Volume 3, Issue 5
TIS and THAT
November 17, 2014
Special Education—Augmentative/ Alternative Communication Apps With the influx of tablets and iPads, a variety of apps are now available to assist students with language and communica on skills. Non-verbal and limited verbal students can benefit from a way to “say” what they think, and the visuals provided through the devices are helpful for many students. A brief overview is provided for some popular AAC apps currently on the market. Apps can assist in providing individualized methods of communica on, from a simple two-choice board to the comprehensive apps listed below. The apps are as diverse as the students who use them, but the new ease of access and use makes them more available to all. Proloquo2go “A voice for those who cannot speak” Available for iPad, iPod, and iPhone, Proloquo2go is a comprehensive app designed much like a dedicated AAC device. Users can communicate through symbols, text, and/or text-tospeech. It is easily programmable and can be customized to suit basic to advanced needs. Mul ple user vocabularies can be stored. $219.99
TapSpeak Choice AAC “most accessible and flexible”
DynaVox Compass “Se!ng the standard in communica$on” Available for iPads, Windows tablets andDynaVox’s own T-1 series tablets, DynaVox Compass comes from the DynaVox company well-known as an AAC device manufacturer. Compass allows users to communicate through text-to-speech, symbols, and text. It is customizable and can be programmed through the device as well as online via desktop or laptop. Compass includes addi onal vocabulary and page add-ons available for further customizing op ons. various price points, available for free to ASHA-cer fied SpeechLanguage Pathologists
TapSpeak is available for iPad. It is designed to be an op on for communica on boards and textto-speech. TapSpeak can be individualized through “drag and drop” edi ng and has many available add-on features to personalize for users. $219.99 LAMP Words for Life “A Full Vocabulary AAC Language App” LAMP is an AAC app offered by Prentke Romich Company, another familiar device manufacturer. LAMP uses the Unity language system offered on other PRC devices. It is specifically designed for students with au sm. Vocabulary is pre-programmed. Addi onal vocabulary boards can be created and shared online. $299. 99
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For a thorough list, please visit h-p://appsforaac.net/ to compare apps and read further descrip$ons to help assist in providing students with more communica$on op$ons.
Inside this issue: Mentoring Through Skype
2
Microsoft Educator Network
2
Students with Stage Fright
2
Keyboarding Apps
3
‘Tis the Season for Giving
3
Supplemental Reading Apps
4
TIS Cohort 2014
•
•
Ashley Dalton
•
Hannah Myles
Stephanie Sada
Mentoring Through Skype Most of us have probably used Skype to stay connected with our family and friends, but have you ever thought about using it as an educa onal tool in your classroom? Skype is a way that classes can connect and collaborate no ma er where they are in the world! By using skype in your classroom it opens the door to a wide range of ac vi es that can improve student engagement and comprehension. Learning also becomes more authen c, inspira onal, and engaging when it transcends the walls of the classroom. Using Skype for mentoring is a new, exci ng way to engage and mo vate students. One way to use this as a mentoring tool is to have a special
educa on class from one of your area middle schools read a book and ask ques ons to your lower elementary classes. By doing this it allows the special educa on students to feel be er about themselves. They are reading to the elementary students and helping them answer ques ons about the story they read. You could try to do this once a month so they could build a rela onship with each other over the course of the year.
ac vi es. Mentoring through Skype provides growth and learning opportuni es for both the mentors and mentees. The mentors have a higher self-esteem and gain more conďŹ dence in themselves and their school work. Their communica on skills will also improve. The mentees will have be er behaviors and a*tudes. They will also hopefully have a jump in academic achievement.
Mentoring posi vely impacts both the younger and older students and creates a stronger community connec on between the schools. It is also a great way to build leadership and communica on skills while engaging them in academic
Microsoft Educator Network A site worth revisi ng is the Microso Educator Network . Many new tools and resources have been recently added. These are available to educators and students for free. Some require the Windows 8.1 opera ng system to download. h(p://www.pil-network.com
Skitch Touch allows students and teachers to “sketchâ€? onto pictures or photographs to highlight certain aspects or show a speciďŹ c meaning. Students and teachers could use Songsmith to create tunes to help remember memorized facts or to present informa on in a musical way.
S cky Sorter allows its users to add digital s cky notes to presenta ons.
These are just a few examples of apps and ac vi es readily available. Microso! Educator Network also includes tutorials for OďŹƒce 365, Excel, Windows 7 and 8, etc.
Students with Stage Fright If you have students who would rather fail an assignment than give an oral presenta on, you are not alone. Using technology and adding a media op on to the presenta on assignment just might make giving a presenta on easy or at least bearable for these students. Here are a couple of presenta on assignment tricks to keep up your sleeve when dealing with anxiety-ridden students.
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Voki- Allow students to create avatars to do the speaking for them using Voki. Students can record their oral presenta ons in private and then play them for the class as an alterna ve to comple ng the oral presenta on live. Students can s ll get all of the beneďŹ ts of crea ng an oral presenta on, but with less of the apprehension during delivery. More informa on can be found at h6p://www.voki.com/.
Tellagami- Tellagami is an app that is very similar to Voki in purpose, but goes a li6le further in detail during the crea on phase than Voki. Everything down to background image and facial expression of the avatar can be manipulated through the Tellagami app. This app is free and is available for both Android and Apple devices. Learn more at h6ps://tellagami.com/.
TIS AND THAT
Options for Teaching Keyboarding Skills Keyboarding Without Tears h-p://www.hwtears.com/kwt When asked about difficult parts of the new standardized tes ng, students at the West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference in July had one answer that was different than expected: keyboarding. Digital na ves, as current students are assumed to be, grow up with technology being u lized in nearly every aspect of every day. However, given other coursework requirements and state standards, as well as the increased use and availability of touch screens, keyboarding is rarely taught directly or consistently.
One op on for teaching keyboarding is a program tled Keyboarding Without Tears. Its partner, Handwri ng Without Tears, is a program to teach ac ve handwri ng and is aligned with the Common Core. Teaching students wri ng is a goal of both programs. Keyboarding includes lessons that develop and adjust to students’ typing ability levels and include many reading passages and images related to content areas.
Students as early as preschoolers can benefit from the simple keyboarding tasks, and the game-based format mo vates the students to prac ce. Students in older grades complete ac vi es with reading and wri ng passages, as well as working on speed and accuracy. Keyboarding Without Tears also includes digital ci zenship lessons and technology lessons aligned with ISTE goals. Ac vi es and licenses can be purchased individually or in bundles, ranging from $10 to $5.50/year per student license.
A few addi onal online resources for basic typing skills… h-p://play.typeracer.com – Type Racer is aptly named, providing free typing races. Type Racer is for higher level students and is engaging as students type lyrics from songs and passages from textbooks. h-p://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6Ar - Dance Mat Typing is colorful and able to adjust levels based on scores. Designed for elementary students, it begins with simple four-key lessons. h-p://www.sense-lang.org/typing/tutor/keyboarding.php - Sense-Lang includes keyboarding lessons and typing tests.
‘Tis the Season for Giving With the holidays right around the corner, people begin thinking about giving to others. Canned food drives, winter coat drives, and Secret Santas are all in abundance this #me of year. Your students can give and learn at the same #me using freerice.com. Freerice.com is a nonprofit organiza#on that donates 10 grains of rice to people in need for every prac#ce ques#on a student answers correctly. Mul#ple subjects can be prac#ced on Freerice.com, including Humani#es, Math, English, Science,
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5
Chemistry, Geography, and even Test Prep. According to their website, Freerice is financed through sponsors; their banners are displayed at the bo om of the page for every correct answer the user receives. Students can watch a virtual bowl of rice fill up as they accumulate correct answers, which serves as a mo#vator to achieve more correct answers. Not only are the ques#ons that are asked beneficial for students, but this program is also individualized. The ques#ons are tapered to the ability of
the students. As they answer ques#ons, the site levels them based on correct vs. incorrect responses. Freerice is totally free to use. Students can create an account to keep track of their rice totals, but an account is not necessary. My students love freerice.com. I encourage everyone to go to h p://freerice.com/ and try it!
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Supplemental Reading Resources With school cancella ons and delays impending on us, it is easy to get worried about students ge4ng a bit off track when it comes to their literacy skills. Technology can be used to keep students right on track. It is me to put those tablets to good use! Here are a few apps, broken down by level, to introduce to students and parents to ensure that kids’ literacy skills do not go downhill as fast as the sleighs they will be riding during those snow days!
Elementary School Apps: MeeGenius- MeeGenius is a site containing downloadable story books for kids of all ages. Interac ve books and Songbooks are part of this app. This app is free to download, but it does offer in-app purchases. More informa on about this app can be obtained from h(p://www.meegenius.com/.
par cipa ng in the tradi onally loved game. According to h(p:// nyurl.com/pwoxa6p,
kids to make choices within stories about the course of events that occur during the story.
this app is suited for students in grades 1-3. App is free to download.
Available for Apple and Android devices.
Available for Android, Kindle, and Apple devices.
High School Apps:
Not the Hole Story- This app aids in developing ac ve readers. Students analyze and develop missing parts of stories that are available on the app. Some stories come with the free download, but more are available through in-app purchases. Though the preview in the app store did not suggest an age range for users of this app, a er reviewing the informa on present, I would suggest it for use with upper elementary grades. You can decide for yourself at h(p:// nyurl.com/npvwwbw.
Available for Android and Apple devices.
Available for Apple devices.
Available for Apple, Android, Windows 8, Amazon , and Nook devices, and on the web.
Middle School Apps: Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe Interac ve Game- Tic-Tac-Toe is a childhood favorite, and this version is about more than just x’s and o’s. Kids can prac ce their phonics while
Shakespeare- This app allows students to have the complete works of Shakespeare at their finger ps. Though the basic version contains a searchable concordance in addi on to the complete works for free, the pro version is much more advanced. Visit h(p:// nyurl.com/aq2tklh for more informa on.
Brush of Truth- An app to encourage middle school students to prac ce ac ve reading is Brush of Truth. According to the website h(p:// nyurl.com/msvtqnr, this free-to-download app allows
Reading Trainer- A top-rated app, Reading Trainer helps students to improve reading speed, the ability to concentrate, and increase vision span, according to h(p:// nyurl.com/blre3nx. This app can be purchased for$4.99. Available for Apple and Android devices.