100 Terrific Twitter Feeds for Teaching Advice

Online Universities.com has recently posted a great article for those who use Twitter. 100 Terrific Twitter Feeds for Teaching Advice is a great way to find new persons to follow on Twitter.

Patrick



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Unique Summer Curriculum Review

I took the opportunity this summer to try out the Unique Curriculum from the folks at News-2-You. I was impressed by the program, and felt it did a lot of things very well. There are a few parts that they could improve.

The summer theme was "Summer". We talked about going to the pool, taking walks, going camping, etc... It was a good topic for a summer session, and even included an "indoor camping" lesson to end things. I was not able to complete all the lessons (we had a short ESY session this year), but do have some thoughts on it.

Good Points:

• The theme was something that all the students could relate too. It was easy to find activities that they understood.
  
• The curriculum covers all the areas. There were lessons for reading, math, science & social science.
• Differentiation! All lessons included several different levels to help teachers plan for different level students.
  
• Available for Primary, Intermediate, Jr. High & High School levels.
• Multiple materials available. Books came in 3 levels, worksheets came with pictures or without, even tracing or non tracing sheets for handwriting.
  

Things to work on:

• The materials are all in black & white. This did not engage my students as well as other materials I've used.
  
• The lessons were in an odd order. Now this may be a misunderstanding by me, but all the reading lessons were first, then science, etc... I expected the different subjects to be scattered throughout the entire unit. Admittedly reading was prevalent in the majority of the lessons, but other subjects were more limited.
• I don't feel that there was enough core content to justify using it as a full curriculum. I can see using it for science/social science (since it has great themes), but using it as my full reading curriculum does not feel right to me.
  

These are just my thoughts on the free Summer Curriculum from Unique Learning Systems. Did you use the curriculum this summer? or do you use Unique Learning System during the year? I'd love to hear your thoughts

Patrick

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: Xose Castro

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Frustration.... Confusion.... Annoyance...

I'm sitting right now, on lunch break from training. It's an odd time for me to write a post, but seemed appropriate some how. The training is for a reading program, and I'll probably be using it with a student or two in my classroom.


This reason for the post is just like the title - frustration, confusion, & annoyance. As I do at pretty much every training, workshop, etc... I've been to for about 3 years first thing I did was pull out my computer (before we started), check email, Twitter and get ready for the training. Then the trainer said this, go ahead and turn off you computer, we won't need it until later. At this point I'm at a loss for words. I would not think it to strange to say that I think of my computer as an Assistive Technology device, and integral to my learning. Now I'm not saying I couldn't absorb the information without it, but it does aide in my learning. I have horrible handwriting, hate paper (it's always getting lost!), and keep all my notes electronically. I politely informed her of these things, she stammered and gave in. At this point I'd like to mention that I was not the only teacher who felt this way, and several others had been annoyed at this comment too.


I guess where I'm coming from is the AT angle. We would never expect a student with physical disabilities to not use a wheelchair if that's what they needed. I guess in the long run I don't "need" my computer to learn, but shouldn't that be my choice? Shouldn't I have the option of using whatever I need to learn, just like we give our students all different ways to access curriculum (BTW-we were talking about ways to differentiate instruction for this program all morning). Just my feelings, feel free to share your own in the comments.




- Patrick


Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: 1Happysnapper(is waiting its killing me )'s



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Support Blogging

I've talked previously about ways to increase your PLN (Personal Learning Network) through blogs, Twitter, & social bookmarking.

I'd like to add another resource to the list.  Support Blogging is a wiki of many blogs on education.  The site is sorted into different types of bloggers by topic, subject area, etc...  There are quite a few blogs listed in this resource, and since it's a wiki feel free to edit and add any you think might be missing!  It's a great way to find new blogs, and share information.

Patrick

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Closing the Gap - Student Discount

The first Assistive Technology conference I ever attended was Closing the Gap. It is the first, and possibly the biggest conference centered on Assistive Technology in the United States. In an effort to encourage more students, parents and special educators to attend they are offering a full-time Student Discount for the October 15-17 conference in Minneapolis.

I received this information via the QIAT list, full-time students will be admitted for the discounted rate of $305! This is a letter from Closing the Gap.

Closing The Gap wants to encourage more and more teachers and clinicians to embrace the concept of changing lives with assistive technology and, to further this effort, is offering a full-time STUDENT DISCOUNT toward this year’s international, annual event, October 15-17, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


We invite you to join us this year to LEARN about the latest applications of assistive technology for persons with disabilities and to EARN up to three graduate-level academic credits and up to 3.4 IACET CEUs in the process!


The student rate is $305, regular rate is $435.


At this time, we encourage you to read on to learn about this year’s exciting content, expert presenters (many of whom are presenting only at Closing The Gap this October) and numerous registration discounts and options.

As "The" original conference on Assistive Technology I strongly encourage anyone who is able to attend. You can register here: Closing the Gap.

Patrick


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ATIA Webinars

In preparation for their 2009 Chicago conference, ATIA is offering a series of free Webinars on Assistive Technology. Some of the topics include:

Weaving the Threads of Communication- CHICAGO PRE-CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Presenter: Marsye W. Kaplan, M.S., CCC-SLP, ATP, Assistive Technology Team Leader, Baltimore County Public Schools

Selecting Software for Students with Learning Disabilities: An Instructional Resource
Presenter: Jayme Johnson, Web Accessibility Instructor, High Tech Center Training Unit of the California Community Colleges

Stirring the Alphabet Soup: Blending AT, UDL, RTI, and AIM to Increase Achievement
Presenters: Joy Zabala, Ed.D., ATP, CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology): Diana Carl, Independent Consultant, Vicki Hershman, PATINS State Project Director (Indiana), Indiana Department of Education/Division of Student Learning/Office of
Differentiated Learners (Joy is one of the creators of the SETT Framework)

AIMing for Achievement!: What YOU Need to Know about the Selection, Acquisition, and Use of Accessible Instructional Materials - CHICAGO PRE-CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Presenters: Jeff Diedrich, Michigan Integrated Technology Services; Skip Stahl, CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology); Jenna Wasson Gravel, CAST; Joy Zabala, Ed.D., ATP, CAST

You can register here at the ATIA website. I know it's late notice, and the first one is today, but if you have time I suggest you check them out.

Patrick

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Phonemic Awareness Materials

For several years I've been using materials developed by Michael Heggerty for Phonemic Awareness. The activity is designed to be completed in 10-15 min, and covers all Phonemic Awareness areas, such as name first sounds, last sounds, medial sounds, blending sounds, chopping sounds, adding sounds, dropping sounds, and repeating sentences. While Phonemic Awareness is inherently a verbal activity, I've found that it can be modified for all learners.

First I created a set of materials that give visual directions on what to do during each part of the activity. You can download it here, at Adapted Learning. Just make sure to sign in before you click the link.

I use the materials on a daily basis with all my learners. The students really love this activity, it's fast pace, repetitiveness, and actions allow student interaction at many levels. The visuals allow students to give answers to questions, first sounds for example, by pointing to the sound if they can't verbalize. Also since the materials were made with Boardmaker you can enlarge them for use with students who use eye gaze. I use motions with blending, showing the the 2 parts with each hand, then smashing the hands together to demonstrate the blending concept. Other such actions can be used for chopping, first sounds, and last sounds.

While you are unlikely to notice students understanding this concepts right away, if you stick with it you will see improvement. I have no empirical evidence to support this, but anecdotal evidence suggests that it helps students with verbalization, attention, as well as the Phonemic Awareness skills. Please feel free to use and pass along the materials.

Patrick

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TeacherConnecting Podcast

Earlier this year I mentioned a website called Teachers Connecting. Recently I found that they have a podcast: Teachers Connecting Podcast. It's a great mix of ideas for classroom use, blogs to read, and comments from their readers. Take a listen today!


- Patrick

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They Might Be Giants Friday Night Family Podcast-Update

I'm excited to announce that a commenter noted that this podcast is not done and gone!  In preparation for the release of their upcoming science CD/DVD (Here Comes Science) they will begin doing the podcast.  In August you can expect new episodes to be posted.  Make sure to subscribe today so you don't miss an episode!


Patrick


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