Supporting Learners
LDS integrates technology to empower and engage students and improve accessibility for our learners.
Technology-Embracing
LDS is a technology-embracing organization. We continue to research and integrate new technologies that help us best serve our students and families. Our team seeks opportunities to leverage technology to improve efficiency and to continue to enhance our expert learning support. Learn more about:
Education Technology
Assistive Robotics
Assistive Technology
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Education Technology
EdTech, or Education Technology, are digital tools and software to enhance teaching and learning experiences. It includes online platforms, educational apps, and adaptive learning systems. Incorporating EdTech can personalize education, improve accessibility, and engage students more effectively.
Every student is paired with a compassionate instructor who carefully determines when and how best to incorporate EdTech according to learner goals. EdTech is another set of growing tools that help ensure our sessions are engaging and target each student’s learning needs.
Examples of EdTech we use with our students are: Osmo, Gimkit, PinkCat Games, ToDoist, Google Calendar, Miro, ChatGBT, Gemini, and Desmos.
Assistive Robotics
An assistive robot helps individuals with disabilities to enhance their independence and quality of life. Socially assistive robots can help improve social engagement, attention, and social skills in autistic children.
From 2021-23, LDS and the University of Waterloo Social Intelligent Robotics Research Laboratory (SIRRL) partnered to study incorporating assistive robotics into our RISE One-to-One Instruction. You can learn more about this project and its findings here.
Our technology-embracing team continues to incorporate our socially assistive robots, QT, into many of our programs, and we continue our collaboration with the team from SIRRL.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology is any device, software, or equipment that assists a person with a disability, including a learning difference. It can meaningfully support accessibility and inclusion and give students an equal opportunity to learn on their own terms. Assistive technology empowers students to be more independent, leading to greater engagement, better learning outcomes, and enhanced emotional and social development.
Our team carefully assesses tools that can benefit and support our student’s learning. These are examples of assistive technology tools our students and families use:
- Spell check and grammar support for writing: Grammarly, Read&Write
- Speech to text: Speechify, Word Dictate
- Reading Support: BeeLine Read, Read&Write
- Adaptive Tools: large format keybords, wobble stools, wobble cushions
- Adaptive Math Tools: physical manipulatives, physical calculators, online calculators
Assistive Technology Studio
Our one-of-a-kind AT Studio showcases a variety of leading-edge hardware and software assistive technology tools that can assist, support, and enhance learning for individuals with learning differences. We partner with world-renowned educational institutions and innovative assistive technology companies to ensure our programs use the latest research and technologies. Our AT Studio is available for use by our LDS community to explore technology options that may be helpful to their learning progress.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
LDS is proactively exploring how AI can enhance our programs and help us provide learning support to a growing number of students. Human connection is a vital part of our one-to-one learning support. We are exploring enhancing this connection with tools and processes that give our students and families the best possible learning support. These are some of the ways we are investigating how to incorporate AI into our programs:
- Assist instructors in lesson planning
- Track student progress and nimbly make adjustments to better support a student’s learning journey
- Optimize administrative processes so that our staff team time can focus on human relationships and specialized education tasks
- Deliver evermore engaging and interactive content
LDS is honoured to be the inaugural recipient of SVP Vancouver’s Game-Changing Giving for our RISE Next Generation AI initiative. This generous grant will help us responsibly integrate AI in a beneficial and effective way to support students with learning differences. Read more about this grant and the integration of AI.
Our Technology Sponsors
LDS would like to thank the following companies for supporting our commitment to technological innovation adoption to enable accessibility for all vulnerable learners.
