21TRA278 Supporting Struggling Learners with Assistive Technology - Where to Start!

There’s buckets of technology out there today, but figuring out what your students need to level the playing field can feel overwhelming. Let's change that on this session!

What will be covered:

• Find out what technology your student needs. I get it, there's so much out there. I'm going to break it down for you and outline what's out there.
• Learn about the free built-in accessibility on all laptops and iPads. There are so many features on the devices we actually own, I'll review them and ensure you know what can help your students.
• Feel confident about the technology you use daily. After this training, you'll be informed and confident about how to support your students' learning.

Presenter Bio - James Northridge

Having Dyslexia and ADHD, James very much understands the learning challenges that face students. After struggling throughout school due to his own learning challenges and dropping out of University, a second chance at college came his way and he was able to turn it around, earning a first-class honours degree from University College Cork and a Masters in Disabilities Studies from University College Dublin.

Since then, he has gone on to complete a Marie Curie Fellowship at UMass Medical School in Boston, and he proudly won Young Researcher of the Year at the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP) in Austria. UrAbility, his current company, was announced as the winner of the United Nations Zero Project award in 2020 - being the only Irish company listed in the top 75 innovative practices, out of 450+ nominations from 100+ countries.

Here's a quick video giving an overview of UrAbility