Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Implementing keyboarding accommodation

DD has a provision in her 504 that allows her to keyboard as an accommodation. We have never used it because DD didn't know how to type. She is in the process of learning how to type now and hopefully will be competent enough to start using this skill this year. I've seen lots of articles about the fact that kids like mine need to keyboard early. I haven't seen much about how this fits in a traditional classroom. We are willing to provide the hardware but need support from the school for implementation. I don't get the impression that the school has much if any experience with this. Any suggestions or recommended resources re how to implement?

Many schools have strong feelings about equipment-- before you decide what you're providing, check with the school to see if it's okay.

Often schools want to provide an Alphasmart or other non-computer device-- it minimizes distractions because all it can do is schoolwork.

Who is managing the 504? Sometimes it's an assistant principal or intervention specialist. I think you should ask them directly.

DeeDee

sorry that I ended up being out all afternoon. It's for my DD9 who is going into 4th.

@DeeDee the district just changed the 504 compliance officer to the principal and I don't think that he has much experience. I will send him an email and get the process going.

My son started using the Neo in his classroom last year and it's made a world of difference. Our school district required the school Occupational Therapist administer a separate evaluation to determine the need for assistive technology in the classroom. This also resulted in weekly OT services being included in his 504 plan. The OT worked with my son and his teachers to learn how to efficiently use keyboarding across his curriculum and, in our case, use at home. I know all kids and school requirements are different, but wanted to share if there's a chance our experience may be helpful.

Thanks for the feedback. I know that our school has some old Alphasmarts. They used them to teach keyboarding for a couple weeks at the end of the year. At our end of the year 504 meeting, her teacher mentioned that the Alphasmarts did not work well for any of the kids because the keys stick and the design is bulky. She said that she thought DD would do better with a different keyboard -- this was in the context of me saying that we planned to give DD typing lessons. I don't know if we have any Neos.

The OT suggested an inexpensive netbook style laptop that DD could use for word processing. She suggested that we get one with internet capability so that DD could email her homework to the teacher.

I lost sleep over this last night. I want DD to get going on this skill. I know what next year's 5th grade writing requirements are like. I would love to give DD another tool in her belt before then. I'm afraid that DD will need a little more guidance and structure than just handing her a computer/Alphasmart. That has been about the extent of support that she's received in the past.

Hi, lurker here, but we're going through all this with my rising 4th grader, so here's my 2 cents:

We had to have an AT evaluation via the district to have the keyboard written into the 504. District assigned a NEO at the end of 3rd grade, but took it back over the summer. I was so annoyed I purchased a keyboard myself and had DS practice over the summer.

We ended up NOT getting a netbook for 2 major reasons: time to start up, easier to break. We probably will when he gets to middle school.

What we got was called a Fusion Writer. It is like the NEO (though more expensive), in that it is one button instant on/off, battery driven, very sturdy, very portable. It has other features we liked like on-board typing instructor, 'good writing' checklists, word prediction, audio readback, stuff like that. What I really liked was the calendar program... his school is big on kids having a written agenda and taking responsibility for due dates... but as you can imagine, a kid with dysgraphia writing down his homework assignments didn't really work out so well!

All of the portable keyboards I looked at were easy to use and all had USB ports to download files or hook up to a computer, and range in price from $150 to $300. About the same as a netbook, but I figure when DS is ready to upgrade to a net book, his little brother will get the Fusion.

With regards to guidance/structure, my 2 cents is plan on providing it yourself. The district was mostly useless, DS's school is willing but not experienced (DS is apparently first child to have a keyboard full time in the classroom). So I have been very active in making sure the equipment works, everyone knows how it is used, and DS is comfortable with it.

I am also not shy in asking about alternative ways for DS to do an assignment (example: Last year, DS had to do a 'scrapbook' on his state animal project, along with the essay. He typed the essay and did a powerpoint presentation for the scrapbook. He scanned all the pics in, designed the presentation on my netbook, and brought in a digital file on a USB drive and got to present it on the digital smart board to the class. I loved it because he got to be the 'cool' kid with the neat techie tools instead of the nerdy kid with the crappy handwriting!)

Hope that helps a bit.

What kind of software helps with written expression? Ds uses a NEO at school for long assignments. Now that his writing is readable (because it's typed), written expression has become the major problem.

Visual mapping software can help with organization if your child is a visual-spatial kind of person.

The outlining functions in your regular word processor can be useful, too, for setting up the initial organization of the writing piece.

It might be helpful for your child to remember the acronym "POWER" - Plan, Organize, Write, Edit, Revise - even for small writing assignments.

The "Plan" part is essentially narrowing down the topic, the audience, and the purpose. It can be developed by asking questions: "What am I going to talk about?"; "Who am I talking to?"; and "Why do I want them to know?". In the case of persuasive writing, questions like "What is my position on this?" and "What do I want the reader to do as a result?" can be helpful here.

Even a single word at the top of the page answering each of these questions can be very useful for helping the writer keep focused on the topic, audience, and purpose, which greatly increases the likelihood of developing an appropriate piece of writing.

"Organize" is where the visual mapping software or outline function really can make a difference. The writer can choose a single keyword or phrase that best communicates the choice of main topic, and put that either in the chief space of the graphic organizer or the first level of the outline. This word will become the theme of the essay, or the main idea of the paragraph, or the subject of the sentence, depending on what level of complexity you want to start at. Next, the writer brainstorms at least 3 to 5 single words or phrases that relate directly to the topic and add detail, support, or elaboration. He or she should then decide which 3 or 4 of these words will best help someone from the intended audience understand more about the topic. These words will go into the graphic organizer below the main keyword or into the outline at the second level and will eventually become either the main ideas of paragraphs in the essay, the supporting sentences in a paragraph, or the details in a sentence. If the writer is working at the sentence level, he or she can stop here and go on to the next step. If a larger piece is in the works, the writer can then take each of these words and choose three or four words which expand, elaborate, or add detail, and fill them in below the second-level words. This process can be repeated as many levels as necessary to plan out the structure of the writing all the way from overarching theme down to sentence details, if needed.

With practice, this part can go very fast. When I was first working with my son with this, I would give him prompts and the only output I would ask for was the plan and the organization. Once he was fluent with the brainstorming part, we moved on to the rest of the writing process.

If your child has had a lot of discouragement already about writing, I'd start at the level of the sentence, which is quick and manageable, and has the potential to give some rapid success without much effort or task commitment, and then once there is some confidence around the ability to produce clear, detailed sentences, you can move up to paragraphs and essays just by adding successive levels of iteration.

The "Write" step takes the organizer map or outline and expands each of the keywords into a detail, sentence, paragraph, or essay, depending on what level in the organizational map it falls and what the desired end product is.

The "Edit" step checks for errors, such as omitted words or letters, punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc.

The "Revise" step consists of reading through the draft and deciding if it is clear, if it sticks to the topic, and if it is as effective as the writer can reasonably make it within the constraints of time and length allowed. (I actually think that this step should come before the "Edit" step, because I can't see the point in correcting the punctuation in a sentence or paragraph that is going to be rewritten anyway, but then that would mess up the acronym, I guess.)

I'm sorry I don't have any visual mapping software recommendations: my son encountered graphic organizers once, and begged me to never make him use anything remotely like that again, as it was extremely confusing for him visually, so he just uses outlining and it works for him.

HTH

Met with the 504 team yesterday. They offered to supply DD with a Neo that she could take back and forth to school. They also have software to go with it -- they mentioned Write Out Loud and something else that I didn't get in my notes. They also said that they are willing to work with us if we chose to get her a laptop/net book. The lap top would not have any specialized software. She would just have Word with it's standard spell checking.

I am assuming that both keyboards would be acceptable options. Do you think it's better to go with the school's setup or get her laptop where she will learn Word and more commonly used software?