NCASB Fall 2013 ConferenceTechnology Training:

A Team Approach

Amy Salmon, MS.ed.Hadley School for the Blind

November 14, 2013

Overview

Is technology training overwhelming your agency?

From basic keyboarding and word processing to social media and mobile solutions, your consumers’ technology needs vary greatly.

Integrating outside resources to provide technology training can help you solve this problem, resulting in more meaningful employment outcomes for your consumers.

Objectives

Today we will review how to take a team approach to technology training … Identify the different technology training partners

available – residential/state/local and online/distance education providers.

Define the 4-step technology process. Determine when and how to use outside

resources for technology training. Demonstrate how LinkedIn can be used as an

accessible tool for your staff and consumers.

The Technology Crisis

What are the top 3 issues facing you and your agency related to technology?

The Technology Crisis

Increased demand Decreased funding Limited resources

Building Your Team

You have many options for partners to build your technology team:

Residential/on site technology training partners. Online/distance education technology training

partners.

Residential/On Site Training

National, state and local resources.Fee-based services and training.

National Examples: NFB Training Centers in Louisiana, Colorado

and Minnesota Carroll Tech (Carroll Center for the Blind) World Services for the Blind Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind

Residential/On Site Training

State Examples: Envision (Kansas) Blind Industries and Services of Maryland Cleveland Sight Center Braille Institute of America

Online/Distance Education Resources

Fee-based and free services and training. Hadley School for the Blind AFB eLearning Carroll Tech (Carroll Center for the Blind) Assistive Technology Industry Association Webinars Freedom Scientific e-Learning Access Technology Institute University of Northern Colorado, School of

Special Education University of Wisconsin – Stout

Building Your Technology Team

Building a technology team using outside partners can help you solve your technology crisis.

Let’s look at how you can incorporate outside partners into the technology process as part of your team.

The Technology Process

1. Identification2. Evaluation/Needs Assessment3. Procurement4. Training

Step 1: IdentificationPart of building a strong technology team is making sure key players have the right skills to do their job effectively.

Blindness service professionals first need to identify that technology is required for the consumer. Ensuring you and your staff have the necessary training to accurately identify consumers for technology is a critical first step.

Webinars and training to provide this background are available from a number of online/distance education partners.

Step 1: Identification

Hadley’s “Developing Your Technology Toolkit” course

AFB’s e-learning opportunities: Assistive Technologies for Older Persons with

Visual Impairment: Providing Services Low Vision Technology Series Webinar 1:

Overview of Low Vision Technology

Step 2: Evaluation/Needs Assessment

Once a consumer is identified as requiring technology, the next step is to conduct a technology evaluation that:

Evaluates the consumer’s current skills. Defines hardware and software needs. Makes training recommendations.

Step 2: Evaluation/Needs Assessment

What is the waiting period for a technology evaluation at your agency?

Adding state/local technology partners to your technology team can help: Reduce waiting periods. Improve effectiveness of technology evaluations.

Step 3: ProcurementBased on the technology evaluation, the next step is to purchase and set up the technology.

Ensuring your local access technology vendor is a team player on your technology team is key.

Remember, YOU are THEIR customer. Ask the vendor to help with:

Installation, set-up and configuration of technology.

Provide initial training on the technology.

Step 4: Training

The most time-consuming part of the process is training the consumer on the technology.

Adding outside partners to your technology team to provide timely, targeted training is a winning solution.

Team Training Strategy

Consider combining training options. Local, on-site training for the basics with online/distance education for more advanced features.

Joan started at Hadley taking the “Keyboarding” course to learn how to touch type. While taking her Hadley course from home, she also was taking a course at a local access training agency to learn how to use JAWS and the Windows operating system.

Conclusion

Building your technology team using outside technology training partners can help you in overcoming the technology crisis. Today, you learned:

About the different technology training partners available – residential/on site and online/distance education programs.

How to integrate outside technology training partners in delivering the training you need, how you need it, with measurable results.

LinkedIn

Now, let’s take a quick look at how LinkedIn can help you, your staff and consumers achieve successful employment outcomes …

Contact us

Amy Salmon(847) 784-2876

salmon@hadley.edu

The Hadley School for the Blind

700 Elm Street

Winnetka, IL 60093

(847) 446-8111

Toll Free: 800-323-4238

www.hadley.edu