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Children learn more from television viewing when parents participate as they would during book reading, new research from Vanderbilt University finds. In a first-of-its-kind study, children showed significant gains in vocabulary and comprehension when parents asked them questions about the content, rather than simply parking them in front of the screen.

Register for Session 5 Here! What:Session Five: Communication Devices in an Inclusive ClassroomThis webinar looks the use of single and multiple message communication devices and how they can be used as an integral part of the school day. We’ll examine vocabulary, motivation and share ideas and examples that you can use in your classrooms the very next day. Session Objectives: Colleagues who take part in this webinar will: 1. Gain a greater understanding of the range of communication devices, who they are for and how we might use them.2. Understand the importance of using motivating words and phrases to engage your learners.3. Understand how the meaningful use of communication devices can be embedded into teaching activities across the curriculum. Attendance Certificate will be provided upon completion of the webinar. When:February 15, 201210:00 - 11:00 am MTContact:Phone: 800.843.9166Email: support@readytalk.com

Co:Writer® is a word prediction app for iOS devices that provides context-sensitive word choices as one types to help students with learning disabilities write with more confidence and effectiveness. Like the Don Johnston literacy software on which it is based, the Co:Writer app presents relevant word suggestions based on spelling, grammar, and vocabulary drawn from a user's personal- and topic-specific dictionaries.

Were you taught SEE by someone who didn't really understand the purpose and features of SEE? Maybe you tried to teach yourself from the "yellow book." Do you want to sign: more meaningfully and fluently? using all the visual features of sign language? Don't miss the next Signing Exact English weekend skillshop! Join the small classes customized to your learning needs. Interpreters, parents, teachers, assistants, and others wishing to improve their vocabulary, fluency, and expressive and receptive abilities are grouped according to skill level from barely beginner to intermediate to advanced.  Ideally, the workshop will have 45-50 participants and five instructors per small group.

"In the middle and high schools, for high-functioning students, they have an elective class where they work on their organizational and social skills, speech therapists and disability awareness, like what is autism and how does this affect me to give them some vocabulary to work with," she said. "There have certainly been mistakes made with Eric at school, but I can't be too harsh because I've made them too. However, the school system has processes in place that help figure out interventions and solutions. My son is on track to get a regular high school diploma but, without the support of this program, without someone to intervene if he was having a moment, he would crash and burn."

As Skyping becomes part of our daily vocabulary — like “googling” and “friending,” it’s also being used more in schools. As a way to connect students to valuable resources across the world, schools are embracing Skype, WebEx, Google video chat, and other tools as an alternative the chalkboard generation could only dream of: conversations with astronauts, field trips to the zoo, and connecting with kids across the globe, for instance — all from the comfort of their own classrooms.

“We found that when creating a story or just responding to pictures, the parent used many words and complex sentence structures while engaging with their child. That level of engagement wasn’t as present when reading books with text,” said Gillam. “These results fall in line with the generally accepted belief that less structured activities, such as playing with toys or creating things with Play-Doh, elicit more productive language interactions between parent and child. These findings in no way diminish the importance of reading printed books, but incorporating interactions with wordless books is a way to build a more solid literacy foundation in children with developmental disabilities.”

Click Here For More Information, and to Make Reservations What:Conference - Plain Talk About Reading (heralded as the nation's premier reading institute because of its clear focus on providing the latest scientifically based reading research (SBRR) and strategies for those who teach reading at all ages and grade levels). From the nation's leading researchers and seasoned practioners, atendees will learn the current findings on reading instruction, reading difficulties and reading intervention, and classroom strategies that put this knowledge to work.     $575 per person (if received before 9/30/11)    $645 per person (if received between 10/1/11 - 3/2/12)    $745 per person (if received after 3/2/12) Sessions In-depth information on today's most burning reading issues Early childhood literacy and language development  Getting adolescent literacy right Integrating literacy strategies across the disciplines at all grade levels  Practical strategies for increasing vocabulary Increasing reading comprehension  Teaching reading to English language learners Implementing Response to Intervention at all levels Leadership that yields increases in student literacy levels  Increasing teacher knowledge and skills Broad session choices: Sessions that target early childhood classrooms  Sessions that address how to meet the needs of special education students   Content-centered sessions on strategies for the classroom Sessions delivering the latest research on reading, RtI, language development, attention, and other related topics Sessions especially for school and district leaders Sessions focused on English language learners When:April 29, 2012 - 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) – RegistrationApril 30, 2012 - 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. (Mountain Time) - Day 1May 1, 2012 - 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. (Mountain Time) - Day 2May 2, 2012 - 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) - Day 3

The animated characters in your preschooler’s favorite TV show invite her to interact, play and learn. But is she learning? Only a little, according to a Vanderbilt study, which found that educational programming is minimally effective unless parents watch too—and engage the child. In a first-of-its-kind study, parents were trained to pause, ask questions and encourage the child to tell parts of the story while they watched educational videos together. When evaluated, the 3-year-olds whose parents used this simple technique—known as dialogic questioning—showed significant gains in vocabulary and comprehension over those who watched alone.