Tuesday, 8 May 2012

DAY ONE - PART 2

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

I knew that communication involved much more than just talking, but I have never been asked to define it before. It is VERY difficult to sum up everything that communication involves.

We came to discover that EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION involves THREE THINGS: communication partner, joint attention/focus, and common language


Wordle: Communication
Communication involves the elements listed above.
Click on the Wordle link to view more clearly.

Today, we looked a particular communication tool to help students who have difficulties conveying their message/ideas. 

The APP Proloquo2Go is a wonderful AAC device for students who are non-verbal.  It is very user-friendly has it has both picture and text support.  We got to "play around" with the program for a little while and learned how to create individual symbols and selection sets.  Below is a video on the basics of Proloquo2Go.






I am looking forward to learning more about this program as I can definitely see the advantages of such a tool in the classroom.  As always, the disadvantages of something like this is MONEY!  The program is $200 which may not be affordable for some families.  In the long run, it is actually cheaper than alternative tools, but is still a substantial initial fee for some.  Another disadvantage is seting up the program to be useful for a particular student.  It would require a lot of TIME to ensure the necessary phrases, symbols, selection sets are available for the student.  The preliminary set-up, once completed, would be well worth the effort!

Below is a video that looks at other types of communication APPS available -- most of which are FREE!




No comments:

Post a Comment