Animoto, Tokbox, iSpeech: Good on-line resources for implementing Universal Design for Learning and supporting assistive technology.

I just received an email from a colleague with the following cool links:

Animoto
http://www.animoto.com --creates cool slide shows... You will want to sign up for the Educator Pass, it takes a day or two to verify.

"Animoto is a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos using their own patent-pending technology and high-end motion design. Each video is a fully customized orchestration of user-selected images and music. Produced on a widescreen format, Animoto videos have the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer."

This would be great for student work presented on interactive whiteboards!

Tokbox
http://www.tokbox.com -if you have a webcam you can create messages and post to a website or email

"Tokbox is a free service that lets you talk with your friends over live video. Here's how it works: you sign up and we give you a link. When you want to talk with anyone, just give them the link - they click and you chat."

iSpeech
http://www.ispeech.org --- is a text-to-speech program. Has a speech synthesizer so you can type or paste in a message to hear it talk

"Read with your Ears: iSpeech blog covers text to speech topics relating to iSpeech.org. iSpeech converts websites, RSS feeds, blogs "

High School Response to Intervention (RTI) Resources

Most of the workshops I've attended about RTI have focused on resources and strategies designed for the elementary school level. More resources are now available that are appropriate for the high school level than before, and I thought I'd devote a few posts on this topic.

This is especially important when we consider that high school students who receive special education services, the most intensive level of support and intervention offered in our public schools, continue to have a much higher drop-out rate than their peers.

In today's economy, we know that these students aren't dropping out of school to work at steady, well-paying job!

Here are a few links to articles related to this topic, along with references:

RTI Gets Promoted to Secondary Schools (National Center for Learning Disabilities; Barbara J.Ehren, Ed.D. & Kathleen Whitmire, Ph.D.)

"While it is urgent to intervene as early as possible in the early grades to prevent the cycle of failure, it is equally important to remember that struggling learners in middle school and high school are also in need of instructional and behavioral supports to be successful. In fact, the stakes are higher for secondary students who lack the foundational skills and strategies needed to engage in school and who end up at risk for failing or dropping out."

RTI in Secondary School Setting: Riverbank High School Story - Implementing the Content Literacy Continuum(pdf)
Ken GEisick, Ed.D.; Peggy Graving-Reyes, & Silvia DeRuvo

What is the Content Learning Continuum?
(Strategic Learning Center)

Dropout Fact Sheet (National High School Center)

RTI Action Network High School Resources

References from the RTI Action Network:

Ehren, B. J., Lenz, B. K., & Deshler, D. D. (2004). Enhancing literacy proficiency in adolescents and young adults. In A. Stone, E. Silliman, B. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy (pp. 600–625). New York: Guilford Press.

Guthrie, J. T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. In M. Kamil, R. Barr, P. Mosenthal, & D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 403–424). New York: Longman.

Hock, M. F., Deshler, D. D., & Schumaker, J. B. (2005). Enhancing student motivation through the pursuit of possible selves. In C. Dunkel & J. Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 205–221). Hauppauge, NY: Nova.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-446, § 1400 et seq.
Moje, E. B. (2006). Motivating texts, motivating contexts, motivating adolescents: An examination of the role of motivation in adolescent literacy practices and development. Perspectives, 32(3), 10–14.

National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2006). A parent's guide to response to intervention. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/parent_center/rti_final.pdf.

O'Connor, R., & Bell, K. (2004). Teaching students with reading disability to read words. In A. Stone, E. Silliman, B. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy (pp. 481–498). New York: Guilford Press.

Pajares, F., & Urdan, T. (2005). Academic motivation of adolescents. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Scammacca, N., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Edmonds, M., Wexler, J., Reutebuch, C. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (2007). Interventions for adolescent struggling readers: A meta-analysis with implications for practice. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.

Schumaker, J. B., & Deshler, D. D. (1992). Validation of learning strategy interventions for students with LD: Results of a programmatic research effort. In B. Y. L. Wong (Ed.), Contemporary research with students with learning disabilities: An international perspective (pp. 22–46). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Vaughn, S., Klingner, J. K., & Bryant, D. P. (2001). Collaborative strategic reading as a means to enhance peer-mediated instruction for reading comprehension and content area learning. Remedial and Special Education, 22(2), 66–74.

Here are additional resources about RTI and special needs students. from a post on the CEC RTI blog, written by Douch Cheney, of the University of Washington:

References

Crone, D.A., Horner, R.H., & Hawken, L.S. (2004). Responding to problem behavior in the schools: The behavior education program. NY: Guilford.

Hawken, L.S. (2006). School psychologists as leaders in the implementation of a targeted intervention: The behavior education program. School Psychology Quarterly, 21, 91-111.

Ryan, J., Pierce, C. & Mooney, P. (2008). Evidence-based teaching strategies for students with EBD. Beyond Behavior, 17(3), 22-29.

Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., Evelo, D. L., & Hurley, C. M. (1998). Dropout prevention for high-risk youth with disabilities: Efficacy of a sustained school engagement procedure. Exceptional Children, 65 (1), 7-21.

Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. (2005). Promoting school completion of urban secondary youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities. Exceptional Children, 71, 465-482.

RELATED

From the Strategic Learning Center: The Content Literacy Continuum

Free webinars from CITEd, the Center for Implementing Technology in Education

CITEd, in collaboration with Don Johnston Incorporated, is presenting free webinar sessions over the next few months.

Assistive Technology: Written Productivity & Assessment 12/10/08 & 12/16/08
Presenters: Denise DeCoste, Team Leader, High Incidence Accessible Technology (HIAT), Montgomery County Public Schools

Technology Implementation: Getting to Where You Want to Be (Overview of Universal Design for Learning) 12/6/09 & 12/13/09
Presenters: David Rose, Co-Founder, CAST; Mary Thorngren, Deputy Director, Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd); and Jenna Wasson, Research Associate, CAST

Accessible Instructional Materials 101 2/4/09 & 2/10/09
Presenters: Joy Zabala, Project Manager, AIM Consortium; and Diana Foster Carl, Special Projects Coordinator, AIM Consortium

You can find links to previous Moving Forward with Technology webinars on the CITEd website.

Although the school year is nearly half over, it is not to late to move forward with technology!

Raising Digital Kids: Robin Raskin's Website & Blog

I just came across Robin Raskin's Raising Digital Kids website, which has many resources that would be of interest to parents as well as teachers. Technology is moving ahead very quickly, and even tech-savvy adults can get behind!

Robin's website is very well organized and focuses on topics such as "Your Digital Home" and "Your Digital Kids". I especially like her byline:

"No one said raising kids in a digital world would be easy; but it can be fun and rewarding, especially if you listen to your Internet Mom."

Robin currently works with the Consumer Electronic Association and is producing a series of conferences and exhibits for the upcoming CES 2009, including the Kids at Play Summit, focusing on young people, and the Silvers Summit, focusing on technology for the wiser, most experienced generation.

The 2009 International CES event will be held from January 8-11 in Las Vegas, NV. There will be an interesting line-up of speakers, touching on topics such as cybersafety, children and social networking, serious games & disruptive technologies, educational technology, mobile technology, technology and families, and more.

Related:

Kids at Play Summit Speakers

Kids at Play Conference Agenda

Kevin McGrew's IQ Brain Clock Blog, Interval Time Tracking Research

Dr. Kevin McGrew is Director of the Institute for Applied Psychometrics, and is known for his research in the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities. He is a researcher, professor, and experienced school psychologist.

Below is a visual map of the IAP website:




Several months ago I wrote about Kevin McGrew's IQ's Corner blog.

"An attempt to share contemporary research findings, insights, musings, and discussions regarding theories and applied measures of human intelligence. In other words, a quantoid linear mind trying to make sense of the nonlinear world of human cognitive abilities."

Kevin also maintains the IQ Brain Clock blog:

"An attempt to track the "pulse" of contemporary research and theory regarding the psychology/neuroscience of brain-based mental/interval time keeping. In addition, the relevance of neuroscience research to learning/education will also be covered..."

To get a better understanding of the concept of "brain clock", read the following article:

Improvements in Interval Time Tracking and Effects on Reading Achievement
Gordon E. Taub, Kevin S. McGrew, Timothy Z Keith
Psychology in the Schools, Vol. 44(8), 2007 © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Kevin follows a variety of interesting blogs related to psychology, cognition, brain functioning, learning, and nore. If you visit his blogs, you'll find that he's posted an assortment of useful links, including research papers.

Funky Forest: Teaching about the ecosystem through interactive kinesthetic multimedia exploration

The Funky Forest was created by Emily Gobeille and Theodore Watson for the 2007 CineKid festival in the Netherlands, using OpenFrameworks, an open-source application used for multimedia and multi-touch applications. Take a look at the video and pictures of the children interacting with this technology!

"It “is a wild and crazy ecosystem where you manage the resources to influence the environment around you. Streams of water flowing on the floor can be diverted to make the different parts of the forest grow. If a tree does not receive enough water it withers away but by pressing your body into the forest you create new trees based on your shape and character. As you explore and play you discover that your environment is inhabited by sonic life forms who depend on a thriving ecosystem to survive.”

The trees and creatures in the installation look really beautiful; just abstract enough to make it look like a strange magical forest, but the processes of our real ecosystems are still recognisable. A really wonderful project. And it sure looks like a lot of fun!" -Tanja, from the TakeBigBites blog

Wouldn't this be a great space for the children's section of the local library, or the media center in an elementary school?
This is a cross post from the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.

Children with Down Syndrome: Research about early literacy intervention approaches from the University of Denver

Via Science Daily Science News:

"Researchers at the University of Denver (DU) Morgridge College of Education are conducting a new study that will compare two early literacy intervention approaches to educating young children with Down syndrome."


"There has been little to no research on how our children with Down syndrome learn, especially regarding reading and language," says Michelle Sie Whitten, executive director of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation and Advisory Committee Chair of The Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund. "There have been significant breakthroughs in terms of how children with other developmental disabilities learn, and I strongly believe that our kids deserve the same attention."

XO Laptop Now Runs Windows - Via CNET News

One Laptop Per Child, also known as the XO laptop, came in one flavor, Linux. Now it is available in Windows, according to a CNET article in Ina Fried's Beyond Binary column:

The XO Laptop gets a Window Makeover (10/24/08)

"Microsoft has managed to slim down the OS enough to boot up off a 2GB flash memory card and has written drivers for a number of the XO laptop's unique features, such as its scratch pad, game controller, and built-in camera."


-From CNET

CNET Video:

A new kind of SmartBoard: Multi-User Multi-Touch SMART Table for Education

I heard a rumor a few months ago that this was coming...and it was true!



The SMART Table "Touch, Learn, Together"

"The SMART Table interactive learning center lets students get hands-on with collaborative activities – and the more hands the merrier. The SMART Table is a versatile learning center where groups of students can create, explore and discover together on the durable screen. The interface is so intuitive that even the youngest child can play games and plunge into learning activities in no time. You can choose from a wide variety of ready-to-go lesson activities, or customize them to suit your own lessons."

SMARTTablerelease

If you are interested in developing for the SMART Table, visit the SMART Table Developer site.

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)

Children, Teens, Families, and the Economic Crisis

It is clear that the current economic crisis has had an enormous impact on adults. It is impossible to shield children and teens from the news around them, or shield them from the fears their parents may be experiencing about the economy.

Here are a few links and resources I've collected about this topic:

10/5/08 Washington Post
Anxious Children A Fiscal Lesson for the Ages: For Some, the Economic Turmoil is a Grim Reminder of Past Crises. For Others, it Marks a New Fear
By Brigid Schulte

• "A survey of 500 U.S. teenagers released Friday found that almost 70 percent feared an "immediate negative impact" on the security of their families. "That's a gigantic figure," said Michael Cohen, a research psychologist who runs the opinion research firm that conducted the poll. "There's anxiety about this. And the anxiety is not just for the society at large, but for me and my family. I was quite taken aback by the scope of that fear. ""

10/01/08 Kiplinger.com
Talking to Your Kids About the Financial Crisis
By Janet Bodnar


9/24/08 Wall Street Journal
When Tough Times Weigh on the Kids

Parent's Financial Problems Are Reflected in School Performance
by Sue Shellenbarger

10/8/08 U.S. News & World Report
Economic Crisis Takes Toll on Emotional Health: Experts seeing more cases of sleeplessness, anxiety, but they offer tips for coping
by Amanda Gardner

10/10/08 wral.com
Duke Prof writes children's play about economic crisis
Script: Play explains the economy


The New York Times Online features a video clip that gives an overview of how the current economic crisis is impacting teens attending a private high school in NYC. The clip includes interviews of students and an economics teacher.

Cool Interactive Whiteboard Activities for Teaching Math: Free at Teacher LED

I recently came across the TeacherLED website and was impressed by the numerous math-related activities created for teachers to use when presenting new concepts via demonstration on an interactive whiteboard. This is an excellent way of presenting concepts that appeal to visual learners.

What I like about the resources is that they are open-ended. They were designed so they have flexibility of use, which is a good thing for teachers.There are several activities that function as games that are designed for the whole class, which is a good thing for students.

Math concepts covered on the TeacherLED site include algebra, data handling, number, shape, space, measurement, general math, and investigation. There is a link to alphabet resources, spelling activities, and maps. Many of the resources are accompanied by instruction sheets for the teacher.

The author of the website and creator of the interactive resources is Spencer Riley, a teacher in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Thank you, Mr. Riley, for your hard work and generous spirit!

Therapeutic use of digital and multimedia storytelling and social stories for children and teens: Link

Take a look at a recent post on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog:

Resources for the (therapeutic) use of digital and multimedia storytelling and social stories for children and teens...

Videogames, Teens, and.... Civic Education?

Here is a link to a post on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog about the recent results of a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

Videogames, Teens, and.... Civic Education?

Interactive Whiteboards increase Math Skills - Link to Newsweek Article

A recent article in Newsweek outlines the success of interactive whiteboards in classroom. Teachers and school administrators have noted that the whiteboards increase engagement.

Apparently, one study in the UK found that the use of interactive whiteboards in math classes resulted in a significant growth in math skills among students.

From the Newsweek article:

"So far, the data on the efficacy of touchscreens in U.S. classrooms is inconclusive, but promising. Multiple recent studies suggest that the devices boost attendance rates and classroom participation. Ever since Dorchester School District 2 in Summerville, S.C., installed 1,200 interactive boards in its classrooms, disciplinary incidents are way down. "Students were bored" before the touchscreens arrived, says Superintendent Joe Pye. "Trips to the principal's office are almost nonexistent now.""

Evolver, DimensionM, 3-D algebra games used in Broward County, Florida. RTI ready with built-in data-tracking of progress!

When Dimenxian, the first version of a 3-D algebra game, developed by Tabula Digita came out, I had the chance to try it out with a few students who were struggling in math, and found it to be effective. Since then, Tabula Digita has come out with more options, and the games have been adopted by many school districts.

Broward County, in Florida, is using Tabula Digita's DimensionM games as supplemental resources to teach pre-algebra and algebra skills to students in 24 middle schools.

Resource: Video Games for Learning:
http://www.dimensionm.com/docs/VideoGamesforLearning.pdf



Information from a recent Serious Games Source article:

"The DimensionM product series offers several titles incorporating key algebraic concepts in both single and multiplayer formats. The games are aligned to meet the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics's standards, as well as several state standards, for grades 6-9."

"The supplemental curriculum offers lessons that cover topics such as proportions, number lines, and adding and subtracting integers to linear equations. The software also provides automatic progress tracking for each student, enabling teachers to analyze results and provide additional instructions based on those results."

Here are the curriculum alignments, from the Tabula Digita Website:

"All of the game content of Tabula Digita's DimensionM products is aligned to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, as well as the standards of selected states. Currently we have alignments for grades 6-8."

"Click on one of the links below to download the state and national standards alignments for your school district:'

Evolver Pre-Algebra Alignments
NCTM
California
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Texas

Dimenxian Algebra Alignments
NCTM
California
Florida
Georgia
Florida & OCPS
Illinois
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Texas

Dimenxian Algebra High School Alignments
NCTM
California
Florida
Georgia
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Texas

Evolver Multiplayer Alignments
NCTM
California
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Texas

Evolver Multiplayer High School Alignments
NCTM
California
Florida
Georgia
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Texas

Utilizing Interactive Whiteboards with Students with Autism Webinar

ISTE is sponsoring a must-see webinar, "Revolutionizing Instruction for Autistic Students Utilizing Interactive Whiteboards"

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at the following time:

4 PM Eastern
3 PM Central
2 PM Mountain
1 PM Pacific

Here is the blurb from the ISTE website:

"As the field of education experiences an exponential increase in students diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, a new and effective model for instructing students is called for. Interactive whiteboards have revolutionized how teachers engage and teach autistic students in group instruction at a residential special education school in New Hampshire. This technology has offered new opportunities for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other neurological impairments to demonstrate spontaneous social learning and increased on-task classroom behaviors. Video vignettes will illustrate how instructional practices have changed the paradigm of a classroom for students with autism and the resulting student outcomes that occurred, both expected and unanticipated."

The presenters are Kathleen H. McClaskey, and educational and assistive technology consultant, and Randy Welch, a school psychologist who is currently a chief program officer at a residential treatment center.

The webinar fee is $50.00 for ISTE members and $125.00 for non-members.

Dynavox EyeMax

The DynaVox EyeMax System is now on the market. Here is a link to the FAQ's:

EyeMax FAQ's

EyeMax Technical Specifications

Information from the DynaVox Mayer-Johnson Website:

"Say it with your eyes"

"The DynaVox EyeMax System is the newest, most advanced access method available to communicators who use the DynaVox Vmax. It is comprised of two parts: a DynaVox Vmax and a DynaVox EyeMax Accessory. The EyeMax System allows augmented communicators to access their Vmax with a simple blink, or by dwelling on a desired area of the screen."



This device would make it possible to assess students who have complex disabilities, and also to monitor their progress.