Engaging the Bored Learner and Students with Unique Learning Needs Prt 1

Engaging the Bored Learner and Students with Unique Learning Needs

Do some of your students seem bored or unengaged while you are teaching or going over lesson content? Are any of your students resistant to completing the assignment or doing the work that is assigned?  Maybe some of your students are falling asleep while you are teaching. Here are some ideas on how to engage your students and especially meet some of their unique learning needs. This could bring you towards this success of bringing the students back into learning and mastering the skills they need.

What Behaviour is Your Student Exhibiting?
Why It Could be Happening?

These are just ideas and personal experiences I have had with my own students over the 6 years of dealing with my huge caseload of rotating students as a Technology Coach. I am also speaking from my own experience of being a student and now an adult with a Learning Disability and ADHD. (May not be applicable to all student(s).

Behaviour being exhibited	Why the behaviour could be happening	Explanation
Bored	struggling to focus can’t make a connection with the content does not know how to react	There may be too many distractions. Even though they are exhibiting being bored.   It may help to reduce distraction if the student is seated near the front of the class. The student also may not realize they are not grasping the concepts being taught. Maybe they assume they understand it or are misinterpreting the concepts.
Resistant	avoidance defiance blackouts/ or does not understand their actions	In some cases, maybe the student does not feel connected or comfortable with their educator. It seems simple but at Learnstyle ltd. We see and firmly believe in the importance of relationships. I know for a lot of Educators it is a fine balancing act trying to be an authority figure and having your students respect you along with wanting them to be comfortable. Here are some icebreakers and connection activities for your class/student. Two truths, one lie is a favourite at Learnstyle ltd. staff to do with our students. They could be acting out from personal situations not even related to school. Sometimes students can blackout and not even remember their actions. They may struggle with social skills and how to socially conduct themselves. They may not understand that their reaction is not appropriate.
Frustrated	does not understand the material does not know where to start upset they don’t know	They may be just very frustrated because they have tried so hard and do not understand the material. They see all their other classmates understanding and question why they are not. I know for myself, I experienced this a lot from school. Especially with tests and exams and before I was officially diagnosed. I would get so frustrated when classmates would talk about what they got on a test and make a comment like “ I didn't study at all and I got an A+.”  I would question myself and be so frustrated because I studied all weekend and only got a C+.   They also may be too afraid to ask a question because they do not think they are allowed or they do not want people to see them asking a question. They do not want their classmates to think they are stupid.
Tired	they worked so hard thinking home environment diet	Some students with learning disabilities can work so hard thinking about how to do their work and figure it out it can be exhausting. I know myself being an adult with a learning disability, I relate with this a lot. Especially after very involved in strenuous assignments or tests. Whenever I was finished an exam in college and university, I would be absolutely exhausted because you can use so much brain power to complete that exam. Simple, maybe they are not getting enough sleep. Not all students, but I have experienced with some students in the age of technology and that they can hide away with their mobile devices and students are staying up super late watching videos or playing games and their parents are completely unaware. As an educator, this would be a very hard conversation to have with a parent bringing up if they think their child is getting enough sleep because the parent may become defensive that you are questioning if they are a good parent. But maybe an alternative, starting like a monthly or every 3 months newsletter and may be sending an article about screen time and rules about devices after bedtime. Maybe the child didn't eat enough or they ate poorly all week. It can be hard but maybe if you can't be present when they are eating, make sure the teacher on duty or the parent volunteer is aware and they can let you know what eating habits they are observing.
This is not worth it	can’t understand the end goal needs a real life connection and application how does this benefit me	I find these reactions come more from intermediate and high school students. They just can't understand sometimes the end goal of the material they are working on. I find it can help them to be motivated and better understand when there are real-life connection and application. Also, in some cases, if it is a student that maybe do not understand the content;  a real life example can make it much easier for them to understand and grasp the concepts being taught. They want a connection of how this will benefit them both academically and possibly for real life.
No reaction	overwhelmed Umms I don’t know	They are overwhelmed in general because they are not understanding many subjects in school. They don't know where the start and they feel defeated because they try so hard or just in general. In some cases, when a student says um a lot, it could be them processing and trying to think of what to say or answer. They are so overwhelmed and do not know how to react or how to understand the material or explain what they don’t understand

Re-vamping Materials

• Videos

Most students love videos and especially content from Youtube. Visual content can be a great way for students to understand in a different way.

Here are some of the top educational youtube channels:

http://mashable.com/2013/04/04/youtube-education/#

Using video content can help students that learn better with visuals. If you choose an online video format, students can play back and review content whenever they want. Great for studying, paired with an assignment and for students that need to repeat content to better understand it.

*Tip* ad blocker

Are you worried about inappropriate ads from youtube or online video while playing videos in class? This adblocker will block those ads and go straight to playing your video content:

https://adblockplus.org/

Engaging with Technology

• Electronic Textbooks

Electronic textbooks can be great and easier for students to access. A lot of cloud storage (Example: O365-Onedrive, Gsuiteedu- Google Drive, etc.), electronic books can be loaded and then shared with students.

*Tips*

Super popular books and textbooks can sometimes be searched and found online. Best way to search: The Outsiders: PDF or Science is now Gr. 6 PDF.

*AERO*

For students that have SEA (Special Education Allotment in Ontario School Boards) equipment, any Teacher in Ontario can sign up for an AERO account. AERO is run by the Ontario Mministry of eEducation and provides accessible formats for textbooks and novels. You can download or request many different electronic formats like PDF, Epub, Kesi, etc. Then these formats can be opened on your available text to speech (Read + Write, Kurzweil, Carol Reader, etc).  

• Digital Ink and Annotating

Digital ink and annotating on documents or for written output can be super fun and in some cases very exciting for students. It can also save paper since the student could also hand in the document online. You as the teacher, can mark with digital ink or annotating. Think about, no need to take 30-40 papers home if you can access them and mark them all online.

Here are some different options for Digital Inking and Annotating:

Google-

Diigo Web Collector: Bookmark, Archive, Screenshot & Markup - All-In-One Web Collector https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/diigo-web-collector-captu/pnhplgjpclknigjpccbcnmicgcieojbh?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon  

Annotate: Powerful student engagement solution featuring presentation, assessment, & annotation tools for traditional, 1:1, & BYOD classrooms.  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/annotate/gndlcibepdfcnhcadpminkeoiibjagog?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon

Read and Write for Google: Read and write is integrated into many Google document types. There is a great PDF option with typewriter and markup tools. (*AT*)

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readwrite-for-google-chro/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon

O365-

Onenote: is an amazing tool with tons of annotations and markup options.

https://www.onenote.com/

Read and Write for O365: Read and write is integrated right into. There is a great PDF option with typewriter and markup tools. (*AT*)

https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/read-write/read-write-for-windows/

Windows-

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC: Adobe has a great Fill & Sign feature which includes typing features, signature, highlighters and much more.  

https://get.adobe.com/reader/

PDF Reader: There is a great PDF Reader with annotating options available in the Windows Store.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/pdf-reader-view-edit-share/9nblggh67wlk

Kurzweil: Kurzweil gives superior AT support options along with many annotating options. (*AT*)

https://www.kurzweiledu.com/products/k3000-win.html

Read and Write Gold: Read and write Gold is a great software options with numerous annotating options also. (*AT*)

https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/read-write/read-write-for-education/

Assistive Technology (*AT*): anything with AT means it is Assistive Tech that you have to have purchase or your Board uses for their SEA.  

• Texture

Using texture where applicable can be a great way to engage students and let them get hands on.

Here are some great blogs that talk about using texture for assignments, class activities and  hands-on work:

http://familylicious.com/sensory-bags/

http://www.two-daloo.com/texture-eggs-sensory-play-language-activity/

https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2016/08/sensory-tubs-for-3-year-olds.html

Chunking Tasks

Some students are overwhelmed with having to do larger assignments all at once. Chunk what they need to do. Some students will not know how to chuck assignments themselves, so you may have to give the assignment that way or give them some guidance.  

Written by:

Casey Foote

http://www.learnstyle.com/team/casey-foote/

Use of PULSE in Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB): to Help Meet the Needs of all Unique Learners and to Differentiate in the Classroom

Use of PULSE in Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB): to

Help Meet the Needs of all Unique Learners

and to Differentiate in the Classroom

There are many different ways that PULSE can be used to help both students to understand their unique learning style and how teachers can better support and teach with differentiated teaching options. Here's an amazing example from the GEDSB at King George School, LRT Laura, their students and teaching staff:

Any student can use and play PULSE:

Laura: “I have had a lot of positive feedback from teachers and students when completing the games. I had set the staff up as my class and had them give it a try before doing it with their class. Many of them were surprised at their results - I had a teacher say "I am definitely a kinesthetic learner" and then their results showed that they were a sequential and visual learner. Our kids really enjoyed working through the different games. We have a number of students at our school that are identified (e.g. learning disability, Autism, Mild Intellectual Disability) and all were able to complete the games with no frustrations. We do have a student with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and he struggled. I worked with him and had to reword and remind him of the instructions throughout the games. He has very slow processing speed and issues with memory and retention. It took him 3 different attempts to complete the games and he got frustrated a couple of times.”

Easy differentiation options for staff to integrate into the classroom:

Laura: “I would say as a staff, our next step is to take the information and apply it in the classroom. We need to work with our teachers on using the strategies provided. I've attached a few photos of the bulletin board we set up in our Resource Office that uses QR codes to link to the youtube videos for each strategy. Our goal now is to have staff and students actually use it when they are working on assignments.”

To find out more about PULSE, please visit:

http://www.learnstyle.com/pulse/

How can technology be used to help people with spelling difficulties to edit their writing?

How can technology be used to help people with

spelling difficulties to edit their writing?

Answered by DJ Cunningham, CEO of LEARNstyle

I often get asked the question, “what is the best spelling tool?”.  My answer to this is, “when supporting a learning disability, you need to support beyond the spelling, and support the writing”.

So what we really are looking for are great writing tools.  Writing is broken into a few stages, Planning, Composing, Editing, and Adding.  Let’s consider spelling within the editing stage.

The reason we need to look beyond spelling, is that when spelling is looked at in a silo, context gets overlooked. This is to say, when we use spellers and standard spell check, we are addressing the single word in question, and not the greater context of the word within the sentence. This often leads a person to select a correctly spelled word, but absolutely the wrong word in the context of the sentence they are writing.

When you are considering an editing tool you want to ensure it has two components:

• Contextual spell check, and
• Text-to-speech.

Contextual Spell Check

Contextual spell check is different from standard spell check.  The difference is that standard spell check focuses solely on the word in question, drawing on as many words that it thinks you are writing based on the few letters you wrote.  Contextual spell check, on the other hand, is looking beyond the letters in the word you wrote; it is looking at the preceding and following words and taking into consideration the entire sentence.  This allows for contextual spell checkers to have much more accuracy.

Text-to-Speech

Text-to-speech allows a user to have their work read out loud to them. This process allows learners to hear many more of their mistakes than when rereading it themselves. When we reread our own writing, whether in our mind or out loud, our brains tend to “fill in the blanks”, or read the word we meant to say, not the one we actually wrote or spelled.

By learning to think about spelling in context, students improve not only their spelling skills, but their understanding of the language as a whole. As students gain confidence with these tools, the overall quality of their written work will also improve.

Here are some options of technology that have Contextual Spell Check and Text-to-Speech:

• WordQ

http://www.goqsoftware.com/

• Read and Write (for Google or Gold edition) Word prediction built into their tool bar

https://rwchrome.texthelp.com/drive/support/home

• T9 and Text-to-speech on mobile devices: there is T9 word prediction built into many mobile devices (tablets, iPads, and smartphones)

• Co-Writer

http://donjohnston.com/cowriter/