Ready for Back to School? Part 2

Last week I shared two online book options (Storyline Online and Skeleton Creek). This, week, how about something for your classroom? Are you keeping the same room or are you moving to a new room? Maybe you are getting a new computer, more students, or just want to change the room for better flow.

Example floor plan



Classroom Architect is a fun way to play with the set up of your room before you start moving desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.

Start by choosing the dimension of your room, then drag objects (desks, shelves, tables, rugs, etc.) onto the floor plan. You can rotate, easily delete, and even draw your own objects.



Classroom floor plan tools and canvas

Look at an example floor plan and listen to an audio description of the why’s behind certain placement of centers and desks (currently, there is an elementary example, but junior and senior high examples will be available soon).

Do you want to set up your classroom for optimal learning and exploration? Read about learning goals for setting up your floor plan.

When you are all done, print your new floor plan and take it to school. Or, if you want to play with the arrangement a little more, save it.  Keep in mind that the saved floor plan can only be viewed and edited on the computer that it was originally created on.

So, go have fun and arrange your room without breaking a sweat.

Ready for Back to School? Part 1

I know a lot of teachers that work during the summer collecting new ideas, materials, and lesson plans in preparation for the next school year. As a parent, finding fun ways for your kids to practice skills over the summer can be a daunting task (let’s face it, we don’t want to work when we are on vacation, why would they?).

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to share with you some fun websites to help the transition to the new school year a little easier and add a little bit of fun for teachers, parents, and students.

I’ve been having fun finding new interactive websites for reading this summer. I’ve found two that I really enjoy – one for elementary and one for middle school and up (even adults are enjoying this one).

The first site, Storyline Online, is a website filled with stories read by actor’s (e.g. Betty White, James Earl Jones, etc.). Each story has streaming video of the actor and the pictures from the book as well as activities to accompany the story. There is also a nice caption option that accompanies each video and can be turned on and off.

The second site, Skeleton Creek, is a series of interactive books/videos written by Patrick Carmen. It is a series of four mystery books, well, really journals. The journal entries are written by the main character, Ryan. Throughout the entries, the reader is then sent to the website to view videos related to those entries and help tell the story and solve the mystery.

Have fun reading and enjoy the rest of your summer!

More UDL Ideas to Get you Started

At the beginning of the month I wrote about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This is a concept that is becoming more and more popular, so I decided to pursue it again this week. David Rose from CAST, said the following in the UDL: Principles and Practices videos (which can be viewed at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGLTJw0GSxk&feature=related) really made an impression:

“When we first began our work we, like most people, were focused on learners who were doing poorly, who looked like they had disabilities. Over time, we began to change our focus because we could see when we were in classrooms that the classrooms were in fact disabling, that they were not designed properly to ensure that every child would succeed.”

The classrooms and way that many topics and subjects are and have been taught forever, are just not working anymore (but did they really ever?). Many teachers have already begun the move to universal design without even knowing it, which is good. However, we need all teachers to purposefully and deliberately start creating curricula that is universal.

So, what can they do? Well, there is a lot that can be done, but here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

-          Use of technology: our children are now born into a technology saturated world – use it! Interactive whiteboards; laptops; videos; Internet resources, games, networking; text-to-speech software, etc.

-          Use of hands-on activities: our children are able to learn a concept easier if they can touch it, feel it, manipulate it – conducting experiments, using manipulatives, acting out a problem/situation, etc.

-          Use of motivational topics: appeal to real-life interests and situations to entice learning more – elementary students: use favorite heroes, TV shows, video games, foods; secondary students: use various activities such as driving, dating, working, hanging out with friends, sports, movies, etc.

-          Use of choice: students are more apt to want to learn if they are given choices in their learning – provide them with a choice to: work in a group or by themselves; present in front of the class or write a paper; draw a picture or make a video, etc.

                                                                                                                                                                           

Growing up I had some awesome teachers that incorporated some of these ideas into their classes and I learned a lot and wanted to learn more. Then, I had the teachers that just lectured the whole time and I counted the minutes until the bell rang. We’ve all had these experiences. Think about your favorite teachers and then think about some of the methods they used.

UDL is about making the curriculum interesting, challenging to all learners whether they have a learning disability, are English-language learners, or are gifted. What ideas do you have to make curriculum accessible to all learners?

ADHD Student Desks?

  What adult can sit still for very long while working? As adults, we fidget, get up and take a quick walk, stretch, cross and uncross our legs, etc. So, why do we expect our children to be able to sit still in class. If you know how hard it is for all students to sit still through an entire class, you know how difficult it can be for students who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  Many teachers are now setting up their classrooms to allow students to move around when needed. I love when my children get a teacher like this because it allows them to get their energy out, while still learning. While at a recent meeting at a local school district, the Director of Student Services talked about these cool new desks, so I just had to look them up. This school bought several to try in a classroom at the high school. The students sign up to use them and they have become very popular.
  So, what exactly are they? Developed by SAFCO, they are called AlphaBetter® desks. Here is why they are so popular with students:
- Students can sit and work (just like any other desk)
- Students can easily raise the desk from 26" to 42" so they can stand and continue working
- Students can use the footrest to swing their legs

  Students no longer have to sit still in their desk all day. Now, they can move, change position, fidget and still be productive. What student wouldn't want this, especially students with ADHD who have to fidget in order to pay attention and focus on a task.

Learning – the Universal Way

You may be familiar with the term universal design (UD). It originated back in 1961 as barrier-free design and eventually became law in 1990 with The Americans with Disabilities Act. UD allows for the design of public buildings, environments and products so that they are accessible to everyone, specifically individuals with disabilities. We use UD everyday and most of the time without realizing it. Curb cuts are needed by people who use wheelchairs, however, mothers with strollers and bicyclists benefit from them as well. Automatic doors, toggle light switches, ramps, closed captioning, lever sink handles are just some examples of universally designed products in our environment.

What about universally designed curriculum? UDL or Universal Design for Learning is the practice of making every lesson in the classroom accessible to all learners. We all know that learning styles differ vastly, but a lot of the time, the lessons presented do not accommodate for each student’s individual learning style.

UDL is made up of three primary principles (taken from http://www.cast.org/index.html):

• “Multiple means of representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge.”
• “Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know.”
• “Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.”

So, what does this all mean? Well, to put it in very basic terms:

1)      Provide the lesson in many different formats: text (digital and/or print), video, audio, hands-on activities, etc.

2)      Provide students with many different ways to show what they have learned: tests, verbal presentations, papers, blogs, video presentations, etc.

3)      Provide different ways to learn and demonstrate what has been learned: rigid and spontaneous learning opportunities, working in a group or working alone, etc.

Each student has their own preference and interests when it comes to learning and these should be used whenever possible.

Here is an example of a universally designed reading assignment – students need to read a particular book and answer specific questions.

-          Students are provided with the book in both print and digital formats.

-          The digital format has the following features: ability to read on own, ability to have it read to them, additional auditory feedback as appropriate (sound effects related to text).

-          Worksheets with questions are presented in both print and digital format. (Again, the digital format will provide text-to-speech capability.)

A great resource for learning more about UDL is CAST: www.cast.org/udl

CAST also has several great learning tools that I highly recommend. Here are just a few:

-          UDL Book Builder (create your own digital text or use books already developed)

-          UDL Lesson Builder (help make your lessons accessible to all learners in your classroom)

-          WiggleWorks (interactive books)

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – especially when writing with them

You may have used some of the talking word processing programs available today. You may also know about symbol-word processing programs. This type of program is great for emerging writers as well as students with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

I’ve been having fun with a talking, symbol-word processing program called SymWord by Claro Software. This program probably has the easiest editor that I have ever used. No kidding, I created two different grids in less than 15 minutes without the help files - it is that intuitive.

It allows for the quick set up of separate user profiles with specific settings, such as:

• presentation style (symbols, text, or symbols and text)
• preferred font and background colors
• use of voice for text-to-speech capability
• scanning options for switch users
• use of the word prediction feature
• set up of an email connection

I can very quickly create a customized symbol, text, or keyboard grid to be used in the word processor portion of the program. This allows the student to easily write using multiple modes. For example, the student can start typing and have symbols appear. Or, the student can choose (or access through a touch screen or switch/scanning) a button to facilitate the writing process. See my screen shot below.

Students can:

• incorporate the word prediction feature to assist in finding the words they need to speed up the writing process
• use it as a communication program
• create an email message in SymWord and then export it to an email account (as long as the server information has been set up)

 

SymWord Example



Have Fun and Learn at the Same Time?

 Today, there are so many fun educational games for children. They get to play fun games and learn all at the same time - wish I had this when I was a kid. My first computer was a TRS80 and if we wanted to play a game we had to program it ourselves. Hmm...I guess I did have fun and learn something at the same time.
 One of my favorite websites for young children and children with a disability who need to use either a touch screen or a switch with scanning is HelpKizLearn.com.
 There are games for just good old fun, games to work on gross and fine motor, games to work on cause/effect, games to be creative (make a card, paint) and games to work on reading skills. I have a few favorite games on this site as well: Aunt Maggie's Recipe, Gophers, Big Bang Bugs, and Early Mouse Movements. Of course, I haven't found a game that I haven't like yet.
 Go have a fun-filled Valentine's Day and check out www.HelpKidzLearn.com.