P.I.V.O.T. - Learning With Friends

As we go through school, we learn to read, and then we read to learn. All of us need to be readers-but sometimes, we may need different resources, supports, and tools to be successful readers. In this session, we will explore tools, resources, and strategies to bring out the reader in all of our students using accessible design, assistive technology, and principles of Universal Design for Learning. In the US, there are 6.7 million K-12 children with disabilities receiving special education services. Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) make up half of special education students, and 85% of the students with specific learning disabilities have a primary learning disability in reading and language processing. Given the likelihood that many of our students fall into these statistics, what are we doing to ensure all have an accessible, equitable, engaging learning experience? This fast-paced beginner session will explore the “why” and attendees will leave with immediate implementation of free/low cost simple tools for Chrome, Windows, and iPads to turn classroom worksheets, documents into accessible formats/instruction for independent student access. By the end of the session, attendees will emerge confident with facts to bust assistive technology myths and equipped with tools to support variability in reading and writing.