CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION 3
DAY 2: 9.20 - 10.10
OrCam Literacy Support Wearable Trial in Queensland State Schools
Presented by: Jeff Souter
Organisation: Statewide Services, Disability and Inclusion Branch, State Schools, QLD
To ensure students have the capacity to effectively engage with content across all areas of the Australian curriculum, assistive and inclusive technologies become a fundamental component of the adjustments required for students with diverse learning needs. The OrCam is a wearable device capable of transforming written content into speech, enabling students to engage more effectively with text. In 2019, the DET's Disability and Inclusion Branch undertook a trial of OrCam devices in Queensland state schools to determine the effectiveness of the device in enhancing student engagement with written content.
This presentation will explore the OrCam device, demonstrating its use to enable students to engage with written content. The presentation will outline the results of the trial of the OrCam in 10 Queensland state school environments. It will identify the student cohort that used the devices, the curriculum targeted by schools during the trial and the observed improvement in student engagement with written content as a result of using the device.
DAY 2: 9.20 - 10.10
Time efficient strategies to support students with learning disabilities
Presented by: Jemima Hutton
Organisation: Dyslexia Demystified, QLD
Four students in every classroom having a specific learning difficulty. At least two of those students are likely to be dyslexic; however, when it comes to teaching practice, 98% of teachers say they do not have enough training in identifying and supporting dyslexia (Made by Dyslexia, 2018).
This presentation will improve knowledge regarding what dyslexia is, what to look for in students, and how it is diagnosed. Teachers will be equipped with evidence-based interventions, practical, low cost strategies and skills in utilising assistive technologies to develop empowered, independent learners. Staff will also have the opportunity to reflect on the presenter's personal experiences as a dyslexic student, and explore how mental wellbeing is impacted in students with learning disabilities. Preventative/supportive wellbeing strategies will be discussed, as well as how to facilitate a learning environment in which neurodiversity is celebrated. These are strategies that can be implemented tomorrow. While grounded heavily in research, they can also be applied directly into the classroom environment.
DAY 2: 9.20 - 10.10
Strengthening School and Community Relationships through Engagement and Co-design
Presented by: Bob Smith
Organisation: State Schools Indigenous Education, Department of Education, QLD
This presentation will explore the importance of authentic consultation and co-design processes with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. During this session participants will discover the importance of understanding and supporting local consultation protocols when wishing to co-design new projects, no matter how big or small. Participants will also explore a model of engagement that will assist them to engage meaningfully with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in their communities – urban, rural, remote or discrete.
DAY 2: 9.20 - 10.10
Blind Spots: systemic, school leadership and personal
Presented by: Christine Casey
Organisation: Dept of Education, QLD
Christine Casey currently holds a leadership position within the Queensland Department of Education’s Statewide Vision Impairment Services (SVIS). In this position, she has the privilege of leading the Braille advisory service, facilitating improvement in the delivery of high quality evidence-based braille pedagogy. Christine will share highlights of her leadership journey including her involvement in developing the Queensland Braille Learning Progression, currently in trial in Queensland schools. Christine has previously taught in a specialist school for students with vision impairment and also led braille music instruction in Victoria’s Statewide Vision Resource Centre (SVRC). Christine has a proven capacity to inspire reflective practice and raise expectations of students with vision impairment. As a person with lived experience of disability (Christine has been blind from birth), she firmly believes that truly inclusive schools not only have inclusive classrooms but also inclusive staffrooms. With much of her career having been spent proving her professional worth and breaking down barriers, she advocates the philosophy of “Nothing about us, without us” and dreams of a future in which full and meaningful inclusion of people with disability is no longer a goal, but the norm.