Virtual Literacy Conference - Interactive teaching for the digital age

Gillian Ashley - Chief Development Officer - British Dyslexia Association

Good Practice and safeguarding when teaching online

In this new time of Covid-19 good practice includes thinking about and planning for online teaching or assessing provision. This session will look at identifying risks, communicating with children and young people safely, promoting well-being and preparing to teach online. It is a one stop shop on things to consider when teaching online.

Gillian Ashley is a qualified teacher and has had a career in teaching across primary, secondary and university levels. Gillian oversaw whole school SEND in a variety educational settings. Gillian specialised in dyslexia and qualified as a Dyslexia Specialist. She completed an MA in Additional Learning Needs. She then carried out research into prosody and reading comprehension as part of her Masters in Psychology. Gillian has led a Masters in Dyslexia and Dyscalculia at university level. She is currently the Chief Development Officer at The British Dyslexia Association.

Arran Smith - Microsoft's UK SEND & Dyslexia Consultant

Empowering Potential

At Microsoft, our Mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. With more than 1 billion people in the world with disabilities, there is no limit to what people can achieve when technology reflects the diversity of all those who use it.

Arran Smith, Microsoft’s UK SEND & Dyslexia Consultant, will be talking about Assistive Technology which has been brought into mainstream use which enables teachers, students and dyslexic people of all ages to access the inbuilt assistive technology anytime anywhere.

Arran will talk about the functionality that has been added into Office 365 and Windows 10 that can help to support its dyslexic users. He will also be looking at how it can support students with dyslexia and SEND and the support they may need.

Target Audience: Primary and Secondary

Arran classes himself as one of the 4% of the population as a severely dyslexic adult. When Arran was aged 9 he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He uses the metaphor that dyslexia is like going to the dentist, well that’s how it was for him all the way until he was 14, this was the age when he realised that dyslexia is a difference not a disadvantage. During Arran’s working life he has worked in many industries including youth work, retail business and the not-for-profit sector. Arran has worked within the dyslexia sector for over 15 years. He is chairman of the Leicestershire Dyslexia Association and previously worked and volunteered for the British Dyslexia Association in varied roles.Arran has spoken at many large conferences and events across the UK and more recently spoke at a national conference in India. Despite Arran being severely dyslexic Arran uses technology to support his needs and without technology he would not be doing what he is doing today.

Designing accessible content for online learning - Ruth Elliott and Danielle Peevor

An introduction to designing learning materials for teaching online. Including, considering the idea of Universal Design for Learning and making content accessible to encourage learners to be independent.

Target Audience: Primary and Secondary

Ruth Elliott - Specialist Dyslexia Teacher and Ed Tech Researcher - Miles Dyslexia Association (Bangor University)

Ruth Elliott has over 10 years teaching experience in a variety of settings. Experienced in working with SEN learners and in particular those with dyslexia. And is a lead for the use of Educational Technology in a school and for literacy research with the University of Bangor.

Danielle Peevor - Graphic Designer and 1 to 1 Dyslexia Support Teacher

Danielle worked as a Graphic Designer and University Lecturer specialising in information design for twenty years prior to requalifying as a Secondary School Teacher. Her current role is assessing and monitoring dyslexic learners (APC) and working as a specialist 1 to 1 dyslexia support teacher (AMBDA) at St David's College, North Wales. Danielle is currently working towards her Educational Doctorate and expert in designing for inclusive education and to promote independent learning.

Monique Wintle-Camp - Co-Active Coach and Emotional Intelligence Coach

Connecting with students virtually identifying those that are struggling emotionally

• Understand the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety
  
• How emotional intelligence plays an even bigger part in a virtual world
  

Monique is a Co-Active Coach and Emotional Intelligence Coach, supporting individuals, groups and teams. As a Co-Active Coach, she believes that people are naturally creative, resourceful and whole. Her role as a coach is to support you through a journey of self-discovery. Monique specialises in working with people to uncover, trust and use their confidence and purpose especially around neurodiversity. Being dyslexic, Monique always wanted to create environments where neurodiversity would be understood and appreciated for the skills that they could bring. When working within Oracle she was part of the Neurodiversity Network creating this environment.

Joanna Dunton - Director of Teaching - Miles Dyslexia Centre, Bangor University

Practical Approaches for delivering Multisensory Teaching Online

The presentation will make suggestions as to how teaching methods using multi-sensory approaches can be adapted to deliver a structured literacy lesson, in an online environment. The main focus will be on one to one sessions, however, some tasks can be adapted to small group teaching and, with differentiation, could also be used within the secondary sector.
It will include a look at different elements of a structured literacy lesson and will demonstrate methods and examples of a how a multisensory approach can be successfully implemented.

Target Audience: Primarily primary although with reference to secondary through differentiation

Mrs. Joanna Dunton, B Ed, M Ed, AMBDA, Co-Ordinator Miles Dyslexia Centre, Bangor University, UK. Her teaching career has covered a wide range of ages including working in special schools and FE colleges. She joined the MDC’s teaching team after completing the AMBDA course in Bangor, subsequently going on to become the Director of Teaching for the Centre. She is the module leader for the BDA accredited Masters courses delivered at the School of Education, Bangor University. She is currently a member of the BDA Accreditation Board.