Globe and telescope.

2012 Exceptional Achievement Awards

2012-01-13 | Filed Under Special Education |

Again this year, we have an online format available for submitting nominations for the Exceptional Achievement Award. These are The Exceptional Achievement Award, Outstanding Educator Award, and Outstanding Student Award to be awarded at the April 26th Recognition Ceremony.

The following is the link to complete an online nomination form: http://www.ohioregion14.org/survey/index.php?sid=66281

If you prefer to download and print the forms and mail/fax them in, here are the individual nomination forms:

You may complete either the paper-based forms or the online forms to nominate someone, but DO NOT need to complete both. Please consider nominating someone today!

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Amy Luttrell (937) 393-1904 ext. 142 or Sherry Campton (ext 126).

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Ten Free Online Simulation Games for Education

2011-12-02 | Filed Under Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Simulations can be an engaging, effective way to immerse students in a concept. They can also be a good way to spark a student’s interest in a topic by making the factual information to be learned seem “more real”, because it has an immediate purpose – advancing in the game.

Simulations generally require students to learn facts for a purpose beyond simply repeating them on a test. Simulations also often require exercises in decision-making and problem-solving that reach into the upper levels of higher-order thinking skills. Some simulations can be very expensive, though. And just because something is a simulation does not guarantee it will be either educational or engaging!

Here are my ten favorite free online educational simulations!

10) Blood Typing
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/landsteiner/
Why do blood types matter? See what happens when three accident victims come to the emergency room. They all need transfusions, but none of them know their blood type. Can you figure it out in time to save them all?

9) Trade and Economics
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/economics/trade/
Why do some countries specialize in certain goods? Do imports and exports really matter? How do production decisions in one part of the world affect other countries? Explore these questions in a wonderfully developed simulation of the Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory. Playable in minutes, and great for playing numerous times in one sitting. Allows students to adjust their strategy from one game to the next in order to achieve a higher score.

8) Zapitalism
http://www.Zapitalism.com/
Nice simulation of starting with a small retail store, and taking it to profitability based on the important decisions you make. What should you sell? How high should your prices be? What are the other stores around you selling?

7) Arm Surgery 2
http://www.learn4good.com/games/simulation/doctor-hospital-games-for-kids.htm
Seriously? Arm surgery? Yep! But don’t worry, the animation is “cartoony” enough that you shouldn’t be causing anyone to faint. And the subject matter is likely to have someone in your class saying “Hey, that happened to me!”

6) Cargo Bridge
http://limexgames.com/studio/games/cargo_bridge
Triangles. Leverage. Force. Momentum. Planning and Architecture. Resource management. It’s all part of “Cargo Bridge” (and its expanding variants, like the Armor Games Edition, and Christmas Levels Pack)! Use your knowledge of structures and

5) The River City Project (No longer free)
(Intro) http://muveb.gse.harvard.edu/~muvers/rivercityvideos/River_City_Fall_Large.mov
I’m breaking my own rule here by including a simulation that USED to be free, but is now licensed. In a sense, it was never free… funding used to be covered by a federal grant, but that grant has expired. The fact that the simulation is still available at all is a good thing, because it’s well constructed, and plays very well. Students who do not just rush through the game will be rewarded for their attention to details and recording of interesting facts gathered from interacting with the virtual world and the people in it.

4) GCF Learn Free – ATM
http://www.gcflearnfree.org/everydaylife/atm
Simulations can be used to place students in situations they never would find themselves in, to give them an idea of what life is like from other perspectives. But sometimes, simulations can be used to give students an idea of what life could be like for them in a year or two, or ten! GCF Learn Free’s ATM Simulation is one of the latter. Using an ATM may be second nature to many people today, but for some students, this is a vital skill they will need in order to function in society. This simulation gives them a safe way to experience using an ATM for themselves. GCF Learn Free simulations include printable worksheets to go along with the online activities.

3) The POD Game
http://www.thepodgame.com/
Do your high school students think they’re good in a crisis? Let them find out with this scary simulation, funded by the Center for Disease Control and developed by the Chicago Department of Public Health and CADE. An airplane has released deadly anthrax virus over the city, and you are working in a drug dispensing center’s Point-Of-Dispensing (POD). Take the training, and then see if you have what it takes to take the role of a Medical Screener, Forms Reviewer, or Dispensing in a tense situation.

2) Mission US – For Crown or Colony?
http://www.Mission-US.org/
Take up the role of Nat Wheeler, a 14-year-old boy in Boston. The time is the days leading up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. As Nat, participants make decisions that impact the progression of the game, while learning important facts. Teachers can register an entire class and keep track of their progress through the well-constructed simulation. Don’t miss the fun mini-game “Pennywhistle Hero”!

1) The Oregon Trail
The grandaddy of educational simulations! The one that basically started it all! New versions exist for mobile devices, but they aren’t nearly as heavy on requiring independent thought and planning.
Start in Independence, Missouri, and plan your trip westward to start a new life for you and your family in 1848.
Original edition FREE online
ActiveGS version
http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html
Java Version
http://www.virtualapple.org/J_oregontraildisk.html

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Protected: Fayetteville-Perry – Google Docs

2011-11-08 | Filed Under Uncategorized |

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:


Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

iPad Posts and Videos

2011-11-03 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Here are some resources that were shared at the November 3, 2011, PAC meeting.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Free Concept Mapping Tools

2011-10-19 | Filed Under Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Concept Mapping (or “Mind Mapping”) is a way that some educators use to visually display the connections for information from a given source.  This can help students who need to “visualize” such connections, while also helping students who struggle with the semantic load of informational text.

There are several free concept mapping tools available for educators (and students!) to use to support learning.  The table below lists some popular choices for various platforms.

Name Platform(s) Description
bubbl.us Web-based Bubbles can only contain text, not images.  Can save a maximum of 3 worksheets per free account.  Can export to JPG, PNG, or HTML Outline.
Gliffy.com Web-based Can save a maximum of 5 worksheets per free account.  Includes more technical icons for worksheets (e.g., icons for local-area network components).  Can export to PNG, JPG, SVG, or “Gliffy XML”.
Xmind PC, Mac, Linux No limit on number of worksheets.  No collaboration, due to installation on one machine.
FreeMind PC, Mac, Linux No limit on number of worksheets.  No collaboration, due to installation on one machine.
IdeaSketch iOS (iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone) Text only in bubbles.  Can save as images in Photos, or export text outlines to e-mail or clipboard.
Google Docs “Drawing” Web-based Extensive set of familiar shapes for flowchart enthusiasts.  Requires free Google account to use.   Allows collaborators (with free Google accounts).  Export to PNG, JPG, SVG, or PDF.
Creately.com Web-based Limit of 5 public diagrams, maximum of 3 collaborators.  Desktop version available for $75.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Google Apps to Support Learning for Students with Disabilities

2011-09-29 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Google Apps for Students with Disabilities

Region 14 State Support Team will be offering a workshop at Region 14 – Hopewell Center (5350 W. New Market Road, Hillsboro, Ohio [google maps] [mapquest]) on using Free Google Apps to support learning for Students with Disabilities in the general curriculum.

The workshop will be split into two parts.  Part One will be on Monday, October 24, 2011.  Part Two will be on Monday, November 7, 2011.  Both sessions will be from 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM.

The following topics will be covered:

The goal of these workshops is to give teachers, teacher teams, and administrators some tools they can use right away to improve and support access to the general curriculum for their entire class, especially students with disabilities.

This workshop is open to school staff in Region 14 (Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland Counties), and is free of charge.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Does my school have to already be using Google Apps for Education for me to attend?
A: No, your school does not have to already be using Google Apps for Education for you to use the tools we will be reviewing.  If your school is not using Google Apps for Education, Google’s Terms of Service requires that students be at least 13 years of age to use many of the apps.

Q: Do I need a Google Account to attend?
A: Yes, you will want to already have your own Google account set up and ready to use when you arrive for the first workshop.  This is free, and takes only a few minutes to do.  Get a Google account now if you don’t already have one!

Q: Can I bring my own laptop?
A: Yes, you can bring your own laptop (PC or Mac)!  You will need to be able to connect it to the Internet.  Free wi-fi will be available.  You will need administrator level access to install some of the apps.

Q: Should I bring my iPad?
A: Most of the apps and features we will be using do not work on the iPad or similar devices.

Q: Will food be served?
A: Coffee, tea, and water will be available.  A meal will not be served at this workshop.

Q: How do I register?
A: Registration will be via the STARS system.

Q: What if my question isn’t answered here?
A: Contact Michael Roush (937-393-1904 x136, r14_mroush@mveca.org) regarding your question, and we’ll get you an answer as quickly as possible.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Fun With (word) Clouds!

2011-09-28 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Word Cloud for Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense'.Teachers are discovering the power of using technology tools to improve literacy skills at all levels.  One recent innovation is the development of “Word Clouds”.  A “Word Cloud” is a collection of some sampling of words from a source (most used 100 words, all words, largest words, etc.), arranged visually in a space.  The words that appear the most times are printed larger than the rest.

On the web, these became popular as “Tag Clouds” on large blog sites, where the Word Cloud was made of the “tags”, or keywords, that were assigned to the various blog posts.  A “Tag Cloud” would give, at a glance, a sense of what the popular topics in the blog were at any given moment.

The surface of possible uses in classes that depend heavily on literacy skills is just being scratched.

Here are five popular Word Cloud generators.  All of these are freely available online (currently).  The following table compares some of the features of these five utilities.

1) Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/) -The Grandaddy of Word Cloud Makers among educators.  Works simply and quickly, but doesn’t have some features some educators would like to see.

2) Tagxedo (http://www.tagxedo.com/) – Requires Microsoft Silverlight to use, which can be a turn-off to some who have avoided the plug-in – or for teachers who do not have access credentials to install software on a school-owned computer. The only word cloud maker in this list that lets you easily export your word cloud into a vast array of image formats. Currently in Beta, some features may eventually become unavailable without a paid subscription. Lets you choose (or upload) a shape for the Word Cloud to conform to.

3) WordSift (http://www.wordsift.com/) – Stanford University ELL Resources product, limited cloud generating ability, but gives access to more tools after creating the word cloud, like the impressive Visual Thesaurus, and the ability to see any word from the cloud in its context in the source text, without leaving the page.

4) TagCrowd (http://www.tagcrowd.com/) – Currently in Beta, some features may eventually become unavailable without a paid subscription. Option to include the frequency of words within the Word Cloud. Allows the user to download the word cloud as a PDF. Can insert the word frequency from the original into the word cloud, so words in the word cloud are followed by the number of times that word appears in the original .

5) WordItOut (http://www.worditout.com/) – Includes an interesting add-on… integrates a feature that lets you submit the image of your word cloud directly to “Zazzle”, an online service that will print your image on shirts, buttons, keychains, etc. Are you proud enough of your word cloud to pay $15 to have it on a coffee mug?

So, which one should you use?

Why choose?  Use them all!  They each do different things well, and some of them support students in ways others don’t.  Do you have a student with a significant motor impairment who cannot use a mouse?  Why make them skip your “Wordle” activity?  Let them use TagCrowd and participate in the exact same activity!  Have an emerging reader?  Let them use WordSift (with a reduced number of words in the generated cloud) and take advantage of the Visual Thesaurus and embedded Google Image search to support their understanding of the words they are working with!

Feature Wordle Tagxedo WordSift TagCrowd WordItOut
URL wordle.net tagxedo.com wordsift.com tagcrowd.com worditout.com
Text Sources Cut-n-Paste
URL
del.icio.us		 Cut-n-Paste
URL
del.icio.us
Twitter
RSS
Search
File Upload		 Cut-n-Paste only Cut-n-Paste
URL
file upload		 Cut-n-Paste
RSS
Max input none listed none listed 65,000 characters 3MB Plain text, 5MB file Limited only by computer/server processing capacity.
Change color? ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓
Change font? ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓
Change orientation? ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓
Change shape? ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗
Stemming? (e.g., “state” and “states” treated as same word.) ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
Save Online? ✓ (public only) ✓ (public/private) ✗ ✗ (does generate html code for embedding in other pages, though.) ✓ (public/private)
Image Export Built-in? ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ (only after saving online)
The following rows contain information about how well the utility may work with certain assistive technology tools, for students with disabilities (e.g., students who are unable to use a mouse, or who rely on screen readers to help them understand what they are seeing.)
Can Use Keyboard-only to Create? ✓ ✓1 ✓ ✓ ✓1
1 = No visual indication of where focus is, so keyboard access is possible, but very difficult.
Can Use Keyboard-only to Modify? ✗ ✓2 ✓3 ✓4 ✓5
2 = Partial support. No visual indication of focus via keyboard access.

3 = Partial support. Sorting tools are available, but no access to words in the word cloud.

4 = Only tool that makes the words available to keyboard access, but they are all links to the section of the document that contains the word cloud itself. My hope is that they have bigger, better plans for this linking feature, which has powerful potential.

5 = Partial support. Can access cloud margin and word size; cannot access font, colors, text settings, and word list settings via keyboard-only.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Interactive Whiteboard Tools

2011-09-22 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning |

Interactive Whiteboards provide an engaging way to involve students more actively in learning.  One of the most common questions I get from teachers is “Where can I find more things to use with my interactive whiteboard?”

Here are my ten favorite Interactive-Whiteboard-friendly online tools.  None of these require a particular brand of Interactive Whiteboard to work.  They are all completely useful without an Interactive Whiteboard, but they may also be used just as well on an individual computer.

10. National Library of Virtual Manipulatives – http://nlvm.usu.edu/ – online math activities, by grade level (PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) and by field (Number & Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis & Probability).  Check out the Factoring Tree manipulative!

9. WordSift – http://www.wordsift.com/ – paste text to get a word cloud, reorganize the words to your own liking, and get the context in the original text for any word in the cloud.

8. Nobel Prize Education – http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/ – Simulations dealing with various fields in which prizes are awarded (e.g., sciences, literature, economics).  The “Blood Type” simulation is my favorite!

7. GCF Learn Free – http://www.learnfree.org/ – Goodwill Community Foundation created “LearnFree” to provide online educational simulations.  My favorites are the “Everyday Life” simulations… great to support early stages of transition plans, and provide real-world examples of cross-disciplinary applications.

6. JigsawPlanet – http://www.jigsawplanet.com/ – Makes online jigsaw puzzles from a bank of images, or an image you supply.  Great for introducing new material.  Create images with text overlay using PowerPoint.

5. TouchMouse – http://www.logitech.com/en-us/494/6367 – Not really a whiteboard app in itself, but lets you use an iPad or iPod Touch as a touchpad (alternative mouse) for a computer connected to a whiteboard.  Allows students with motor difficulty (e.g., chairbound) to participate in whiteboard activities.

4. Bubbl.us - http://www.bubbl.us/ – Create and share graphical representations and “mind-mapping” designs.

3. Physics Games – http://www.physicsgames.net/ – Physics and Physical Science related games.  Cargo Bridge is TOTALLY addictive (and there’s a version of it for the iPad, 99¢ as of this writing)!

2. Markup – http://www.markup.io/ – Markup.io lets you draw on any web page, save your annotations, and share them online.

1. Google Sketchup – http://sketchup.google.com/ – 3D modeling and planning.  Pro version gives lots of extra features, but is pretty pricey.  Free version still has some great features for making and displaying 3D models.  Educators can apply to get the pro version for free for their classes!

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

Some iPad Apps for Students With Disabilities

2011-09-22 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Special Education, Universal Design for Learning |

Schools are just now discovering the mighty potential in portable electronic devices like iPads for education, administration, professional development, and other educational uses.  The market for the iPad and similar devices is mushrooming.  Just a simple Web search for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch apps for students with disabilities will yield thousands of results.

Sometimes, this is just as bad as finding nothing.

These are my current ten favorite iPad apps for use with students with disabilities.  I have tried to cover several major categories of disability, while covering apps that are useful in different academic content areas as well as daily living skills.

  1. Read2Go – $19.99 – Beyond just a powerful DAISY-format reader, Read2Go integrates seamlessly with your existing BookShare account.  This gives print-disabled users an extremely portable way to take their reading material and the AT needed to read it with them anywhere!
  2. ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard – Free – ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard turns your iPad into a simple whiteboard integrated with a voice recorder.  Demonstrate anything from a math problem to spelling a word to pointing out locations on a map (and more!).  Then, take your completed recording and upload it to the ShowMeApp.com website and share it with friends, or the world!
  3. Dragon Dictation – Free – Speak to your iPad and it will turn what you say into text.  Then, copy that text and place it in other apps on your iPad.  The transcription is done at Dragon’s servers, not on the iPad, so an internet connection is required for this one.  See also…
    Dragon Go!- Free – Takes Speech-to-text a step further.  Search commonly-used websites for anything you can say!  Researching origins of the US Civil War?  Say “Causes of the civil war” and tap the “Wikipedia” tab.  Wonder whether it’s supposed to rain today?  Say “What’s the weather for today in Hillsboro, Ohio?” and Dragon Go! figures out the best site to answer your question!
  4. Speak It! – $1.99 – Speak It! is not a replacement for the built-in VoiceOver text-to-speech functions of the iPad.  Rather, it extends some of the functionality into areas that were not available before.  Speak It! can be used to speak aloud stored snippets of text, or create transferable audio files from any text that can be typed or pasted into the input screen.  The high-quality voices make this a desirable extension of functionality for users with severe speech or visual barriers.
  5. Calculators for the iPad- Free to $1.99, various producers – Apple does some VERY smart things, but whoever decided the iPad didn’t need a native calculator app (like the iPhone or iPod Touch has) missed the boat.  Fear not!  Several developers have put together quality calculator apps.
    Jumbo Calculator – Free – Nice large buttons, easy-to-read display area.
    pCalc – Free – Very handy function to do unit conversions automatically.  More functions available for a fee.
    Spin Calc – $1.99 – Simple calculator with large buttons.  Speaks the numbers as you enter them.  Speaks the entire equation once you press the equals key.
  6. SpeakText for Me – $19.99 – Another text-to-speech app.  This one opens your web pages, documents, or other materials from inside the app, rather than having you copy-and-paste from other applications.  Behavior with complicated websites or PDF documents can be a bit unexpected sometimes.
  7. Wolfram Alpha – $1.99 – A “computational knowledge engine”.  Some teachers hate this tool because it lets the computer do what the computers does best (scour through tons of facts) and lets the students do what humans do best (creativity and evaluation).  Type in your trig function or your unbalanced chemical equation, and Wolfram Alpha solves it for you.  Ask Wolfram Alpha “where is the international space station?” and you get a map of the world with an overlay of where the ISS is in orbit above the surface, and its recent and future path!
  8. Songify – Free – Sometimes a cutesy app is just a cutesy app.  “Songify” lets you take any text and give it a melodic quality.  I love using this with a list of things to be memorized.  Or does that trick only work for memorizing the alphabet???
  9. iBooks Enhanced Books – iBooks is free, books vary in price – Check out the Enhanced Books section of the iBooks store for books that have audio and/or video embedded along with the text of the book!  A limited number of books are currently available (under 1,000).  You must be using iBooks v1.3 (or above) to use Enhanced Books features.
  10. Qrafter – Free – if you have an iPad 2, or a 4th Generation iPod Touch, or a Camera iPhone, you can have a free QR Code Reader for your device.
    QR Code for this web page - Some Useful iPad Apps

    QR Code for this web page - Some iPad Apps for Students With Disabilities

    QR Codes allow you to aim your device’s camera at a specialized two-dimensional dot-code, and the QR Reader will automatically send you to the embedded web address, or decode the embedded information for you.  Educators: Use qrcode.kaywa.com to create QR Codes for anything online (for free), and use Qrafter to read and execute them!  Great for students with motor issues who have to use lots of time typing url’s to access important materials online.

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

iPad Apps for Students With Disabilities

2011-08-24 | Filed Under Assistive Technology, Universal Design for Learning |

Notes and resources from presentation to Blanchester Local Schools, 8/25/2011.

iPad Apps for Students With Disabilities

Additional Resources

Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback | | Print This Page | Comments Off

« Previous Entries