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Dont let Mac users have all the fun. Teachers and students can record, upload, and share online recordings called podcasts using just a classroom computer or even a phone.

Members of the Education World Tech Team talk about the technology tools they find most useful in their professional lives, and the technology they use most successfully with students.

Discover how technology enhances the science program in the Greece Central School District, Rochester, New York.

In technology-infused discovery activities, Internet research, virtual manipulatives, and multimedia resources allow students to explore unanswered questions.

Ideally, to maximize these opportunities, every student needs direct access to technology on a daily basis

The projects created are excellent tools for formative and summative assessment. Yet more than that, through creation activities, students design products that make them active partners in constructing learning experiences in the classroom and beyond. In demonstrating their skills and knowledge, they become more confident in their own abilities and their own voices.

Shift in Roles

In this configuration, the teacher acts as a learning catalyst, orchestrating and facilitating activities that spark defining moments for students. The most effective activities take two forms— discovery and creation—though they often symbiotically work together. The student then becomes the focal point of the classroom, acting as explorer (e.g., mathematician, scientist, sociologist) and designer (e.g., author, artist, composer).

facilitating

It is critical to understand the implications of this definition to comprehend its effect on children with disabilities in our schools

t is important to understand that virtually all applications of technology -- tools for children to learn, as well as tools for teachers to provide learning opportunities -- can be defined as assistive technology.

are accommodating physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments in many ways.

Manage Time on the Internet (Tuesday)

Before class, bookmark the sites that should be used with the lesson. This allows students to focus on content, rather than undertaking a time-consuming search. Bookmarking also eliminates the simple errors that are frequently made when typing in Web addresses.

Organize Information on the Internet (Wednesday)

The Internet provides such a wealth of information that students frequently find it difficult to limit their research. A graphic organizer helps learners choose concepts and facts that fit the assigned topic. Students whose learning styles are more global and visual will also find these organizers helpful.

Use Computer Software with the Internet (Thursday)

ave students create a database of organized information. This could consist of countries of the world in social studies, various polygons in math, animals in science, or short stories in English. Students can learn that the Internet is a tool we can use to enhance our presentations.

Teach Students to Cite Internet Sources (Friday)

o cite an online source, have students consistently adhere to a recognized style, such as that established by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Students can also cite video clips, sounds, images, and e-mail.

Big Calc Company: Don Johnston, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-999-4660 Price: $27.00 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Clock Company: Hartley Courseware, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-999-4660 Price: $ Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Coin-u-Lator Company: Onion Mountain Technology Tel #:1-860-693-2683 Price: $20.00 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Money Calc Company: Onion Mountain Technology Tel #:1-860-693-2683 Price: $ 15.00 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

IntelliMathics Company: IntelliTools, Inc Tel #: 1-888-285-9988 Catalog #:10581 Price: $ 139.95 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Math Blaster (In Search of Spot, Mystery, and Plus) Company: Davidson & Associates, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-556-6141 Price: $ 29.95 each Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

MathPad Company: IntelliTools, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-899-6687 Price: $79.95 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

MathPad Plus Company: IntelliTools, Inc Tel #: 1-888-285-9988 Catalog #:10609 Price: $ 99.5 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Math Skills Collection Company: Hartley Courseware, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-999-4660 Price: $ Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

how Me Math Company: Davidson & Associates, Inc. Tel #: 1-800-327-4269 Catalog #: SO-07W Price: $ 99.00 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Skill Builder (Whole Number, Fractions, Perimeter, area, & Volume, Decimals) Company: Gamco Educational Software, Inc Tel #: 1-800-351-1404 Price: $ 69.95 Each Function Domain: Learning Disabilities

Talking Desktop Calculator Company: Independent Living Aids Phone: 800-537-2118 Model: 276968 Price: $18.95 Function Domain: Learning Disabilities, Visual Impairments

3. Create Interactive Timelines

5. Map and Brainstorm Ideas

4. Design Interactive Presentations

3. Create Interactive Timelines Tech Tools: Xtimeline, Time Glider or Timetoast Timelines, of course, organize information and events that have developed over time, often in historical eras, cultural movements or personal biographies. They display order and sequence as well as relationships and, sometimes, causality between events. Why go online to create this traditional graphic organizer? Interactive versions are not only visually engaging, but also easily incorporate multimedia such as video and audio clips and link directly to source material.

4. Design Interactive Presentations Tech Tools: Glogster.edu and Museum Box PowerPoint is not the only tool students can use to present concepts and ideas visually. Two classroom mainstays – the poster presentation and the diorama – have digital counterparts that students can use for class projects (and that you can use to present course material in engaging ways). With Glogster.edu students can create posters enhanced with multimedia. The interface walks you through the creation and gives students a wide range of scrapbook-inspired templates. The finished projects (such as this one on the causes of the American Revolution) can be presented with a projector or whiteboard, saved and/or printed. (Note: be sure you go to the .edu edition of Glogster. The regular site contains some content that is inappropriate for a classroom setting.) Museum Box takes the old standbys – dioramas and presentation cubes – and kicks them up a notch by enabling the creation of 3-D dioramas with a series of interactive cubes.

5. Map and Brainstorm Ideas Tech Tools: Bubbl.us, CoSketch.com and Cacoo Mind Maps are idea-processing tools, made popular by the British IQ specialist Tony Buzan starting in the 1960s. Many schools have invested in popular mind-mapping software like Inspiration, but there are also many free online programs that help students develop colorful idea webs.

Students learn in different ways

The iPad can provide visual, audio and tactile learning; reaching many students’ learning styles.

The iPad is often used as an individual tool in isolation

But please, don't put the child in a quiet place and just hand them an iPad without a true purpose. Let's get creative with its use. How to use an iPad in the classroom with a group? A couple of thoughts - Teacher directs, students watch.  Teacher directs, with iPad in the middle of the group and students touch with instruction.   Teacher instructs and iPad is passed between students. Use as part of your lesson, part of your center activity.   Teacher instructs and the students use, independently or in a team situation.    Team learning situations. Hand a group of students an iPad with a purpose. 

Most of us will not have enough for all our students for a while.

ideas

ideas

be careful to not have the iPad become what we have seen so many computers become in education: a glorified toy.

What are some of the benefits we are seeing? We are seeing that the iPad often encourages interactivity. Students will share a lot of what they're doing, ask each other "How did you do that?" or, "Oh, look what I did!"  They want to problem solve together. It encourages group discussions between the students. They tend to help each other a lot more.  It is affordable, comparatively speaking (see below.)  

For special education students, some are saying it is the best tool that has ever been designed. Here are a few reasons why we might prefer an iPad over a desktop computer: Ease of access – no need to be able to operate a mouse, a switch or to need to sit a certain way. The iPad can easily come to the student, be placed where they need it and the touch required is extremely friendly. (Not for all!! Remember, this is very individual.) Simplicity of programs – from very basic to more complex, many apps are design to be user friendly. For the moderate to severe population of students the amount of simple apps is huge, plus they are extremely inexpensive and visually draw students in. Simplicity of use - many who cannot understand how to operate a computer, can understand how to operate an iPad. (Even your grandmother!) Low cost of programs – compared to the cost of software programs for a computer, there really is no comparison (unless you consider the abundant amount of free programs available on the Internet. And yes, please continue using those!). There are apps designed specifically for our population (see other postings to right). Designing apps for education has become quite the market. The amount of apps designed specifically for special education has grown so much that there is now a category for it that stands alone in the iTunes Store. Assistive Technology and Communication Apps are available that help to make this a tool for access support, not just a tool for learning (i.e. audio books, word prediction, visual prompts, etc.) It can be loaded with many adaptive technology gadgets and programs, thereby reducing the need for multiple devices. Talk about UDL (Universal Design for Learning)! This is a tool that can level the playing field for many. There are apps that are inexpensive and exciting to increase vocabulary, sight words, math facts, reading comprehension, organizational skills, and drawing skills, just to name a few.It can be very educational and in the classroom, this is what we want: exciting, fresh, innovative teaching tools. Built-in accessibility tools such as zoom and high contrast display make this a tool to support visually impaired. The built-in VoiceOver screen reader works as well on the iPad as on the iPhone. For our VI population, the options are growing and growing. (However, it may be the iPhone that is the best solution for those with significant vision impairments.) Programs such as Dragon Dictation is free, no paper and pencil needed if one can speak clearly, for writing text messages, e-mail, maybe documents. (Must have Internet/WiFi connection for this to work however and it is not the best option for longer texts.) The brilliant screen of the iPad which creates and supports visual interest - with the ever improving HD colors which are bright and the HD video and/or camera- tools at our fingertips that can be pulled into our educational artillery in so many new and innovative ways.  The right case can make it much less indestructible. More and more tools are being developed to help with access. (Mounts, switch access, adaptive styluses, etc.) Light weight (iPad = 1.5 lbs.) Instant Response/Instant On/Fast Processor. Consider this: Combine the touch screen, ease of use, and cool factor of the iPad and you have a pretty interesting format for communication device

AT is intended to enhance performance of an individual with a disability.  It is why we have to carefully match what we recommend to the user's strengths and needs.  The iPad cannot do that on its own, it is the recommendation of the appropriate Apps that ultimately improve the performance of a student.  Thus, the iPad itself is not the Assistive Technology it is the Settings and the Apps, the case, the special stylus, that offer enhanced performance. Improving performance of a student with a disability through AT (Apps or otherwise) means looking at the student, identifying the task that needs to be performed and identifying where the student will use the AT - i.e. the environment, effects of time etc

This is a list of iPad pros, from a student’s point of view (wish I knew the student’s name so I could reference her. My apologies!):

iPads with Moderate to Severe Students:

Videos worth watching:

Articles worth reviewing:

Now go out and make this tool a wonderful addition to our educational world!

How can technology help you?

Online collaboration tools

Presentation software

Course management tools

Clickers and smartphones

Lecture-capture tools,

MyBackPack -- Offers a way for teachers to communicate directly with parents and students by connecting administrative software and giving real-time updates on grades, schedules, attendance and more.

Weebly -- Provides an easy way for teachers to create a classroom site and blog that can be used to communicate with students and parents, and includes a way for kids to easily create sites of their own.

Teach students to use the Track Changes feature when editing work in Microsoft Word.

Post a list of all your rules for technology use in a visible place

Always run through a technology lesson before presenting it to the class

After a lesson using presentation software, allow students to walk around the room and view everyone else's work.

Have each student keep a Tech Folder

Set up teams of computer helpers

If you're working on a network, ask your technology coordinator to set up a shared folder for Internet resources.

In fact, many technologies designed for mainstream use can be successfully repurposed to teach students with disabilities.

access to assistive capabilities on technologies that are smaller, more mobile, more ­integrated and inexpensive

"We're no longer limited to helping one particular student with a single specialized technology,"

allow the school to better and more easily integrate special-needs students into general education classes,

interactive whiteboards

helps motivate and engage ­students in the subject they're studying.

helps her determine their level of understanding.

academic improvement

keep up with their peers.

achieve greater levels of independence; gain confidence; more willingly reach out to their teachers and peers to ask questions and collaborate; self-advocate; challenge themselves; and seek out new opportunities.