AT Workshops & Courses

Tri-County, often in combination with partner organizations and the Heart of Illinois Low Incidence Association (HILIA), offers access to a wide variety of professional development opportunities that feature instructional and/or assistive technology.  Registration forms can be accessed by following the links listed below to (a) the professional development section of this web site, (b) the Illinois State University Special Education Assistive Technology Center web site, or (c) the Mid-State AT Coalition web site.  Workshops feature CPDUs. 
 
Tri-County's AT workshops will feature products offered to area districts through the Mid-State Coalition Group Buy.  Special attention is given to helping district personnel use literacy software for students having varied skills, abilities, and interests. 
 
This year, HILIA AT workshops feature:

    1. The PASSPORT SERIES of workshops, all 1 1/2 hours in length on a variety of tools commonly used in public schools and taught by local AT leaders.  Instructors will teach a variety of products for learners with various levels of experience, featuring demonstration and hands-on practice for learners.

    2. Users' Groups, four 3-hour evenings where individuals or small teams of parents and educators can work together to use Boardmaker, Intellitools, literacy software and other AT products to create teaching or communication tools for student use.  Users' groups help to bridge the gap that often exists between learning a product and using it most effectively for individual students.
 
Offerings of the AT Coalition are varied.  Interested readers should go to the web site for more information.
 
Of course, all Tri-County educators and parents may enroll in the workshops, courses, and training events offered by the cooperative, but community members and teachers from districts outside of HILIA may also enroll with the permission of a HILIA representative:

    Sheri Piercy or Kris Dean at Tri-County.
    Cory Tello or Nora Bardi at Mackinaw Valley Special Education Association.
    Dawn Conway or Rose Smith at Livingston County Special Services Unit.
    Becky Francois at Bloomington District #87.