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Even the most well-intentioned person can be a poor communication partner for individuals who use AAC. The average person has no idea how to communicate effectively with someone who has a significant communication disability, and is likely to do things that are less than helpful. These Communication Access Cards, developed by Scope, can be just the thing to improve the quality of interactions.

"How fast does the wind blow? What makes things sticky? Where do insects live and plants grow? What is the best way to clean up the environment? How do humans measure up in the animal kingdom? So many questions-and so many ways to find answers! In these interactives, use your hands, feet, eyes, ears, brain, imagination and cool tools to experiment, design, test and discover amazing things about the world around you. It's science and it's fun!"

24/7 science is a site where you could spend days exploring the fun world of science, without repeating an exercise. Find out about everyday mysteries like why the wind blows so hard or what makes things sticky. Check out the activities for fun tricks like how to over overfill a glass of water without spilling a drop or how to clean an oil spill. Exhausted? Go on and relax with some fun games - All science-related of course!

Parents need to know that this site, which supplements the TIME for Kids magazine, is a safe and wonderfully eye-opening place for kids to hang out online. Although there are versions of the TIME for Kids magazine for grade-schoolers, the site is more for tweens and up since articles give frank facts (while leaving out disturbing details) about things like political assassinations and social injustices.

"99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don't think about - the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With 80 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes. 99% Invisible started as a project of KALW public radio and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco. "

"Imagine being unable to say, "I am hungry," "I am in pain," "thank you," or "I love you," - losing your ability to communicate, being trapped inside your body, surrounded by people yet utterly alone. For 13 long years, that was Martin Pistorius's reality. After contracting a brain infection at the age of twelve, Pistorius lost his ability to control his movements and to speak, and eventually he failed every test for mental awareness. He had become a ghost. But then a strange thing started to happen - his mind began to knit itself back together. In this moving talk, Pistorius tells how he freed himself from a life locked inside his own body."

Compiled by Tony Vincent on 5/19/2009

"Every voice should be heard Some people are hard to hear -- through no fault of their own. Disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome and Rett syndrome make it harder for many individuals to communicate on their own. Many people use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools in order to help make their voices heard. We work to help bring out the voices of those with complex communication needs through good tech that actually makes things easier and supports everyone in helping the individual succeed."

Episode #116 features a description of how and why to use core vocabulary (high frequency words) as the basis for an augmentative/alternative communication system. The entire episode was generated using only "Frequently Occurring Home and School Words" from the list generated in the article "Vocabulary-Use Patterns in Preschool Children: Effects of Context and Time Sampling" by Christine A. Marvin, David R. Beukelman, and Denise Bilyeu published in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Volume 10 in December, 1994. The episode demonstrates that using only high frequency words users can still elicit complex, generative language. You might find it beneficial to listen to the episode twice or to read along as you listen to the episode. TRANSCRIPT: http://bit.ly/howtohelpsaythingstranscript

Students need things explained again, and again sometimes. With Explania that's OK! Find animated explanations for all things health, money, software, sports, and technology related. Try it out today.

Blog post with some good tips for using Twitter

Answers to the question, "If you have a disability, what is the hardest thing about browsing the web?"

Lesson ideas: Carrot Seed Can You Dance Dalila? Each Peach Pear Plum Edwina the Emu Harold and the Purple Crayon Is You Mama A Llama Lazy Ladybug Leo the Late Bloomer Mean Soup Penelope Jane Rosie's Walk Sheila Rae Show and Tell Where the Wild Things Are

About Noodle Noodle is the first and only life-long education related search company in the world. We were started in 2011 by John Katzman, the founder of The Princeton Review and 2Tor. Our goal is to provide a recommendation engine to help anyone find educational opportunities at all levels, from K-12 to college, grad school, weekend classes, and professional development. Searching for the right educational opportunity can be intimidating and overwhelming. Too often this means that students go to the obvious school instead of the right school. We decided it was about time to solve that problem so we created Noodle. We offer accurate, extensive data on over 150,000 schools and hundreds of thousands of education providers. We help you find it with a personalized recommendation tool. Just answer a few questions and we'll match you with the school, tutor, or educational opportunity that suits your interests, budget, location and general preferences. You can also check out our Noodlings blog for advice and opinions from experts in their respective fields. It's full of explanations, how-to articles, top-10 lists and news related to all things education, from parenting to admissions to careers. We want to give you the knowledge you need to act on your educational interests with confidence. We know Noodle will revolutionize the educational search process by offering great information, data, and advice to everyone at no cost. But Noodle is a work in progress and always will be. We're always adding, updating and refining Noodle's data and search tools; and we need your help to keep getting better. Please let us know what you think about our data, recommendations, or the site in general so we can keep learning too. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr to give us feedback or just keep in touch!

Even the smallest things, like the living cell, become big enough to grasp in Rob Olazagasti's middle school science class, where he enables students to learn by creating, remember by experiencing, and show what they know by teaching.

5 things to do it you're not confident teaching core vocabulary

for K-4

RWG Word Prediction YouTube video

Useful for helping students spell things correctly the first time without practicing incorrect spellings over and over again. Also useful for decreasing the number of keystrokes and increasing productivity.