Assistive Technology & Students
How One Small Change Can Make A Huge Difference
Smartpen Applications for Meeting the Needs of Students With Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms by Angel L. Patti & Krista Vince Garland
Patti & Garland (2015) examined Smartpen applications and how a student with a learning disability in reading and writing demonstrated greater confidence and academic achievement upon implementation. "In today;s schools, approximately 60% of students with disabilities are educated "inside the regular class 80% or more of the day" (Patti & Garland, 2015). They specifically looked at the Smartpen produced at Livescribe and how it assisted one student in grade eight. This article presents many ideas of how this assistive technology can support students on the road to independence. The authors clearly indicate that there is a huge need for more studies and data to be collected in order to truly prove it's worth.
Digital Paper
Syncing Notes & Files
Notes and diagrams are transferred for viewing and sharing.
Diagrams & Graphs Transferred
More Information on the Benefits of the Smartpen
Livescribe Store
https://www.livescribe.com/en-ca/
This link will take you directly to the Livescribe produced video that focuses on how the smartpen will support students with Note-taking, Homework, and Preparing for the Exam
https://www.livescribe.com/en-us/solutions/learningdisabilities/
Frequently Asked Questions – many focused directly on how well the Smartpen will support all students and provides links to try the software free for 30 days and also a link to download the paper
https://www.livescribe.com/en-us/solutions/learningdisabilities/faqs.html
Reviews of a Variety of Smartpens
http://gearpatrol.com/2015/10/21/best-smartpens/
More Recommendations for the Smartpen by the Yale Centre for Dyslexia & Creativity by Caryl Frankenberger, Ed.M.
http://dyslexia.yale.edu/TECH_livescribe.html
Livescribe Smartpen pilot tested with a group of graduate students from the University of California- Berkeley Disabled Students Program in 2011
Computerized pen helps students with disabilities in unexpected ways
August 16, 2011
http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/newsandevents/news/20110815computerizedpen
Carleton College located in Northfield, Minneapolis has a Smartpen lending program!
https://apps.carleton.edu/assistive_technology/smartpens/
Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities
Prepared by Gabrielle Young, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Jeffrey MacCormack, M.Ed., Doctoral Student, Queen’s University
SHARING THE INFORMATION
I had the opportunity to share information about the Smartpen at a recent In School Review Committee meeting as a viable option for a new student in my classroom. The In School Support Personal, principal and vice-principal were very interested in learning more about this assistive technology. They will be receiving a copy of this SMORE. I will also be sharing this information with a family member whose child is diagnosed with a learning disability in Communications, specifically Dyslexia. By creating a SMORE I am sharing the information more globally. The developers of SMORE have also created the Educator's Hive and this allows you to post your flyer in that forum. The SMORE application allows you to track how many views you get through their analytics sidebar. Although, there appears to be more research available for university / college aged students with learning disabilities, this is an area worth exploring for our younger students.