Myles Pilling comments on the uptake in assistive technology in schools
Myles Pilling chats to Russell Prue about assistive technology for schools. He reveals that his organisation is producing three films for schools, featuring pupils talking about what assistive tech means to them.
He signposts that Nasen, Microlink and the DfE have come together to offer schools free assistive technology online training until August 2023, and encourages them to access it. He says it's an exciting time that is really moving things forward for students who use assistive technology.
@mylespilling
For more Insights and many more useful videos, please subscribe to the NetSupport channel.
Myles Pilling comments on the uptake in assistive technology in schools
Myles Pilling chats to Russell Prue about assistive technology for schools. He reveals that his organisation is producing three films for schools, featuring pupils talking about what assistive tech means to them.
He signposts that Nasen, Microlink and the DfE have come together to offer schools free assistive technology online training until August 2023, and encourages them to access it. He says it's an exciting time that is really moving things forward for students who use assistive technology.
@mylespilling
For more Insights and many more useful videos, please subscribe to the NetSupport channel.
Russell Prue: Listeners, I've just been reminded that we go back a very long way for my next guest and we have shared values. I love that in a guest. It's Myles Pilling. I come to Bett to check my special educational additional needs compass with this guru. He's the go-to man and it's nice to know what he knows now that he didn't know last year. Myles, welcome to the show. How the devil are you?
Myles Pilling: I am very, very well. Thank you. God willing, still on the planet to make a difference and still doing what I can. 71 this year!
RP: Oh bless! You don't look at day over 70. That's amazing!
MP: Thank you! [Laughs].
RP: No, seriously, you look brilliant! I hope I look that good at that age. Bless you, you're doing so well – whatever cream you're using, I need to get some. So, what have you been up to since we last spoke?
MP: Well, loads of things. But the most important thing I think that I want to tell you about is an exciting project. Because the last decade or two, we've had this position of going back into the 19th century and probably the Stone Age with this emphasis on writing. My goal is assistive technology. But I'm pleased to announce that we are about to produce three films for schools to use in their staff meetings, in their INSET days, in their assemblies, because we have spoken to in excess of 20 pupils. And it's their voice about what assistive technology means to them.
Do you know what they are telling us? It's changed their lives completely. And we're not talking about really expensive stuff. We're talking about what they've got already. So we want these three films to impact the teaching population. I have a massive goal to reach 22,412 schools in the UK with this. We're giving away for free – and sorry, it's a plug but I'll tell you this…
RP: No problem.
MP: …you can look at the teaser to get a quality of what this is. It's a two-minute teaser. And you'll see it's really powerful. So if you want to impact your staff, if you're a SENCO, whatever. But that's not it. I see a coming together of different groups all at the same time: Nasen, Microlink and the DFE are doing training for assistive technology for free for schools till August. Go and get it! It's online stuff – I know – but that's the way it works.
RP: I think schools are hungry for something like that, Myles. Hungry, hungry as can be.
MP: Not only that, Julia Clouter and myself (Julia is from Scanning Pens), we have produced for Nasen, a mini guide on assisted technology, which can be used in any school or setting. It's using the SET framework and that enables SENCOs to put into practice what we talked about in the films and what Microlink are doing.
So, this is a really golden time and maybe, post-Gove, we can move in a much more– well, I would say a much more better way. Because our mantra is the technologies essential for some, but it's useful for all. And we wanted to climb out of the ghetto and begin to impact the education world. As you can see, I'm really passionate about this and excited because we've not had this in the UK. We've heard about products. We've heard about case studies. But what about hearing the pupils themselves?
RP: Yes, we need a step change, a system change, a systemic change like this. Where can folks find out more about this? Is there a website? Have you got stuff on your website? Where can we go, Myles?
MP: Yes, BATAonline.org. British Assisted Technology Association (not the shoe firm) they produced it. So if you go to BATAonline.org and you'll see a link "Coming soon." We hope to produce all the three films, freely available, in spring 2023. End of plug for that one.
RP: No, that's amazing. It's really good. Insofar as tech, three-dimensional button pressing, those kind of things – has there been any significant improvement on that? I mean, captioning, I think has been a big change. I've met a company here called Caption.ED and I spoke to Richard Powell [sic] yesterday. He's the founder of that. And I liked it. It immediately caught my attention. And now this year, they are captioning all of the theatres on an app, which is stunning, stunning improvement. We had a jolly old catch up with him yesterday, which was amazing. I love chatting with them and that's a good success story for me as well. And anything else on your front?
MP: Well, Microsoft, have done something with captioning. You can caption anything on any website, anywhere, anytime – old YouTube stories, whatever, even stuff probably from government websites, if you care to do that. That's interesting. Also, I have been on a passion drive to find a speech-driven computer because I have a client who can't use their hands and they're blind and she's frustrated, because they can't do that. Do you remember, we talked about this last year?
RP: Yes.
MP: Well, Windows 11, you can run off through voice access control and it will actually control the computer – but it crashed our screen reader. So there's some work to go yet. You know, 57 years ago, Captain Kirk talked to his computer and things happened and that's the kind of technology I'm really after at the moment: speech-driven completely. We have it a little in Alexa and Google. But you know what? They don't necessarily allow the stuff that people want to do. And my client just wants to send emails and also search the internet and both are a challenge.
RP: So yes, that's the point. I wonder whether those– because of course those platforms have been developed more quickly than anything else because they have a bigger market penetration and therefore, there is more money to be made. It's a mass market. I wonder if we should stay with the mass market idea and make those things do, even if they're bolt on additional costy items. You know, 'Alexa take a Microsoft Word note', you know. And then dictate as you would 'Paragraph one starts: Dear Sirs. Next line [you know]: It has been brought to my attention'… Wouldn't that be great, that kind of thing? Send email to– 'Alexa, send email to…' and 'Alexa, read the following website…'
MP: Yeah.
RP: And I don't know. I'm not Alexa– I really don't want to let those devices intrude upon my broadcasting space.
MP: Our biggest enemy is GDPR, which has stopped some of the things Alexa was developing. So if we can try and do a sensible GDPR in the country, maybe we can allow these things in. Because they had skills that would do it, but they removed them. We can only think it's GDPR…
RP: It has to be, it has to be.
MP: …that caused the problem.
RP: Well, we should get someone from Google on the show but at the moment they declined every offer to comment…
MP: Have they?
RP: …but well.
MP: Anyway, I mean some of the other things that I find exciting: ChatGDP GDPT [sic].
RP: Yes, yes.
MP: There are some potentials there for neurodiversity people to be able to construct, say 'Write me a letter of recommendation', or a website…
RP: Nice.
MP: …something, or publication. And it's pretty good, but it's, it's not quite perfect. But it goes to 20– well, and I can't say that because I might be using a longer version, but, yeah, there's some excitement there in that. And yeah, I haven't seen anything that wowed me yet here this week, but I've only been here one day.
RP: Well, that's that should have been enough Myles. It's great to catch up with you. If folks want to connect with you on social media, where should they go, Myles?
MP: It's @MylesPilling on Twitter. I'm on LinkedIn as Myles Pilling and Facebook as well. So you can find me at Accessibility (that's 'accessability' with an 'a' in it) Solutions. And yeah, I mean certainly I'm, I'm there for you if you want to reach out to us and have a discussion.
RP: Myles, great to chat with you, as ever. Enjoy the rest of your day.
MP: Cheers, thanks. Thanks.