AAC Community of Practice

What is the ATP-EdAAC Community of Practice?

The ATP-EdAAC list is a Community of Practice dedicated to the provision of quality assistive technology services in schools and other settings. This list focuses on connecting those involved serving school-aged youth and young adults who use augmentative and/or alternative communication systems to communicate.  This list is a forum dedicated to promoting collaboration, best practice, and a respect for inquiry among its participants.   

Who can be a member of the ATP-EdAAC Community of Practice?

Participation in the list is open to persons who are in a role to lead others in high-quality AAC services in educational settings in Nebraska.

How do I join the ATP-EdAAC Community of Practice?

If you are in a role serving school-aged youth who use AAC to communicate, please join the conversation today!

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What are the ATP-EdAAC Community of Practice Participation Guidelines?

ATP-EdAAC List Assumptions:

• All communication is phrased in a way that demonstrates respect, trust, and sincere appreciation for the differing viewpoints, backgrounds, and interests of each person in the ATP-EdAAC Community.
• All differences of opinion are seen as opportunities to grow in understanding and clarity and to invite the growth of others.
• All persons in the ATP-EdAAC Community are committed to the understanding that the list is not to be used for marketing purposes.

ATP-EdAAC List Participation Guidelines:

When communicating through the list, all participants are expected to adhere to the assumptions and respect the time and sensibilities of others on the list by following these guidelines.

Audience:

• Write for general consumption
  • Messages go “to the entire community” and are not private
  • ATP-EdAAC is open to hose involved serving school-aged youth and young adults who use augmentative and/or alternative communication systems to communicate. 
• Respect the diversity of the community and the individual participants
  • Use respectful language
  • Avoid statements that judge or criticize other groups, individuals, or entities
• Respect the time and available resources of individual participants
  • Avoid sending personal messages meant for one person through the list.
  • Messages that only say, “Thank you.” or “I want one” are to be sent directly to the person. Please do not use the list to send these messages. (Email addresses are typically available in the header of every message on the list.)
  • Any training opportunity – paid or free - can be shared in ONE initial post in advance of the training date and ONE reminder anytime in the week the training takes place.
  • To view and manage message delivery options, go to the ATP-EdAAC Listserv Page.  Note that the footer on the bottom of every message also provides instructions on how to leave the list.
  • List members are encouraged to share resources and supports that they have developed which could be of interest to others.  List members are also encouraged to share resources to ATP Education Resource Database. 
• Archiving 
  • Please note that the list discussions are archived to allow for searching by members of the list for previous discussion topics and resources.  

Composition:

• Make each message clear and brief
  • Include sufficient detail for others to understand questions or comments
• Reflect the content of the message in the subject line as clearly and briefly as possible
  • When using acronyms, use the whole phrase the first time so that all will understand.
    • Examples:
      • IEP (Individualized Educational Program)
      • National Assistive Technology in Education Network (NATE)
• Respect limitations on sharing copyrighted materials.  Not everything on the Internet can be freely distributed.

Products:

• Avoid making judgments that indicate one product is “better” than another. It is not acceptable to say, “Product A is better than Product B.”  Comparisons of features are encouraged.  For example, “Product A has these features.  Product B has these features.  From my experience, features X and Y best met the needs for the individual and setting.”
• When talking about a specific product, emphasize the features that you have found useful and under what conditions. If you have found specific challenges in using the product, describe them.

Your awareness and commitment to use of these guidelines will help ensure a positive experience for all in the ATP-EdAAC Community.  Reminders will be sent when needed.  If multiple reminders are required, a participant may be asked to leave the list or may be unsubscribed. 

Questions

You can reach the members of the ATP Education Team through email at atp.education@nebraska.gov.