Northern Grid for Learning - School Broadband, eSafety, Learning Resources and More

Colin Smith runs the art program at Noble Park Special Developmental School in Victoria, Australia. The school runs educational programs for students 5 - 18 years old who have moderate to profound disabilities. His 'hands on' approach with the students always leads to creative, individual results. His activities include all the students - everyone in his class creates an individual piece of work and he encourages independence wherever possible.

Great Art Ideas for Special Artists

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Art and design.

Severe Learning Difficulties

The aim of these lessons is to develop skills in using a mouse effectively and the creation and manipulation of screen images. The programs chosen for this were Dazzle plus and Serif Draw. These are simple but powerful graphics programs that can be tailored to the skill level of the individual student. Learning is achieved most effectively when the students find the activities fun and enjoy the end results.

These activities were undertaken with 3 groups of 12 students with severe learning difficulties, within these groups the level of ICT skills possessed by the students varied very widely. There was a special needs assistant available to help with these groups. All the students were within the age range of KS3, although practically all were working at level one. These lessons were undertaken on a RM connect networked suite of 15 machines.

Lessons

Case Study

The aim of these lessons is to develop skills in using a mouse effectively and the creation and manipulation of screen images. The programs chosen for this were Dazzle plus and Serif Draw. These are simple but powerful graphics programs that can be tailored to the skill level of the individual student. Learning is achieved most effectively when the students find the activities fun and enjoy the end results.

These activities were undertaken with 3 groups of 12 students with severe learning difficulties, within these groups the level of ICT skills possessed by the students varied very widely. There was a special needs assistant available to help with these groups. All the students were within the age range of KS3, although practically all were working at level one. These lessons were undertaken on a RM connect networked suite of 15 machines.

Lesson 1

I talked to the students about making pictures on a computer screen and about the two main types of drawing, Vector and Bitmap images. I used the classroom whiteboard to illustrate the two types of picture and how they are made up. The first program that the students were to tackle was using a bitmap art package, Dazzle Plus. At the school as part of the developmental curriculum there is a cross curriculum theme each term. This term we were looking at growing things. To undertake this during the ICT lessons I wanted the groups to draw flowers with bitmap graphic tools. The students spent some time exploring the various tools that can be used to draw with. I then stopped the lesson and showed the group how to use two of the tools. This was done in two ways (a) getting all the students to come around one machine to demonstrate what to do (b) to use RM Tutor software which enabled me to take control of their desktop and demonstrate how to use each of the tools. The latter method seemed the most effective, although I did occasionally use the traditional method. If you have access to one of the new electronic whiteboards this could also be used very effectively with students with special needs. It is particular useful with students with sight impediments.

Lesson 2

This was a continuation of the first lesson but using another graphics package. Using a Vector drawing program is more difficult for these students to master and I initially thought that they would really struggle with this. I was pleasantly surprised at how much each student had managed to learn from the previous lessons. Once again they were drawing flowers. The level of difficulty was related to the skill level of each student with some needing considerably more help than other. The groups seem to really enjoy these activities and had no difficulty on staying on task for the whole lesson. The images they produced were saved into their own network folder, learnt from previous lessons. Some of the better pictures were printed out in colour and displayed on the wall. A follow up lesson involved using a word processor to write some simple captions and to import their images into a word processor document.

D.Barlow, Abbey Hill School, Stockton-on-Tees 2000

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Design Technology to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Design and Technology and Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Ordinary Schools

Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools

A guideline developed from a paper by David Williamson (Inspector for Art, Design and Technology, Haringey Educational Services) at the National Association of Advisers & Inspectors in Design and Technology Conference, April 1995.

More than 30 CDT Lesson Plans Written for Students Ranging in Ability from PMLD to Moderate learning difficulties.

Moderate, Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties

Lesson plans produced by Richard Murray at Abbey Hill School Technology College. They are not complete and some of the illustrations have yet to be added. You are free to use these resources for use in schools.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Design and technology

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance descriptions.

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of English to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Chandra Hawley is an American 7th-grade (England & Wales: Year 8) English teacher. What, from the teacher's perspective, are the positive and the negative qualities of Mike, a student diagnosed as having ADHD? What do you think about the advice she gives to other teachers about handling students with ADD/ADHD?

ADHD - A Teacher's Story

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions

.Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: English

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Geography to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Attention Deficit Disorder, Hearing and Visual Impairment, Moderate Learning Difficulties

In this research paper, Dennis Smith of the Abilene Christian University offers advice and lists web sites that will assist teachers "who are teaching special needs students in the field of Geography." The context is American.

Teaching Geography to Special Needs Kids

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance

descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Geography

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of History to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: History

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Information and Communication Technology to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Information and Communication Technology

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Mathematics to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Mathematics

Specific Learning Difficulties

Publishers of Maths for the dyslexic by Anne Henderson: "A guide for parents, teachers and SENCOs who help dyslexic students who struggle with mathematics."

David Fulton

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Modern Foreign Languages to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Autism, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Hearing Impairment, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Specific Learning Difficulties, Visual Impairment.

Material produced by David R. Wilson from Harton School, South Shields. The website contains case studies of MFL learners with the above six categories of SEN.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 3-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Modern foreign languages

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Music to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Music

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-3, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: PSHE

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of PE to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Music

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of RE to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Cognitive Impairments

A sensory approach to the teaching of Religious Education to pupils with special educational needs in the schools of Surrey.

Religious education for pupils with special educational needs

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: RE

© 2001 D. R. Wilson

Here is a series of links to websites featuring the teaching of Science to students with special educational needs. A category of SEN and a short description of content accompany each link.

Physical and sensory impairments, literacy, emotional and behavioral difficulties

Ethan Frome's PGCE lecture: identifying needs, formulating a strategy and implementing the strategy, developing science materials and activities.

A Review of Special Needs Education in Science

Special Educational Needs

National Curriculum website: Introduction, Responding to pupils' needs, opportunities and activities at key stage 1-4, performance descriptions.

Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties: Science

© 2001 D. R. Wilson