The children took a familiar story and retold the main events. The students used the Story Stage application (http://education.scholastic.co.uk/ story_stage) on the SMART Table (http://smarttech.com), where they were able to read, listen to, or watch the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. To add sound to their stories, the students learned to use Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) to create MP3 sound files and then learned how to create links to these files in Notebook (www.smarttech.com). To make the story interactive, an iPad app called Decide Your Own Adventure was used. This app has a number of stories that allow the reader to make choices throughout the story to further the plot. Using laptops in the classroom and Kidspiration (www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration), the teams set out to plan their adventures. Each team brainstormed a web of ideas to plan out the plot for their portion of the story. Once the story plan had been approved by the teacher, the students began typing the text for their stories. Some students used WordQ, (http://www.goqsoftware.com) word prediction software to help with spelling while others required a scribe. Pictures were created using animations in Notebook. Once completed, the stories were shared onto the SMART Boards in the other classrooms using Adobe Connect (http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html).
Assistive Products Discussed: KIDSPIRATION
WORDQ WRITING AID SOFTWARE
SMARTBOARD
Published by: Closing the Gap, Inc. (Website:http://www.closingthegap.com)
