Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC)

The Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech is proud to announce its “Tech Tuesday” lineup for 2025-2026. This year, we will be hosting monthly sessions on various augmentative alternative communication (AAC) systems. These 1.5 hour virtual sessions will be presented by representatives from some of the leading companies that provide AAC options.

These sessions are perfect for general and special education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, assistive technology team members, and others who support users of AAC.

T/TAC was recently invited to team up with the Washington County, VA Parent Resource Center, to hold an event they called “Hack and Halls” where they invited families, educational teams, and community members for a hands-on learning experience. The team was led by Justin Gobble, special education teacher at Abingdon High School, Parent Resource Center (PRC) Coordinator, and member of the Washington County Assistive Technology Team. Other team members who collaborated were Kate Jacobs, VI Teacher for the county, and Lillian Ruble, special education teacher at Watauga Elementary. The community partners that made this event possible were the Washington County Public Library, Heaven's Saints Motorcycle Ministry of SWVA, and the Kiwanis Club of Abingdon.

During this 3 hour event, each participant was provided with a bubble machine, board book, and  wooden puzzle to modify. They learned how to make DIY battery interrupters and switches and even got to test out their soldering skills! All of the toys adapted at the event went to students in the division. Mr. Gobble and the rest of the planning team say they hope to make this a yearly event in Abingdon!

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