Increasingly, the interactive
whiteboard (IWB) is becoming commonplace in classrooms around the world and is certainly
a crucial tool for presenting lessons in the modern digital age. Sometimes,
however, we come across a student, for whom the interactive whiteboard seems to
hold no great attraction, leading staff to wonder, can this child see the board
? … Or, is the IWB just too far away to be relevant for that child. Although the option exists for seating a child
with a possible visual impairment next to the IWB computer, we can’t always position
that laptop screen in a way that best uses that child’s residual vision. Even when we position a child closer to the IWB, we may still struggle to keep that child engaged throughout our lesson. Some
children will attend only to materials that are ‘close at hand’ and unless they
are actively manipulating materials they quickly lose interest in the lesson.
You will recall from a
previous post (07/13/15 Primary-Secondary
Facilitator Model) that an Animated Step-by-Step group lesson is best
conducted within a Primary-Secondary
Facilitator Model. The Primary Facilitator is the person
leading the group lesson; the Secondary
Facilitator is the staff member assigned the role of ‘silent coach’ for an
individual student. When presenting an Animated Step-by-Step™ lesson on the IWB
it is possible to present the EXACT SAME LESSON (the parallel universe) on an
iPad allowing that student to follow the ongoing lesson ‘up-close and personal’. This is made possible by the free Microsoft PowerPoint app (see several previous posts for setup suggestions).
Typically
there is a classroom assistant or personal aid available to follow along on the
iPad, as the text is being read and animated by the Primary Facilitator at
IWB.
In a previous post (08-03-15, What
if You Want the Symbols Upfront?) we discussed how you can alter your
Animated Step-by-Steps™ to make the symbols appear immediately when each page
opens (rather than at the end of the animation sequence which is the default option). This tactic would allow the Secondary Facilitator (sitting with the
child) to be pointing out the corresponding symbols, as the Primary Facilitator
at the IWB is reading the text.
You will recall from another earlier post that the act of touching a symbol on the Microsoft PowerPoint app produces a small red dot that can help to further accentuate where the child should be focusing.
Don’t forget you also have the option of using the pinch zoom feature to enlarge the symbols making it easier for the child to better appreciate symbol features.
If you have purchased an
adapter to make your iPad switch accessible or perhaps you are using a blue
tooth switch, it is also possible to incorporate a more active ‘hands on’ component
allowing the child to use an offered switch to activate the animations on their
iPad. If the child is cognitively young,
you would probably want to provide the switch on an ‘as needed basis’. The
simple addition of a motor response can make the difference between a child being
‘plugged into’ a lesson vs. a child that is considering what behavior might
he/she introduce to get out of the lesson. The switch option provides
the child with numerous opportunities to trigger animations on their iPad and may
result in the child being more engaged in the lesson by virtue of being ‘more
tethered’ in a meaningful way to the lesson. Now the question arises … do you
want to just go with the sound effects produced by the IWB (provided your
Secondary Facilitator is ‘on his/her synchronized game’ or should you lower the volume of the iPad to avoid producing competing
sound effects. These are questions that must be answered by trial and error on
a case-by-case basis. The fact that we have these options available is
definitely a plus! Here’s hoping the ‘parallel universe’ plan might be a good
fit for that one challenging student in your class.
…’til the next post (new posts every Monday. Become a follower)
©2015 Carol Goossens’, Ph.D.
Augmentative Communication
Specialist
Speech-Language Pathologist
Special Educator
Visit http://teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Bloom to view the full library of Animated Step-by-Steps™now available in three versions: Regular, SymbolStix and PCS symbols
