AT Classes and Events - 2024
Custom AT Classes, Workshops, and Webinars
Technology Training tailored to your needs and schedule
I offer webinars, hands-on workshops, and school professional development on a wide range of topics and technologies relevant to learning differences, ADHD, and executive function challenges. Instruction is tailored to the audience's needs, skills, and "comfort level" with all-things-tech. Please look through my current and previous classes for topic ideas and possibilities (feel free to suggest variations or something new), then contact me to discuss your ideas.
Scheduled Classes and Workshops 2024
January 18, 2024 through March 29, 2024 - Assistive Technology for Learning Differences
(10-week, 3-unit ONLINE course through UCSC-Silicon Valley Extension, Santa Clara, CA)
June 3, 2024 - Navigating Generative AI Capabilities and Tools in a World That’s Captivated by Artificial Intelligence
June 4, 2024 - Prompting is the New Programming: Writing Prompts That Communicate Effectively with Generative AI Tools
(2024 IHD/AzTAP Disability Conference - sessions presented in-person onsite)
Assistive Technology for Learning Differences - Winter 2024
(10-week, 3-unit ONLINE course through UCSC-Silicon Valley Extension, Santa Clara, CA)
Technology can help struggling students leverage their learning strengths and bypass weaknesses to improve performance, independence, and self-confidence. In this online course aimed at teachers, learning specialists, educational therapists, and parents, you will learn about a wide range of tools to support students with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), executive functioning deficits, and issues with processing information and memory. Through readings, lectures, video demonstrations, and hands-on activities, you will learn:
- How various tools address specific learning needs.
- How to match students with appropriate tools.
- Practical methods and strategies to implement technology solutions and integrate with curricula.
- How technology can facilitate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) practices in the classroom.
Instruction is primarily online and asynchronous (self-paced) and includes comprehensive reading material with diagrams, videos, photos, tables, and links to additional web-based resources, plus self-guided activities. Live weekly Zoom sessions supplement the online instruction with class discussion and technology assistance.
SKILLS NEEDED:
Students should have a basic understanding of the academic challenges faced by individuals who have learning disabilities, ADHD, and executive function issues. This can be satisfied in various ways, including (but not limited to):
- Professional experience addressing the needs of students with learning differences.
- Completion of "Understanding Learning Differences" (EDTH.X309) or equivalent coursework.
- Prior review of material on learning differences (provided by the instructor).
- Other requisites may be approved in advance by the instructor.
We recommend students understand the basics of using the Google Chrome browser (e.g., installing Chrome extensions) and Google Core Apps such as Docs, Sheets, and Drive.
TOOLS NEEDED:
Hands-on exploration of certain technologies is an essential part of this course. For these activities, students will need access to the following minimum tools, as listed below:
- A computer: A PC with Windows 10 or above, a Mac with macOS 10.14 (Mohave) or above, or a Chromebook with latest Chrome OS.
- The Google Chrome browser or Microsoft Edge browser.
- A personal Google account (recommended: new Google account specifically created for use with this course).
- Need the ability (permissions) to download and install free and trial software, especially Chrome extensions. Specific titles to be provided in class.
NOTE: This course is part of the Educational Therapy Certificate Program at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension. For more information, please visit:
www.ucsc-extension.edu/certificates/educational-therapy
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Dates: 10-week course begins Thursday, January 18th, 2024; ends Thursday, March 29th, 2024
Times: This is a largely asynchronous (self-paced) online course with 10 weekly modules. Live weekly Zoom sessions of up to 75 minutes supplement the online instruction with class discussion and technology assistance.
Location: Online; registered students will receive access to UCSC Extension’s Online Learning Center one day prior to the first class.
Tuition: $640
For additional information about course content: Please visit AT4LD.net
To Enroll: Please visit www.ucsc-extension.edu/courses/assistive-technology-for-learning-differences
You do not need to apply for admission to take UCSC Extension courses.
Navigating Generative AI Capabilities and Tools in a World That’s Captivated by Artificial Intelligence
(2024 IHD/AzTAP Disability Conference - sessions presented in-person onsite)
In November 2022, OpenAI publicly released its generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, followed quickly by Google’s Bard (renamed Gemini) and several others. These groundbreaking chatbots used natural language to engage in text-based human-like dialogue across a wide range of topics and tasks.
Fast forward 18 months: ChatGPT and Gemini regularly add new capabilities; other companies leverage ChatGPT’s “engine” to create specialized tools, custom GPTs, and plug-ins; and well-established apps are adding AI features.
How do we make informed technology decisions in a rapidly-changing world where seemingly everything short of frozen lasagna proclaims it is now “AI-powered!”?
Using examples and demos relevant to education and accessibility, Assistive Technology Consultant Shelley Haven will help participants sort through the ever-growing maze of AI terminology, capabilities, claims, and factors to consider.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Explain the difference between discriminative AI (in use for decades) and generative AI (the recent stuff) and why this matters
- List at least three factors that might impact one’s choice of generative AI tools for different tasks
- Name three different new genAI capabilities (beyond text-based chatbot) and give an example of how each might be applied to help with specific tasks
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Date: June 3, 2024
Time: 10:30-11:45am MST
Location: Wild Horse Pass Resort, Chandler, AZ
For additional information about conference (including registration and cost): https://www.ihdconference.org/
Prompting is the New Programming: Writing Prompts That Communicate Effectively with Generative AI Tools
(2024 IHD/AzTAP Disability Conference - sessions presented in-person onsite)
In this new era of generative AI (genAI), “prompting” can be as powerful a skill as programming. Language-based genAI tools like ChatGPT and others are analogous to a complex programming language used to instruct a computer to perform tasks. But unlike traditional programming, which requires writing code in a special language, genAI tools accept instructions as everyday natural language called “prompts”. The key to getting the desired results is knowing how to write effective prompts.
Using examples and demos relevant to education and accessibility, Assistive Technology Consultant Shelley Haven will explain:
- Best practices for prompt design
- Strategies to avoid common prompt-writing pitfalls
- How to continue the “conversation” with genAI to refine responses and improve results
- Methods to assess the quality of AI-generated content.
Key Learning Outcomes
- List the six elements of a well-formed (effective) prompt and explain why these are important
- Describe at least two common prompt-writing pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Describe at least three categories of prompts that leverage genAI capabilities for teaching and learning
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Date: June 4, 2024
Time: 11:15am-12:30pm MST
Location: Wild Horse Pass Resort, Chandler, AZ
For additional information about conference (including registration and cost): https://www.ihdconference.org/