Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Computational thinking across disciplines - an overview by Jeannette M. Wing, and a link to a C# programming course for school psychologists
One of the first steps to make this happen is to convince people from non-technical fields to learn more about computational thinking. In my opinion, this needs to start at the university level so that each department has at least one tech-savvy professor who is inspired to figure out how computer programming and computational thinking can help further his or her discipline in some way.
Below is video of a presentation about computational thinking by Jeannette M. Wing, a professor of Computer Science and Department Head at Carnegie Mellon University. If you have an hour to spare, you'll be treated to a good overview of the topic.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Blogging School Psychologists: Update!
School Psychologists' Blogs
Christine Eagan is a school psychologist in the Newport News Public Schools. Her areas of professional interest include cognitive-behavioral therapy, interventions with at-risk youth, neuropsychology, and play therapy.
Lianro, the author of the blog, is a school psychologist who works for a large school district. She is involved with RTI - Response to Intervention, and documents how the RTI is changing the role of the school psychologist. Lianro has a sister with special needs who was part of her inspiration to go pursue her career choice. She enjoys exploring technology, among other things.
School Psychology Blog and Podcast with Dr. Gaston Weisz
Podcast Link
Dr. Weisz focuses his blog and podcast discussions around school psychology, education, special education, parenting, child development, teaching practices and staff development. If you visit his blog, take a look at his great list of links!
Assessment and Intervention in School Psychology
"Attempting to Navigate Between Science, Non-Science, and Nonsense in Order to Enhance Student Outcomes" Ryan McGill, the author of this blog, is an intern school psychologist in a large public school district in Southern California and is completing his Ph.D. His research interests include instructional reform, data based decision making, and assessment/measurement issues. He is a certified school suicide prevention specialist.
School Psychologist Blog Files
Erin N. King, the author of this blog, focuses her posts on topics for parents of students who are in special education. Erin works in a school district and is knowledgeable about special education laws, disabilities, assessment, and promoting educational and emotional growth in children. She also hosts the LD Help Online Forum.
Cool School Psychologist
The author of this blog works as a school psychologist in a large midwestern city. . She started blogging in 2006, when she was a practicum student. "A potpourri mish-mash of posts, sometimes boring, sometimes funny, sometimes just posts about nothing, or something, or posts about everything, yada yada. Whatever. There ya go. Amen."
Brian S. Friedlander's Assistive Technology Blog
"Dr. Friedlander is a school psychologist with expertise in the area of assistive technology. Dr. Friedlander has a passion for using all kinds of technology in his professional work. He is very interested in the use of mind mapping, project management and Web 2.0 technologies. Dr. Friedlander readily applies these technologies in the graduate courses that he teaches at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J. Dr. Friedlander consults to many school districts and business organizations in N.J. and is available for workshops, training and presentations." Brian has lots of interesting posts about technology beyond assistive technology.
The Black Briefcase: The Blog of the Life of a School Psychologist
"True tales from a school psychologist, an ongoing monologue about the state of education and what is really happening inside our schools" "I'm just an ordinary school psychologist with an extraordinary sense of humor. At least that's what I tell myself."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Technology and Mental Health Research at Trinity College Dublin: Supporting Teens through Mental Health Games & Mobile Apps
In my last post, I mentioned some of the work in technology and mental health by researchers at Trinity College. PlayWrite is a system that is designed for mental health professionals to create and adapt 3D computer games designed for therapeutic activities with teens, and can incorporate a variety of treatment approaches. In includes a dialogue builder that can incorporate written and spoken questions. PlayWrite can also be used to adapt exisiting games.
The Personal Investigator game was created using PlayWrite and provides solution-focused conversational strategies that are mapped onto various game areas. The game is available tor trial purposes for use by mental health professionals and researchers. You can request a trial by contacting Dr. Gavin Doherty: Gavin.Doherty at cs.tcd.ie
Coyle, D., Matthews, M., Sharry, J., Nisbet, A., & Doherty, G. (2005). Personal Investigator: A Therapeutic 3D Game for Adolescent Psychotherapy. International Journal of Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 2, 73-88
As a school psychologist, I'd like to have a chance to work with the above applications. Even more, I'd like to try out two applications that the Trinity College team designed for use on mobile phones, My Mobile Story and Mobile Mood Diary.
I think this concept would work. Why?
In my observations of students in high school classrooms, I've recently come across the phenomenon of students texting on their cell phones, underneath their desks, without looking, out of sight of the teacher, but not out-of-sight of an observant school psychologist!
Matthews, M., Doherty, G., Sharry, J., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2008). Mobile Phone Mood Charting for Adolescents. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 36(2), 113-129.
(I'll post more about this soon.)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Social Stories: Link to the ultimate Social Stories resource (test) site!
It is Saturday, and I know that there are hundreds of teachers online, searching for social story resources for their students who have autism spectrum disorders or other disabilities that interfere with social interaction and communication skills.
I am putting up a link to a mega-list of social story links. If you scroll down the massive page, you will find social stories and additional links. I have not explored the site or evaluated any of the stories. I plan to choose some of the best that I find, and link them from this blog
Readers are welcome to post links to good social stories and social stories resources in the comment section. This is NOT the spot for commercially-made social stories, as those can be found elsewhere.
Here is the link. From the title, it looks like it was a "test" page, so perhaps there is a cleaned-up version elsewhere.
http://www.autism-pdd.net/testdump/test14154.htm
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Video Modeling and Social Skills Development: Scott Bellini and Tom Buggey's Resources
Scott Bellini is an assistant professor in the area of School Psychology in the Counseling and Educational Psychology department at Indiana University. His work focuses on social skills development with children and teens who have autism spectrum disorders. He is known for his research in the area of video modeling. He is also the author of the book, Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties.
Dr. Bellini is involved with the Indiana Institute on Disabilities, which sponsors the Autism Resources website.
It is worth taking the time to explore the Autism Resources website/blog. There you will find a descriptions of resources for children, teens, parents, and teachers. The resources include books, videos, websites, and related events. Some of the links are to education-related websites that also include information related to autism spectrum disorders, such as links to fairly recent article on the Edutopia website by Fran Smith that highlights the problem facing public schools schools in dealing with the increase in the number of students with autism spectrum disorders.
Tom Buggy is the Siskin Chair of Excellence in Early Childhood Education at UT-Chattanooga. Like Scott Bellini, he also focuses on video self-modeling with young people who have autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Buggy is the author of "Seeing is Believing: Video Self-Modeling for People with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilties", authored by Tom Buggey.
According to the description of the book, "VSM involves filming and editing footage to create a video of a person's ideal performance of a skill. The person then can watch whenever they please and gather valuable information about the skill. Seeing is Believing offers and step by step guide about how to get the equipment to begin the technique, how to plan the film, how to edit the video and much more."
Tom Buggey's "how-to" presentation about video self-monitoring can be downloaded at http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/Tom-Buggey/vsmorlandoclean.ppt
RELATED
If you are interested in free software that allows for detailed annotation of video, you might be interested in the Video Note Taker, which is free and open-source. It was developed by IBM researcher Eben Haber. I might give it a try.
In my job as a school psychologist, I use video to record some of my assessments, especially when I'm assessing students who have autism spectrum disorders. I also use it to develop video self-modeling activities and content for digital social stories. I find it to be useful when I conduct functional behavioral assessments. More recently, I have been using it to document student response to intervention, paying close attention to things that are difficult to record in real-time using traditional methods. What results is lots of video footage!
I think the Video Note Taker might help me with my work with young people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.
I learned about the Video Note Taker from Harry Brignull's blog, "90 percent of everything". Harry is a User Experience Consultant. You can download the application from the SourceForge website.
Here is the description:"The basic function is to allow the user to take notes while watching a computer video file. The program combines a video playback window and a very simple text editor. Keyboard shortcuts can control playback, e.g. pause/resume, skip back, etc."
This looks pretty cool, considering that video footage of assessments completed by a team, such as the ADOS, require a good deal of collaboration, and of course, rewinding, forwarding, and rewinding video! According to the software's author:
"This software has one other interesting feature: if two people at remote locations are watching the same video file, it can synchronize their players, so that if one person pauses the video, it pauses the other, and if one person skips ahead, the other player shows the same thing. This can be handy for going over a video with someone remote."
Monday, June 01, 2009
School Psychology Blog and Podcast with Dr. Gaston Weisz
Monday, October 13, 2008
Who is Behind in No Child Left Behind? New York Times Interactive Maps- "Falling Behind Schedule"
NYT's Interactive Map "Falling Behind Schedule"
Data Sources: State Departments of Education; Center on Education Policy; Federal Department of Education
Interactive map compliments Under "No Child" Law, Even Solid Schools Falter, written by New York Time's author, Sam Dillon (10/12/08)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Kevin McGrew's "Recent Literature of Interest 1-16-08"
If you are a school psychologist, you probably know that Dr. Kevin McGrew is an advocate of CHC, the Carroll-Horn-Cattell theory of intelligence. Kevin is the director of IAP, the Institute for Applied Psychometrics. He is also a visiting professor in the educational psychology department at the University of Minnesota.
Kevin posts an up-to-date list of recent professional articles and related literature on his IQ Corner Blog.
FYI:
Anyone interested in topics related to psychology, special education, or disabilities most likely will find the list interesting.Kevin McGrew's Concept Map of CHC and Reading
Kevin McGrew's Concept Map of CHC and Math
Kevin McGrew's Slideshow: "Beyond the CHC "Tipping Point" - Back to the Future"
Kevin McGrew's IQ Brain Clock
It will be interesting to see how RTI, UDL, and CHC will intermingle in the coming years!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Data-Driven Decision-Making and Educational Data Mining
Technology tools are needed in order to support efforts such as Response to Intervention (RTI) that rely on closer monitoring of data regarding student progress. The Winston-Salem school district in North Carolina has implemented a web-based application known as the Teacher's Workbench, funded in part by a Reinventing Education grant from IBM.
According to an abstract by Mark Singley, Richard Boehme, Lei Kuang, Richard Lam, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA , "Teacher’s Workbench is a web application whose goal is to improve day-to-day instructional decision making by providing teachers with a finer-grained, more timely understanding of the ever-changing patterns of student proficiency in their classrooms. Teacher’s Workbench takes a three-pronged approach: First, the system provides integrated support for managing standards-based classroom data through the core functionality of a teacher planbook, student profiler, and access to third-party gradebooks. Secondly, the system amplifies the teacher’s ability to analyze and understand student performance by mining the gradebook, planbook, and other school data sources. The system alerts teachers to the existence of critical teaching and learning patterns. Finally, the system helps teachers act on these new understandings by automatically locating and delivering instructional resources in response to the patterns detected."
Business Tools for Better Schools is a website that advocates for improving educational data systems:
"...too often, educators do not know how to use the data system or lack training in how to leverage the information to improve instruction. Although collecting and disseminating better data is essential, knowing how to analyze and apply this information is just as important for improving student achievement. Business leaders, by tapping into their own corporate experiences, can help educators, administrators and policymakers understand how to access and use longitudinal data as part of daily operations and long-term improvement strategies."
In my opinion, school psychologists, given their backgrounds in measurement and data analysis, should be part of the decision-making process when school districts adopt new data systems designed to enhance student progress-monitoring.
If you are a school psychologist or educator who is involved in the use of data-driven decision-making to support Response to Intervention efforts, please leave a comment. What sort of software does your school use? What security and privacy precautions do you have in place to ensure the confidentiality of student information?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Technology and Alternative Cognitive Assessment?
I've been struggling to provide alternative assessments to use when I work with students who have previously tested within the severe to profound range of cognitive ability. Often these young people have more than one disability and it is very difficult to identify "hidden" cognitive strengths or areas of emerging skills.
Although some of students do not have the skills necessary to point to items on a test stimulus card, or understand the directions required by traditional cognitive test batteries, some of them they CAN point and "click" on a screen, using a mouse or an AT device.
I know of several students who test within the severe range of cognitive ability who who can navigate websites to find entertainment, music, learning activities, and special interests, often without assistance. These skills are important, but they are not included in standarized cognitive or adaptive behavior assessments.
Some people are working hard to figure out a "better way".
Organization SoftTouch, Inc. provided a workshop for educators of students who have severe disabilities addressing this concern. The workshop,
"Show Me What You Know — Alternate Assessment for Students with Autism, Cognitive and Physical Disabilities", was presented at a the Conference 2006: Technology & Persons with Disabilities.
The people at CAST- Center for Applied Special Technology, known for getting the word out about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), are also concerned about the need for accessible assessments.
I'm interested in alternative assessments and how cognitive evaluation procedures can embody the principles of universal design and access. School psychologists need more tech in our toolboxes if we are to provide meaningful assessments. This technology needs to embody the principals of "universal usability", a topic that I'll address more in-depth in a future blog.
We also need to look at current research in related fields, such as cogntive science. Here is an example:
According to the article in the Charlotte Observer (April 12, 2007), IBM volunteered to work with researchers from the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience to develop computer games designed to test the reasoning , learning, and memory skills of primates. The computer games are installed on touch-screen monitors embeeded in primate habitats in several zoos, including Zoo Atlanta.
I haven't done much reading in this area, but from what I can see, the research with primates has the potential to help develop better methods of assessing cognitive functioning of people who have strengths and abilities that can not be assessed through traditional psychological and cognitive tests.
Interesting Resources:
"The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) is the national network of community-based Resource Centers, Developers, Vendors, and Associates dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults with disabilities, and increasing their use of standard, assistive, and information technologies."
Julie Martin-Malivel's website Dr. Martin-Malivel conducts comparative cognition research in human and non-human primates.
"Chimpanzee Facial Expressions are Helping Researchers Understand Human Emotional Communication" This is being conducted by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center Cognitive Testing Facility. Food for thought.
"Universal Usability"
Universal Usability principles ensure that web sites and web-based applications are accessible. I think that these principles should be considered when planning cognitive and related assessments for people who have low incidence and/or multiple disabilities. (Leave a comment- I want to know what people think about this!)
Novint Falcon 3-D Haptic Game Controller - This device looks like it will have great potential for young people with visual and mobility impairments.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
GamaSutra article about children and games
Here are some interesting statistics about children and games from an article in GamaSutra:
"The NPD Group, which also tracks the monthly video game industry sales data in North America, has released findings from an online survey titled Kids & Digital Content, which found that children as young as 2 years old are playing video games and downloading digital content.
The survey, which was completed by U.S. parents, found that children have become increasingly in tune with technology, as children between the ages of 2 and 14 are downloading games and watching downloaded and streaming content over the internet through computers and other personal electronics."
Food for thought!
-Lynn
Youth, Technology, Gaming, and the Library
If you work with kids and teens, it is important to keep up with what technology. If you work in a low-tech environment, you might not be aware of some innovative programs that are offered through some public libraries. I thought I'd share some of the exciting things that are happening in my region, spearheaded by Matt Gullet, the Director of Emerging Technology at the PLCMC (Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg) and Kelley Czarnecki, a teen librarian.
Matt maintains the "Youth and Technology" blog. This blog focuses on the use of technology " in creative ways to enrich the lives of youth". This is a great resource!
Matt and Kelley are involved in the Teen Second Life Project and recently wrote the cover article of a recent School Library Journal, "Meet the New You".
More info:
"Charlotte, NC - Oct. 6, 2006 - The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) and the Alliance Library System are pleased to announce a partnership to collaborate on the "Eye4You Alliance," an island in Teen Second Life that will offer virtual library services to teens.
Teen Second Life is a 3-D, international gathering place on the Internet where teens 13-17 can make friends, play, learn and create. Teens create a digital version of themselves, called an avatar, that they use to travel around the "virtual world," meet new people and participate in a variety of activities.
The goal of "Eye4You Alliance" is to create an interactive and informative space for young adults within the Teen Second Life virtual world and to collaborate with other educators who serve youth and are already present in Teen Second Life and in real life.
"At a time when many libraries are offering collaborative spaces through social tools, a 3-D immersive environment is the next logical step to libraries remaining relevant to teenagers," said Helene Blowers, director of Information Technology at PLCMC. "This project is an opportunity to engage teens in services and activities that will excite them in a place they already are." -Second Life Library Blog (Note - the Second Life Library Blog was recently moved to InfoIsland.org)
GAMING AT THE LIBRARY!
The PLCMC offers teen gaming events at various libraries throughout the county, and a Gaming Zone for all ages at the main library's Virtual Village. The library has a set of new AlienWare laptop computers, used for LAN parties: 
more pictures of the Game Zone program
Comment:
I'd like to see the library purchase Dimenxian, a 3D game that teaches Algebra. It has multiplayer capabilities, so it would be great on the new AlienWare LAN system. For more information, see the Tabula Digita site.
ImaginOn, the children and teen's main library, offers many opportunities that involve technology, including a video production studio, Studio i. The library offers workshops such as " Take Photos for Your Webpage" , "Make MySpace Photos Come to Life", and events such as a Dance Dance Revolution tournament, Family Gaming Night, and video game club meetings.
If you don't know what is going on at the library these days, I urge you to find out. Share this information with parents, colleagues, and the young people in your life.
-Lynn
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Link to Scientific Learning, developers of Fast ForWord.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools recently announced that it will be spending $300,000.00 on Fast ForWord software (from Scientific Learning) to support reading and related skills. According to an article in the Charlotte Observer:
"The program is an exercise in neuroscience disguised as a game. Kids see animated figures, for example, and must indicate whether a sound's frequency and pitch is getting higher or lower. Or they play a version of Memory that forces them to match sounds such as bit and pit.
The games slow the speech so kids can succeed initially. As they answer more questions correctly, the difficulty increases. If kids make mistakes, the computer tailors the games to improve weaknesses.
The repetition improves the brain. After eight to 12 weeks, students' reading abilities make an average of at least a year's progress, the software's maker says."
If you are a school psychologist, special educator, speech/language pathologist, reading specialist, teacher, or parent who is familiar with this program, feel free to comment about this on this blog!
I am particularly interested to learn if you are a graduate student doing research in schools using Fast ForWord. What do you think? How does this method compare with other methods?
(Note: I do not own Fast ForWord software- - and I'm not affiliated with Scientific Learning. )
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Link to Silversprite, a blog about the use of games for learning. (click here for link)
Take the time to visit John Kirriemuir's blog, SilverSprite. He is a self-employed researcher and consultant who specializes in the use of technologies to support education and learning. His blog provides good resources for educators who are interested in using games and learning, especially through "Commercial Off the Shelf" games that can be easily adapted to the curriculum.
Here is a description of Kirriemuir's blog:
"Examples of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) games being used for curriculum-based learning. These games are designed purely for entertainment, and not for learning or teaching. By compiling these examples, we show that such games are being used in schools and colleges by teachers and other educators, as part of curriculum-based learning."
Monday, November 20, 2006
eSchoolNews Educator's Resource Center
If you are looking for educational technology resources, the eSchool News Online website has a wealth of information, including a video resource center.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Links to visit - or revisit: Digital Media, Technology, Learning & New Research / Grant Opportunities
Here are some links to some resources that might be of interest:
Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning: The MacArthur Foundation launches a $50 million Digital Media and Learning initiative.
"The MacArthur Foundation launched its five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The initiative is both marshaling what is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth"
Found on the Digital Media and Learning Website:
Confronting the Challenges fo Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century", a 72-page white paper by Henry Jenkins, from MIT.
Digital Media and Learning Fact Sheet, a 2-page summary of facts and statistics related to digital media and learning.
Ecology of Games : This web page summarizes chapters that will be included in upcoming book about the use of games in learning, including a chapter about game accessibility for young people who have special needs.
Individual Grants: This web page has links and descriptions about individual projects that are in process related to the Digital Media and Learning Initiative.
Online Edutopia Magazine: Innovations in technology and learning from the George Lucas Foundation.
BioMap: A technology tool based on neuroscience research developed by Northwestern University to diagnose learning disabilities.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Link to Bio-map: Using technology for evaluating learning disabilities
"The BioMAP (Biological Marker of Auditory Processing) is a neurophysiological test used to quickly and objectively identify disordered processing of sound that has been associated with learning impairments in many children.
Northwestern University's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory has developed a method of identifying learning disabilities through the use of technology. The following is a quote from the website:
Monday, October 16, 2006
Suspension Alternatives that Work- Article from eSchool News
E-School News has an article with links to resources about effective alternatives to suspension. Take a look!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Math Tools
According to the website, "Math Tools is a project of The Math Forum @ Drexel, funded in part by the National Science Foundation. The goal is to create a community digital library that supports the use and development of software for mathematics education"
