I love the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom! The Council for Exception Children states, "Whiteboards Engage Autistic Students in Social Learning - Although touchscreen tablets work well as personalized tools, they cannot be a replacement for interactive whiteboards, which help autistic students with social learning in a group setting." I feel this is not only true for children
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Interactive Whiteboards with Special Needs
I love the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom! The Council for Exception Children states, "Whiteboards Engage Autistic Students in Social Learning - Although touchscreen tablets work well as personalized tools, they cannot be a replacement for interactive whiteboards, which help autistic students with social learning in a group setting." I feel this is not only true for children
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Apps in the Special Education Classroom
iDevices with special needs students... What do we need to know and consider? (This is a living document. It will change as this world of iDevices grows, expands and we learn more about the world of mobile devices and what they may provide.)
Parents, Speech and Language Specialist and teachers are developing programs specifically for the disabled population. Some may not be designed for
Friday, January 7, 2011
iDevices in the Special Education Classroom
A number of built-in accessibility features, tools, and add-ons are helping to prompt Apple's iPad into the classroom. Now, the push to get textbooks accessed through this device to get rid of all those heavy books, ah, it is happening!! With a text reader and highlighter, this will really be something worth talking about. Students learn in different ways. The iPad can provide visual,
Friday, December 17, 2010
iDevice Accessories: Tools to Protect and provide Access
This is a changing document. As new accessories are discovered, as flaws are
found, as some become outdated or not found to be the best, as others are
thought more highly of...they will be added or removed.
So, now
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Math, Math and more Math
This section will cover:
AT - Methods and Materials to Support Math
Math Access Support (Assistive Technology)
Concept Support (Instructional sites)
Visual Supports
Calculator Options
Math App Lists and Math Resources, including:
Andy Borne's Great List of Math-Related Tech
Please see my Pinterest Board for more: Numbers, Numbers, Numbers
1. AT - Methods and Materials to
Friday, July 23, 2010
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
UDL prompts you to look at flexible and multiple methods of representation, action and expression and engagement. Technology tools can help provide these means, but they are certainly not the only means of achieving this.
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Education developed a Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities (Tool Kit) to support the
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Free Classroom Supports Worth Knowing About
With the rising costs of everything combined with the school economy today, we can use all the help we can get for a greater bang for our buck. This is the 2010 list of some tools that are provided free to help your students be more successful in their educational process. So much is available for free these days, is software where we really need to be spending our money? (For those of
Friday, July 2, 2010
Page Fluffing
Page fluffers are helpful in fostering independent literacy skills. Page fluffers are simple adaptations made to books or other reading material that make pages more accessible to turn. Page fluffers increase the space between the pages of a book, allowing those with limited fine motor skills to get their fingers between each page, therefore, making it easier to turn a page. You can use a
Friday, May 28, 2010
Pictures to Support Learning
Research supports the idea that images connect directly to long-term memory. Images are different from text in that they can communicate “lateral thinking, objectivity and global context”. Acquiring new knowledge is difficult for most learners because they go about it the wrong way. Many of our learners will try to memorize difficult concepts from textbooks. However, our brain isn’t geared
Monday, April 26, 2010
MyStudyBar
MyStudyBar is free to download and is designed to help overcome problems that students commonly experience with studying, reading and writing. MyStudyBar is similar to popular commercial programs which use a floating toolbar to support literacy.It helps to alleviate problems with organization, reading and writing. The toolbar consists of programs assembled into one convenient and
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
AAC Resources
The above graphic is from AAC TechConnect.
When working with students who are using any form of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC), it is important to teach several components when using a device. These may be good areas to focus on when writing an IEP:
How to operate the device and take care of it as independently as possible
How to communicate with it, (Eyes, Ears,
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Writing to Demonstrate Knowledge - Alternative Supports for
A writing-to- demonstrate- knowledge assignment is one that teachers employ when they assign reports, essays, persuasive writing letters and papers, and research papers.
When writing to demonstrate knowledge, students show what they have learned by synthesizing information and explaining their understanding of concepts and ideas. Students write for an audience with a specific purpose. But
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Building Mouse Skills
Helping students to develop mouse skills can be a challenge. There are free activities online for helping children to build mouse skills. There are games and various drawing programs (see previous posting "Sites to Support Students with Special Needs" for a listing of drawing programs) that provide simple mouse practice for the beginning mouser. Below you will find some activities designed
