Articles

Assistive Technology: Live It Earth

What is Assistive Technology? 

Assistive technology (AT) is any device, software, or equipment that is used to maintain or improve the functional capabilities of a person with a disability, including a learning difference. Technologies include hardware, or physical technologies that are kept on-site at our AT Studio, and software, or technology available via a computer that can potentially be used from home. To learn more about why and how LDS uses AT, head to our AT webpage.

What does Live It Earth do?

Live It Earth is a Canadian company, based in BC, that produces programs for home and school classrooms that inspire kids to care for the world around them and empower them to act. Live It incorporates Indigenous perspectives and a deep appreciation for the natural world into all their content.  

Live It Earth features:

Each month during the school year, Live It builds a lesson around a theme, like the Arctic, Caribou, or Forest Fires.
Around this theme, they prepare: 

  • A 20-minute educational show. 
  • An informative slideshow. 
  • In-house experts to interact with users and answer questions via Twitter. 
  • Teacher resources to encourage participation. 
  • 4 weekly challenges designed to get students involved. These challenges include a science challenge, a reading challenge, a creative challenge, and a game. They are designed to get kids engaged with the world around them, away from a screen, and using whatever materials and tools they have around them. Live It Earth curates their questions and challenge submissions on Twitter through the hashtag #LiveItEarth, and often features user submissions in their programming. 

How can my child access Live It Earth?

Our RISE Assistive Technology Studio is supported by our thoughtful and generous LDS technology sponsors, including Live It Earth. Like all our assistive software tools, LDS offers Live It Earth to our students and their families for use in lessons, in school, and at home. To claim your free copy of Live It Earth, please email our AT Manager at AT@ldsociety.ca. You can also request an LDS assistive software virtual tour to get an in-depth introduction to our assistive software suite.  

We also offer Live It Earth in our East Vancouver AT Studio, a space dedicated to the collaborative use of leading-edge AT to help our students with learning differences. To learn more about how your child can benefit, email our AT Manager at AT@ldsociety.ca.

—Rie 

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Rie Stadnichuk (she/her) is the Digital Communications Specialist at LDS. A recent graduate from Simon Fraser University with a Communications and Economics degree, she hopes to use this opportunity as a way of exploring meaningful work in the field. She is passionate about social issues and creating environments of inclusivity and open dialogue. Rie graciously lives and works on the unceded territory of the Syilx people.