Teaching an old dog new tricks!

1 classroom computer, for a class of 8 students!
Plus the ISA-funded one not to be used by the other kids. 

Old teachers never stop teaching! I love learning to integrate technology into my retirement life in my old age!

I noticed my son-in-law, Mr. Encryption Engineer, dictating an email message into his iPhone.  What a hoot! My kids keep me on the cutting edge! I'd forgotten about that.

When I taught special needs
students, we used many different special applications on laptops. One was called Dragon Naturally Speaking. It was an early generation of the application, very sophisticated for us in 2004/5. The students could speak their piece into the headset, and the app would change it into text. You could log in as a particular user, and it would remember your vocabulary, and recognize frequently-used words, give you spelling suggestions. It was great for learning disabled students who needed a hand up and some encouragement. Unfortunately, my one student who qualified for this Intensive Support Amount (ISA funding - PDF), was the only kid who was to use it.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) didn't think it through. No one asked the front line workers. Sp. Ed. staff didn't have the time or energy to learn how to use these applications and the new equipment. I did, because it was my passion. I taught my peers how to integrate technology, giving provincial workshops. Sigh. Rant over.

With ISA funding they gave my 1 student
a laptop, scanner, Kurzweil, DNS, printer.

A thought occurred to me. I like to keep notes when I read non-fiction. I thought it might be fun to dictate the notes, rather than typing them out.  I checked, and found a free app for our iPad.  Checking out the apps for the iPad I found Dragon Speaking, which must be an off-shoot.

Hubby, having an appointment with the Naturopath today, had some notes he wanted to give her regarding his issues, his progress and symptoms. I taught him the app.

He dictated it into the machine, remembering to say, 'full stop", and it would create a period, and a new sentence. You can also say, 'new paragraph' and it does that, too.

Simple as this!

This helps someone who isn't a great speller, nor a fast typist. Hubby also communicates regularly, by email, with Dr. Jen, and could send this to her. We printed it instead. The spelling choices are tricky, and you must enunciate carefully. 'Weight' issues, became weed. We thought Dr. Jen might get a kick out of that!

About $100 on Amazon.ca
for the full program.

Using more technology, just for fun, I created him a re-usable chart for his supplements. He uses a washable marker, erases it after 2 weeks, and starts again. We could use a fresh piece of paper, in order to keep track, instead I just take a photo.

Dragon speaking from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Making notes for a medical appointment. Notice the grandkids numerical
placemat!

Bleeding Hearts

Ontario Today’s story revolves around two issues that profoundly impact taxpayers. It appears that journalists are advocating for the government to continue to fund the FNTI, a university designated for aboriginal graduate and postgraduate students. I wonder if CBC is a registered lobbyist and who will be responsible for this funding? No doubt it is a great cause. There is no question that a Nation (the Native Community) should be funding a specialized university. This school is an exclusive school setting. It is a center that gears its philosophy to meet the needs ot fhte aboriginal community, its potential clients. But why should all taxpayers fund a virtually private institution? Why can the money not come from Native Nations?

Taxpayers have donor fatigue and most are not in favour of another drain on short tax dollars. The Federal government is sending out flyers asking if we would be in favour of a 5% GST, rather than the current 7%. In our family we are not. We want to pay GST, taxing consumer goods which we are able to afford, to put money towards an infrastructure that improves our quality of life: health care, education, and other initiatives which other taxpayers seem to believe we can ill afford.

The next Ontario Today next story pertained to a case before the courts today. I am not sure who might be the target audience or is CBC intends to lobby the judge making the decision. Why put on the air one side in one party’s point of law? I can understand the case having taught during my work career. The fact is that the school board’s all have a policy keeping third parties out of the school and the classroom. One year I had two autistic children, 5 learning disabled children, a gifted child, one child with neurofibromatosis and I benefited from an EA for a half day every day. To add yet another child needing a specific program, and another adult in the classroom, would weigh heavily on an already burdened classroom teacher. We are in the field of education not therapy. This child belongs in a setting which best meets his needs and the needs of all the other children in the classroom.

Special education funding is meant to be dispersed equally and fairly amongst all special needs students. It is not meant to benefit particular children. This funding goes towards an EA in a classroom to support a clustering of special needs students. Again, taxpayers do not want to fund any more than is already being spent. This woman’s child is being taken care of in a center, a perfect setting for a special needs child with lower class sizes and better trained specialists.

I am tired of these sad stories with little in the way of background, presented by someone seemingly lobbying on their behalf with little education and training in the field. We can only have a sob story that does not take into account the needs of those involved professionally, as this case, in particular, is before the courts.