July 2013
Session Objectives
Participants will be able to: Making a case for Protocols Describe research on accommodations for Accommodations in Understand the importance of carefully considering Reading (PAR) reading accommodations Describe a process to compare performance across reading accommodations Denise C. DeCoste, Ed.D., OTR Understand how to access PAR on the DJI website [email protected] Identify tools to support close reading
Accommodations are….
Accommodations are intended to reduce or even eliminate the effects of a student’s disability; accommodations do What other accommodation not reduce learning expectations. concerns are there in your Accommodations are meant to level the school or district ? playing field, not provide an undue advantage
Fuchs & Fuchs (2001)
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 1 In principle, accommodations Accommodation Policies, should …... Differ Across States.
lead to greater score The 2011 National Center on Educational improvements for students with Outcomes (NCEO) Brief indicated that the disabilities compared to students percentage of students with disabilities using without disabilities. reading accommodations varies widely across There should be a differential Race to the Top Consortia groups on statewide boost. (Hehir, 2008; Sireci, 2008). reading tests, ranging from 1% to 90%.
Why do we need informed decisions on reading accommodations? Legal Imperatives
No Child Left Behind and IDEA regulations have set the stage for using standardized assessments to measure the progress of all students. Test scores influence key decisions regarding placement, graduation and school effectiveness. Legal and Educational Imperatives
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 2 Accountability for all students Valid or Invalid? is important.
If students with disabilities are not included in accountability measures, then resources Presently, however, standard tests at state and services may not be made available. and district levels are not created with disabilities in mind, nor are they validated in advance on students with disabilities. (Bolt & Thurlow, 2011).
Accommodations are typically put in after-the-fact to level the playing field.
There is a great deal of interest now in whether test results using Educational accommodations are indeed valid Imperatives measures—whether they provide a leveling effect, an undue advantage The majority of students with learning disabilities or have little to no effect at all. have reading disabilities and there is evidence that students do not outgrow such disabilities. (Shaywitz, 2003) Even as older students with learning disabilities read more accurately with more automaticity, they are likely to remain slow readers and will benefit from extra time accommodations (Gregg, Mather, & Shaywitz, 2001).
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 3 Accommodations Grow in Importance AIM Process Guides Decisions
As students progress through school, Where to get the specialized format? there is a shift from learning how to How to know which print materials to read to being expected to read in obtain? order to learn content. As the Who’s job is it to select, obtain, create balance changes, materials? accommodations grow in How to distribute copyrighted materials? importance for student with reading disabilities. http://aim.cast.org/navigator/page/
Deductive Method: Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Process AIM Consortium Documenting Four Formats: Quality Indicators for the Provision of AIM which formats are Timely manner Braille needed and when Written guidelines is as important as Large Print Technical assistance documenting Monitoring Digital text accommodations Continuous improvement Audio recording Resources
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 4
IDEA requires districts to provide Accessible Instructional Materials. Standards, standard, Before you can address which print materials to obtain and where to get the specialized formats, standards you first need an evidence-based process to match formats to student needs. TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading
What drove the development What drove the development of reading standards of reading standards
Children growing up poor continues to increase from 16% in 2000 to 21% in 2009 (National If assessed today, only 15% of students would Center for Children in Poverty 2009) perform at the levels suggested by the Common Core Standards Of all industrial nations, the U.S. has the 2nd highest percentage of children living in extreme 25 years ago 95% of jobs required low skills, poverty (Mexico is ranked first) today low skills jobs represent only 10% of the economy (Darling-Hammond et al 2008) With NCLB, reading scores flat lined p 52
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 5 TEKS for English Language Arts Reading Components and Reading Simple View (Gough and Tunmer) Reading consists of two components: 1. Decoding: transforms print into words Focus on: through knowledge of of phonology 2. Linguistic Comprehension: how words - Foundational skills in Gr K-2 sentences and discourses are interpreted - Reading strategies, fluency in Gr K-8 -Vocabulary, comprehension and media literacy Gr K-12
Comprehension Development
“Students must be able to comprehend Reading is more than just calling out words. texts of steadily increasing complexity as Comprehension is much more than answering they progress through school.” questions about the text. It is complex and multi-faceted. “Students must be able to read and Good comprehenders: Use reasoning and background knowledge comprehend independently and Self- question proficiently the kinds of complex texts Integrate information across texts commonly found in college and Self- monitor their reading Respond to readings personally and analytically careers.” Barr, Blachowicz, Katz & Daufman, 2002 Common Core State Standards Initiative
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 6 Models of Comprehension Independent comprehension Development across types of text and across
Deep, core subjects disciplinary comprehension Literary themes and genres Poetry Elaborated Fiction Understanding Non-fiction Sensory language
Across core subjects (History, science, math) Fluent word Culture and history reading & core comprehension Expository Procedural (Grade 3-12) Persuasive (Grade 4 -12)
Shanahan and Shanahan, 2008; Snow 2010
Prevalence of Reading Difficulties
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 7 One fourth to one third of students still at “basic” 4th Grade On the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress
33% of 4th graders are reading below basic
24% of 8th graders are reading below basic in 2011
The achievement gap for Black and Hispanic students still exists The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011 The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011
8th Causes of Reading Disabilities Grade Genetic factors: RD often runs in families. Parents of a child with RD have a 40% chance of a history of RD. Neurological origins: left assymmetry Factors other than genetics also contribute to reading development.
The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 8 Reading must be explicitly taught Unclear Causal Relationships
“We are socialized to use spoken No association between handedness and RD language to communicate. This is not true Letter and word reversals are not predictive of for reading” RD As of 2008, 796 million illiterate adults Erratic eye movements are not a cause of RD worldwide It is unclear if auditory processing problems Funtional illiteracy rate in U.S. is 21% are related to RD The path to reading begins before formal Attention deficits are not a primary cause of instruction in reading RD (Kamhi & Catts, 2012)
Language impairments are Dyslexia and Language-Based correlated with RD Reading Disabilities: Subtypes
Word Recognition Reading is a linguistic behavior and depends on adequate language development Poor Good Children with RD have difficulties with Good Dyslexia Non-specified receptive and/or expressive languages, phonological processing, poor comprehension Young children with LI are at at risk for RD Poor Mixed Specific “Language deficits are both a cause and Comprehension consequence of reading disabilities”, e.g. Deficit poor reading to delays in knowledge, vocabulary, grammar Listening Comprehension
Kamhi & Catts, 2012 Kaamhi & Catts, 2012
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 9 Prevalence Of Reading Disabilities Research on Reading Reading disability is the most Accommodations common learning disability. 75-90 percent of students with learning disabilities have reading disabilities Typically cognitive abilities are intact
Shaywitz (2003)
Reading Accommodations Reading Accommodations Research Indications Research Indications
Instructionally, text readers have been TTS benefits decoding if student has found to: sufficient phonological skills increase word recognition, speed of Text readers with study tools benefits reading, and comprehension students with reading disabilities Increase the amount read; reduce distractibility MacArthur, C. A. (2009) Olson Wise, 1992 Elkind, Cohen Murray 1996 MacArthur Ferretti Okolo Cavalier, 2001 Dolan Hall Banerjee Chun Strangman, 2005
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 10 Reading Accommodations Reading Accommodations Research Indications Research Indications
Student-paced, computer-based To aid comprehension, human read reading is preferred by students aloud can be slightly faster than TTS is preferred to a human reader student’s oral reading rate due to ease of use and the opportunity to control the reading Lionetti, T. M & Cole, C. L., 2004 experience
Higgins Russell Hoffman, 2005 Flowers Kim Lewis Davis, 2011 Dolan Hall Banerjee Chun Strangman, 2005
Smarter Balance Assessment Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium: Literature Review Consortium: Literature Review
Studies that used computers to deliver TTS “maximizes the independence of accommodations via text to speech or students” and is a “career and college prerecorded text to speech, noted that readiness skill for students with print quality of speech and students’ prior disabilities” who will need to use such experience with TTS were major factors. features. TTS allows the test taker to control the pace or reading. Teacher-paced reading can lead to unintended accommodations such as extended time.
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 11
The Downside of Adult Good site for References: Read Alouds
There are three significant ways in which the human read-aloud accommoda ons failed to provide adequate supports for students and poten ally compromise test validity: 1. Human read-alouds vary in quality, and some readers may mispronounce or misread words 2. Students are reluctant to ask human readers to re-read test portions 3. Human readers may inadvertently add intonation or non-scripted comments which influences students’ attention or responses.
Dolan, Hall, Banerjee, Chun, & Strangman, 2005
Research Limitations Archival studies - difficult to know on what basis accommodations were assigned to students Comparison studies presume that the accommodations were assigned based on objective evidence Most studies do not control for how often accommodations are used on a daily basis leading up to the assessment A student’s achievement across content areas is another factor Accommodations alone do not guarantee improved performance
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 12 Research Limitations Lack of Clear Evidence Methodologies vary Lack of clear empirical evidence on or Sufficient Research the benefits “The absence of clear research Lack of clear direction for teachers. evidence means that opinion and Studies differ expert judgment are the primary type of study (group studies, vs. single subject design), the basis for decisions about which size of the population, the accommodations are allowable age of students, the and which, if used, invalidate test achievement level of students, the scores” type of reading disability, the degree of documented reading disability (Thurlow, Lazarus, Thompson, & Robey, 2002). types of reading tests used as measures.
“Carefully” chosen accommodation decisions “There is evidence that accommodation Research on Making decisions for students with disabilities are not Accommodation Decisions done as thoughtfully as they could and …. further, the wrong accommodations may actually depress performance for some disabled students” (Hehir, 2008, p 132).
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 13 Research on Accommodation Research on Accommodation Decisions Decisions Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Eaton, S. B., Hamlett, C., Brinkley, E. & IEP teams made decisions in idiosyncratic ways, Crouch, R. (2000). with vague decision-making rules that often focused on superficial barriers. Teacher decisions did not correspond well to Erickson and Thurlow (1996) those students who benefited from the accommodations Review of accommodation practices in three school districts found wide variation in the Students who got accommodations were provision of testing accommodations which disproportionally African American, FARM, reduced the overall comparability and lower IQ usefulness of test scores. Shriner and Destefano (2003)
Study on Teacher Accuracy in Assigning Read-Aloud Accom Teacher Perceptions
1,218 fourth-grade through eighth-grade Teachers saw accommodations that altered the students; 20% were students in special test format as invalid education extended time Teacher survey to predict which students would benefit most from a read-aloud read aloud accommodation rewording questions Students tested with a standardized reduced test items per page reading and basic math skills test Teachers' ratings of their student's needs for Whereas, accommodations for testing accommodations coincided with students with sensory impairments, actual students performance only half the where the format was altered, were time. perceived to be equitable
Helwig, R., & Tindal, G. (2003). An experimental analysis of accommodation Three-year meta-analysis of accommodation-related research across 50 states decisions on large-scale mathematics tests. Exceptional Children, 69(2), 211-225. (Cox, Herner, Demczyk, & Nieberding, 2006)
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 14 There is a perception in education Study on high stakes testing for that disabilities must be overcome middle school students with and that there is… learning disabilities
“All too often in practice “an ingrained prejudice against performing activities in ways that might be more accommodations are applied just efficient for disabled people but that are because they are on a list of acceptable different from how nondisabled perform accommodations and the students have them” been identified with a disability” Fletcher, Francis, Caldwell, Kalinowski, Omalley, Young, Copeland, Mehta, and Vaugn (2009,p 462)
Hehir , 2008. p. 18
Study Findings:
Regulations or instructions for assigning IEP teams made accommodation accommodations for students with decisions disabilities and ELL students are more Most based on qualitative judgments; not on objective data often policy based or not well defined, Often based on students’ affect rather “offering broad parameters and not than on performance specific guidance for those who must Assigned similar accommodations to all make accommodations decisions.” students
Implementation constraints affected decisions Kopriva, Koran & Hedgspeth, 2007. p. 147 Lack of awareness of the rationale and goals for using accommodations
Crawford & Ketterlin-Geller (2010)
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 15 Assessment accommodations should be “chosen on the basis of the individual student’s needs and should generally be consistent with the accommodations “There is a call for more provided during instruction” systematized accommodation decision support systems for Dolan, Hall, Banerjee, Chun students with disabilities.” & Strangemen, (2005, p 6)
Kopriva, Koran & Hedgspeth, 2007, p150
Smarter Balance Assessment Developed by: Consortium: Literature Review “Teacher judgments have been shown to Denise be inaccurate, but a reading pre-test or DeCoste multistage assessment to route students to & the accommodated assessment has Linda Bastiani shown promise.” Wilson
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 16 Much like the development of the Written What is it? Productivity Profile (DeCoste, 2005) which provides a process for making decisions PAR is a formative assessment tool about writing supports, used to determine a student’s optimal reading accommodation. Reading material is offered through
Student read aloud
Adult Reader Text-reader Optimal reading method is PAR is intended to help educators make determined through the student’s more objective decisions about reading ability to answer related supports. comprehension questions
The Par Process
PAR is not a test of reading abilities.
PAR builds on present levels of performance on standardized reading evaluations to compare the effectiveness of reading accommodations.
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 17 Action Signs Why use PAR? When it is unclear what reading accommodation works best for a student.
Administering PAR Prior to administering the PAR Who can administer PAR? Identify current instructional reading scores Ascertain if the student has been exposed to a Expert model of direct service delivery text reader and to what extent. Assistive technology specialists Ascertain if the student has been provided with Resource teachers a human reader and how often Reading specialists Pre-arrange a quiet space to administer the PAR Capacity-building model of service Select appropriate reading passages delivery Narrative vs. expository Train school teams to use the Consider student’s interests when choosing protocol. topics
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 18 Materials
Computer Mouse Timer Pen Digital passages Paper copies of: Passages Comprehension questions Scoring forms
Passages Formats:
All of the passages were written by a freelance writer who creates grade-level writing for both basal textbook publishers and There are expository and supplemental publishers. Grade level passages were written to be narrative passages on a variety similar to materials students encounter in the classroom environment. of topics. It is important to The passages were scored for readability at choose topics that spark student mid-grade level using Flesh-Kincaid formulas. Comprehension questions were written to be interest and tap into a student’s considerate, less complex, in an effort to minimize comprehension errors due to background and experience. question complexity.
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 19 Passages in Bookstream
Sample Passage: 6th grade
Comprehension Questions
Four types of comprehension questions follow each passage. Topic- main theme Fact-literal or explicit comprehension Vocabulary-understanding word meaning in context Inferential -based on the ability to reason and use background experience
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 20 Sample Comprehension Questions 5th grade Passage questions
#1 Student reads aloud at his/her documented independent level
Ask the student to predict what the passage will be about. The student reads aloud a reading passage at his or her documented independent reading level (to serve as a baseline and to gauge The 3 main steps reading speed.) of the PAR process The teacher takes note of fluency and reading speed. A Likert scale is used to rate the student’s feelings about reading aloud. Comprehension questions are verbally presented
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 21 #2 Adult Read Aloud at the #3 Text Reader at the Student’s Grade Level Student’s Grade Level Use an equivalent passage at the student’s grade level. Open the digital “practice” passage with the text Ask the student to predict what the passage will Set the text-to-speech rate approximately 20% be about. higher than the student’s read aloud rate. Read the passage at a slightly faster (20%) rate Give the student an opportunity to set the rate of than the student’s reading rate. Check to be text-to-speech and font size. sure the speed is just right for the student Open the selected grade level passage. The student follows along using a paper copy of Ask the student to predict what the passage will the passage. be about. A Likert scale is used to survey the student’s A Likert scale is used to survey the student’s feelings about having an adult read aloud. feelings about using a text reader. Comprehension questions are verbally presented Comprehension questions are verbally presented by the adult and scored accordingly. by the adult and scored accordingly.
Likert Scale: Student Preferences Optional Conditions
Ask the student which type of reading they liked After comparing the data across the 3 most conditions, you can add optional conditions For example: Pre recorded audio reading of a given passage Move to lower level reading passages to gauge optimal comprehension level using reading accommodations
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 22 PAR Administrations Results Form PAR Administrations Results Form
Record the results for each reading condition Record Likert scores Document observations Analyze the type of comprehension questions that are answered correctly and incorrectly
PAR Results Summary Chart Interpretation of Reading Level Based on Comprehension Questions
Top • Independent/ Quartile Instructional Level
Middle • Instructional / Quartiles Frustration Levels Bottom • Frustration Level Quartile
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 23 7th grader, LD, ADD 7th grader with high functioning autism
Prefers adult Student reports interaction, that he limited text reader comprehends experience. more when the text is read aloud using an adult or text reader.
Case Studies Secondary Student with ADHD and Aspergers
Limited text reader experience, 1 to 1 Para support
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 24 • 5th grade student with a learning disability. • Level of Retesting using PAR comprehension was better with the adult After a trial period To increase and text reader to gain more confidence in the conditions, experience with data • When given the read text reader aloud of an adult, or software the computer TTS (the student's preference), her level of Use new passages when retesting comprehension was superior and on grade level. H. Brumer, 2012
Available FREE on the Don Johnston website Getting Started Using PAR www.donjohnston.com/par The Protocol for Accommodations in Watch the video with peers Reading Manual Administer PAR with a peer buddy Forms to record background information, Schedule to administer PAR with a and student responses number of students per month Reading passages in epub, pdf and Microsoft Word Focus groups to discuss results formats Comprehension questions Use the AT Collective site to post for each passage questions or general findings you Forms to summarize the want to share results and display the results using color coding
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 25 PAR Resources
Resources: Find PAR at: www.donjohnston.com/par
Contact Information: Dr. Denise Decoste: [email protected]
Ruth Ziolkowski: [email protected]
“Focus on results rather than means” Scaffolds, Strategies Teachers are thus free to provide and Tools to Support students with whatever tools and Struggling knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as Readers most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards. Accommodations=AT
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 26 Good Teaching Scaffolds: Strategies (CCSS)
Offer choices of books and Need to use more high interest text selections text and more daily reading More eyes on print each day to Frontload vocabulary move students up levels of Explicit teaching and complexity modeling of close reading Reading text at 96% accuracy, fluency and comprehension based on running records --not word calling
Web Subscriptions There’s a lot of high level dig text available online or through Sirsdiscoverer http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com provides lexiled leveled text Find text based on the student’s independent level Internet public library http://www.ipl.org Free, can also get grade level text across content areas Graded Narrative or Expository Text: Encyclopedia Britanica Online • Hard text http://school.eb.com • Online text Has narrated text and images Scholastic news – subscription and free Bookshare- for students with disabilities
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 27 http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/
Ongoing reading assessment: To ensure zone of proximal development
While student reads aloud, check for fluency. If reads haltingly with no intonation or word by word, may be too hard. Fluency is one of the strongest indicators of comprehension (Rasinski)
Rasinski, T. (2010). The fluent reader: Oral and silent reading strategies for building fluency, word recognition and comprehension, 2nd ed. New York: Scholastic
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 28 Reading across the curriculum Low and high tech strategies Basal and core reading programs with silent for close reading and round robin reading not sufficient Low Tech High Tech Too easy for kids to hide Use sticky notes or Using digital text, use Need to ensure transference so that highlighter tools to students can read with high levels of highlighters to look examine text details, comprehension independently at details in the text, text structures or vocabulary text structures, or Annotate directly on Move away from textbooks, Use trade vocabulary the dig text books,( e.g, DK readers) build expository text Use graphic Use Inspiration or other sets at different grade levels offering multiple organizers for each concept mapping perspectives of a topic, to include, video, tools for each print, digital etc. paragraph or stanza paragraph or stanza Act out the reading Use side by side page views to read digital Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, 2012 text and take notes
Readability. com
LINK
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 29 Diigo: Collect and annotate text
Shortens text, does not necessarily reduce complexity
Web and MS Word Notebook View Adobe Acrobat
Adobe annotations
Notebook view on Mac “One Note” in Windows
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 30 Inspiration MS Word: Smart Art Knowledge and details
Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph 1 Details 2 details 3 Details
MS Word: Smart Art Compare and Contrast Anchor Standards
Green Energy Fox News Focus on: Article Viewpoints Key ideas and details= what Craft and structure= how Pros: Pros: Compare and contrast to other text/media
Cons: Cons:
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 31 Use multimedia
Audio Using images and multimedia narrations of the reading
Break digital text into chunks and combine with photos or other images that capture key concepts
Example
Use multimedia Bookshare- for students with qualifying disabilities
Audio narrations of the reading
I have a dream videos
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 32 Text Readers: Embedded Supports in Digital Text
Dictionary definitions or links Stop and think questions Embedded voice notes - rephrasing Embedded images or video
eBook Reader from Text Help to use with Bookshare books
Must have a Reading Apps Bookshare membership
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 33 App that works Text Help Picture with Dictionary Google Docs
Works with pc/ mac Iphone, ipad
Reads google docs TTS Dictionary Picture dictionary Google Fact Finder
Extract text from PDF, ePub, Word, and Text files in Dropbox Voice Dream iBooks or on your device. Read • iBookstore features 1.5 books from million books, magazines, Gutenberg and Bookshare. newspapers • Highlight or underline text, Synchronized make notes, look up a word and line highlighting. word in the dictionary or Handy controls on the web, or search for changing inside the book voices, speech rate, advance • VoiceOver to have iPad and rewind, read to you bookmarking, • With iCloud, read books on highlighting, playlist, and any of your devices sleep timer. $9.99 (iPhone, computer, iPad)
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 34 iScroll 3D Classic Lit
-eBooks with Audiobook E-books (no narration by a real person TTS) included with every Scroll™ For Classic -Narration is synchronized literature with the eBook text -Adjustable reading speed
without pitch distortion
Anne of Green Gables The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Legend of Sleepy Hollow Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Heart of Darkness (illustrated) OverDrive (iPad,iPhone) Metamorphosis A Christmas Carol (illustrated) The Call of the Wild The Chimes Gulliver's Travels The Cricket on the Hearth A Tale of Two Cities • Digital titles from your The Scarlet Letter library are borrowed just Uncle Tom's Cabin Great Expectations The Scarlet Pimpernel Oliver Twist like print material. The Time Machine Jane Eyre (illustrated) • Find your library using Sherlock Holmes Lady Susan Sense and Sensibility (illustrated) ‘Get Books,’ browse your The Count of Monte Cristo library’s digital collection Robinson Crusoe Pride and Prejudice Treasure Island Northanger Abbey on the web Young Robin Hood Emma • check out a title with a The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Little Women A Horse's Tale valid library card, and The Works of Edgar A. Poe download the title The Art of War The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Picture of Dorian Gray (illustrated) directly to your iPhone, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn iPad Sea Frankenstein A Journey to the Centre of the Earth Grimm's Fairy Tales Around the World in 80 Days Wuthering Heights Dracula Utopia Ulysses
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 35 Read2Go (iPhone, iPad) http://www.wordtalk.org.uk/ Free TTS plugin for MS Word
• Daisy reader from Bookshare
• Search for, download, and read Bookshare books with text-to- speech and text highlighting
Blio Stanza (iPhone, iPad) • Download books bought from the Blio Bookstore, titles from over a hundred top publishers. • Same layout, fonts, and full- • E-book color images that you enjoy in reader the print version: cookbooks, travel guides, how-to • Reads manuals, textbooks, and purchase children’s books • Many books can read aloud d or by a text-to-speech voice Project (purchase required) or Gutenber audiobook, with words g books highlighted as they are spoken. • Support for the visually impaired and those with reading disabilities
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 36 Free Audiobooks Audible • Downloa • 4,728 classic ding audiobooks, 100,000+ and listen with titles to audiobook your player iPhone, iPad
• Transfer books to your device over wi-fi
Web Reader (iPad, iPhone) GoodReader for iPad
• Read • Reads PDF and TXT pages files, manuals, large manually books, magazines after they • The ability to mark- are up PDFs loaded, • Use typewriter text • Or use Cut, boxes, sticky notes, Copy, & lines, arrows, and Paste to freehand drawings read only on top of a PDF file. sections of • Sync your files with text Dropbox • Reads pdfs
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 37 iAnnotate Noteability • Annotate, manage, and share documents from your iPad Annotation over • Pen, highlighter, typewriter, stamps, notes, underline, Pdf docs strikethrough, photo, voice In google docs recording, and date stamp functions Or in dropbox • Allows continuous scrolling through the document • Use keywords to search the full text of every document • View documents by their Thumbnails / Bookmarks / Annotations, or the PDF outline • Organize your PDFs into folders
• “Research is never going to answer all the questions that states face related to accommodation decisions. Reasoned judgment is going to have to take a role in these decisions.”
The author goes on to say that “there is Key Points regarding nothing like data-based decision making to determine which accommodations accommodations are useful to students and which they will actually use. “
Thurlow, M. L. (2007). State policies and accommodations: Issues and implications. In C. C. Laitusis and L. L. Cook, Eds., Large-Scale Assessment and Accommodations: What works. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 38 Of Overall Importance…
To ensure that resources are used wisely, it is important that accommodations are provided only to Accommodations for INSTRUCTION those students who are determined to are the “starting point in making need them based on documented benefits. accommodation decisions”
At the same time, it is important to ensure that students have access to necessary accommodations in both instruction and testing”. (Bolt and
Thurlow, 2011. p. 26) Hodgson, J. R., Lazarus, S. S., & Thurlow, M. L. (2011)
Thanks for your time today
D.C. DeCoste/July 2013 39