Group items tagged

"Background: As a result of a variety of disabilities, some people are unable to speak using their bodies alone. Some of these people use voice enabled augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices sometimes called VOCA's. These consist of some form of input interface and generate synthetic speech. The user's choice of voices is very limited, usually constrained to selecting one of a small set of installed 'voices'. The result is that when a number of users get together it can be difficult to know who is speaking at any one time particularly if there are a number of people using the same voice."

"JASPER (Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement Regulation) is a treatment approach based on a combination of developmental and behavioral principles developed by Dr. Connie Kasari at the Center for Autism Research and Treatment, at University of California, Los Angeles. This intervention model targets the foundations of social-communication (joint attention, imitation, play), uses naturalistic strategies to increase the rate and complexity of social-communication, and includes parents and teachers as implementers of the intervention to promote generalization across settings and activities and to ensure maintenance over time. Dr. Kasari and her colleagues have tested this approach in a series of target and modularized research studies. In the first randomized controlled trial, 58 preschool children with autism were recruited from an early intervention program based on applied behavior analysis, and were taught joint attention and play skills. This study showed promising evidence that a child-centered treatment focused on early social-communication deficits of joint attention and play could lead to improvements in these core deficits while also increasing the child's use of language (Kasari et al, 2006, 2008, 2012) over a 5 year span. Researchers are continuing to test the use of JASPER with children of various ages (infants to school-aged) and across various settings (clinic, home and schools)."

"This textbook is the result of over a year of collaboration between several individuals. Garth Holman, the Social Studies department chair and 7th grade world history teacher envisioned this project as a way to engage students through the use of technology and help them see the "big picture" that is often lost, or ignored, in history classes. Beginning in the summer of 2006, Garth began working with a student teacher, Michael Pennington (Currently teaching at Chardon Middle School). Another member of this project was Angie White, an intervention specialist at Beachwood Middle School (now at Hilltop Elementary in Beachwood CIty Schools). Angie provided a strong knowledge of curriculum differentiation and techniques to include students of varying abilities. A project of this nature, allows students to disseminate knowledge in a digital format that is congruent to the world in which they live. Our students are digital natives and this new technological paradigm allows for the democratization of knowledge. Wiki technology and the ability to instantaneously communicate across cultures and physical boundaries means that nothing our students create is isolated. We not only want our students to learn, but understand how the puzzle pieces fit to create the world in which we live."

"The UDL Placemat of Core Apps Serving Learning for All is a starting point to utilizing the exceptional universally designed iPad to meet the needs of a wide range of learners. The iPad's versatile settings and wide range of Apps is also an exceptional tool for representing information in a wide variety of formats to meet the needs of all learners. The list of Apps provided are by no means complete and they will, no doubt, be added to and change with time. The App icons provided are clickable links to descriptors of the App and what the App can do for various users. Further explanation of how to use the App in the classroom will be provided in other published documents"

"Special Learning's Autism Communicating Basic Needs app. provides a way for non-verbal children to easily communicate their basic needs and wants using actual photographs of commonly requested items. The categories covered by this app. are: food, drinks, clothing, and activities. The app. also incorporates photographs of emotions and icons of commonly needed / requested items. The Autism Communicating Basic Needs app. includes a very attractive interface and is very intuitive and easy to use for children of all ages. Parents and providers will appreciate that the Autism Communicating Basic Needs app. was developed using the foundation and principles of applied behavior analysis. Among many other features, the app. includes three photographs for each item to teach generalization skills. Four audio options of actual voice recordings allow parents to further customize the app. to best suite the needs of their child. The app. is highly customizable and includes a reporting function to keep track of usage and preferences of the child."

"The use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) during the project ensures that TATE SIP is informed by stakeholder input throughout the development and evaluation phases. Outcome measures will include evaluation of device use (device skill acquisition), device usability (skills used in targeted environments), functional performance (activities of daily living affected by device use), quality of life (subjective well-being) and social participation (community integration). To ensure the TATE SIP reaches its intended audiences-survivors of TBI and the individuals who will train them to use ATC-we are working with a national group of researchers, practitioners, consumers, and advocacy organizations to support recruitment and dissemination activities. Presentation Training Assistive Technology Post-ABI Project Updates Training Assistive Technology in the Environment (TATE) Project Update 02/28/2012 Project Update 04/11/2011 Project Update 07/09/2012 Project Update 08/26/2011 Project Update 10/24/2012 Project Update 11/05/2012 Projects Access to Services Transition Web Problem Solving Strategies Oregon Traumatic Brain Injury Educational Consulting Team Building Capacity STEP TBI Web-Based Family Support Training Assistive Technology in the Environment (TATE) News & Events Cory's Corner: A Personal Perspective The seventh issue of Cory's Corner explores the dynamics of ... May 2013 TBI Team Training Effective Tools and Strategies for Behavior Management when a Student ... "

"In response to all of the attention given to the flipped classroom, I proposed The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture and The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture for Higher Education in which the viewing of videos (often discussed on the primary focus of the flipped classroom) becomes a part of a larger cycle of learning based on an experiential cycle of learning. Universal Design for Learning has also been in the news lately as a new report Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Initiatives on the Move was released by the National Center on UDL, May, 2012. This post describes the principles of Universal Design for Learning and how they naturally occur when a full cycle of learning, including ideas related to the flipped classroom, are used within the instructional process."

"SEN Teacher provides cost-free teaching & learning resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities. Many resources here may also be of use to educators of primary and elementary students. All the resources available or listed here are free for use in schools, colleges and at home. * Printables has a selection of printable worksheets, handouts and teaching aids most of which can be customised to suit a range of learners. * Web Links lists websites which have been carefully selected for the quality of their information or because they provide further excellent sources of cost-free learning resources and software. * Downloads lists cost-free educational software from several sources which has proved useful to teachers and parents of special needs students. * Search Tools are custom Google search engines which make it easier to locate free resources, video news and information related to special needs teaching."

"Ever wonder what it would be like if we let our students pick the tools we use in class? This collection of web 2.0 tools is just that- a list of tools and ideas for what students see as being useful for their learning in and out of school. To begin the project, 8th grade students were engaged in a conversation about what school would look like if all of the rules we currently had were disbanded. They were no longer bound by walls, schedules, age restrictions or standardized tests. No technology was outlawed. It was a bit of a hurdle for them...after eight years of the current school arrangement, it was difficult for them to imagine anything else. With a little encouragement and a push they rose to the occasion, and here are the tools they think we ought to consider using. As this is a dynamic site, there may be some entries in need of editing. We will get to them! We left the duplicates in for emphasis as well as different points of view. Enjoy!"

"College STAR professional development modules are organized around the three principles of Universal Design for Learning. Many of these modules originate from a direct attention to hearing student voices on the college campus. Students identify and describe examples of effective teaching practices, strategies, resources and routines used by faculty members across campus. These nominated instructional practices become the topics for some of these modules. Each module contains an alignment of the instructional practice with principles of Universal Design for Learning, a description of how the practice has been implemented by university instructor(s), a brief summary of professional literature that supports the instructional practice, and additional resources for viewers."

"The Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network (UDL-IRN) is a grassroots organization started by a collaborative group of practitioners, researchers, and developers in 2010. The mission of the UDL-IRN is to support educators in the effective implementation of UDL. As a mission driven organization we are focused on the following activities: Identification and dissemination of models of best practice. Identification and dissemination of effective implementation tools. Supporting and expanding the UDL implementation research base. Identification and dissemination of progress mentoring practices. Fostering high-quality UDL personnel preparation & professional development. Promoting increased collaboration across education."

"For children and young people with reading difficulties, text-to-speech (TTS) software offers some of the benefits of a personal reader. The article provides an overview of the technology and its application, and then summarizes the research on benefits of TTS for struggling readers. The different kinds of TTS software available are described in three categories, according to sophistication, and information is given concerning how teachers can obtain electronic text materials for use with TTS. Finally, suggestions are provided for implementing TTS in the classroom. Related Postings from the Archives * Teachers' Use of Technology in a Reading Clinic by Ernest Balajthy et al. * Wait for Me! by Ofer Bergman * Jumping off the Page by Bart Pisha and Peggy Coyne What Is TTS? | Impact of TTS | Available Software | Available Texts | Practical Considerations | Suggestions for Use | References "

There are no instructions on the site and there are some good reasons for that: most people, even adults, do not read instructions, children who cannot read will ignore written text anyhow, but most importantly for us, there is no need and in fact, instructions get in the way of the experience : the navigation through the various sections of the site is purposefully simple and intuitive, the functionalities within games are carefully thought out to afford a maximum of possibilities while keeping that special relationship to the real World. When small children pick up objects, they invent new ways of holding and using them. Thus there is no right or wrong way of using anything on this site. It's up to the children to find what they want and to grow their naturally exploring mind. We found that what they don't discover straight away, they'll find later, what they don't know how to do at first, they'll learn when they are ready and, as many of you know and/or have found out, that is extremely powerful and confidence building. Having said that, we also found out that adults were quite confused by all that. What? No text? So we have finally decided to give parents who do not have the time to explore - and teachers who are preparing lesson plans - a quick guide to all the games, activities and animations on the site (for those who are wondering there are over 200 of them!). But remember, these pages are for adults only!

"What is the Technology Integration Matrix? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells as illustrated below."

"It would be impossible (and not the intent of this paper) to conduct a comprehensive review of every communication application (app) that exists as of this writing. Rather, a clinical framework for comparing and selecting apps will be offered to assist speech-language pathologists in answering the popular question "What communication apps should we use?" While this platform and certain apps may indeed represent a reasonable match to the strengths and needs of some individuals, it is important that the needs of an individual be considered on a case-by-case basis using a thorough and clinically based approach. To this end, the clinical application of a chart detailing features believed to represent critical and fundamental considerations for a broad profile of people evidencing complex communication needs will be discussed and highlighted through case examples."

"Graham's review of the research doesn't resolve the age-old debate of whether students learn writing best naturally -  just by doing it - or through explicit writing instruction. But there are effective practices where the research is unequivocal. Distressingly, many teachers aren't using them. "We have confirmation of things we know that work, but are not applied in the classroom," said Graham."

"KidTools and KidSkills are new kinds of software to help students take control of their learning, behavior, and problem solving to improve success in school. The tools are research-based and have undergone extensive testing with actual students in classroom settings. These software programs include a library of tools provided as easy-to-use templates for children to personalize and use independently in school and other settings. There are two levels of tools in each of these programs. eKidTools and eKidSkills are made for elementary students with some reading abilities, ages 7-10. Within eKidTools, there is a set of PictureTools made for preschool/primary children that do not require reading abilities. iKidTools and iKidSkills are made for intermediate/middle school students with reading abilities, ages 11-14. Because these tools are all related, children can move up and down the levels to use the tools that best fit their skills and needs. "

Anyone heard of this?

"Creative Book Builder is a fantastic app that allows students to create books in epub format, which can then be exported to iBooks and shared with others. There are a variety of instructional uses for this app, from using it as a publishing tool for project-based learning to a summative assessment at the end of a unit.  Students can embed images, audio files, video files, and write text.  The advantage of an epub document over a PDF document is that all of the media will be preserved and available for readers to interact with when the final product is published.   Depending on how you use Creative Book Builder with students, this app can help students complete tasks that align with every level of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy.  Explore the different ways this app can be used at each level of Bloom's Taxonomy."

This extended list of books focusing on specific phonemes is from a book by Fish, M. (2010). Here's how to treat childhood apraxia of speech. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing. (www.pluralpublishing.com) and is produced below with permission. Many of these books will be available in school or public libraries. The links provided below go to the Amazon bookstore. Another list of similar books is Books, Stories, and Games that Reinforce Speech Sound Targets (http://crokebeck.tripod.com/articbks.htm/).

"For the past 12 years I have conducted an annual review of the special education technology literature. This work involves scanning the contents of 31 journals and capturing each article that I think is relevant to the work of special education technology professionals. After reading, analyzing, and indexing each article, I prepare an analysis of this one-year profile of the knowledge base. The purpose of this work is to answer the question, "What have we learned lately?" "