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Children with autism seem to learn best when the instructional material is presented in visual form. In this case it might be worthwhile to try different educational programs via a computer. Using a computer is a fun way to learn. The majority of educational programs are highly visual. Many of the games available involve storylines, plots, and realistic human behaviors. Some of the skills autistic children can learn from carefully selected video games are language skills, reading and math skills, and social skills. Visual learning devices are highly effective and can be accompanied by various rewards to reinforce what is being learned. For instance, food and extended leisure activities can be used as rewards that will encourage the child to want to learn. In addition, the use of positive reinforcement will help develop a bond between student and teacher, and create a sense of trust that will help strengthen the learning environment. Social stories are another way to make learning fun for children with autism. Since one of the aspects of autism is the inability to interact normally in a social situation, social stories can be utilized in a variety of different ways in order to model appropriate behavior.

I created a music based teaching system called Sounds into Syllables® which is designed to assist these children with their communication and social development difficulties by teaching them how to spell, read, classify words and correctly identify the facial expressions for six universal emotions. Part 1 of the system applies the musical component of ‘pitch’ or ‘tone’ to the process of learning letters and words. The child learns to listen to the letters as musical sounds as well as spoken sounds. With the mastery of the alphabet, the child begins to learn 26 different nouns (animal names). The senses of touch, sight and hearing are further integrated with the introduction of textured words, drawings and sound effects. There is an accompanying teaching book entitled A to Z Animal Book as well as a companion CD and A to Z Animal Workbook. In Part 2 of the system, the 26 animal nouns are matched to 26 related verbs such as dog/bark and lion/roar. There is a second book entitled Animals in Action with the textured words and drawings of the animals in their passive and active states. The child learns the related verbs in the same way he/she learned the nouns. To establish the conceptual relationship between the animal and its action, an animated computer program has been designed specifically for the teaching system. Part 3 of the system addresses the difficulties of social interaction, by emphasizing face perception and emotion recognition. Musical harmony is introduced with the creation of six three-part harmonies each linked to the six universal emotions of happy, sad, afraid, angry, surprised and disgusted. In addition, three two-part harmonies have been created and linked to nouns, verbs and adjectives to further expand word classification for the purpose of sentence creation. These three and two-part harmonies as well as the musical alphabet have been integrated into a forty page book called The Story of Little Bear. Textured letters and color coding are used throughout the book which has also been formatted as a computer book with a number of additional features, such as rollover images and animations. In October, 2006 I implemented a research study with a group of 20 children ranging in age from 6 to 17 who were diagnosed with various forms of autism. The criteria for participation in the study were demonstrated interest in music or musical stimuli and limited or no letter/word recognition. This longitudinal study in ongoing however preliminary results are encouraging. In addition, the system is benefiting a group of children who are diagnosed with learning disabilities other than autism.

The study evaluates the progress of eight children aged 3-5 years with autism attending a specialist teaching unit in their development of reading skills in two conditions: computer instructed learning and book based learning. The authors developed a direct observation schedule to monitor autistic behaviours using computerized techniques. The children were matched by age, severity of autistic symptomatology and number of spoken words. They were initially randomly allocated to the computer or book condition and crossed over at 10 weeks. All of the children spent more time on task in the computer condition than in the book condition. By the end of the study after computer assisted learning, five of the eight children could reliably identify at least three words. It was found that children with autism spent more time on reading material when they accessed it through a computer and were less resistant to its use.

Teachers are starting to explore the potential of blogs, media-sharing services and other social software - which, although not designed specifically for e-learning, can be used to empower students and create exciting new learning opportunities.

a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what...

Web 2.0: A New Waveof Innovation for Teaching and Learning

As students observe their world in creative ways, they can utilize technology to record their explorations. They publish what they have seen and learned so that others can collaborate with them and share experiences.

they can harness the web 2.0 technologies to share their experiences with a larger, global audience

The choice of activities and exercises, adapted to the level of acquisition and emerging abilities, will depend on the assessment. It is these exercises which will have to be integrated into a computer programme. A great many exercises, which are well adapted to the specificities of the autist's learning difficulties, already exist. Computerization of some of these exercises could be quite easily undertaken. One could also look at existing educational computer programmes for exercises, which although not specifically developed for autistic people, could very well be of an appropriate level and which do not, above all, present any disconcerting characteristics for autistic people. It is, moreover, in this category that the highest number of computer experiments may be found. Finally, teachers could also invent new exercises which make specific use of the progressive animation and integration capacities of several of the new tool's sensorial modes.

Students aren’t just passive users of social media tools, either. One in five stated they post online comments on a daily basis, with 41 percent doing it at least weekly. Similarly, 22 percent of students admitted to uploading videos at some point, with nine percent claiming they do so on a weekly basis. And a whopping 30 percent of them publish their own blogs, with 17 percent of them updating them weekly.

At the University of North Carolina, for example, administrators created a pair of dummy Facebook profiles to demonstrate what can happen when students reveal too much information about themselves. These dummy personas, Ivana Bea Stalked and Lloyed Unemployed, reveal more info about themselves than you’d probably want to encounter, from their personal contact information to images of what they look like inebriated or in limited clothing.

Last fall, Malavenda caught a group of students selling cocaine and kicked them off campus. In response, they started a Facebook group called “We hate Pablo,” complete with directions to his house and instructions to hurt and eliminate him.

Or should schools stick to doing what they know best and leave it to higher ed to tackle these issues when students graduate and move on? The answer is probably somewhere in between. Schools, quite rightly, are concerned about online safety and student responsibility, yet it’s hard to teach proper behavior in a vacuum. Given the current environment, though, is it possible to craft the right kind of compromise and make it useful to students and teachers alike?

Children with autism are often visual learners. They often have poor fine motor skills, and writing is often a chore. Their math and language arts skills are often at different levels. They often learn routine social interaction behavior from observing others or through explicit instruction. Children with ASD need a highly structured education plan.  

Learn more about the buzz word

Emerging technologies hold great promise for teaching and learning

This was on my mind as I took the leap and created my Facebook profile. The blogs I keep allow me to have a minimal profile; I had the option to fill in a few more details on the personal profile I keep on Facebook. These are decisions that every educator using these technologies has to make.

"Participants also referenced the appropriateness of the content teachers provide. Typical responses included: 'Don't put anything about politics,' 'I wouldn't give out too much personal information or stuff you think your students might make fun of you about,' and 'Be cautious what people put on your wall. Know that your students can see it and be careful what perceptions you are giving'" (12).

24 × 36". This full-color, laminated poster provides beautiful photomicrographs of all stages of the butterfly life cycle. Even the background of the poster is a micrograph of a leaf with painted lady eggs. Showing the intricate microscopic details of butterfly eggs, caterpillars, chrysalids, and adult butterflies will enhance your students' classroom experience with our painted lady butterfly kits. The back of the poster offers fun butterfly facts and describes the stages of metamorphosis.

For young children, programs that focus on sounds are successfully used for many autistic children. These programs teach phonics through songs and games. Some of the most highly acclaimed software programs include the following: • Sound Beginnings (1 and 2) – can be made voice-specific for every child and includes a headset so the child can “talk back” to the computer • Speaking for Myself – includes many graphics with words and sounds and also has options teaching Rebus and Makaton signs with videos • Musical Leaps and Bounds – teaches language nonverbally with the use of music Other programs for this pre-school age range help children begin to learn skills such as the alphabet, counting and simple math, and spatial relationships. Check out titles such as Kidspiration, Jemima, Touch It, and Thinkin' Things 1.