“I thought we were doing a really, really good and decent job including all learners,” she said. “I think other people in the district thought we were too, but through the process of taking one step at a time through this framework, as we knew better, we did so much better.”
Dalal referred to the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems Framework, which was developed by CAST. The framework, which was developed based on current research, aims to give “district leaders the opportunity to collaborate so that all learners with disabilities have the supports, scaffolds, and tools to be and feel successful,” according to the CITES website.
“We’ve made systemic changes,” Dalal said. “Change in an institution — it’s not linear, and it’s not elegant.”
Janna Greathouse, district assistive technology coordinator for Jenks Public Schools, shared how the framework helped break down long-standing silos in her schools. “Individually, as departments, we were doing our own planning, but it wasn’t together,” she said. “We were all working in our own silos. So, we might find things out too late to really have an impact on purchases that were made.”
Innovating with Tech to Bring Connectivity to Students
Conversations were also had Sunday about equity for students who lack connectivity. In the session “Real Talk: Let’s Talk About Culturally Responsive CS Classrooms,” Computer Science Teachers Association equity fellows shared takeaways from their own projects and research.
MORE ON EDTECH: Schools work to reduce the STEM divide for Black students.
Jigar Patel, coordinator of innovations and special projects at Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11, shared how he brought connectivity to students in his Pennsylvania district during the pandemic. He opened by sharing that 600,000 of the state’s residents were without internet access in their homes, adding that hotspots often didn’t work because of a general lack of cell towers and infrastructure in rural locations.
He then explained how he and his team used Raspberry Pi devices to bring internet to students who couldn’t otherwise connect. The Raspberry Pi technology allowed the students’ devices to connect using Pi over Wi-Fi. They were equipped to run in a web browser on any computer with Wi-Fi capabilities, any tablet, a smartphone and Chromebooks. This allowed students to access class materials, lessons and assessments that were loaded onto the Raspberry Pi devices, and the machines were also equipped with explainer videos for students who might become stuck on a lesson.