ISAAC has, over the course of the past number of years, developed a significant capacity to host informative and well-attended webinars. This has been done in close collaboration with our friends and partners at both ISAAC-US (USSAAC), AAIDD and, more recently, ISAAC-Canada.
Webinars
ISAAC hosts many informative and well-attended webinars each year.
Registration for live webinars is open to everyone.
All webinars, unless otherwise indicated, are recorded and will be made available for later viewing. Most are archived for members only. You can see the members only archive here.
Become a member of ISAAC to watch all of ISAAC’s webinars!
Upcoming webinars
AAC and The Academic Curriculum: Open-Source Resources to Support Students, Teachers and SLPs
February 19, 2025
7:00-8:00 p.m. EDT
Presented by: Penny Hatch, PhD, CCC-SLP and Lori Geist, PhD, CCC-SLP
About the presenters:
Penny Hatch is a faculty member at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Penny’s background as a school-based speech-language pathologist and assistive technology provider prompted her to become involved in research focused on communication, language, and literacy development for students with complex learning and communication needs. She has been a member of the research teams for each of the open-source projects that will be discussed during this webinar.
Lori Geist is a faculty member at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the research faculty at UNC, she worked in direct service, consultation, and product development, with her efforts concentrated on intervention approaches that target communication, language, and literacy outcomes. She has served as project director for Project Core and Building Bridges.
Moderated by: Betsy Caporale
Seminar description:
This seminar will review a variety of open educational resources developed by the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These resources are designed to support educators and classroom professionals teaching students who have complex learning and communication needs. The resources include professional learning modules and planning materials to support language and literacy instruction at emergent through conventional levels. There will also be information about a new, open-source progress monitoring tool that enables educators to track student progress and inform instruction across five scales related to language and literacy.
Participants will be able to:
- Describe how to incorporate aided language input and AAC use into at least two Emergent Literacy routines.
- Describe how to support students who use AAC in at least two Conventional Literacy routines.
- Locate a progress monitoring tool to track progress and inform instruction in language and literacy.
Time ordered agenda:
5 minutes: Introduction of Speakers, USSAAC and topic
12 minutes: Project Core
12 minutes: Tar Heel Shared Reader
12 minutes: Building Bridges
12 minutes: Project VC
5 minutes: Q & A
ASHA CEUs
SLPs who are USSAAC/ISAAC members may have their participation in this webinar reported for ASHA CEUs at no charge. Non-members must pay a $25 reporting fee.
This course is offered for 0.10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level; Professional area).
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) CEUs in speech-language pathology and audiology are awarded by the ASHA CE Registry upon receipt of the CEU Participant Form from the ASHA Approved CE Provider, USSAAC. CEU Participant Forms are available online at Registration or via the QR Code displayed during the presentation. ASHA CEUs are provided to full registrations. This program is offered for .10 ASHA CEUs (Introductory Level, Professional Area).
ASHA Disclosures:
Speakers
Financial:
The information being presented was developed through multiple research grants awarded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. These funds supported part of the salaries of both Penny Hatch and Lori Geist
Nonfinancial:
Penny Hatch has no non-financial disclosures to report.
Lori Geist has no non-financial disclosures to report.
Moderator
Financial:
Betsy Caporale has no financial disclosures to report.
Nonfinancial:
Betsy Caporale is a USSAAC Board Member and Director of the Education Committee.
To register for this webinar click on the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qX9SVlNWSsq82rZyPExSKA
Please note: Only the first 150 attendees to log into the webinar will be guaranteed spots.
USSAAC EDUCATION COMMITTEE:
Betsy Caporale, Kate DeJarnette, Nicole Gallagher, Richard Hurtig,
Mili Mathew, Michelle Phillipy, Wendy Quach, Sharon Redmon
The Time When Tea Met Whiskey and an AAC Podcast Was Born
Thursday, February 27, 2025
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. EST
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Presented by: Chelsea Hagen and Joanne Picard
About the presenters:
Chelsea Hagen lives on a peaceful acreage near Breton, Alberta, where she writes, advocates, produces artwork, and is involved in projects that highlight the advancement of AAC—all the while using two head switches to communicate, write, and create. She’s a storyteller at heart and co-hosts Whiskey and Tea on AAC, a podcast where communication meets sassiness and nonsense (and possibly some strong opinions).
She’s also an artisan, creating various art and craft projects for Noggin Art by Chelsea. She’s a university student, chipping away at her BA in English. She mentors young AAC communicators at the University of Alberta’s AAC camp and runs a book club for ISAAC International. She is also the co-founder of the Sexy Robot Voice Army, which sounds mysterious but is really just a fun group of AAC friends.
Her true love is writing. She’s had work published in poetry books, blogs, and magazines. She’s also written two short films, one of which made it to the Toronto ISAAC Conference Film Festival, which was pretty cool. Right now, she’s working on getting her children’s illustrated book published.
Her goal? To make writing her full-time career. In the meantime, she’ll keep juggling everything else and hoping her tea doesn’t run out.
Joanne Picard, also known as Jo, was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She is a long-time feminist and activist who incorporates humour into everything she does. Currently, Joanne is studying Political Science with a special interest in the role of gender in politics at the University of Alberta.
Joanne draws from her personal experiences as a disabled person to passionately advocate for presuming potential, equal access to communication, and the importance of inclusive education. Her advocacy work is deeply connected to the NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US movement, which seeks to ensure that policies and decisions directly impacting the disabled community are made with their meaningful participation and input. Joanne uses eye gaze technology to access her communication device, which she calls her Sexy Robot Voice.
Joanne’s special interests include raunchy rap music, spicy books and creative cocktails.
Moderated by: Karen Congram
Webinar description:
What happens when two best friends who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) decide to create a podcast? Uncensored, brutally honest banter between two polar opposite friends – like a cocktail of bitching, laughter, and hilariously real talk – shaken, not stirred.
Join Chelsea Hagen and Joanne Picard as they share the humorous story of their friendship! They will discuss their motivations for launching their podcast, share their experiences as AAC users, and perhaps even offer a few cocktail recipes.
Participants will:
- Learn to identify ableist language and actions that AAC users frequently encounter.
- Learn how to empower AAC users to take a leading role in shaping AAC education and research.
Time-ordered agenda:
5 minutes: Introduction of Speakers and topic (Moderator)
5 minutes: Objective and Overview (Moderator)
10 minutes: We will introduce ourselves (Presenters)
15 minutes: How and why we started our podcast (Presenters)
10 minutes: Things we think you should know about AAC users (Presenters)
5 minutes: Conclusion and summary (Presenters)
5 minutes: Q & A (Presenters and Moderator)
Disclosures:
Financial:
Joanne is an inclusion advocate and Outside Pin team member with Dr. Shelley Moore.
Non-financial:
Chelsea is a board member of ISAAC Canada.
To register for this webinar click on the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gBdQ38O0Qiuiqo8MPs6TPA
Information about ISAAC webinars
Important Update:
Beginning in January 2021, the majority of archived webinars will be moved to a new location in the Members Only area portion of our website. (A number of webinars will continue to be publicly available here.)
What this change means is that now only members will be able to access the majority of our archived webinar recordings.
Registration for the majority of upcoming new webinars will be available from within the Members Only area, and a valid ISAAC member ID number will need to be entered at time of registration.
It is our hope that many of the people who have benefited from attending or viewing our webinars will become members of ISAAC in order to continue to enjoy this significant membership benefit.
For information on becoming a member of ISAAC, click here.
Thank you!
Information on ASHA CEUs for USSAAC webinars can be found on the USSAAC website, here
To request from ISAAC International a hosted or sponsored webinar, please return this form-fillable PDF with details of your proposed webinar and preferred time slot, to franklin@isaac-online.org.
Please note: A copy of the form MUST first be downloaded and saved to your local computer prior to completing.