Jane Gay on ICATER’s approach to better teacher prep
The problem: teachers, including new teachers coming out of college, are often not prepared to work with a student’s assistive technology (AT). AT needed to be embedded in the philosophy of teacher preparation, and as a thread in the total curriculum, not presented as a one-time guest lecture. IPAT (the Iowa Program for Assistive Technology) did not have the staff time or expertise to meet this need statewide.
The approach: IPAT worked with the University Of Iowa College Of Education to explore how to better prepare teachers to implement AT in the classroom.
The solution: the Iowa Center for Assistive Technology in Education and Research (ICATER) was created in 2006 to prepare students in the College of Education (COE), as well as existing teachers across the state, to implement AT in the classroom. Initially funded by COE (and today by a blend of COE, contracts, and grant funds), ICATER pursues its goals through a variety of activities including:
- AT lectures in every College of Education course. This means AT is built into the total regular and special education curriculum, and also the Counseling and Education Administration departments. (For one course, COE students are required to explore and create AT demonstration videos on a specific AT which is then presented to other students.)
- An AT/Computer Lab allows students to test drive AT equipment and software. COE students are allowed to borrow AT for their K-12 students.
- A Traveling AT/Computer Lab provides training on AT in general or on specific AT for school districts statewide.
- AT Summer Institutes provide unique summer learning opportunities for teachers, combining current relevant topics in AT with hands-on learning opportunities. Institutes are held on both sides of the state annually.
- Regional Education AT Conferences provide another opportunity for ICATER to collaborate and reach classroom teachers and school administrators.
- “AT Tips of the Day” are pushed out to ICATER Facebook friends and as Tweets. They are also provided for use by community schools or Area Education Agencies as daily screensavers or posters. (Find them on ICATER’s Web page; they are free to deploy.)
- Weekly Webinars are provided on AT topics and software and archived on the Web site. ICATER is also currently working to create a Virtual AT Lab to allow COE faculty and students, Area Education Agencies or schools to temporarily download AT for demonstration, assessment or training across the state.
- Technical Assistance has been provided to the University of Northern Iowa by ICATER to replicate this model service for its students (this is very important as it is considered the “Teachers College” in Iowa).
Learn more about ICATER and its services at the ICATER Web page.
Jane Gay is IPAT’s executive director. She also serves on the ICATER Advisory Board.