Assistive Technology
The York Catholic District School Board is committed to providing all students access to the curriculum through the use of assistive technology. Over the years, the Student Service Technology Steering Committee and the Special Education Technology Team (SETT) have experimented with several hardware and software tools to accommodate a range of learners. Hardware would include computers, ultrabooks, Chromebooks, iPads, interactive whiteboards, large rolling trackballs, modified keyboards and overlays, switches and headsets with microphones.
Software includes Google Read & Write, Speak & Type, Word Prediction, and Clicker 6 to support our special learners. Apps on the Apple iPads that help support our students are not limited to Choiceworks, Pictello, Book Creator, Clicker, Voice Dream, WordQ, iAnnotate, and Appwriter.
Through various Ministry grants, the York Catholic District School Board was able to purchase volume licensing of specialized software, as part of of the board's universal technology access design.
S.E.A. EQUIPMENT
The Ministry of Education has made available to boards a Special Equipment Amount (SEA) application process. The purpose of SEA Equipment funding is to assist boards with the costs of equipment essential to support students with special needs. Students eligible for a claim are students with a special need, where equipment is required to support student access to the Ontario curriculum and/or an alternate program. This equipment does not exist within the school at the time the claim is submitted. Examples of individualized or shared equipment are FM systems, lifts, communication devices, and computers with assistive technology.
If students were assigned technology as a result of a S.E.A. referral, parents can expect the referral to transfer from the elementary school to the secondary school. We ask that parents and students be patient as time is needed to replace the imaging on equipment. Once the equipment is ready, students may pick it up in the Student Support Centre for use in their classes. We ask that students pick it up at the beginning of the school day and return it prior to dismissal.
GET TO KNOW GOOGLE READ AND WRITE!
All students in the York Catholic District School Board have their very own Board-issued Google accounts. Students have free access to an email account and the various applications that Google offers - free!
Since many teachers have gravitated towards the Google environment, we encourage students who access Special Education support to use Google Read and Write. Read and Write is an Extension in the Google Chrome browser that makes Google Apps For Education (GAFE) more accessible, with support for Google docs, web, pdfs, and epubs in google drive. It is a text-to-speech, and speech-to-text extension to boost reading and writing confidence to students with learning difficulties, dyslexia or ELL/ESL.
Click the link below to install this Chrome extension on your computer, laptop or Chromebook at home.
CHECK OUT THESE LINKS!
