Assistive Technology Open House, March 24

Mary M. Silgals 

               What is technology? A simple definition is whatever makes your work load lighter. At Trident Academy the aim of the assistive technology program is to make a student’s educational workload easier with the use of technology. The new assistive technology lab is filled with technologies that can bridge the educational gap for students who have learning differences. These tools are categorized into 5 groups: listening, math, organization and memory, reading, and writing.

                The library research lab conversion to an assistive technology lab took place in late January of this year. All of the old computers and monitors were replaced with new HP Touch Screen computers with 20” monitors. These computers allow for documents to be “docked” side by side or a document and a website to be opened and viewable at the same time. Students no longer have to go back and forth between what is on the Internet and their working document. The numerous features of these state of the art computers will be demonstrated at our Open House, March 24.

                 Also, on the new computers, software was installed that will help students complete their class work and homework. Worksheets and homework can be scanned and then typed on using one of the software programs. Students in my Research Tech class are becoming experts on all the programs that are installed on the computers, and they will be available to demonstrate them to attendees at the Open House.

                 A new all-in-one scanner/copier/printer was purchased and installed in the lab. This particular hardware allows for scanning materials and converting the text into rich text format. Documents saved in rich text can then be read out loud using one of the three text reading programs that have been installed on each of the computers.

                New to the library and the lab are twelve Kindles which are available for checkout for use in classes. E-readers offer solutions to students with reading difficulties. Font size can be increased, spacing between lines can be increased, and text can be read out loud. Also, built in dictionaries allow quick access to definitions while reading. Our students love them!

                Drop in Thursday, March 24^th to see what our assistive technology lab has to offer. My Research Tech students are looking forward to showing off our new lab and the great resources that we can provide!

Locked-In The Library

Mary Silgals

What can be more fun than an overnighter in the library? No, I was not cataloguing or shelving books or dusting at midnight, but instead I was having a great time giggling and chatting with five of our high school girls and one of our former graduates.

The idea of a lock-in came about last year when the Twilight Club met every Wednesday in the library.  The club members had planned on going to all the Twilight movies together which would allow us to meet and talk about how the movies were different than the books. Unfortunately, the third movie was released over the summer. I was in Denver at the time, and we were not able to all get together to view it. So, it was decided that we would have to get together one weekend night and have a marathon Twilight Saga evening dedicated to watching all three of the videos one after another.

The date was set to have the event on February 25, and at 6pm the girls arrived carrying with them their sleeping bags. The evening consisted of pizza, snacks, and 10 hours of video, midnight basketball in the gym, hide ‘n go seek with cell phones, and finding Edward in ten places in the building. (For those who aren’t in the know, Edward is the main character in the series, along with Bella, in the hugely popular teenage series).

Monday morning the inquiries began. How much sleep did you get? Average: one hour. Was there any drama? No, just twenty minutes of searching for one student who hid too well. Would you do it again? In a heart beat! The evening created memories that all of us girls will hold dear for many years. Next time, I must remember to have chair races in the darkened halls, and most of all, to listen closely for the sounds of children laughing and talking in the LEAD hallways. Two girls swore they heard them!