Bloggidy Blog Blog Blog

After all that we have done, we all must come to an end. I look back at this blog, and I think I did alright. I am a very big advocate for spotting school violence, especially bullying. I hope to use this blog in more than just an assignment and grade, but a loop into the education world where students need our help, and it is OUR JOB as a teacher to keep them safe and stop bullying. If not me, then who? (That quote was taken from the Sheriff Academy in Santa Clara) Because if we all look to someone else to do the job, the job will never get done. Start educating and stop the violence.

Homework Helper, Everything but the Kitchen Sink!

Have you ever had your kid come home and say 'can you help me with this problem?' You say 'suuuurreeee' not knowing that Einstein wrote it himself! (it's fourth grade math) Well here is a website to help you! This website has tools to help in every subject. Not only can it help you mom and dad, but give your kid some extra pointers to help them out too! Check out my favorite, Math Tricks to Learn the Facts! Where was that when I was a kid! Like I said, everything but the kitchen sink on this website! So many links, you will need to do your homework on the site, check it out and see what tickles your fancy.

High Functioning Assistive Technology Tools

Here is another link to a youtube video by another great special education teacher. This video shows us that technology can help with high functioning students. Not only does the teacher talk about several tools but she demonstrates how to use them as well. It's like the instruction manual in a video!

Special Ecuation Law Blog

Here is a blog dedicated to the tangled web we call law. Special education law can be very confusing and everyone has their interpretation of the law. Parents want one thing, does the teacher HAVE TO do it? Is a teacher properly educating your child? Is a student in the wrong placement? The list can go on and on! It's a good thing someone put a blog together to help us un-lawful people.

The History and Change of Special Education

This article from Disabled Word, gives you the history of special education in this country. Times have changed and so has special education. Is this what you thought special education was? Are we all stuck in the past?

Technology in the Classroom

Here is a link from youtube.com, where a special education teacher goes over the positive outcomes of technology in the classroom. Technology can be for everyone. Every technology is NOT for everyone. We need to find the right fit for our students. What technology would you like?

Apple- Accessibility

Like Apple products? Well, I do! This website is for the more technically savvy person. For the consumer that wants their phone to literally be capable to do everything, it now can, and for everyone. Apple has come out with a phone that can be a phone, a computer, a source or music, entertainment and a video game all in one device. For those who may have a specific disability, Apple is catering to their requests as well. For those who have visual disabilities, there is VoiceOver. VoiceOver allows the person to physically interact with the items on the screen. For those who have a hearing disability, there is Closed Captioning. For those who lack physical and motor skills, there is tactile buttons and predictive text entry to increase speed and advances the appropriate word for the consumer.

Bookshare

Bookshare is a website that is for all U.S. students who have a qualifying disability. The online books are geared for people who have a print disability. Bookshare was started so that books were accessible to those who needed it. In 2007, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) gave an award to the publisher in the amount of 32 million- five year awards. This was so that Bookshare could provide free access to students who qualified with a disability. What are these illusive qualifying disabilities? If a student has a visual impairment, a learning disability, or mobility impairments, these are qualifying. However, are you a representative of a U.S. school (K-12 and post-secondary)? If so, your students 26 years old and under qualify for free access to Bookshare as of October 1, 2007. So now teachers have access to help their students even more in literacy!
Bookshare can be a tool to aid student sin their phonemic awareness, decoding, comprehension, syntax, virtually all areas of literacy and language arts. This online version of books and periodicals can be used in the classroom, or in an RSP/SDC setting. The online version not only provides access to the books and periodicals, but it can be manipulated. Bookshare can have the print enlarged, you can change the font, make less words on a page, or change the background color for those who don’t care for the blaring white. Manipulation of the text is enhancing to any students disability and make them able in the classroom.
Have a student who has a difficult time reading? Does your student prefer to be read to? Well, Bookshare has a text-to-speech component that can be uploaded right from the tools page. According to literacy instructors across the board, enhancing the ways that students have print shown to them (i.e., read out loud as well as reading along) helps with comprehension. Auditory learners can benefit from hearing it out loud as well as reading along.
This can be seen being used in all schools across the nation. Every student deserves to know about the literature that has been written or will be written. Allowing students to be able to take pride in knowing they read a book when they have been told that their disability limited them, is empowering beyond imagination. Thanks to the OSEP, millions of students can have access to this for free. FREE. Not only is it free, it’s manipulatable, it’s able to be printed for those who need it to be mobile with them. All of these options make it less painful to have a disability and more enabling for those who want to learn. No boundaries should be put on disabled students, and opening a book breaks boundaries for individuals everyday. Support literacy, support those who want to read, support Bookshare and their vision to able those who haven’t been able to before.
Would you like to learn more? Just click on the title "bookshare" and the website is at your finger tips!

Assistive Ware

AssistiveWare
On this website, a picture is worth a thousand words. There is little description and more video of what is possible for those who have a more severe disability. This gives light to making those who say someone is disabled to making them see that they are very able. The videos range from working from a computer to playing video games. This website can intrigue computer users of all ages. This website was born not very long ago, in 1996 when someone named Giesbert Nijhuis was injured. He is from the Netherlands and was in a car accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. Since he needed a new keyboard, he collaborated with a computer programmer and the website was born. The team prides themselves on making user friendly products that are innovative and cutting edge.

Assistive Technology “Low-tech" to "Hi-tech" Considerations

Assistive Technology “Low-tech" to "Hi-tech" Considerations
This is more of a general overview of how a teacher can incorporate assistive technology into the classroom, and it doesn’t have to be a giant computer. This page can be printed out and used as a worksheet for IEP’s and given to parents and highlighted for what pieces of technology are beneficial for their child. The official website this link was found on is NSNET (Nova Scotia Community Organization Network) which is a community organization that has provided a reference for citizens who have disabilities or health challenges. There is a great deal of links that can be found on the Tools, Tips and Tricks page that will navigate the reader to a more specific technical resource they are looking for.

A.T. Basics

A.T. Basics
AT Basics is useful for those who are looking for information on related uses for elementary students with disabilities. The link also includes tabs for tutorials, and more information on services available for various learning disabilities. The website also covers the ABC’s of what someone would be looking for when inquiring about assistive technology. The subjects are segregated into special populations, curriculum, how one can adapt current classrooms for any student.

Tools for Life

Tools for Life
This website is for all service providers, teachers, parents, and consumers who associate with someone who has a learning disability. This site contains success stories as well as how one can use assistive technology for core subjects in school. There is definitions of what is low/high assistive technology and the range of cost and training that would be necessary for that particular assistance. The Advisory Council Board Members point out that there is potential for independence for those who have a learning disability. The students can learn without aides, and live without the negative social ramifications of being labeled as always needing help.

Sports in our Town

This is a talking power point. It was designed for two Hmong students in the fourth grade at my current placement. One student is still learning his BICS and CALPS and knows about the sports but does not understand some of the phrases for each sport. I have used a few key words in each sports to help him understand how each sport works. I gave a small picture of each ball or piece of equipment used. I hope this helps them understand more about the sports during P.E. and aids in word comprehension when they play. I did this talking power point on another mac, that's the great thing about technology, it will always throw you for a new loop! If I can do it, anyone can!

Power Point Sports

See more presentations by aSGuest42330 | Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

Bullying is Bad

http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/
http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/">
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies//">


Here are some links on bullying and how to prevent, escape or who to tell if your kid is being bullied. What is bullying? See the photostory below to see the sad statistics.
This photostory will be used to show real statistics of bulling across the nation. Students and teachers both, do not understand the severity of bullying on campus as well as off. Students as young as kindergarten are bullied that leaves the students not feeling safe, or excited about school. This effects their homework, their home life as well as their behavior on and off campus.
Many schools have bully awareness assemblies where they bring in a clown or a magician and have them speak about bullying. I do not find this effective. We don’t bring in a clown to discuss sexual orientation or what they call ‘health, neither should bullying.
This short clip gives national statistics of how much bullying effects students, friends and their families. This behavior happens everyday, everywhere, all the time. No one is exempt from bullying. Either someone is the bully, being bullied or has witnessed a bullying act. This photostory can be shown to a intermediate age group since there are percentages and requires a higher tempo of reading rate. This can also be given to teachers to show them the statistics of what bullying can cause. Some teachers don’t think bullying behavior is as great of a problem as others. I hope to change that opinion. No one should be bullied, and no one should get away with bullying. Here is a link for a great deal of tips for bullying. It's great for kids, and for adults. Spreading awareness spreads the chance that someone will not be bullied again. Let's make it like wildfire and spread the word!