Decision Making and Best Practices
ATL Decision Making
Investigating whether or not individual students might benefit from ATL, and which ATL would be most appropriate in meeting their needs, is an ongoing process that involves working as a team to explore alternatives, gather information and set up opportunities for students to try potential ATL solutions across learning environments.
SETT Framework
As the learning team begins exploring potential ATL solutions, a standard set of investigative questions, such as the SETT Framework developed by Joy Zabala, can serve as a tool for gathering and organizing data. The SETT Framework considers the student, the environment, the task and then the tools needed by the student to address the tasks. Using the questions in the framework, the learning team can generate a list of basic ATL tools and strategies to help the student be better able to complete identified tasks in the school environment.
About the SETT Framework
Chapter 9 of Individualized Program Planning (2006): "Infusing Assistive Technology for Learning into the IPP"
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT)
The QIAT Consortium is an international grassroots group that includes hundreds of individuals who provide input into the ongoing process of identifying, disseminating, and implementing a set of widely applicable quality indicators for assistive technology services in school settings. The QIAT website provides access to the work of the QIAT Consortium and provides forums for participation in the work of the consortium and engagement in collegial conversations.
Building an ATL Toolkit
One way to support more effective decision making and use of ATL, is for school jurisdictions and/or schools to have ATL toolkits available for use with students. An assistive technology toolkit consists of a core of easy-to-use, cost-effective media and devices that assist students who are experiencing a learning difficulty in a particular area, such a reading or writing.
An assistive technology toolkit consists of a core of easy-to-use, cost-effective media and devices that assist students who are experiencing a learning difficulty in a particular area, such a reading or writing.
ATL toolkits provide a place to start for teachers and IPP teams. The purpose of these ATL toolkits is two-fold: to provide immediate, simple ATL solutions for classroom participation and to begin to familiarize classroom staff with ATL devices and ways to use them.
Samples of how ATL toolkits have been developed and used in other jurisdictions:
Calgary Board of Education Assistive Technology Toolkits
Innovative Learning Services and Student Support Sevices have initiated a joint research project into Assistive Technology Toolkits. The toolkits contain a variety of assistive tools that have the potential to enable specialists to evaluate, recommend and select devices and supports that increase student access to the curriculum.Begin With ME! Project - Macomb County, Michigan
The Begin With ME! Project provides an example combining a specially designed technology toolkit, ongoing training and support, motivating reasons to write, and well-developed support teams.Michigan's Assistive Technology Resource (MATR)
MATR provides assistive technology toolkits for short-term loan to be used for hands-on experience and/or to support training. This collection of tools is intended to foster exploratory use by district personnel, as well as increase knowledge and improve the frequency of consideration of assistive technology for students with disabilities.
