Target Audience: Seminole County Educators PK-12, ESE, SLPs, OTs, Staffing Specialists, Behavior Specialists, Paraprofessionals, Administrators (all levels)

Course Objective: For many students with disabilities, assistive technology (AT) is critical to ensuring participation and progress in the general curriculum.  This interactive training is helpful for veteran and new teachers alike. It provides an overview of assistive technology (low, mid and high tech) with HANDS-ON exploration of various types of AT and strategies to support student engagement in communication, reading, and writing across all subject areas.

Course Description: Participants will learn and understand:

• what assistive technology is

• how assistive technology can support multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression for students

• how to support a student in the selection and use of assistive technologies

• how to implement AT strategies in the classroom

Implementation Activity:  A follow up satisfaction survey and pre and post data using an AT strategy are required prior to receiving 12 inservice credits.  

Target Audience: Educators PK-12, ESE, SLPs, OTs, Staffing Specialists, Behavior Specialists, Paraprofessionals, Administrators (all levels)

Requirement: You must have a current login and password for Boardmaker Online

Course Objective:  Participants will learn, through hands-on exploration, how to use the Boardmaker Online website to find interactive premade activities and use tools and templates to build new activities for individual students and small/whole group instruction. Participants will also learn how activities can be standards-aligned and data-tracked, to support communication, core content area instruction (ie. reading, writing, math, etc), social/emotional learning, and much more.

Course Description: Participants will learn and understand:

• how use of Boardmaker Online activities and visual supports can incorporate the Universal Design principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression in the instruction of all students

• how to log on, search for, and save premade print-based, interactive, and data-tracking performance activities

• how to use premade templates and tools to create and share new print-based, interactive and data-tracking performance activities

• how to create student accounts, assign specific activities to a student, and align activities to standards and/or IEP goals

Implementation Activity:  Participants are required to submit pre- and post- student impact data prior to receiving 12 inservice points.

Follow up Method: Email communication and coaching throughout the implementation period will be available upon participant request.  

Contact Mia Laudato at mia.laudato@fdlrsaction.org.

Target Audience: Teachers PK-12 ESE who serve students with severe communication disorders, Paraprofessionals PK-12 ESE, Therapists (SLP)

Course Description:The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a language-training package that is used to teach communication skills rapidly to those with limited functional speech. PECS promotes communication within a social context, without lengthy prerequisite training.

Course Objectives:Participants will learn how:

• Training in PECS begins by teaching a spontaneous request and goes on to teach additional communicative functions such as responding to questions and commenting.

• An added attraction for preschool children with autism and related disabilities is the high proportion of children who acquire independent speech.

• to implement the six Phases of PECS, including attributes, through presenter demonstrations, video examples and role-play opportunities.

• Participants will leave the workshop with an understanding of how to implement PECS with individuals with autism, related developmental disabilities, and/or limited communication skills.

Implementation Activity: Student engagement pre- and post- data are required prior to receiving 19 inservice credits.

Follow Up Method: Email communication throughout the implementation period.

If you have any questions related to this course please contact: mia.laudato@fdlrsaction.org

Target Audience: Orange County Staffing Specialists, teachers, service providers, and staff who develop Individual Education Plans (IEP) and/or Education Plans (EP) for students in an Exceptional Student Education Program.

Course Description: The primary purpose of this professional development is to provide information about the Exceptional Student Education/Florida Education Finance Program (ESE/FEFP) and the Matrix of Services Form.

Course Objective: In this training participants will:

• Learn the 5 domains and the 5 levels of intensity of support

• Note key vocabulary terms

• Review cautions and special considerations

• Examine requirements for data and documentation.

The Matrix of Services Handbook, 2017 Edition will be provided at this training and is available online at the Florida Department of Education website: http://www.fldoe.org