Please review general Registration Information here.
Please review CEU information here.
CEUs will be available through the AAC Institute.
Engaging Students with Digital Tools and Technology
January 18, 2023, 9:00-3:00, Online
Presented by Crystal Rose-Hill
Digital technology is for everyone, but can be overwhelming. If we aren’t an “expert”, we might feel like we can’t properly support our students. Additionally, digital tools already built into devices are often overlooked in a world where so many assistive technology programs available for purchase (and beyond our budget).
By knowing which questions to ask, and how to find answers, we can increase our knowledge without the need to become an expert in any one program. By using an individualized approach to working with students, we can provide access to a wider range of individuals within a reasonable budget. In this session, we will discuss some digital tools built into devices and free and low-cost programs; participants are encouraged to share tools and programs they have used as well.
We will also review tips, strategies, and key questions to ask that can quickly engage students with digital tools. Peer Technology Specialists from Wesleyan University will be available to answer questions on using technology as a student, and how to approach teaching a student a new technology from the peer perspective. Finally, we will touch on how to best provide continued support to others (and ourselves) in learning and using digital tools for productivity and access.
In the afternoon, participants will be encouraged to explore the built-in accessibility options on their own devices. There will be opportunity to learn with some “how to” and also “show and tell”. Facilitators will be available to answer questions specific to various devices. Computer, phones, tablets… have them all charged and ready!
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1: Create the start of a personal database of digital tools and resources.
2: Recognize the important questions (rather than answers) that help us develop the knowledge and skills to help others.
3: Conceptualize an approach to effectively engage students in utilizing digital tools and technology within a reasonable budget.
Register HERE.
Post Secondary Success Starts Early through Participation and Engagement in CBI
February 8, 3:00 – 6:00, Online
Presented by Deborah Schwind
Youth with disabilities experience poor employment outcomes upon graduation that impact mental health, physical health, and quality of life. Engaging children in opportunities to develop transition readiness skills can begin in elementary school in relevant, purposeful ways. We will discuss how to develop these predictors to transition success in children beginning in elementary school using Community Based Instruction interventions. CBI provides a foundation for students that can be built upon for later success. A multitude of programming examples and low-tech AT strategies will be provided that can easily be implemented upon your return to the
classroom.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1: Identify the barriers and predictors of post-secondary success.
2: Identify 3 or more low tech strategies that can be incorporated in CBI in elementary school.
3: Discuss 3 activities that can be initiated in the school environment to impact work opportunities post high school.
Register HERE.
A Roadmap for the AAC Journey
March 8, 9:00 – 3:00, Online
Presented by EJ Piccirillo & Nicole Natale
Are you working with a nonspeaking child for the first time? Do you have a student using AAC inconsistently or in ineffective ways? You might be wondering where to begin, or where to go from here! In this collaborative and hands on session, participants will begin to explore, build, and refine practical knowledge of the best practices in alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). Participants will explore relevant evidence based practice, resources, tools, and strategies to become better communication partners and facilitators of meaningful and functional communication.
Learning Objectives:
1: Participants will be able to define and identify what AAC is and give at least 3 examples.
2: Participants will be able to identify at least 3 evidence-based strategies in AAC implementation.
3: Participants will be able to identify at least 3 myths or misconceptions in AAC.
Register HERE.