Virtual Supports

Recent world events have challenged many educators to discover new ways to provide literacy instruction. How can we continue to provide hands-on, multisensory, science-based reading instruction if we can no longer be face-to-face with our students? Speakers will share easy, successful implementation strategies using Zoom, Loom, document cameras, and smartphones.

For students with dyslexia, systematic multi-sensory linguistic instruction following the

Orton-Gillingham approach has been shown in research to be the most effective for remediation. While the OG approach has traditionally been 1-1 model, the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners has embraced a Classroom Educator model, in the hopes of providing more educators with the tools to provide a greater number of dyslexic students with effective instruction. The challenge becomes how to best provide that instruction in a small group environment. The utilization of technology (Smartboards, iPads, apps and websites) can make the OG classroom instruction a multi-sensory process that is engaging while maintaining the essence of what makes the OG approach so beneficial for dyslexic students. A Classroom Educator Certified Chief Technology Integrator from The Southport School will share how to include technology as an

instructive and assistive tool following the traditional OG approach in the small classroom setting. Focus is about individualizing instruction, review, and practice, while incorporating multi-modal tools to manipulate language, making it more concrete, following the constructs of UDL.

The utilization of technology (Interactive screens, iPads, apps, and websites) can make reading instruction (decoding/encoding, fluency, and comprehension) a multi-sensory process that is engaging and explicit while maintaining the individualization and diagnostic-prescriptive aspects of the lesson. It can support the organizational challenges for necessary lesson materials that can occur when working with multiple students at

once, while also allowing for ease of differentiation within a small group format. Additionally, educational technology can provide ways for the teacher to collect work samples and data from multiple students simultaneously and allow for individualized feedback. The session will focus on the use of various tools that can support differentiated and individualized engagement during various components of reading instruction.

Join in to learn about Google extensions and web-based tools to support reading in a virtual environment. Specific focus will be placed on free tools that students can use to increase accessibility of online reading material.

During the 2019-20 school year, a team at Easterly Parkway Elementary in State College, PA ventured into a major change in curriculum in order to better provide better supports for the unique population of students at the school using Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI). During the implementation this year, the team encountered many challenges and successes, including the shift to virtual learning. This session reviews the story of one of our district's eight elementary school's shift to provide research-proven instruction to students in both the classroom and online.

This session will review the essential connections of speech to print and demonstrate techniques to solidify those connections with students using manipulatives and virtual tools. We will explore resources to support students with phonemic awareness, basic phonics, and decodable text reading.