Thank you to CESA 7 for sponsoring the live presentation "Virtual Supports for AAC" on Thursday, May 7th for "Teacher Appreciation Week". Due to the high demand and registration for the event being capped at 100 attendees, I've decided to make this webinar available to everyone until June 1st. You must register, and I will pass along all registration information to CESA 7 as they sponsored the live presentation. They are a public agency in Wisconsin, and I highly doubt that you'll get spammed by them, but I do want to make sure I fully disclose that information before you decide to register.
To register for the event go to: https://bit.ly/VirtualAACSupportsOnDemand
This webinar is approximately two hours long and goes through a variety of ways to model instruction, with an emphasis on modeling Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). This presentation is geared toward AAC, but I think many of the tools presented can be applied to virtual instruction, more generally. So even if your focus is not AAC, this webinar may be helpful to you, too.
A few things to note:
The bit.ly and QR code are on the first screen in the recording to access the presentation.
Make sure you go to the presentation slides. Although I don't go over every method in-depth, there are links to videos and blog posts that further explain how to use the six methods presented. Dig into the methods that you think will be helpful to you and your instruction.
Here is the PDF of the slides if you want a printable version.
There is a portion of the meeting where we go into Zoom rooms (2:06-2:14). Attendees were able to discuss questions in a small group and play around with Jamboards to answer questions on each of the boards during this time. Feel free to pause the recording and go and add your own answers to the Jamboards: Jamboard 1 and Jamboard 2. I would love for the recorded version to also be an interactive presentation, and I'm very interested in your responses. Once you've added to the Jamboards, feel free to fast forward through the recording to get back to the presentation after the Zoom rooms end (approx. 2:14).
Unfortunately, Zoom will not allow me to add captions to this video and still make it available for On-Demand registration, so if you need a transcript of the recording, please contact me directly (there is a contact button on my website) and I will share that with you. Sorry!
As I said when I began the presentation, my goal is not to overwhelm you with resources. My hope was that everyone would find a new tool/resource that they felt they could easily integrate into their own instructional practice or that they were interested in exploring and learning more about. That time may be right now for you, or due to the needs of your students, families, and your own mental sanity, it may be something that you decide to use when we are hopefully back together with all of our students in the Fall. Remember to give yourself some grace in learning all of these tools. There is no right or wrong way to provide virtual AAC supports as long as you're trying. Seeing your face or hearing your voice is the most important connection you can make with your students.
Good luck in your journey of providing virtual AAC supports to students!
Jennifer