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Know someone with attention deficit disorder who seeks a useful time management strategy?
From the http://www.add.org/articles/index.html website, look at the "Plain and Simple To-Do List Illustrated" by Mary Jane Johnson:
http://www.add.org/pdf/Plain%20&%20Simple%20To%20Do%20List%20Illustrated.pdf.
Read the comments of Paul Schroeder, Vice Presidents of Programs & Policy:
http://www.afb.org/blog/blog_comments.asp?TopicID=2490&FolderID=18
and be sure to click on the ATIA Triumph Stories link (http://www.atia.org/triumph_stories/).
This whitepaper addresses the iPod's use in: Multidimensional Learning, Content Knowledge, Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, Media Literacy, Personalized Learning, Self-Expression and Creativity, Portable Learning, Independent Learning, Differentiated Learning, Time Management, and finally as a Professional Development Tool. Whew! Enjoy reading by clicking on http://education.apple.com/contact_me/rethink/pd/iPod_in_Education_Whitepaper.pdf
Math software can be very expensive and good programs are pretty rare. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has done a great job of making over 90 online practice games available for preK-12 learning across the math strands.
Check out http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activities.aspx?grade=3&srchstr=fraction for an example of middle school fraction activities, and http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx to conduct your own activity search.
Check out http://www.ldonline.org/article/13709 for an article on Dyscalculia with some suggestions for supporting students with math disabilities. Suggestions are practical and easy, such as: "Use graph paper for students who have difficulty organizing ideas on paper."
Here's a great resource: http://www.cited.org/
From the website:
CITEd’s Learn Center showcases select resources and targeted tools to help you meet everyday educational challenges through technology. Search the list of critical topic areas by role and responsibility to find a broad range of important information and related research. Consult the Learning in Brief articles for guidance on specific topics from the research literature.CITEd’s Action Center provides resources to plan an educational technology initiative and establish a community of practice. Find a wide range of tools to infuse technology throughout the learning experience for all students. Let CITEd's profiles of educational technology leaders serve as inspiration and a foundation for new ideas.
CITEd’s Research Center offers evidence-based, promising, and emerging practices based on the latest research. Explore how technology can be used to enhance instruction with an emphasis on students with special needs. Browse research and its implications for your classroom, school, and district.
The Council for Exceptional Children along with leaders in the field of Assistive Technology have posted AT Competencies for professionals who work in the field of assistive technology.
Check them out!
http://www.wati.org/AT_Services/competencies.html
Go ahead and take advantage of this great resource for families and schools: http://www.fctd.info/resources/fig/.
From the website:
The FCTD Family Guide to Assistive Technology includes the following sections:► The Possibilities of Assistive Technology (AT)
► Assistive Technology in Schools
► Funding AT
► Quick Questions and Tips
► Glossary of AT Terms and Definitions
► Additional AT Information Resources
Looking for a lift this spring? Want to read some great AT success stories? Visit http://www.fctd.info/success_stories.php.
Here's a link to the Texas Assistive Technology network; they have Assistive Technology training modules:
http://www.texasat.net
Check out http://www.tinsnips.org. From the website:
Links to information, organizations, techniques and strategies especially for teaching students in the autism spectrum.
Ideas for things to do and make, hands-on, functional activities that address multi-sensory learning styles and promote higher order thinking skills.
Thanks, Jennifer!
Check this one out for premade Boardmaker material also available in PDF format. Simply put .... it is amazing: http://www.setbc.org/setbc/communication/frame_pictureset.html
Thanks, Estelle!
Design to Learn is a wonderful resource for those of you who work with people with significant disabilities. The site contains resources for identifying students' communication skills and expanding those skills in the learning environment. There are resources for professionals and families. Have you ever wondered what it means to use tangible symbols and how you might provide those tools for someone who needs these types of supports when communicating?
This is the place to go:
http://www.designtolearn.com
Check this link out for details about an online course for Speech and Language Pathologists:
http://www.speechpathology.com/ceus/recordedcoursedetails.asp?class_id=2448
Do you work with secondary students? Do your students access the computer using switches? Are you always trying to find age appropriate software? Well, I explored the latest volume of Closing the Gap's Resource Directory and identified many cool academic and recreational tools. We have a lot of these in our AT lending library too! Check out the list below and please add any additional titles that you have discovered!
Test Me, Score Me
Teen Tunes Plus
Attention TeensSoftTouch, Inc.
www.softtouch.com
Switching on Science: Habitats
Switching on Science: Earth
Switching On American HistorySoftTouch, Inc.
www.softtouch.com
Cowriter: Solo
DraftBuilder: Solo
Buildability
Start to Finish Literacy Starters
Don Johnston, Inc.
www.donjohnston.com
Simply Science: Animals
Simply Science: Energy
PixWriterSlater Software, Inc.
www.slatersoftware.com
Functional Life Skills
Functional Literacy SkillsThe Conover Company
www.conovercompany.com
ClickIt!
Intellitools Classroom SuiteIntellitools, Inc
www.intellitools.com
Poetry Power CDAAC Intervention
www.aacintervention.com
Drum Kit
Switch ItInclusive TLC
www.inclusivetlc.com
Check out: http://aimstar.knowbility.org/index.html. The site also has info on AT and recreation---http://aimstar.knowbility.org/at_recreation_leisure.htm
The National Assistive Technology Research Initiative at the University of Kentucky aims to:
1. To conduct research related to the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of assistive technology (AT) services in schools,
2. To identify promising practices in the delivery of AT services, and
3. To disseminate research findings and information about promising practices in ways that will assist school personnel to develop or improve AT policies and practices for students with disabilities.
Check out their AT Viewer at http://natri.uky.edu/assoc_projects/viewer/index.html
This website includes device demos in the areas of:
Input Devices, Keyboards, Communication, Visual Aids, Mobility Aids, Workplace, Switches, and Software
Looking for online discussion forums? Try http://www.fctd.info/webboard/index.php.
From the website:
You can also find in our archive, forum transcripts on assistive technology mediation, AT issues during times of transition, assistive technology outcomes, AT funding, AT research, Web accessibility, universal design, the SETT Framework, AT and occupational therapy, and emergent literacy. You may also request a copy of the Family Center's "AT Resources" CD-ROM, which contains formatted transcripts of our archives. All FCTD online conferences are free, having been made possible by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
I liked this resource for families: http://fcsn.org/index.php.
From the website:
The Federation is a center for parents and parent organizations to work together on behalf of children with special needs and their families. We can help! Organized in 1975 as a coalition of parent groups representing children with a variety of disabilities, the Federation operates a Parent Center in Massachusetts which offers a variety of services to parents, parent groups, and others who are concerned with children with special needs.
A subscription based resource for speech therapist to make their lives easier---lots of templates, activities, ready-made to use in therapy. Check out http://www.therasimplicity.com.
You know there are little light-tech solutions that you use all the time, probably spending a few bucks of your own to get them. Consider funding these small items by recycling the school's ink cartridges (and those from parents and community members as well)...click on https://staplesrecyclefored.com/home.asp for more info.
I heard about this just a few minutes ago: Saturday, 03 March 2007
9am - 8:30pm (Phone 851-9890)
Wintergreen Resort: An all-day affair featuring Mardi Gras costumes, tubing and skiing contests, a silent auction, tons of food, and a formal dance. Proceeds benefit Wintergreen Adaptive Skiing, a nonprofit that helps disabled persons hit the slopes.
Christopher Essex, coordinator of Instructional Design and Development at the Indiana University School of Education, is featuring Universal Design for Learning in his blog and podcast, "Teach with Tech", at http://teachwtech.blogspot.com. Check it out and tell him what you think!
OK, if you took our advice and went to the Woodlands Junior school yesterday, but did not poke around on the rest of the website, be sure to visit their literacy game site: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html
They have writing and text/reading games for students ages 5-11. I was able to amuse myself (significantly older than age 11) for quite some time.