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Increasing student achievement by the systemic alignment of technology, policies, and curriculum through a multi-tiered system of supports in a universal education setting.
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Headline
- The Importance of Writing
- Resource: Why Students Should Write in All Subjects
Editorial
- Supporting Students with Dysgraphia
Writing Tools & Resources
- Simple-tech Writing Tools
- Complex-tech Writing Tools
- KiwiWrite Math - Math Made Accessible
- Strategies & Instructional Design
- Understanding Dysgraphia: A Fun Interactive Tool
- What is Dysgraphia
- Classroom Accommodations for Dysgraphia
- Strategies for When Writing Interferes With Learning
- Cognitive Processes and Strategies for Learning, Reading, and Writing
- Adaptive Typing
AT & UDL Loan Library Updates & More
- 2023-2024 Statewide Assessments Accommodations Guide
- Video Magnifier Comparison Chart
- Clicker Writing Software
- Co:Writer
- Notability
- BEESS Accommodations Manual Quick Reference
TLC Website Updates
- TLC Adaptive Switch Courses
Let us know how we can help you this year!
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The Importance of Writing
Writing, whether handwriting or typing, is a critical skill supporting academic achievement. While there are times when students can be given options on how they demonstrate knowledge, writing skills are fundamental to academic success.
Writing can enhance learning. The process of writing can enhance working memory, help students make connections between concepts, support information analysis, and externalize cognitive processes like organizing information. IEP teams need to consider any supports, accommodations, and technologies a student may need to be able to write with the complexity and rigor required by that student's grade-level standards.
This newsletter provides a range of resources to help meet the needs of students who struggle with writing, including students with dysgraphia. Together, we can all make sure our students make the writing connection!
For more information visit "Why Students Should Write in All Subjects."
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Supporting Students with Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia basically refers to problems with writing. It includes transcription skills; handwriting, typing, and spelling. Fluency in these skills is critical in supporting the writing process.
Indicators of dysgraphia can include:
- slow writing
- problems in spacing letters and words
- problems holding a pencil-style tool
- problems writing in a straight line
- problems spelling
It is important to provide support for writing as soon as any problems are identified. While speech-to-text tools are sometimes used for students with significant physical involvement; these tools cannot be used in all environments and can be difficult for students with articulation problems and attention deficits. As much as possible, support should be given for additional writing instruction, strategies, assistive technologies, and keyboarding skills. It is not just one device or strategy that will work, all supports should be provided as applicable and in support of each other.
The resources in this newsletter have been curated to provide multiple pathways to removing or reducing barriers to writing. From technologies to strategies to information, there is something here for everyone. As we all work together, we can help students with disabilities increase their academic proficiency!
Your TLC Team
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Writing Tools & Resources | |
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Simple-tech includes tools and accommodations that do not require batteries or any type of computer technology. These tools are easy to take and use anywhere, and simple to replace.
Complex-tech includes tools that require batteries and some type of computer technology. This can range from items like battery-powered calculators to mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and computers.
Below are some examples, there are many more. These are starting points; be sure to search online for more options to meet the specific needs of your students.
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Simple-tech Writing Tools
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Complex-tech Writing Tools
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Writing mathematic formulas and equations can be difficult for students with dysgraphia. KiwiWrite Math is an online tool created specifically for a student with dysgraphia. It can be an effective support for students who have dysgraphia, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, fine motor limitations, and handwriting problems.
There is a 30-day free trial.
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Here are more examples of apps and software that can be used by students with dysgraphia to support writing in math instructional activities.
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Strategies and Instructional Design | |
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This is a free online interactive activity that can be used individually or in a group to start conversations on understanding dysgraphia.
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A great article that clearly describes what dysgraphia is, its indicators, and how it is diagnosed.
This is an easy-to-read list of classroom strategies, routines, and instructional supports for students with dysgraphia.
Great information on what dysgraphia is, remediation strategies, compensatory strategies, and much more.
This comprehensive resource describes the cognitive processes critical to learning, along with classroom strategies for each process. It's from the 2019 Florida SLD/OHI/TBI/OI District Contacts Meeting.
This article provides easy strategies for color coding a keyboard to help students learn to type without the cognitive load of touch typing. Here are some examples of pre-printed keyboard stickers.
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AT & UDL Loan Library Updates & More | | |
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Did you know there have been updates to the 2023-2024 Statewide Assessments Accommodations Guide related to the use of video magnifiers? These changes can be found on page 6 of the document. Contact Leeann Eldredge (Leeann.Eldredge@fldoe.org) with questions.
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Trouble deciding which video magnifier to trial? Check out the video magnifier comparison chart that shows the variety of features of the video magnifiers available for trial through the FIMC-VI Loan Library!
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Clicker software for Win/Mac and Clicker Writer App for iPad/Chromebook use powerful customizable tools such as Clicker Sentences, Clicker Connect, and Clicker Docs that provide scaffolding and differentiated supports to create sentence-building activities. Using such diverse strategies and tools via the writing process, teachers can provide multiple formats and supports to scaffold their students' writing needs to build writing success. The Clicker suite of tools includes the following.
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Clicker Sentences - provides as-needed writing support for emergent writers as it models the writing process and structure through customized word banks and picture grids.
Clicker Connect - enables the skills needed for the first steps to becoming an independent writer. Customized writing templates are created for teachers by simply selecting a template format and adding sentences. Students write sentences through the supported learning grid environment that may include word clusters, phrases, and/or pictures to help them build a coherent piece of text. Students can also listen to what they have written through the text-to-speech feature tool.
Clicker Docs - robust portable word processor with built-in supports such as word banks, concept maps, text-to-speech, and word prediction to provide students with needed guidance to plan, visualize, and organize the main ideas for their writing assignments.
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CoWriter is a word and grammar prediction tool that provides writing support through the following features:
- Predict ahead spelling and vocabulary to assist users with spelling, word choice, and idea creation.
- Speech recognition to turn spoken words into writing on Google Drive or email.
- Translation/25 languages enable users to write in their first language and translate in real-time.
- Talking word processor to listen to text that was written.
- Horizontal layout and keyboards for ease of use on tablets and/or mobile devices.
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Notability is a free app that allows the user to use multiple formats (handwritten, typed, photos, drawings, and/or audio) to express their ideas and thoughts. It provides an organization system that makes these notes or pieces of work easy to find, edit, and share. Notability Plus provides the next level of performance tools through add-ons that include features such as handwriting recognition, math conversion, and audio transcription.
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This quick reference list a wide range of example accommodations in the areas of information presentation, word recognition, reading, comprehension, listening, following directions, student response, writing, expression, mathematics, behavior and attention, organization of materials, time management, and physical accessibility.
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Participants can sign up for free!
- Switch Skills Progression: Setting Up For Success: L0
This course, the first in a series, is a precursor to the levels identified in Ian Bean's Switch Progression Road Map.
- Switch Skills Progression: Cause & Effect: L1
This course follows L0, addressing understanding switch use for cause and effect.
- Switch Skills Progression: Sequential: L2
This course is L2: Sequencing, which follows the previous levels starting with L0: Setting Up for Success, and L1: Cause and Effect.
- Switch Skills Progression: Attention and Timing: L3
This course is L3: Attention and Timing, which follows the previous levels starting with L0: Setting Up for Success, L1: Cause and Effect, and L2: Sequential.
- Switch Skills Progression: Targeting and Timing: L4
This course is L4: Targeting and Timing, which follows the previous levels starting with L0: Setting Up for Success, L1: Cause and Effect, L2: Sequential, and L3: Attention and Timing.
- Switch Skills Progression: Introduce Choice: L5
This course is L5: Introduce Choice, which follows the previous levels starting with L0: Setting Up for Success, L1: Cause & Effect, L2: Sequential, L3: Attention & Timing, and L4: Targeting and Timing.
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This resource was funded through The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS). The information and resources are provided as a free awareness service to the educational community and do not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved. Please note that access to some resources may be blocked by individual school districts. | | | | |
