educATe

What is educATe?

educATe is an exclusive web-delivered subscription service from Bridges, the AT professional development specialists in Canada! educATe is where the rubber meets the road in AT – making AT work in the classroom – it’s about teaching using technology.

With educATe, we use the paradigm of Teach – Learn – Connect. Click on the tabs above to learn more about how educATe works in each of these areas to support AT use and implementation in real classrooms!

educATe supports:

Kurzweil 3000
Classroom Suite
Boardmaker
Premier
WordQ
Communicate: Symwriter
Dragon
Clicker
Co:Writer
Draft:Builder
SMART Ideas
Interactive White Boards
iPad & iDevice support
And more!

If you would like more information or a guided walk-through of educATe@Bridges,
please contact Joan@bridges-canada.com.

Your request will be answered in a timely manner.

educATe at Bridges.pdf
(1,117 KB)

Teach

Curriculum Materials

educATe uses tabs and buttons to guide educators to the resources they need at any particular time. In the Teach area of educATe, educators will find hundreds of resources that support their instructional practice in the classroom – templates, activities, graphic organizers, vocabulary lists that span every content area, grade level, AT product and learning need. Each resource downloads and opens with the click of a mouse-button.*

Bridges has engaged educators from across Canada to develop these resources, based on Canadian curriculum. Educators will find that Bridges integrated a systemic approach to the design process that includes both teacher resources and student activities. Each activity has been carefully designed with "best practices” in mind:

Careful introduction of new vocabulary
Questions throughout
Before/during/after strategies
Thoughtful use of symbols
And more!

The emphasis is on how to teach using the activity, as opposed to just using the activity. With a variety of supports built into each activity, it’s easy to customize with by turning on or off different features, and educators can easily make their own adjustments to suit individual students.

*Software must be installed on the individual computer in order to run the activity.

Basic Comparison Paragraph in educATe (click on the images for a larger view)

This illustrates the philosophy behind the Teach resources in educATe. Here, we see an example of a paragraph writing activity where supports have been built using Word, Kurzweil 3000, Classroom Suite, Write:OutLoud, Draft:Builder and more to support the range of needs in today’s diverse classrooms.

educATe at Bridges.pdf
(1,117 KB)

Learn

The Learn area of educATe provides an avenue for educators to learn how to use AT products, or to increase their proficiency in using them. Through educATe Learn, educators are offered multiple opportunities to increase their knowledge that are multi-dimensional, on-going, and comprehensive. And, because it’s web-delivered, it’s available to them wherever or whenever there is an internet connection.

Whether someone prefers a PDF or a video tutorial, tip sheets, knowledge checklists, live or archived webinars, quick guides, or instructor-led courses, everyone will find an option to suit their learning preference. Bridges’ experience training teachers across Canada and knowledge of AT, Universal Design for Learning, and best practices have all been brought to bear, no matter which option is chosen.Video and print tutorials can be viewed in either a scripted, sequential, and accountable way through Directed Learning, or in a more random or open-ended fashion through Explore.

educATe at Bridges.pdf
(1,117 KB)

Connect

educATe is the ideal location for your entire education community to meet, share, and learn about AT. Bridges can help your district customize this area to:

Support district initiatives (think iStuff or support for English Language Learners with AT)
Build learning networks
Share wiki’s and discussion boards
Post announcements and calendars
And more!

educATe is a powerful, centralized mechanism for cementing knowledge for effective use of AT, regardless of geography or numbers of buildings!

educATe at Bridges.pdf
(1,117 KB)

Implement

Pricing

An educATe subscription is completely customizable. Bridges can build your educATe site to support one AT product or ten. If your district is only interested in scripted online professional development for a limited segment of educators, that is an option. Call today to talk about the goals and ambitions for AT in your district, and Bridges will provide a walk-through of the resources, a limited trial period for you to check out educATe’s viability for your district, and a customized quote.

educATe at Bridges.pdf
(1,117 KB)