is an application designed for people to have discussions about shared digital media. Each VoiceThread discussion consists of slides - just like a presentation - and each slide contains a piece of digital media, like an image, video, or document. These slides can be commented on by anyone with permission to access to the VoiceThread discussion.
Apportunities with iPads is a forum originally designed for 20 teachers and parents in the state of Minnesota who are involved in an iPad Project with children who have deaf-blindness. The intent of this forum is to establish a tool that will allow teachers and parents within this project to connect and share experiences about the use of the iPad as an instructional tool with this population of learners.
The broader intent of this forum is to weave together the ever-changing face of app use within the field of special education and students with severe and multiple disabilities.
mobile tech is the single best vehicle for addressing the confidence and practical needs of many of our kids with learning differences
I don't mean to say that the tech itself is the 'difference', what I am trying to say is that the tech -- and especially the personalized and always-on facet of mobile tech -- will provide the connection to the tools, the teachers, and the interventions that will make the difference in a way both unique and also requiring a re-thinking in terms of how we offer relevant services to students with learning differences.
we need to explain to developers what we and our students need from them
Even better, we should be calling for Ed Schools to provide instruction in app making and digital design so that we -- the teachers -- have the capacity to program our own teaching.
we need to push now for an end to the access issues facing all of our schools
Let's make districts come to the realization that mobile devices and mobile access are the point-of-entry for learning right now. Let's put state funded devices in the hands of kids who need them and let all kids bring their own INTELLECTUAL EMPOWERMENT DEVICES to class.
"Microsoft offers free tools to help engage students in a variety of subject areas-from movie-making to collaboration to science and beyond. Teachers can download these tools for free, the majority of which require no special training. "