Creating A Framework For Inclusive Technology (Part 2) S3E6

Read the transcript of this interview here:

Transcription Results 

SPEAKERS

MindRocket

Michelle Mercer (host)

 Janna Greathouse (guest) 

Samantha Reid (guest) 

MindRocket: [00:00:00] 

Welcome to the CoSN Podcast, produced in partnership with MindRocket Media Group, the worldwide leader in demand generation, communication outreach, and thought Leadership in Education. CoSN represents over 13 million students in districts and educational institutions nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. This high-profile podcast series showcases industry thought leaders and executives who provide timely market insights and key guidance on various educational technology strategies.

Michelle: [00:00:33] 

Welcome to the CoSN Podcast. My name is Michelle Mercer, with Mind Rocket Media Group. And on behalf of CoSN, and today’s sponsor, Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems, also known as CITES at CAST, we are excited to bring you part two of our two-part series on inclusive technology. Today’s guests are Jana Greathouse and Samantha Reed from Jenks Public Schools in Jenks, Oklahoma. Janna graduated from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma with a master’s degree in speech pathology. She is practiced as a speech-language pathologist in public school systems in the Carolinas and in Oklahoma, where she currently serves as the district assistive technology coordinator for Jenks Public Schools. Her latest pursuits involve efforts to increase accessibility, equity, and inclusion districtwide so that students are empowered to be experts of their own learning and are supported in doing so. Welcome to the podcast, Jana.

Janna: [00:01:31] 

Thank you.

Michelle: [00:01:32] 

Also joining us is Samantha Reid. Samantha is currently an educational technology coordinator for Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma. After obtaining her master’s in education, in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in technology, integration, and education from UNLV, in 2006, she began working in EdTech. Prior to moving into EdTech, she taught in elementary school. Samantha is an ISTE-certified educator and has received several other certifications and micro-credentials through the years. She has done training all over the region and has presented at several ED camps, Google summits, and conferences, including ISTE, TCEA, FETC, and CoSN. Welcome to the podcast, Samantha.

Samantha: [00:02:19] 

Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.

Michelle: [00:02:21] 

So, this first question is for you, Samantha. Tell us about Jenks public schools and the community it serves.

Samantha: [00:02:27] 

We are a suburban school district just right outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have ten school sites, and we’re at approximately 13,000 students, so just under 13,000. 13% are English language learners. 17% are receiving special ed services. About 37% are on free and reduced lunch, and about 19% are gifted and talented. We do have a section of Jenks that works with Catholic Charities. So, we have actually a pretty large immigrant population, specifically refugees from other countries. So, we have a very large Burmese population, and now we’re starting to get students from Afghanistan and the Ukraine. So, we definitely have a very unique population here in Jenks.

Michelle: [00:03:24] 

Wow, that is diverse. Jana, why did Jenks get involved in CITES?

Janna: [00:03:29] 

Our state assistive technology program ABLE Tech, have a very good relationship with them, and to their credit, they have not blocked my phone calls. One of the representatives from ABLE Tech had reached out, had forwarded the CITES application to me, and let me know that she thought about Jenks when she received the application and thought that we might be interested. And so, I read through it and it said all of the right things to get my interest. And I think the application said specifically, “If your district is ready to improve the way A.T. And EdTech work together to serve all learners.” And that was the clincher. I was like, “Well, this sounds great.” We still didn’t know what that meant at the time, but it sounded like a good opportunity. They also talked about Joy Zabala, who is for those of you who don’t know, an assistive technology guru who unfortunately passed away last year. And she had been working with the new grant called CITES, and they were using evidence-based practices to improve the way, or to improve inclusive technology practices in districts. And we were hooked.

Michelle: [00:04:52] 

Samantha, can you tell us a little bit about the district team who supports the CITES initiative in your district?

Samantha: [00:04:59] 

So, after Janna sent us the application and she was like, “Hey, would you guys be interested in being on the team? By you guys, I mean EdTech.” And so, I reached out to our technology director, and we all thought this was going to be a good thing for our district. So, we recruited several people that we thought would be the important stakeholders. So, we made sure we had a curriculum director, we made sure we had EdTech I.T., A.T., and then we got some special ed teachers, some speech teachers, just different people around the district that we thought would be important members of our team. And then we started meeting, and as we were meeting questions would come up, and we expanded that to, “Oh, will we really need a parent on our team? We really need somebody from assessment on the team.” And so, grew.

[00:05:56] 

So, now we’re at the point where we have about 30 people on our team that represent all kinds of different stakeholders in our districts, from admin right down to every type of teacher. And then we also found the need for a core team because it was just too many meetings for everybody. So, we developed a core team of A.T., EdTech, special ed, and teaching and learning specialist, leaders in the district. And so, we alternate between meeting just the core team versus the whole team. And then our next move moving forward is really getting student input. So, instead of inviting students to a meeting, what we want to do is establish a panel of students where we come up with questions that relate to accessibility, and we bring in those students and we ask them different questions and get their feedback on accessibility.

Michelle: [00:06:57] 

That’s great. We heard that message loud and clear in part one, the message of collaboration, and love that you’re bringing not just educators together, but also parents and students. Jana, I have a question for you. What level of support does a district need from the top-level administration to support inclusive technology practices?

Janna: [00:07:20] 

I think at the beginning of our process with CITES (and I’m talking like the application process even) I had reached out to my director and the director of, now the executive director of technology, to get their input on whether or not this was something that we would have the support to move forward with. So, I think from the very beginning we had directors who were on board with moving forward with the project, with the partnership. And then on the CITES committee, we’ve evolved to grow. We began with a group on the CITES team here at Jenks, that based on the recommendations of CITES staff, included some of those decision-makers for our district. So, district-level leadership in each of the different technologies and in teaching and learning.

[00:08:24] 

And then we also, like Samantha was saying, after our first year, we really felt like we were moving into that teaching, learning, and assessment phase, where we based on the recommendations of our executive director of technology, had said we need to include CITE administration on this team as well. And so, we invited site principals and building principals to be involved so that they could offer their voice to the work that we were doing, but also to support the work that we were doing, they could recognize it as work that is stemming from this CITES partnership that is happening now at their sites. We also work to keep our Board of Education informed about what we’re doing. We presented to Cabinet [sounds like 00:09:19] to let them know what we were doing. We were just asked recently to present again to the admin team in November and then to the board again in January, just to update them on our progress.

Michelle: [00:09:36] 

That’s awesome. It sounds like they want that communication and they support your program.

Janna: [00:09:41] 

Yes. The first time that we presented to the board to just introduce what we were doing, we got a lot of great questions and feedback from our board members. So, they’re very, very supportive of our work.

Michelle: [00:09:54] 

Samantha, how has CITES changed the approach to inclusive technology practices at Jenks?

Samantha: [00:10:01] 

We have made some pretty major changes on the front end of everything we do so far. So, when we first started, one of the questions in the self-assessment was, are you familiar with the WCAG standards? And we all looked at each other like, “WCAG? What?” It was like nobody had any idea what that even was. And so, we learned what the standards are, and we’ve completely changed our practices for curriculum adoption to include those standards. So, before we look at any new packages, so like this year, we have language arts adoptions, anybody that comes and says, “Hey, I’ve got a language arts program,” we ask questions about their accessibility. They have to be at least AA rated or above based on the WCAG standards, or we don’t even consider them as an option. We also have a questionnaire that we’re in the process of developing for all vendors. Anything that we do adopt that they need to fill out, that will give us all of their accessibility that they have built into their program.

[00:11:08] 

We also create. So, once we adopt a program, we create a one-page accessibility guide for all of our teachers so that they know these are the things that work with this program, whether it be something general like Immersive Reader, or whether it’s something built specifically into the program by the programmers. So if we adopt … We’ve adopted Google for students to create on. And so, like Snap and Read, before we bought that, we were like, “Okay, this works with Google, so that would be a good add-on for that.” So, everything that we do, we make sure that our accessibility features work with and that they have accessibility features to best serve students, not just special ed students, but all students. The other thing that I would say, we’ve really broken down the silos in our district before CITES.

[00:12:08] 

I knew of Janna, I talked to her in passing. I really looked at A.T. As someone else’s department, that wasn’t what I did. And now, I just feel like we’re just teammates, Every decision we make, we make together. Same thing with the director of curriculum. Now we just have this open door policy between our different departments that we can just walk in and run things by each other, and really just open those lines of communication across departments. Special Ed, the same thing. I can just walk in there at any time and say, “Hey, we’re looking at this new program. Do you have a couple of teachers who’d be willing to try out, you know, this program and make sure that it works with vision software and screen readers and whatever else that they’re using in assistive technology?”

[00:13:03] 

We’ve also included tips of the week that go out, and as a notification for students that just bring to light some of these accessibility features as well as just … I kind of mix them up between accessibility and just helpful features. How do you organize my Google Drive? And then the next week it’s how do you do Snap and Read? And then it’s how do you use Immersive Reader inside of Canvas? How do you run an accessibility check in this program? So, we really mix it up and make sure that we’re giving teachers ample opportunity to see these tools as just tools that anyone can use. And it’s not just an accessibility issue, it’s just a learner thing.

Michelle: [00:13:49] 

I love the one-pagers for your teachers. Teachers need so much support right now, especially if you’re introducing new technology. What are specific examples of the types of assistive technologies that students use in Jenks?

Janna: [00:14:02] 

Specifically to hardware, we are 1 to 1 in the district. It’s third grade and up now. So, we have students who are using devices in classrooms that we can add apps or extensions to really make it what they need. But if we bump into barriers with what they currently have already available in the classroom, then we look to other options. Because maybe there’s another device that supports the software that the student needs. We also have in classrooms at the elementary and I think some intermediate, we have the Sound Field systems. So, we do have some students who use FM systems, but more broadly at the elementary level. We have that technology available for our younger students as well. We have communication devices; we have things like timers. I know teachers use digital timers all the time in their classrooms. And then we have for our students who have IEPs  or  there may be additional timers that we’re using to0. And then software tools. Do you want to talk about that Samantha, I know you touched on it already a little bit?

Samantha: [00:15:21] 

Sure. Canvas, our learning management system has a built-in accessibility checker. Our Chromebooks, of course, have several accessibility features, close captioning, high contrast, highlighting of abilities. We have Immersive Reader that turns on inside a Canvas, that really helps with students with dyslexia or focusing issues. I’m not a not special ed teacher, so forgive me, I don’t know all the … I just know that it highlights words [unintelligible 00:15:53] that focus ability, predictive text. We have like I said, Snap and Read, which will read either word by word or they can highlight what they want it to read. It’ll also take a website and change the reading level to make it a little bit more accessible if the reading level on a website is too high. A lot of our elementary teachers use that feature. We also have Co-Writer, which is really great for the littles because they can just dictate their writing. We just really want to get their thoughts out. If we’re not grading the writing per se, then they can use these tools to actually learn some elements of telling a story. And they’re not limited to when a teacher can sit down and help them write, they can write on their own. So, it really empowers our students.

Janna: [00:16:42] 

It’s not special ed per se, but we also now have Lucid products available so we can create things like graphic organizers and flowcharts and task lists, and things like that for students who need that additional support.

Samantha: [00:17:02] 

Part of that honestly came from Google. We love Google and our district, but Jam Board wasn’t accessible and so students with certain disabilities were unable to use Jam Board either to create on it or to get information off it. And so, that led into part of our decision of getting Lucid was because it does have accessibility features built right into the program. And then it was really accessible for all students.

Michelle: [00:17:30] 

Janna, can you share some insights on what the technology team has learned regarding assistive technologies and accessibility since participating in this project?

Janna: [00:17:40] 

Yes. So, I was struggling to remember where my learning started as far as technology is concerned for EdTech and I.T., and so I had reached out to a couple of our site’s team members to see from their perspective what have you learned about technology during this process. And so one of our ELD teachers, Sandra, she said that she had learned how to use our technology to break down barriers for our language learners and how to better inform parents on reaching out and staying connected. And we were able to observe a student the other day who is using Google Translate to communicate with his teachers and peers. And then Lenna, our amazing physical therapist, one of them in the district, she said, “I have learned how in-depth EdTech goes, the layers to choosing tech and then the rollout as well as the levels of support.” And she said, “I realized that it is more complicated than I even imagined.” So, I think it’s just really, again, created awareness for the different pockets of people that we have in the district who are working to serve our students.

Michelle: [00:18:58] 

So, Samantha, Janna mentioned devices for third graders in Jenks. How has your approach to district-wide device purchases changed since participating in CITES?

Samantha: [00:19:10] 

I think we’re just a little bit more aware of the needs of different groups. So, we do have Chromebooks for all students, just regular Chromebooks. So, pre-K, we start with iPads. That’s a little bit more age-appropriate. In Kindergarten they start having touch Chromebooks. And we just have ratios in the lower grades because it’s more of a center rotation and not necessarily we don’t want them on devices constantly. So, we have the lower levels at the younger grades. So, we’ve moved into Chromebooks, but we realize that there are some students that, that does not meet the needs of all students.

[00:19:58] 

In fact, we are having a conversation today about our concept students that, is a Chromebook really the best device for them, and should we be moving them to iPads? So, it’s just really opened up the awareness of different needs of different students instead of necessarily the one size fits all approach. It’s really taking in the needs of different populations and what device will work best for their situation.

Michelle: [00:20:28] 

Jana, how has CITES impacted the students with disabilities in your district?

Janna: [00:20:34] 

You know, I think it’s probably a little bit early to tell, but I do think moving forward that our students with disabilities are going to see other students in their classrooms who are customizing their own learning with the technologies that are available. And my hope is that our students who maybe previously had been apprehensive about pulling out a big old clunky device to level their own playing field in the classroom, I think they’ll be more at ease with using the tools that benefit them in that moment. And because their peers are doing it, it looks the same as what their peers are doing, and I think that will give them confidence and will help them grow as learners.

Samantha: [00:21:38] 

Certain students like middle school, they don’t want to be perceived as different, and so giving them an iPad, even though that would be the best thing for them, is not the best thing for them socially. And so, instead, giving them a touchscreen Chromebook. So, it still looks like a Chromebook, but they have that ability to touch the screen instead of trying to use the trackpad or even just providing them with a mouse. So, really it’s not only the best device for physically, but also their emotional needs as well. 

Michelle: [00:22:12] 

As the parent of a middle schooler, I really appreciate that. It’s very important. What advice do you both have for other districts considering implementing the CITES framework?

Samantha: [00:22:24] 

I would definitely say go for it. It has been such a game changer in our district, not just based on everything that we’ve said so far, but really we have grown so much as a team. And by team, I’m not just saying EdTech anymore, our team is truly our CITES team. It’s it has such a further reach than just what I was doing in my silo before. Now we can really find out, like if we’ve implemented something new, we have parents on our team that say, “Hey, did you hear about this?” And sometimes we think we’re doing so well with our implementation and then we find out, nope, it stopped at this level. It never got past this spot. And now we can go back and reevaluate and try different methods.

[00:23:22] 

Just now, we’ve started, in fact, we just sent out our first post last week and our next one is going out on Thursday. We’re doing a social media campaign just about tools for everyone. Like Jana had said it, It’s really about being accessible for all and not just one group. We’re not trying to single out anyone. So, what are those executive function skills that all students need to make them more successful in school and how can we support that? So, now we’re adding that layer of that social media campaign of a monthly post of here are some tips. And so, hopefully, that will reach more students and more parents in this process.

Janna: [00:24:03] 

Yeah. And I think it’s been exciting to go back. We’re entering the third year of this three-year partnership, and I can’t believe we’re here now, and just to look back and see all the progress that’s been made, it’s fun to go into the CITES website too, and see how the work that we’ve done has been translated into resources for other people. And they just recently, I think, posted some of the resources that are now available for use on their website, which is cites.cast.org, and then you can click on the tab getting started, and all of the resources are there. The self-assessment, which was a love of labor, it took us forever, but there were such open and honest conversations with the people on our team. And so, I think that was really helpful. We need to hear that. We need to know where our weak points are so that we can make changes and grow and better meet the needs of our learners and their families.

Samantha: [00:25:10] 

Make sure that you get the right people at the table. Make sure that you start on the website, cites.cast.org. Get started. There are the self-assessments, those are the best place to start just because it gives you so much information. And again, having the right people at the table to have those conversations, those really honest conversations, and just really trusting the process even when you don’t know what you’re doing. Because we always laugh that the whole first year we had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t know if we were accomplishing anything or if we were just meeting to meet. And we felt like we met all the time. And then all of a sudden, a year later, we had all these amazing products that we had created, processes in place, communication barriers that had been broken. So, I really encourage people just to start with those self-assessments and just get started and trust the process.

Michelle: [00:26:08] 

Jana and Samantha, where can our listeners go to connect with you and find out more about the great work you’re doing?

Janna: [00:26:14] 

Our Jenks Public Schools Facebook page On the third Thursday of each month we’ll have a post that is direct from our CITES team about inclusive technology in the district. So, I think that would be a great place to start. People can email me. My name is [email protected]. Also, my own personal Facebook is Janna Greathouse.

Samantha: [00:26:55] 

The district website is a great place to start. You can reach us all from there too. And it’s just jenksps.org. Me personally, you can reach me on Twitter. My twitter handle is Josenja. Happy to answer any questions at any time. My email [email protected] as well. So, you’re definitely welcome to email or reach out in any way if you have questions.

Michelle: [00:27:22] 

Thank you, Samantha and Janna, for an inspiring discussion. This content was developed under a grant from the US Department of Education #H3273180001. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

MindRocket: [00:27:45] 

On behalf of the leadership team at CoSN, thank you for listening to this episode of the CoSN Podcast. To access other podcasts in the series, visit CoSN.org or edcircuit.com For a complete lineup of engaging Technology Topics. EdCircuit empowers the Voices of Education with hundreds of trusted contributors, changemakers, and industry-leading education innovators. For more information on my MindRocket Media Group, please visit mindrocketmediaggroup.com to discover how you can be our next satisfied client.