Overwhelmed by PD? Don’t have time for a 90-minute webinar? We got you! AT JOT stands for Assistive Technology: Just One Thing. These fast, 30-minute sessions will showcase just one organizational or assistive technology tool or strategy that you can use in your classroom or teacher/therapist life. Are mornings or afternoons better for you? No worries—each JOT will be presented on Wednesdays at lunchtime and after school. Choose the time that works for you.
Due to a Zoom glitch, if you have previously registered for AT JOTs, kindly reregister. We apologize for the inconvenience.
2021 Spring Series
There are many books online for early readers of all ages. But how do you know which ones to choose? Does your student need switch access to turn the pages? Large print? Support for ELL? Sign Language? Come to this JOT and “check out” all the digital picture books you can share with students and their families.
Book Creator is the simplest way for teachers and therapists to create and share digital books and for students to be the authors of their own digital books. Book Creator is available as an iPad app or online. Because Book Creator has text-to-speech and lets you add videos, recordings, or photos at the touch of a button; you can also customize books for the needs of your learners. We know about the importance of repeated readings, and your students will want to read these books over and over! Create social stories, talking photo albums, and books that lead older students through procedures such as cooking or task completion. Leave this JOT with at least 50 ways to use Book Creator in your classroom, online or in person.
Students who struggle to read often benefit from hearing text read out loud. Fortunately, many text-to-speech (TTS) tools are readily available and often free. They may include features such as voice options, reading rate control, highlighting, spacing options, line focus, and more. With so many options, it can be overwhelming to decide which TTS tool is best for each student. Come to this session for a quick overview and demonstration of some of the most popular tools!
Want to save an article to read later, a list of books that you found on Facebook, a recipe or, as a student, a thought you have for that paper due next week? Welcome to Google Keep. It is an easy way to move those items to a shareable folder that you have control over. It will also be there when you are ready to write that paper, finish your lesson planning, or remembering that great idea.
Don’t you just hate when you have opened all those tabs while doing lesson planning and then your computer crashes or your child gets on and closes everything and you don’t find out until the next day? Tab Cloud is a browser extension that will stop these fears! And frustrations! And you will love your family! Learn a quick way to add Tab Cloud to either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge and how to use it, name it, and save sites for lesson planning, research, or fun stuff.
Assistive technology in the kitchen? Absolutely! Come learn how a few handy tools (low-tech and mid-tech) can help students with various disabilities make tasty items at home or in a school setting.
Are you looking for ways to allow your students’ creativity to flow? Join us to hear about low-tech assistive technology to help when your students use different mediums such as paint, crayons, chalk, and clay!
ADE/ESS and STAR Autism Support are collaborating to offer resources and professional learning opportunities to support PEA staff with free Virtual Learning Opportunities this Fall.
Due to the passage of HB 2863 during the Spring 2021 legislative session, the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) is now considered a local education agency (LEA) for the provision of free and appropriate public education (FAPE), for the submission of data and other required reports, and for the provision of courses of study that lead to graduation with a regular high school diploma for all students enrolled in their campus locations. This status change began July 1, 2021 (fiscal year 2022).
