This document summarizes an alternative professional development presentation on assistive technology. It discusses the differences between professional development (PD) and training, examples of assistive technology content covered in PD, problems with traditional "sit and get" PD like scheduling and attendance issues, and proposed solutions like creating short instructional videos and online resources accessible anytime. It also mentions the importance of community building among teachers using specific devices and developing personal learning networks to share strategies and resources.

1. “Alternative”
Professional Development
Created using Wordle.net
As presented on November 11, 2010 at
Techknowledgy Conference 2010

2.  What’s the difference between “PD” and
“Training”?
 What content are we doing during PD?
 What are the problems with traditional “Butt-In-
Chair” PD?
 What are some solutions to these problems?
 A word about “Follow-up Activities”
 A word about training by community building
Talking Points

3.  PD:
 Ongoing process
 Often, but not always, mandatory
 Provided to larger audiences
 May contain more theory
 Training:
 May be provided to student and/or teacher
 May contain more “hands-on” interaction
 Provided to a smaller number of individuals
 Content is typically on one specific tool or idea
What's the difference between
"PD" and "Training"?

4. What content are we doing during PD?
● Boardmaker
● AT devices
● AT considerations
● Authoring programs
● Free online tools
● Read Outloud
Note: These answers to the
question are summative based
on audience participation and
discussion.

5. What are the problems with
traditional “Butt-In-Chair” PD?
● Time to schedule training
● Paraprofessionals time for training
● Limit time for teachers to participate in trainings
● A lot of people sign-up, few people show up for
trainings
● Repeated presentations of the same materials to
many individuals on an individual basis
● Too many people with different needs
Note: These answers to the question are summative based on
audience participation and discussion.

7. What are some solutions to these
problems?
Short videos (2-3 minutes) also videos can not be
boring. THEY NEED TO BE FUN! :)
Snag it, smart recorder, adobe captivate, Jing 3.
Put everything on a share drive where it is accessible
to everyone at school.
Screenjelly.com (free) online, screentoaster.com
(free)
Cheat sheets, video, both: multiple means of
representation
Time: punch cards (prizes for filling up your card for
attending sessions). Top ten list, games, send out
fliers to ATM ambassador and see when faculty is
available. Note: These answers to the question are summative based on
audience participation and discussion.

8. Strategy-A-Day Calendar
 Creation & Distribution
 Desktop Background Survey Results
 Multimedia Version
Uh, don't forget to mention these
you knucklehead!

9.  When training on a specific tool that is not available
to general educators (for example, a specific AAC
device) form communities of teachers who are
working with students who are using these devices.
 Example: 5 teachers (along with related services) in the
county are working with students who are using a
SpringBoard Lite (Augmentative Communication
Device). Quarterly meetings to bring these minds
together to share strategies, data collection techniques,
and resources may decrease likelihood of
abandonment, decrease time spend recreating same
resources, and increase student
achievement/integration.
Training by Community Building

10.  Personal Learning Network (Environment)-
 Educators making connections with other educators.
 Foster and build this within educators
 What tools do we use to make up our own PLNs?
 Sorry- we ran out of time to do this one as a group- but
here are a few that I would have guessed would have
been mentioned:
What's a PLN?
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Moodle/Blackboard/Angel
• iPod/Podcasts
•
Youtube/Teachertube/Schooltube
Plurk
Ning/Classroom 2.0
Others?

11. Chris.Bugaj@lcps.org
Attipscast@gmail.com
Twitter.com/attipscast
Facebook (A.T.TIPPERS Group)
 Classroom 2.0 (A.T.TIPPERS Group)
Contact
Information

12. This Presentation
www.slideshare.net/attipscast

13. Check out
Night Light Stories!
Free audio stories
for children of all
ages
One Last Thing
www.nightlightstories.net

14. The Practical (and
Fun) Guide to
Assistive Technology
in Public Schools:
Building or Improving Your
District’s AT Team
Really, One Last Thing
www.iste.org/chewat