Tag Archives: symbols

Educator Communication Partner Champions at Countryside Elementary School

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In October of 2023, in recognition and celebration of Augmentative/Alternative Communication Month, learners at Countryside Elementary School engaged in an experience where they explored augmentative/alternative communication. In a continuation of their commitment to helping all students learn language, the entire staff of Countryside Elementary were introduced to the fundamental tenets of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) by a team comprising their Speech-Language Pathologist, a 1st grade general education teacher, a Cross-Categorical teacher, and their Specialized Instructional Facilitator – Assistive Technology. The workshop focused on employing AAC as a support tool, defining effective communication partnership, and ensuring equitable and inclusive instruction for all students.

Feedback from the session was overwhelmingly positive, with numerous staff members expressing increased engagement and appreciation for the insights shared. This initiative marks a significant stride towards inclusivity and is part of Countryside Elementary’s ongoing efforts to integrate effective, innovative educational practices that cater to diverse learning needs. If you’re interested in leading a similar event, reach out to the Specialized Instructional Facilitator – Assistive Technology who works at your school!

Four teachers holding iPads with an AAC app on them in front of an interactive whiteboard that says Thank You

The team of presenters

8 teachers holding LAMP:WFL core boards

The staff at Countryside learning all about core vocabulary.

12 teachers holding up LAMP:WFL core boards

More staff at Countryside ES learning about how to teach language using augmentative/alternative communication

A group of teachers working with iPads at tables looking at the application LAMP:WFL

How many sentences can you make using just the words on the core vocabulary board?

Two teachers smiling and holding up LAMP:WFL on an iPad

Even more staff making sentences using AAC!

Image Support in Practice Words of Reading Coach in Immersive Reader

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Reading Coach is a feature of Immersive Reader by Microsoft. Reading Coach analyzes the audio of a learner reading a passage aloud and provides specific, personalized feedback to the individual including five target words to practice. The learner is then presented with words in isolation and invited to practice reading each word aloud. To help the individual learn how to decode the word, the learner has the option turn on image support which places a symbol or symbols over the text. The learner can use the image to help confirm what the word is which could help the individual learn how to read the word.

An icon of a robot next to text that reads, "When you're ready, press the microphone and read the text aloud." Below the text are two symbols. The first is someone pointing to a chart. The second is a person in front of a from pointing to a screen. Below both symbols is the word presentation. Below the word are three icons. The first is for text to speech, the second is for syllable support. The third is for image support. Centered at the bottom of the screen is a green microphone icon.

Image Support in Reading Coach

This video provides a quick demonstration of Reading Coach:

Symbolized Text Does Not Support Literacy

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Symbols for frequently used words such as like, of, some, and know do not help someone produce a picture in their mind. Look at the examples below. If you covered up the text, could you guess the text below?

symbols for like, of, some, know

When a picture representation of a word is added to a text representation of a word, it tends to add to the complexity of visual information presented in a way that does NOT help an individual learn how to decode, recognize, or comprehend the text. The added image doesn’t actually help students make an association between the printed word and the symbol. A strategy to use instead is to present the text without an added picture. The text itself is the symbol.

Which Types of Words Are Represented Using Autodraw?

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Google’s Autodraw is a free, web-based tool which utilizes picture prediction. Users sketch something and Autodraw attempts to predict what that drawing might represent. This tool can be helpful for developing artistic expression but it can serve another purpose as well. It can help illustrate the idea that some words can be more easily implemented using an image than others. Let’s look at some examples below. Which words in the list below create pictures in your mind? Which would be more difficult to draw?

  • Cookie
  • Snow
  • Truck
  • It
  • Do
  • Make 

You might easily envision a cookie, truck, and snow. Why? These words create a picture in our mind. When you attempt to draw them in Autodraw, they can be much more readily recognized by the tool than words that do not produce pictures. Use AutoDraw and try to draw some words. You’re invited to get creative and pick 2 nouns, 1 verb, and 1 preposition (i.e., cup, door, run, in). Which words did AutoDraw successfully predict pictures for? Which words did Autodraw not produce images for?

Screenshot of Autodraw

A cup drawn in Autodraw

When teaching language using augmentative/alternative communication, recognize that some words produce a picture in a learner’s mind while others do not. Learners will need to experience what some words mean in more ways than simply showing them a picture. They’ll need to learn what the words mean through actions, play, analogies, metaphors, stories, examples, and experiencing others use them repeatedly!

Color Coding and Adding Emojis to Google Drive Folders for Organization

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The human brain 🧠 can recognize images in a matter of milliseconds, according to research at MIT. This information can be useful in helping students (and adults!) in quickly finding information by color and emojis in Google Drive. For example, science folders could be in green and social science folders could be in blue. An emoji of a microscope 🔬 could be added to the file name of the science folder and a globe 🌎 to the file name of the social science folder. Have an important file about organization? Add a file cabinet 🗄️ to it! These colors and pictures can help trigger memory in the blink of an eye 👀 when trying to locate files plus they add an element of fun! These strategies can help students organize their information in a way that they can quickly access later without the need to rely on text. Check out this video from Specialized Instructional Facilitator – Assistive Technology Jean Garrett to learn how to color code and add an emoji from emojipedia.org.