I am putting the finishing touches on presentation materials for the upcoming MassCUE 2013 conference. If you are in the area and able to attend it is a well run and worth your time. I always walk away having learned new skills and strategies to promote deep learning. I learn a lot and it keeps me thinking and reflecting on my instructional practice for months to come. This year I am co-presenting with Kristin Cannistraro at teacher of the visually…
As we are all well aware iOS 7 was released earlier this week. Change is inevitable; it is pure excitement and joy for some but not always easy for others. As any provider of tech support knows our focus is on the later. Apparently we know all the answers even though we are seeing the new iOS for the first time as well. Thankfully there are those excited to explore and test out the iOS and share their findings. Can’t…
Over the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to attend some workshops on the iPad in general and for use with those who have special needs. I have come away more solidified in my vision of the use of iPads in schools The iPad is a game changer when it comes to supporting differentiated instruction and universal design in learning. I know there are other devices out there but Apple made a commitment to accessibility a long time ago and continues to…
I have found myself once again immersing myself in Universal Design for Learning both for a class I am teaching and to help justify to teachers why they may need to vary the tools and media they teach with. As educators we need to go back to the fundamentals of what, why and how we teach. I strongly suggest you take some time to explore these 2 related sites as they have much information and many examples to help inform your teaching. CAST and National Center on Universal Design in Learning
I read online a great deal. I support teachers who wish to share web content in classrooms with younger children. As well as students who have visual and special needs. I frequently recommend two tools to help remove the distracting and sometime inappropriate clutter. Viewpure – allows you to view youtube videos against a white background, no ads, and no comments. Readability – I started using readability while it was still in development. It is now a commercial product with…
Push Pop press, which was developing software to easily create and publish interactive media rich books, has abandoned its development and sold the program/process to facebook so facebook can become a bigger book. Kind of sad really. Trying to find quality, interactive media rich books already created is pretty slim. The possibilities offered here by PushPop were wonderful. I have been looking for such books for the ipads our students use. Most textbooks I find are still primarily text based. …
In March I wrote about looking at the soon to be released iPads. I thought it was time to give you an update. Our iPads arrived mid May and our mini research project has begun. First the iPads were shared with the Tech Team for about a week. If we were going to support them it would be good if we actually tried them. Next they were delivered to an elementary school for 2 weeks. Today they head to the…