Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Assistive Technology Training


Assistive Technology Program will be conducting a Parent Training. The training is an OVERVIEW of the assistive technology that promotes access to the curriculum!

LOCATION: School of Business and Public Administration Building
Multi-Purpose Room
University of Guam

TIME: 5:30pm to 7:30pm

TOPIC/DATE:
SOLO Suite Program November 13 (Tuesday)
iPad Applications November 27 (Tuesday)
Bookshare Program December 11 (Tuesday)

Please call or email to register for the training at 300-1322 or lktaisipic@gdoe.net

For more information and special accommodations contact Parent Services @ 300-1322 or sped@gdoe.net.

Friday, October 19, 2012

URL for "USING VISUAL SUPPORTS WITH INFANTS AND TODDLERS"

Website: http://tnt.asu.edu/files/Oct2012Newsletter.pdf

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Sheppard Software


The Sheppard Software multimedia tool offers various resources for reading and language arts teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs). There are several games that focus on adjectives, nouns, and verbs.  These games empower the ELLS to have fun in the learning process.  Activities include SAT preparation, capitalization, context clues, vocabulary, and more.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Moodle settings

Keep in mind that even if you're able to view your course in the Moodleroom, if the Administrator has changed the settings, your students may still not be able to view the course.  The following is an example of what your students may see.




If your students view the above message, contact your Moodle Administrator to change the settings.  Be mindful that even if you change the viewing settings, the Administrator still has the overall function to make the course unavailable.  Good luck!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

eSchool News: Six Resources that Aim to Help Special-Education Stakeholders

It’s sometimes challenging finding useful information on special education, especially when it comes to technology-related activities.  The following are 6 resources compiled by Meris Stansbury, editor of eSchoolNews.  You'll find them to be resourceful in various issues that concern children with disabilities.


1. AbilityHub Assistive Technology Solutions
An index, and description, of assistive technology for people with a disability who find operating a computer difficult, maybe even impossible. This website will direct you to adaptive equipment and alternative methods available for accessing computers.

2. Apps for Children with Special Needs
Gary James at A4CWSN.com maintains a large list of educational apps for children with special needs. James reviews the apps and posts demonstration videos so that users can see what each one is all about before spending money to purchase them. By producing these videos, James demonstrates how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective.

3. CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) Learning Tools
CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning. UDL free multimedia learning tools are designed for students, teachers, and parents.

4. DREAMMS (Developmental Research for the Effective Advancement of Memory and Motor Skills) for Kids
An assistive technology information clearinghouse and search facility, DREAMMS was founded in 1988 by the parents of a child with Down syndrome. DREAMMS is committed to increasing the use of computers, high-quality instructional technology, and assistive technology for children with special needs in schools, homes, and the workplace.

5. SERGE (Special Education Resources for General Educators)
Designed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and sponsored by the MetLife Foundation, SERGE was created to give general classroom educators quick access to information and professional development about addressing the special-ed needs of students who have disabilities.

6. Technology in Special Education
This is a website to collect and share tools, hardware, and applications available for the enhancement of technology in education with an emphasis on special education. The site has been collecting material over the last seven years in an attempt to compile all information in a categorized format so parents, educators, and other professionals who work with kids with special needs can benefit from the knowledge acquired. The reviews are thorough and well-written, and the site organizes events where developers offer special deals to their readers.

Source:  eSchoolNews.com

eCampus News: Nominate Campus of the Month




Be the next School or District of the Month!
eCampus News wants to recognize the hard work that has 
helped your campus become a model for others seeking to more 
effectively integrate technology into every aspect of the educational 
and administrative process.
Just complete a short submission form and your campus 
could be selected as the next "Campus of the Month".

Nominate your school today!













Nominate your school today!




Make sure your campus is given the recognition it deserves. 
If your campus is selected as a winner, we'll use the information 
you submit to compile a story outlining your campus's technology 
efforts. You'll also be featured in our weekly e-mail newsletters, 
on our website and more.
Don't miss this chance to showcase your campus!
Submit your nomination today






Source:  eCampusNews.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

10 Resourceful Online Tools for Teaching

by Eman Elturki
Features: Wordle is a tool for generating word clouds from the text that a user provides. Click on “Create,” and paste your text or enter the URL of any Web page (an online passage, blog, etc.), and then click “go” or “submit.” Greater prominence is given to the words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can twist your Wordle text with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes, and with the advanced options you can give chosen words more weight and choose individual word colors. You can print them out or save them to the Wordle gallery to share them with others.
Classroom Application: This tool can be used for classroom projects or to create posters. Additionally, it can be used for a prereading activity to formulate a general idea about a passage by looking at the main words; after creating the Wordle, engage students in group discussions about what the reading is about, and the major and minor ideas.
NOTE: You cannot make the words fill a particular shape.
Features: With this tool you can copy and paste a text or insert a URL and then, with the click of a button, summarize what you have entered.
Classroom Application: This tool can help students in reading. It summarizes the main points of each paragraph. It also can be useful for text analysis; if you click on the “Show sentences” option, the tool provides the entire text as a numbered list of sentences. Students can use this list to look at certain language patterns, like collocation, sentence structure and variety, or vocabulary distribution. 
NOTE: This tool summarizes; it does not paraphrase.
Features: This Web site allows you to upload pictures and create word balloons. It is interactive, easy, and fast. Upload your picture and then add word balloons or bubbles with different shapes and styles.  You can save them to your computer as a JPEG or e-mail them to someone. 
Classroom Application: This Web site can be used to help students create comic books (which was its original function) or posters. It can be also used by beginner learners to describe certain pictures to practice, for example, using the correct order of adjectives or to write a descriptive paragraph. 
NOTE: If the file you are uploading is large, it can take a long time. 
Features: This is a collaborative platform that allows users to interact online and leave comments using text, voice, audio file, and video, which appear as a slide show.
Classroom Application: This Web site can be used to engage students in an online discussion. The teacher can post specific questions or pictures related to a reading passage and have students discuss these questions. This can be assigned for homework as a prereading or postreading activity. The teacher can log in any time to read or listen to the comments of the students or participate in the discussion. 
NOTE: Signing up is needed for a free account, and you have to pay to upgrade your account. The free account offers limited storage, commenting minutes, and voice threads, and does not provide a secure environment. 
Features: This is an easy-to-use timer. Just enter the duration you need. After you enter the needed time, it will appear as a screen saver. It has other features, such as setting up permalinks for specific durations and settings.
Classroom Application:  It can be used to time classroom presentations or discussions.
NOTE: You cannot stop the countdown; you have to close the window if you want to do so.
Features: The LEGO City is a comic strip builder. The instructions are clear and easy to follow: You select the layout you want, choose from a library of images and clips, and then add word bubbles to your pictures. After you are done, print and share with classmates. 
Classroom Application:  This would be fun for a classroom project such as creating a comic book in which students are asked to focus on a specific tense or use certain vocabulary to put what they have learned into practice. It gives students the chance to be creative and design their own stories by combining visuals and writing. 
NOTE:  You cannot upload your own images. You can only choose from the images in the library. 
Features: This Web site works as a tool to comment on or annotate different types of files such as PDF, Word Docs, and images. You simply upload your file and are able to complete different tasks such as highlighting; adding text, comments, or drawings; and striking out existing text. 
Classroom Application:  This Web site can be used by teachers or students to comment on or highlight files, which is especially useful for files that do not allow any editing or for which you do not have the proper software to edit. A teacher who likes to integrate technology in their teaching can have the students analyze and comment on electronic articles. They can look at certain vocabulary or grammatical points in context and use this tool to highlight, comment, or draw images to clarify the meaning or the use.  
NOTE: You can highlight, insert comments, strike out text, or write, but you cannot edit the actual words of the document.
Feaures: This Web site allows you to create a Web page with a collection of your favorite sites, documents, images, and videos.  You can share it with someone by providing them with the URL. In the “Your List Items” section, all your items are saved as snapshots with a display of the name and a description below. 
Classroom Application:  Weblist works well for teachers and students for quickly sharing a collection of sites, videos, or documents. A teacher can use this tool to post classroom documents and share useful Web sites and videos with students. It can be also used by students to share classroom projects or PowerPoint slides and provide feedback to one another.
NOTE: You need to register for a free account in order to save multiple lists and edit your lists.
Features: Dushare is a simple and direct way for file transfer between two people. Click on “Send a file,” upload your file (any size), and a link to it will appear. Copy your link and send it or share it with others. The receiver then can use the link to view, download, and save the file. If you want to protect your file with a password, you can create one and notify the receiver about it. It also offers chatting that enables the sender and the receiver to communicate any comments or messages. 
Classroom Application:  It can be useful for a quick and easy way of sharing files between the teacher and students or among students, such as for a student video project or any small group work in which students need to share files.  
NOTE: According to the Dushare Web site, a secure, direct transfer is guaranteed; Dushare does not view or monitor your files or chat. Nonetheless, always be cautious when sending confidential or private documents. 
Features: This Web site is similar to Wikipedia. It covers millions of topics about, for example, figures known worldwide, historical events, and countries. However, it can be classified as educational. In addition to texts, the topics are presented via storytelling. It is a new way for students to search for information and receive a response in an engaging way. It integrates different language skills such as reading and listening. 
Classroom Application: Students can research about a historical event, a country, a famous figure, and so on, and receive information in an entertaining way with visuals, text, videos, and narration. A teacher can also use this site for reading comprehension because it combines text, audio, and visuals that assist students in understanding the topic. It can be used by students to collect information about a certain topic for a classroom presentation or project. 
NOTE:  The pronunciation of some non-English names is sometimes unclear or incorrect.

Monday, March 12, 2012

K-12 ESL Websites

The following are meaningful K-12 ESL websites.  Enjoy navigating them!

*Flocabulary - www.flocabulary.com

*Folger Shakespeare Librarywww.folger.edu 

*Quia, Where learning takes you - www.quia.com

Resources for ESL Parents/Teachers

The following are resourceful ESL websites for parents/teachers. Enjoy exploring them!

*Colorin Colorado: http://www.colorincolorado.org/families/ 

*The Center for English Language Education: http://cele.collaborative.org/resources/ec-resources

Saturday, February 25, 2012

eSchool News - White Paper Library: Provide first class education for the whole child

Provided by: Absolute Software
  • Discover how to make technology has made 
  • Learn how to save money for technology
  • Uncover ways to provide a first class education
Bensalem Township School District is a K-12 district of 9 schools in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Committed to providing a first class education for the "whole child", the school's technology team has innovated the learning experience with "technology infused instruction". The use of technology has made learning more engaging and interactive.

Visit now



Source:  eSchoolNews.com

Friday, February 17, 2012

eSchool News

e Top News of the Day 

iPads help charge reading instructioniPads help charge reading instruction
East Haven, Conn., reading specialist Gina Tomassi sits with second-grader Isaac Florentino for a quick reading evaluation, listening to him read a short story about a riverside village. [ Read More ]
Video-streaming site iHigh poised for breakout successVideo-streaming site iHigh poised for breakout success
Specializing in broadcasting youth sports and activities online, the Lexington, Ky.-based company iHigh has been around for more than a decade. But thanks to some new partnerships and [ Read More ]

Source:  eSchoolnews.com

Friday, January 27, 2012

Digital Resources



Infuse your lesson plans with dance, songwriting, theater, and art using these resources from PBS:

Composer and Violinist Create Modern Masterpiece, Grade 6-12
Draw inspiration from this story of a teacher and a student working together to create a Pulitzer Prize winning violin concerto.

Artistic Interpretation of a Classic: The Author's Role, Grades 9-12
Using videos from the San Francisco Ballet's "The Little Mermaid," students explore artistic interpretation and step into the role of storyteller.

Moveable Books: Pop Ups, Grades 3-12
Step into the studio for a behind-the-scenes look at how this three-dimensional paper master finds ideas and then engineers his intricate books into life.

Cynthia Weil, Grades 6-12
What's it like to write a song that everyone knows? The award-winning songwriter discusses her craft and her experience as a woman in the music industry.

The Animals of Altamira Gallery, Grades 9-12
View images of the first prehistoric pictures to be seen by modern man. Learn how archeologists where initially skeptical of their authenticity, wondering if the paintings were too good for prehistoric man to have painted.

Theater: Green Room, Grades 3-8
Become a casting director! In this interactive, students select their ideal Romeo and Juliet, and then watch the famous balcony scene to assess the production value of their choices.

Source:  PBS

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Mac app ruler

Mac app ruler - The ruler appears above and to the left of the text you're working on. You can choose the unit of measure you want (eg. inches, cm, picas). There's no doubt that it's a resourceful measurement tool.

Visit the following link to access the app: http://www.pascal.com/software/freeruler/