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"For years, students with significant support needs (SSN) received little or no literacy instruction as their education programs focused on life skills, social skills, and vocational training. The little literacy instruction they did receive relied on teaching methods that we now know helped them learn simple component skills in isolation. For example, students matched upper and lower case letters or learned a limited set of sight words. Unfortunately, this instruction never helped students with SSN learn how to read or write to gain or convey meaning. A series of changes in education laws, along with the efforts of students, families, and educators, have raised expectations for academic achievement for students with SSN."

"using symbols to support a student's understanding of text is an approach that doesn't always achieve its intended outcome. It is also an approach that may have unintended consequences as it may also interfere with literacy development."

"These 11 video clips and related learning guides provide an opportunity to enhance and support teacher practice in the area of literacy for students with significant disabilities. Dr. Caroline Musselwhite is an assistive technology specialist with more than 30 years of experience working with children and adolescents with significant disabilities."

Online stories read by actors

"igned Stories are multi-award-winning American Sign Language apps, accessible with narration, captions and music. They're perfect for deaf children and for children with autism and dyslexia. Boost literacy and language skills with inclusive animated stories, a vocabulary builder and interactive learning games."

Thaysa video from Dan Habib

"This 'wheel' of AAC Apps by Sally Millar and Gillian McNeill of CALL Scotland, provides a categorised guide to iPad Apps for people with complex communication support needs, who may need to use some form(s) of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)."

iPad apps aligned to Bloom's Taxonomy

"Many iPad apps are available to support learners with reading and writing difficulties. This 'Wheel of Apps' is not comprehensive, but attempts to identify relevant apps and to categorise them according to some of the difficulties faced by people with dyslexia. It was originally published as an A3 poster, but works equally well as an A4 leaflet. Links on the electronic version are 'clickable, taking you information about the individual app on the iTunes site for the UK."

"students with step by step guidance in the construction of an informational essay. Some of my students seem to struggle most with constructing an introduction and conclusion to their essays. Essay Map is particularly good for helping students visualize the steps needed to construct good introductory and conclusion paragraphs."

"Like anything else that you'd like to see happen in your classroom, promoting critical thinking skills is a matter of planning and priority. While teachers are often admonished to push students towards higher-level thinking activities, beyond Bloom's Taxonomy (or one of TeachThought's own learning taxonomies), there are precious few models and frameworks that are accessible, comprehensive, or universal enough to be used on a daily basis."

"CanPlan promotes independence and builds confidence by helping people with cognitive challenges complete tasks successfully. Virtually any activity can be broken into a sequence of easy-to-follow steps, illustrated by photos and reinforced with optional text and audio. Scheduling and reminder features ensure each task gets done on time."

"Voice memos + Photos + Text Ideal application for those who value their time. "Photo Reminders" is the opportunity to make a reminder quickly and clearly about any event: a meeting, a birthday gift purchase, a concert, an important call or simply an evening walk with your pet. It's enough to * Choose the photo from the Photos app, * Make a photo or * Record a voice message". "Photo Reminders" enables to create reminders instantly, without spending time for the description of the forthcoming event, which is also convenient while driving. "

edWeb is a free professional social and learning network for the education community

"an easy way to monitor his son on Twitter without having to go through the process of signing up for an account.  In fact, you can use this trick whether you have the newest smartphone or an old-school flip phone. Just text on followed by the Twitter name of the account you want to follow to the number 40404 "

Interesting way to do a book study "Thanks for registering for #PTcamp, a free, open, anytime-anywhere virtual summer book chat. We'll be using the book "Beyond the Bakesale" as a guide for our conversations on home-school partnerships."