One of the most well known methods for working with students who are non-verbal is the Picture Exchange Communication System, or PECS. According to the PECS website, “PECS was developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative/alternative communication intervention package for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental disabilities.” As the name suggest, PECS begins …
Category Archive: UDL
Jan
24
Apps from TechSmith
I use TechSmith programs often. You may not be familiar with the company, but I bet that you have heard of some of the products they offer such as: Camtasia – Create high quality screen videos in many different formats Jing – Free site that allows you to create screen videos and images to share …
Jan
17
Interactive Timelines
The use of graphic organizers in classrooms have been shown to be an effective practice for some time now. Graphic organizers can be anything from a Venn diagram or KWL chart to an interactive web based support. These types of supports help students make previously invisible connections visible. Now before you get too excited, there isn’t any …
Jan
10
Learning Styles
Are you a visual learner? If not, maybe you are more auditory or kinesthetic? If you are not sure, don’t worry because there is no shortage of websites or preference assessments you can purchase that will help you determine what type of learner you are. I bring this up because learning style preference assessments are …
Jan
03
AT vs IT (Instructional Technology)
Definitions are funny things sometimes. For example, if there is a student with a disability in my classroom and she receives an iPod Touch to help with basic study and time management skills, she has assistive technology. However, if everyone in the class has an iPod Touch it is instructional technology. That just seems odd… …
Mar
31
VoiceThread in the Classroom
I’ve been messing with VoiceThread quite a bit lately and thought it would be a good time to post something about it. An article in the March/April 2011 edition of Teaching Exceptional Children through CEC provides several practical ways to integrate it into a classroom setting, so I recommend you have a look at it …
Jan
14
Changing Education Paradigms
I really dig this animation that goes along with a talk by Sir Ken Robinson on changing education paradigms.
Dec
01
Flocabulary for Multiple Means of Representation
If you can’t tell from the name of this blog, I’m big on Universal Design for Learning. The first principle of UDL is Multiple Means of Representation. We have known for some time now that stand and deliver lecture is the primary way content is delivered in Middle and High Schools. If we are lucky, …
Aug
10
Learning Technology in Schools
I like this post from Marc Rosenberg on Learning Solutions Magazine’s website. It covers a topic that I think about often when delivering training in schools. Specifically, does technology help with effective instruction in schools? I like to think that it does, but only if it is used appropriately. This seems to be what the …
Aug
04
20 Free Video Sites
I just ran across a blog post, that referenced yet another blog post listing 20 Free Video Sites. Many of you are probably familiar with the majority of these (YouTube, TeacherTube, iTunesU, etc…) but there were a couple I had not heard of before. You find the blog post here: http://blog.curriki.org/2010/07/13/watch-and-learn/