Student Guide Corner

Did you know that Inclusive Schools week is just two weeks away? December 1st through 5th has been set aside to celebrate Inclusion. This year's theme is "Together We Learn Better: Inclusive Schools Benefit All Children." There are a number of resources available at the InclusiveSchools.org w ebsite. The American Federation of Teachers is hosting a contest, "Best Ideas for Inclusive Schools," highlighting effective inclusion models at the elementary, middle and high school levels. A Celebration Kit is available as well as a wealth of materials to help increase awareness in your district, A wonderful 12 minute trailer of the documentary, Including Samuel , is available. Share this link with your parents, teachers, administrators, and your entire community. Inclusion is a community effort, dependent upon creating a culture that values inclusion of all it's citizens. Is your district taking advantage of this opportunity to promote inclusion in your district? ...

Efficiency - Dictionary.com defines efficiency as: accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort In an effort to spread efficiency throughout classrooms, I offer you a "Shortcut Keys" handout for your use. Feel free to download and copy on card stock quality paper, cut in half and distribute as you see fit. The fewer times we reach for the mouse, the more efficient we are . Spread the word!

Thanks to the Interactive Multimedia Blog for posting this YouTube video about the use of "scratch input" on various surfaces (including desks, walls or even pants!) as a potential input method to control technology devices. This is really cool! Can't wait to see how they use this technology especially for those who can't use traditional input methods such as a keyboard or mouse. This simple, inexpensive concept also has great potential for Environmental Control technologies. What do you think? Will they consider exploring Scratch Input with those with disabilities?

It's another Monday morning and a dreadful beginning for some of the elementary age students who walk into our classrooms. Why? Because, if it's Monday, it must be "Start the Week with Journal Writing," a ritual where students are asked to write about their weekends. For some students, this is a piece of cake. For others (see previous post), this is like asking them to run a mile to school - they can do it but it is painful and challenging. So, let's think about some alternatives for those students "who have great ideas up here (pointing to head) but can't get them down here (pointing to paper)." Let's think in innovative ways to offer kids different methods of expression. 1. Use Garage Band (Mac) or Audacity (PC or Mac) to record students voices as they describe their weekend activities. Create a weekly Monday morning podcast for an authentic audience. Use the podcast to teach students about oral presentation and audience. What makes a p...

Writing presents a significant challenge for many students. The act of writing incorporates many individual components necessary for writing success. Students need to be able to hold a writing instrument, form letters legibly, space between words, spell accurately, generate ideas, organize their thinking, hold onto a sequence of words and sentences....you get the picture. There is a significant physical, motoric, visual processing, memory, and cognitive load. The breakdown for writing success can be anywhere. For students who benefit from external structure and prompts to help them organize their thinking and approach to written expression, there is an online tool that provides this. It's called Writing Fun and the site has been developed by Jenny Eather. Although the opening screen is visually overwhelming and complex, you must check out the text categories on the right side of the screen - Narrative, Discussion, Poetry, Procedure, Informative, Recount, Explanation, Persuasio...