Section 5: Develop AT Implementation Plan. Description, Rationale and Guidelines

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1 Section 5: Develop AT Implementation Plan Description, Rationale and Guidelines Effective assistive technology implementation is only as good as the plan that guides that implementation. Successful implementation plans address four main areas equipment support tasks staff and student training methods for integrating technology into the student s program techniques for assessing the effectiveness of the AT implementation All four areas are important to the plan since a lack of direction in any one area will affect the others. For example, if there is no plan in place for solving technical problems, there will be unnecessary delays in repairing the equipment causing frustration and loss of implementation time. Similarly, ineffective or nonexistent plans for staff training will lead to confusion and inconsistent or ineffectual use of the technology in both the short and long term. are developed and carried out collaboratively by the student s school based team identifying an implementation plan coordinator team members who are responsible for specific aspects of the plan a reasonable implementation timeline While it is critical to have one person on the student s school based team responsible for coordinating the implementation plan, all team members share the responsibility of developing and executing the plan. Successful implementation of technology, especially assistive technology, can be a lengthy process during which the expertise of everyone on the student s team will, at some point, be required. (See Team Roles for more information). arise from the goals established in the student s IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and proceed based on assessment and performance data To be truly effective, integration of assistive technology must be based on the student s IEP goals specifically those goals that can be directly supported by technology. As the plan is implemented, information or data must be gathered and recorded to ensure the use of the technology continues to meet these goals and the student s individual needs. The more specific and systematic this data collection, the more effective ongoing implementation decisions will be. (See Section 2: Establish IEP Goals for more information). emphasize realistic integration of the technology in the student s curriculum and daily activities so that implementation of the technology proceeds at a comfortable pace for both the student and school based team SET-BC February 2007

2 other, non-technology based tools and strategies are employed when more appropriate The implementation plan should, above all, be realistic and attainable given the student s abilities, the team s technical competence, and the available time for creating materials, solving technical issues, and so on. Implementation of assistive technology is a long process which may occur over the lifetime of the student. Careful and considerate implementation will ensure short and long term success. Timelines assigned to implementation tasks should reflect this understanding. (See Section 6: Adapt Lessons for Technology Integration for more information) Four Main Areas of Implementation Tasks 1. Equipment Support Tasks To use technology effectively, it must be set up properly and maintained efficiently. The implementation plan should have a clear indication of which team member is responsible for each equipment support task. Depending on the specific equipment being implemented, some or all of these tasks need to be addressed Equipment Set Up physically arrange technology work space o e.g. arrange for appropriate table, locate power bars, rearrange student s position in class put security measures in place o e.g. determine how the laptop will be stored when not in use receive equipment, remove and store packaging, situate in workspace install and register software o e.g. assistive software, word processing program, virus protection acquire and set up peripherals o e.g. scanner, cables, carrying case install peripheral drivers o e.g. scanner, printer establish network connection o e.g. set up user account, , internet access initial charging of equipment o e.g. AAC device, dedicated word processor test equipment o e.g. speech output on AAC device, run computer software Equipment Maintenance daily equipment maintenance o e.g. charging batteries, cleaning screen, replacing ink cartridges minor equipment repairs o e.g. printing problems, reinstallation of software major equipment repairs o e.g. system failures, screen damage, lost parts SET-BC February 2007

3 Setting up the equipment may involve several members of the school based team and, often, the school or district IT department. For example, the student s Special Education Assistant (SEA) may receive and physically situate the equipment, the Learning Support Teacher (LST) may arrange for a scanner, the district IT technician may install software and set up the network configuration, and the school principal may establish the equipment security plan. Since the various tasks involved in setting up the equipment build on the completion of previous tasks, it is often helpful to select one time period (perhaps an afternoon) during which the team members responsible for set up agree to complete their tasks in sequence. This is particularly helpful if some team members are not available at the school or site every day. 2. Staff and Student Training No assistive technology implementation plan would be complete without outlining plans for staff and student training. Once the assistive technology has arrived and been set up, the team should identify the following what training is required? o specific hardware and / or software o focus of training based on IEP goals o type of training (general overview or specific features) who will provide that training? o assistive technology support (e.g. AT consultant) o district based support (district staff) o team support (team members who are already familiar with technology) who will attend the training? o team members who will be working directly with the student and technology o team members who will be directing or overseeing implementation o team members who will be implementing the technology in the future o team members who are generally interested Prior to the training sessions, participating team members should revisit the student s IEP goals and review the student s daily activities to ensure that the training activities can be focused on learning those aspects of the technology which will be implemented with the student. During the training, specific suggestions and plans for implementation can be highlighted. When the team has finished its formal training and has had time to practice and prepare materials, the student training phase can begin. The team will need to make some initial decisions will the student be initially trained in or out of the classroom environment? o Depending on the technology, training may be disruptive to other students in a classroom setting and the student may be distracted by classroom activities. It may be more effective to have the technology located in a quiet space where the student is comfortable learning the technology, making mistakes, and asking questions. The technology can then be moved into place when its use is more automatic. o In the case of some technologies (e.g. AAC devices) initial student training might occur in the actual environment in which it will be used. SET-BC February 2007

4 what activities will be used to train the student? o Since learning technology itself places a cognitive burden on the student (sometimes a large one depending on the technology), teams should consider using lower cognitive tasks when completing training activities. For example, if the student needs to learn how to use word processing features, the team may provide the student with some text to copy so that creative composition is not needed. how will the student s performance be evaluated during training? o As students are learning to use the technology, it is important to keep records and data on how effectively the student is using the technology so training can be directed at areas that require further attention or development. Simple checklists of skills mastered, anecdotal observations and scheduled assessments (e.g. timed typing tests) can be used to keep a record of technology use during training activities. Some teams use the following assistive technology skills framework to guide student training (Gail Bowser and Joy Zabala s adapted framework from Janice Light s work on AAC competence). Areas of Student Assistive Technology Competence Operational Competence the student has the skills necessary to use the specific assistive technology as needed. For example, the student can turn on the computer, locate the software program, save a file and so on. For a student using alternate access, the student would be operationally competent if they were able to use a switch or alternate mouse effectively. Functional Competence the student has the necessary skills to use the assistive technology to accomplish the desired task. It requires operational competence to launch a word processing program and use the various features to adjust the font and so on, but it requires functional competence to actually use the word processor to create, edit and print a writing assignment. Strategic Competence the student has the necessary skills and understanding to use the assistive technology effectively and appropriately within his or her program. A student would be strategically competent if he or she understood and was able to identify real world situations where technology was the best choice (e.g. a word processor versus paper and pencil), and use the appropriate features of the technology to complete a task. Social Competence the student has the necessary skills to use the technology effectively and appropriately around other people. This could mean without distracting others unnecessarily in a classroom or actually using the technology with peers for partner or group tasks. The main goal of student training is to help the student become as independent as possible using the assistive technology. This may be a long process that occurs over several years, so it is helpful to refer to the assistive technology competence framework on an ongoing basis to ensure that student training is highlighting all four areas. SET-BC February 2007

5 3. Methods for Integrating Technology into the Student s Program One of the more challenging aspects of effectively implementing assistive technology is planning for integration of that technology into the student s daily educational program. The implementation plan should contain specific plans for which initial tasks or activities will be supported by the technology and what methods will be used to integrate technology into those tasks. For example, if the student will be using writing software to support written output, the team should identify the specific writing task that will be addressed (e.g. morning journal writing). If the implementation plan is too vague in this area (e.g. Language Arts writing), the technology will likely not be implemented as effectively. Teams should refer back to the original data gathered on the student s educational program and classroom environment to identify these initial tasks. Asking the question: What regular task or activity poses the greatest challenge for the student? may help teams focus. Teams should be patient and realize that implementation of assistive technology takes time and, while it is easy to be caught up in the excitement of the potential of technology to support the student, success in the long term should be the goal. The best way to ensure this is to consider initial activities carefully and build on each success until the technology is fully integrated. As the technology is integrated into the student s program, the implementation plan is adjusted to help move the student along the continuum to full integration. 4. Techniques for Assessing the Effectiveness of the AT Implementation In addition to the specific techniques for assessing the student s use of the technology when completing tasks or activities, the implementation plan should also contain a description of the techniques that will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the AT implementation. Teams usually meet regularly to discuss a student s IEP and these meetings provide an opportunity to review AT implementation. However, these discussions must be informed by specific information on how effectively the technology is being implemented. For example, reporting that the student is not using his technology very much is only helpful if that report contains specific details as to when he is actually using it, when he is not, and possible reasons for it not being used. This type of information will help guide teams to adjust the overall implementation plan accordingly. Perhaps an implementation task has not been accomplished, perhaps the tasks or activities are not appropriate, or perhaps the team is not able to prepare the necessary resource materials. The implementation plan should contain a description of the techniques that will be used to monitor and report the effectiveness of the AT implementation between IEP review meetings. SET-BC February 2007

6 Tools for Developing AT Implementation Plans As with all other steps in the implementation process, there are numerous tools and guides available to help teams develop effective implementation plans. The tools and forms could be simply printed and used as is or teams could modify them to suit the specific needs of the team and student. Given the hectic pace of most schools today, teams may be tempted to streamline the implementation plan form so it can be completed quickly. However, the more thorough and considered the implementation plan is, the more likely it will be implemented successfully. 1. AT Implementation (University of Kentucky Assistive Technology (UKAT) Project This four page implementation plan assists teams in identifying the main areas of implementation the IEP objectives, the specific assistive technology acquisition and set up, AT training plans, and the methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the AT solution. It also contains a section for monitoring the AT implementation with columns for recording the results of student performance as well as student perception of AT use. 2. Assistive Technology Implementation Plan (Gayl Bowser) Oregon Technology Access Program OTAP This four page implementation plan is less structured than the UKAT form and provides teams with a list of questions to consider around student use of the technology, the technology itself, and staff and student training on the technology. The plan provides a general framework which teams can easily modify to suit their needs. An additional fifth page is included which assists teams in identifying the data collection process during AT implementation. 3. Assistive Technology Implementation Plan (Zabala, J.S. & Korsten, J.E) Making a measurable difference with assistive technology: Evaluating the effectiveness of assistive technology (1999) This multi page plan contains areas for teams to record responses to guiding questions for planning and evaluating implementation. A plan summary charts the important components of the implementation plan in a one page document. 4. SET-BC Collaborative Action Plan ( In addition to the student, environment and task information, the SET-BC CAP has a section which outlines the team s implementation plan. This chart focuses on plans for the technology, the staff and student training, and the integration of the technology into the student s educational program. SET-BC February 2007

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27 Case Study of an Effective Implementation Plan Jane is an intermediate student who has cerebral palsy. By gathering information on her strengths and areas of need as well as her classroom environment and daily academic activities, Jane s team identified specific IEP goals that could be supported through assistive technology. Planning meetings were held to identify the specific assistive technology that would be put in place and a detailed implementation plan was drafted. The implementation plan contained several parts. The software that was being implemented was Classroom Suite (specifically Intellitalk III) as well as Overlay Maker ( These were installed on a desktop computer with access being provided by an Intellikeys USB keyboard. The first part of the plan outlined who was responsible for receiving the equipment, installing the software, setting up printing and network access, and ensuring equipment security. The second part of the plan described training the team had not implemented Classroom Suite before so team members outlined a training plan that involved an initial introduction to the software that would take a full day followed by three half-day training sessions at two month intervals. All team members would attend the initial training with the classroom teacher and special education assistant attending the follow up sessions. Plans were also outlined for introducing the technology to Jane. After considering her daily schedule as well as the technology skills she would require to use the hardware and software, a plan to use a writing activity involving the creation of a daily home letter was formed. The team identified how they were going to assess the use of the technology to complete the task as well as the development of Jane s technology skills. Individuals responsible for all aspects of the plan were listed including timelines for completion of specific activities (e.g. the school technician was listed as responsible for setting up printer and network access by a specific date, the Special Ed Assistant was listed as responsible for creating the necessary overlays for the identified home letter task, and the classroom teacher was responsible for assessing the technology implementation). Three months after the implementation plan was put into action, Jane s team had an IEP review meeting. At that meeting, individual team members reported on their part in the plan and a general discussion took place around the overall effectiveness of the implementation. It was determined, after reviewing the data on how Jane was currently using the hardware and software, that it was being very effective in providing support for her written output but the Special Education Assistant was having difficulty finding time to create the overlays needed to expand her use of the technology. The team discussed some possible ways to provide the SEA with the time needed and a solution was found when it was discovered that Jane did not really require her support during art lessons. The implementation plan was adjusted to reflect the expected increase in Jane s use of the technology and the team set a date three months in advance for a second review. SET-BC February 2007