MakingConnections

free downloads of story props

Stories to read online, text is highlighted and spoken. Can also print out a black and white copy of the story.

"The sites below feature pictures of story characters or sequencing cards for the story. They are listed in alphabetical order. There are two sections: Book Sites and Nursery Rhyme Sites." Links for props for a large number of stories

From the Virginia Commonwealth University Training and Technical Assistance Center Newsletter

"Play and learn with your child online! Our online games and learning activities are a great way to spend quality time with your child. Have fun with these online activities, and remember: whether your child is an infant, toddler or preschooler, it's important to let him learn at his own pace!"

"Communication Assessment for Parents & Professionals An easy to use assessment instrument designed for individuals of all ages who function at the earliest stages of communication and who use any form of communication."

"This site was designed by a mom & educator to help other parents choose the best e-storybook apps for the iPad & iPhone/iPod. * Unbiased e-storybook app reviews for parents by a parent. * Information on length, age level, sound, languages, and much more! * Useful, detailed information & individual ratings for animation, audio, interactivity and more. * Brief, thoughtful reviews, plus "Feature" reviews for the most popular books on the market * Information on options, including games, coloring pages, puzzles and more * Crossover hits from Android market: Coming soon! * Price information, including buy button and price history range. * New reviews added weekly!"

So if you are thinking of getting an iPad or if you have already made the life-changing move, here is my list of top apps, some free, some paid for, especially for children with special needs:"

"Felty_Fun_for_all_the_family Fun Felt offers a unique interactive felt experience on the Apple iPad. Felt shapes respond to your touch allowing you to easily build a felt masterpiece. Visually interact with shapes and colours to make as many images as you can."

video of a preschooler teaching another 3 year old to use an ipad then teaching her teacher

"The following articles and links are listed here to help early childhood educators learn how to find and use technology to support their work. "

Abstract Toward the goal of better e-book design to support early literacy learning, this study investigates analytic tools for examining design qualities of e-books for young children. Three research-based analytic tools related to e-book design were applied to a mixed genre collection of 50 e-books from popular online sites. Tool performance varied across design categories (e.g., multimedia) and administration revealing comparative strengths and weaknesses. Results inform researchers and educators who are engaged in designing and evaluating e-books as material resources in early literacy teaching and learning.

A partnership between The University of Akron College of Education, (UA) and Akron Summit Community Action, Inc (ASCA), Akron Ready Steps (ARS) is a program that serves over 300 at risk children in five Head Start sites in high poverty communities in Akron, OH. Program goals address high priority knowledge and skills preschoolers need to learn; high priority knowledge and skills teachers/teacher assistants need to teach; the design of high quality 21st century language and literacy-rich environments; active parent engagement; and mobilizing the community around strong preschool literacy education.

This fun educational app has three matching games based on Eric Carle's best-selling My Very First Books, designed specifically for the iPhone and iPad.

Babies with iPads This blog is designed to document infants/toddlers with disabilities using an iPad to promote their development. I hope to show how this new technology can help children with disabilities develop their communication, play, pre-literacy, cognitive, visual/auditory and motor skills.

"Hello and welcome to the SNPreschool Blog" She has links for powerpoints, vocabulary, essential questions etc. for stories used in their preschool

"The Tots 'n Tech Research Institute (TnT) is an inter-university collaboration between Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), Philadelphia and Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe. TnT's mission is to provide up-to-date information and resources about adaptations, including assistive technology, to use with infants and toddlers for states, Early Intervention providers of all disciplines, and families across the country. In order to achieve this mission, TnT provides technical assistance to states to help them enhance the use of adaptations with infants and toddlers and conducts a national research program about use of adaptations and assistive technology (AT). "

"Program Goals * Conduct research studies, develop data-based training programs and demonstrate evidence-based models in order to establish best practices for families and their infants, toddlers, and young children with disabilities (or those who are at risk for developmental disabilities) * Institutionalize the outcomes of our research, training, and demonstration activities within typical systems of care by translating research into practice * Provide opportunities for students from Jefferson School of Health Professions to learn and experience best practices as part of their pre- and post- professional training experiences. "

"Assistive Technology The SEEDS Workgroup on Early Education Technology (SWEET) was created in August 2005 to address one of the seventeen topical areas identified by early intervention staff throughout the State of California. The purpose of the SWEET is to connect California's early intervention programs and families to Assistive Technology (AT) resources for young children with disabilities."