Mar 2012
March 19, 2012
,
Contents:
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NOTES
I went through the list of email addresses that bounced on the last Tech Notes. I deleted some names, but I corrected misspellings and changed email addresses on others. If you are receiving a Tech Notes for the first time in a long time, you can read past issues in the Tech Notes Archives.
Remember to mark your calendars! The next Language Reading Connection: Deaf/Hard of Hearing Workshop will be May 14-16 at the Westin Hotel in Lake Mary. We are waiting for official approval before we can open registration. We're expecting that any day. We will be sending more information as soon as we get that confirmation. Note: This will only be open to those that have NOT attended previously.
********************************************************
Online Signing Interactive Classes
There are still openings for our Online Signing Interactive Classes starting next week. Click this link for the website that has more information. Here are some comments from students who have just recently taken the classes.
"...I really enjoyed the two classes I took with you. You are an excellent teacher. Thank you again."
"...the entire course was fantastic and I truly look forward to furthering my ASL education with you and your team!"
Other points former students liked from the class:
- "The practice with other students."
- "The video follow up from the lesson Interaction during the lesson."
- "Teacher's patience and clear delivery."
- "That I can review what we learned in the video messages."
- "I like how the teacher was very kind and patient with us and was very likeable and I was able to relax and learn better."
- "Lots of teachable moments! I liked the instructor's explanations based on her experience & her flexibility in answering questions."
- "I really like the teacher's attitude and willing to help us when we are so lost. I like to use the most simple words daily when I go to work and at home to practice. It does takes away some of the stress we live daily."
Richard Flores
Coordinator of Distance Learning
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 827-2614 V
(904) 827-2338 F
********************************************************
SHARING AUTISM RESEARCH ON DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS
When: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 3:30-4:30 p.m. (EST)
Presenter: Dr. Christen Szymanski
NOTE: Presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with a spoken English translation and captions
Click here to register.
Following up on her article, “Managing Behavior by Managing the Classroom: Tips for Making Classrooms Accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders,” which will be published in the 2012 issue of the Odyssey, Dr. Christen Szymanski will give guidance to teachers and professionals on how to provide their students with the best possible interventions.
Presenter Information:
Dr. Christen Szymanski is a recognized leader and researcher in the field of autism and hearing loss. She has research and clinical experience involving diagnostic practices and intervention implementations for children with both hearing loss and autism. Her experiences took place at a range of settings, including community-based summer camps; clinics and hospitals; and mainstream, residential, and public schools.
********************************************************
YOUTUBE MAKES CAPTIONING MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR DEAF VIEWERS
By Maura Judkis
Millions of people enjoy viral videos each day, but some people aren't getting the jokes -- and it's not for a lack of humor, either. Because many videos on YouTube do not include closed captioning, deaf viewers can be left out. But thanks to a new change at YouTube, more hard-of-hearing people will be able to indulge in the wealth of online videos.
The video sharing site enabled caption support in 2006, but it announced Tuesday options that make user-uploaded videos more accessible for those who rely on closed captioning, with new languages, search options, and settings for video text.
YouTube now supports automatic captions in Japanese, Korean and English, and captions can be added in 155 languages and dialects. New settings can also change the caption color — not an aesthetic choice, but rather, to make the captions easier to read against the background of videos where the colors may blend in. Videos uploaded with broadcast caption support, which positions text near the character speaking, are now visible on YouTube in the same format. It’s also easier to upload videos that already have captions embedded in them.
Visit this YouTube Blog entry for more information.
********************************************************
SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS IN MAINSTREAM CLASSROOMS: HEARTBROKEN AND GAGGED
I thought that some of you might be interested in reading this article. I'm not including it as a reflection of our opinion or beliefs. It' is an interesting perspective.
********************************************************
FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AT LAURENT CLERC NATIONAL DEAF EDUCATION CENTER
There is a new webinar on Deaf Students with Autism on April 19 at 3:30 - Register now
Dr. Christen Szymanski, a recognized leader and researcher in the field of autism and hearing loss, will answer questions about her Odyssey article: Sharing Autism Research for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in a new webinar this April.
Laurent Clerc National Education Center webinars now archived online! No worries if you missed the opportunity to get on webinar, visit Clerc Center's Online Program to view the new webinar archives. Check out the archives for this year's Clerc Center webinars:
"Sharing Power: Practical Strategies for Power Struggles with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students"
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ASL/English Bimodal Bilingual Education"
As always, feel free to contact Chachie Joseph at gurcsoutheast@gallaudet.edu if you have questions or want to offer feedback!
Karen Sheffer, M.A.
Director, Gallaudet University Regional Center, Southeast Region
800 Florida Avenue, NE
HMB S-438
Washington, DC 20002
VP/Phone (local): 202-250-2648
VP/Phone (toll free): 866-279-0886
Fax: 202-651-5692
********************************************************
WE CONNECT NOW
Someone sent this resource to Mandy. Looks like a good one. Please share! It may be helpful to your students that are going on for post-secondary education.
I would like to share with you the link to the We Connect Now website. The website was created while I was a college student with a grant I received from YP4 to develop a website to serve college students with disabilities. The website was developed in an effort to connect and integrate college students with disabilities as a virtual community with a voice on important issues. The We Connect Now website has been up and serving college students with disabilities since April of 2008. I wanted to share the We Connect Now website with you so that you may post it as a resource in your website or otherwise share it with students that you serve or have contact with. The website has been used as a resource by institutions of higher learning and has been linked to by colleges and universities and groups serving people with disabilities in 50 states and at least 9 foreign countries.
********************************************************
IPAD HIGHLIGHTS
Apps in Education in a good blog that features educational apps. This link goes to their March 7th entry which focused on apps for Early Childhood Education. Click on Home to go to their most current entry.
Connecting a SMART Board to your iPad
I've gotten questions about this. There are several articles online about how to connect your iPad to your SMART Board, but they are misleading. You are connecting your iPad so that your entire class can see the device, but they do NOT let you use your SMART Board to interact with your iPad. You still have to use the iPad to interact. You could just as easily use a screen or dry erase board to see the iPad. Some of the apps mentioned in these articles let you log into your computer from your iPad. This would let you walk around the room with your iPad, and interact with SMART Notebook. But then you are interacting with your computer. You are not using iPad Apps with the SMART Board.
Articles about connecting the iPad to the SMART Board
One option may be to use an interactive projector. I really don't know since I haven't tried it. I was just reading about the Epson Bright Link projectors. I will share more information when I get it.
Apps that Connect to Computer
These apps pair with your computer and allow you to use the iPad as a portable slate to annotate and use computer programs.
Whiteboard Apps
There are some apps that let you draw and create much like you can do in SMART Notebook. The following are good because they also have a record feature. This lets you record what you are doing, and is good for creating movies that your students can use later: math problems, maps, illustrations, brainstorming, stories, etc.
********************************************************
WEBSITES
iBooks Author
If you're a Mac user and have the latest operating system (Lion), be sure to download this program. You can use it to create your own interactive multi-touch textbooks to use on the iPad. I don't have Lion yet, but really want to try this!
Educational Technology Guy
Free resources for teachers, educational ideas and tips, educational topics, personal learning networks, project-based learning, Google, Evernote, Discovery Education, and more.
Science Kids
Science Kids is the home of science & technology on the Internet for children around the world. Learn more about the amazing world of science by enjoying fun science experiments, cool facts, online games, free activities, ideas, lesson plans, photos, quizzes, videos & science fair projects.
NBC Learn: Free Resources
NBC has free resources for teachers. These include standards-aligned activities and videos for science and math topics. Be sure to click the CC button to see the captions. You can also click the Transcript tab to get a copy of the text. This can be very helpful to pre-teach the material, and also for the interpreter. The current topics include:
Lessonopoly
Lessonopoly is a free tool that lets you manage your classroom, find and share lesson plans, and connect with other teachers. Lessonopoly has also partnered with NBC Learn to provide lesson plans for their videos.
********************************************************
- Notes
- Online Sign Language Classes
- Sharing Autism Research on Deaf or Hard of Hearing Students
- YouTube Makes Captioning More Accessible for Deaf Viewers
- Sign Language Interpreters in Mainstream Classrooms: Heartbroken and Gagged
- Free Training Opportunities at Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
- We Connect Now
- iPad Highlights
- Websites
- Save these Dates!
?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?
NOTES
I went through the list of email addresses that bounced on the last Tech Notes. I deleted some names, but I corrected misspellings and changed email addresses on others. If you are receiving a Tech Notes for the first time in a long time, you can read past issues in the Tech Notes Archives.
Remember to mark your calendars! The next Language Reading Connection: Deaf/Hard of Hearing Workshop will be May 14-16 at the Westin Hotel in Lake Mary. We are waiting for official approval before we can open registration. We're expecting that any day. We will be sending more information as soon as we get that confirmation. Note: This will only be open to those that have NOT attended previously.
********************************************************
Online Signing Interactive Classes
There are still openings for our Online Signing Interactive Classes starting next week. Click this link for the website that has more information. Here are some comments from students who have just recently taken the classes.
"...I really enjoyed the two classes I took with you. You are an excellent teacher. Thank you again."
"...the entire course was fantastic and I truly look forward to furthering my ASL education with you and your team!"
Other points former students liked from the class:
- "The practice with other students."
- "The video follow up from the lesson Interaction during the lesson."
- "Teacher's patience and clear delivery."
- "That I can review what we learned in the video messages."
- "I like how the teacher was very kind and patient with us and was very likeable and I was able to relax and learn better."
- "Lots of teachable moments! I liked the instructor's explanations based on her experience & her flexibility in answering questions."
- "I really like the teacher's attitude and willing to help us when we are so lost. I like to use the most simple words daily when I go to work and at home to practice. It does takes away some of the stress we live daily."
Richard Flores
Coordinator of Distance Learning
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 827-2614 V
(904) 827-2338 F
********************************************************
SHARING AUTISM RESEARCH ON DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS
When: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 3:30-4:30 p.m. (EST)
Presenter: Dr. Christen Szymanski
NOTE: Presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with a spoken English translation and captions
Click here to register.
Following up on her article, “Managing Behavior by Managing the Classroom: Tips for Making Classrooms Accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders,” which will be published in the 2012 issue of the Odyssey, Dr. Christen Szymanski will give guidance to teachers and professionals on how to provide their students with the best possible interventions.
Presenter Information:
Dr. Christen Szymanski is a recognized leader and researcher in the field of autism and hearing loss. She has research and clinical experience involving diagnostic practices and intervention implementations for children with both hearing loss and autism. Her experiences took place at a range of settings, including community-based summer camps; clinics and hospitals; and mainstream, residential, and public schools.
********************************************************
YOUTUBE MAKES CAPTIONING MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR DEAF VIEWERS
By Maura Judkis
Millions of people enjoy viral videos each day, but some people aren't getting the jokes -- and it's not for a lack of humor, either. Because many videos on YouTube do not include closed captioning, deaf viewers can be left out. But thanks to a new change at YouTube, more hard-of-hearing people will be able to indulge in the wealth of online videos.
The video sharing site enabled caption support in 2006, but it announced Tuesday options that make user-uploaded videos more accessible for those who rely on closed captioning, with new languages, search options, and settings for video text.
YouTube now supports automatic captions in Japanese, Korean and English, and captions can be added in 155 languages and dialects. New settings can also change the caption color — not an aesthetic choice, but rather, to make the captions easier to read against the background of videos where the colors may blend in. Videos uploaded with broadcast caption support, which positions text near the character speaking, are now visible on YouTube in the same format. It’s also easier to upload videos that already have captions embedded in them.
Visit this YouTube Blog entry for more information.
********************************************************
SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS IN MAINSTREAM CLASSROOMS: HEARTBROKEN AND GAGGED
I thought that some of you might be interested in reading this article. I'm not including it as a reflection of our opinion or beliefs. It' is an interesting perspective.
********************************************************
FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AT LAURENT CLERC NATIONAL DEAF EDUCATION CENTER
There is a new webinar on Deaf Students with Autism on April 19 at 3:30 - Register now
Dr. Christen Szymanski, a recognized leader and researcher in the field of autism and hearing loss, will answer questions about her Odyssey article: Sharing Autism Research for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in a new webinar this April.
Laurent Clerc National Education Center webinars now archived online! No worries if you missed the opportunity to get on webinar, visit Clerc Center's Online Program to view the new webinar archives. Check out the archives for this year's Clerc Center webinars:
"Sharing Power: Practical Strategies for Power Struggles with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students"
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ASL/English Bimodal Bilingual Education"
As always, feel free to contact Chachie Joseph at gurcsoutheast@gallaudet.edu if you have questions or want to offer feedback!
Karen Sheffer, M.A.
Director, Gallaudet University Regional Center, Southeast Region
800 Florida Avenue, NE
HMB S-438
Washington, DC 20002
VP/Phone (local): 202-250-2648
VP/Phone (toll free): 866-279-0886
Fax: 202-651-5692
********************************************************
WE CONNECT NOW
Someone sent this resource to Mandy. Looks like a good one. Please share! It may be helpful to your students that are going on for post-secondary education.
I would like to share with you the link to the We Connect Now website. The website was created while I was a college student with a grant I received from YP4 to develop a website to serve college students with disabilities. The website was developed in an effort to connect and integrate college students with disabilities as a virtual community with a voice on important issues. The We Connect Now website has been up and serving college students with disabilities since April of 2008. I wanted to share the We Connect Now website with you so that you may post it as a resource in your website or otherwise share it with students that you serve or have contact with. The website has been used as a resource by institutions of higher learning and has been linked to by colleges and universities and groups serving people with disabilities in 50 states and at least 9 foreign countries.
********************************************************
IPAD HIGHLIGHTS
Apps in Education in a good blog that features educational apps. This link goes to their March 7th entry which focused on apps for Early Childhood Education. Click on Home to go to their most current entry.
Connecting a SMART Board to your iPad
I've gotten questions about this. There are several articles online about how to connect your iPad to your SMART Board, but they are misleading. You are connecting your iPad so that your entire class can see the device, but they do NOT let you use your SMART Board to interact with your iPad. You still have to use the iPad to interact. You could just as easily use a screen or dry erase board to see the iPad. Some of the apps mentioned in these articles let you log into your computer from your iPad. This would let you walk around the room with your iPad, and interact with SMART Notebook. But then you are interacting with your computer. You are not using iPad Apps with the SMART Board.
Articles about connecting the iPad to the SMART Board
- Apps in Education Blog Entry
- eHow: How to Connect an iPad to a SMART Board
- Opportunities for Integrating your SMART Board and and iPad (from the SMART website)
- No Smartboard? Use an iPad
One option may be to use an interactive projector. I really don't know since I haven't tried it. I was just reading about the Epson Bright Link projectors. I will share more information when I get it.
Apps that Connect to Computer
These apps pair with your computer and allow you to use the iPad as a portable slate to annotate and use computer programs.
- Splashtop Remote Desktop
- Splashtop Whiteboard (acts like remote interactive board, but must connect to computer)
- Doceri Remote
- Remoter: Remote Desktop
- Air Display
Whiteboard Apps
There are some apps that let you draw and create much like you can do in SMART Notebook. The following are good because they also have a record feature. This lets you record what you are doing, and is good for creating movies that your students can use later: math problems, maps, illustrations, brainstorming, stories, etc.
********************************************************
WEBSITES
- ClassDojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers manage behavior and boost engagement in class really quickly and easily. It enables teachers to recognize specific behaviors and accomplishments in real-time, with just one click of a smartphone or laptop button. It is currently in Beta. Those who participate in the Beta will continue to use it for free.
iBooks Author
If you're a Mac user and have the latest operating system (Lion), be sure to download this program. You can use it to create your own interactive multi-touch textbooks to use on the iPad. I don't have Lion yet, but really want to try this!
Educational Technology Guy
Free resources for teachers, educational ideas and tips, educational topics, personal learning networks, project-based learning, Google, Evernote, Discovery Education, and more.
Science Kids
Science Kids is the home of science & technology on the Internet for children around the world. Learn more about the amazing world of science by enjoying fun science experiments, cool facts, online games, free activities, ideas, lesson plans, photos, quizzes, videos & science fair projects.
NBC Learn: Free Resources
NBC has free resources for teachers. These include standards-aligned activities and videos for science and math topics. Be sure to click the CC button to see the captions. You can also click the Transcript tab to get a copy of the text. This can be very helpful to pre-teach the material, and also for the interpreter. The current topics include:
- Science Behind the News
- Science of NHL Hockey
- Chemistry Now
- Changing Planet
- Science of NFL Football
- Finishing the Dream: Learning from the Civil Rights Era
- Science of the Olympic Winter Games
Lessonopoly
Lessonopoly is a free tool that lets you manage your classroom, find and share lesson plans, and connect with other teachers. Lessonopoly has also partnered with NBC Learn to provide lesson plans for their videos.
********************************************************
March 2, 2012
,
Contents:
?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?
NOTES
I'm rushing to send this out today! Please note the webinar for March 7, and also the upcoming online sign language class! These classes fill up fast, so please alert families in your area! The requirements are on the registration page.
********************************************************
RMTC WEBINARS
Our next webinar:
What's New In SMART - Wednesday, March 7, 3:00 PM EST
During this brief, but informative webinar, we will look at all of the latest features available in the last few editions of SMART Notebook. This webinar will benefit anyone in the classroom who has a SMART Board with the latest edition of SMART Notebook installed on their computers. In addition, we will look at some of the new features that are available to SMART document camera owners that will make educating the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing student that much more exciting!
As a result of this webinar, participants will be able to:
To join the webinar:
http://connect.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmtc
Log in as Guest, but please put your name in the name box. We want to know who is joining us!
Handouts, resources, and information for our webinars can be found on our wiki at http://rmtc.wikispaces.com. Be sure to JOIN so that you can participate in discussions. Links to webinar archives can also be found on the Wiki.
********************************************************
CONSULTATION – Know someone with a question who needs to talk to an experienced professional?Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss is very pleased to be offering personalized consultation services. Whether you are a parent seeking advice and an outside perspective or a professional searching for ideas to better meet student needs, consultation services are a convenient, personalized and caring resource. Sample questions that parents or professionals may ask have been posted as have the qualifications of our highly experienced Consultants. Pass the word…
Be sure to browse the tremendous resources on this website AND subscribe to get their newsletter!
Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss 1775 Garland Ln Minneapolis, MN 55447 US
********************************************************
Sentence Builder
********************************************************
WEBSITES
Portaportal.com
Symbaloo
You can use Symbaloo to create an online desktop (webmix). Add the websites you visit the most often, and you can just click to get there. You could create a webmix for school that your students could use, and another webmix that you can use personally. Here are some good examples:
Brightstorm has filmed teachers teaching curriculum in Math, Science, SAT, ACT, and AP subjects. The Math and Science videos are available free. [Note: not captioned, but there is a transcript available.] There are more than 2500 videos available at this time.
********************************************************
SAVE THESE DATES!
FEHI
November 9-10, 2012
Westin Hotel, Lake Mary, FL
FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference)
January 28-31, 2013
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando
*****************************************************
Kay Ezzell, Technology Resource Specialist
Resource Materials and Technology Center:
Deaf and Hard of Hearing/FDLRS
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
1-904-827-2684
1-800-356-6731
ezzell_k@firn.edu
rmtc78@gmail.com
http://rmtc.fsdb.k12.fl.us/
*****************************************************
The Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (FDLRS/RMTC) is funded by the State of Florida, Department of Education, Division of Public Schools and Community Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education Student Services through federal assistance under IDEA Part B, IDEA Trust, and general revenue funds.
*****************************************************
- Notes
- RMTC Webinars
- Signing Interactive: Online Sign Language Courses Available!
- Supporting Success for Children With Hearing Loss
- Collaborative Online Community for Educators
- Highlighted App: Builder Apps
- Websites
- Save these Dates!
?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?
NOTES
I'm rushing to send this out today! Please note the webinar for March 7, and also the upcoming online sign language class! These classes fill up fast, so please alert families in your area! The requirements are on the registration page.
********************************************************
RMTC WEBINARS
Our next webinar:
What's New In SMART - Wednesday, March 7, 3:00 PM EST
During this brief, but informative webinar, we will look at all of the latest features available in the last few editions of SMART Notebook. This webinar will benefit anyone in the classroom who has a SMART Board with the latest edition of SMART Notebook installed on their computers. In addition, we will look at some of the new features that are available to SMART document camera owners that will make educating the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing student that much more exciting!
As a result of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify features available on SMART Notebook Version 10.8
- Use the new tools to enhance the educational experience of your D/HH children
- Know how to use the "Mixed Reality" cube feature of the SMART Document camera
To join the webinar:
http://connect.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmtc
Log in as Guest, but please put your name in the name box. We want to know who is joining us!
Handouts, resources, and information for our webinars can be found on our wiki at http://rmtc.wikispaces.com. Be sure to JOIN so that you can participate in discussions. Links to webinar archives can also be found on the Wiki.
********************************************************
Signing Interactive: Online Sign Language Courses Available!
Free to family members and professionals communicating and working directly with deaf children!
No experience necessary!
Next sessions start the week of March 26th
(Click here for more information and to register)
Richard Flores
Coordinator of Distance Learning
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 827-2614 V
(904) 827-2338 F
********************************************************
SUPPORTING SUCCESS FOR CHILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS
This ‘go-to’ site for professional and parent resources has been up for only four months and has grown to 2100 visitors in the past month, 60% of them new to the site and over 100 more people have signed up to receive these monthly updates! Forward this update to share Supporting Success with parents and colleagues!
Highlighted resources
Professionals
- Social Needs & “I hate my hearing aids!” This NEW professional resource page shares some insights into the psychosocial reasons for children rejecting hearing aids and provides some ideas for addressing these challenges. Beware – starting early is the key!
- Classroom Acoustics & Perceiving Speech in School You may not have noticed that there is another page that is attached to this one that is devoted to Classroom Acoustics – Design Requirements for Schools. Useful for knowledgeable individuals and for those with little background in acoustics, this page now includes the actual ANSI standards for download. Take a second to listen to the simulated reverberation time for 0.5 and 1.0 seconds that is in the last section: How can reverberation be measured?
- Families
- Growing up with Hearing Loss: Challenges & Resistance This parent resource page (school-aged children) now has an added section: “Teens (and tweens) supporting one another” that describes the importance of children with hearing loss interacting with one another.
- What are the possible effects the hearing loss can cause at school? Added to this parent resource page (school-aged children – Preparing for your child to start school) is a section on social needs including a NEW handout Improving Your Child’s Social Needs.
CONSULTATION – Know someone with a question who needs to talk to an experienced professional?Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss is very pleased to be offering personalized consultation services. Whether you are a parent seeking advice and an outside perspective or a professional searching for ideas to better meet student needs, consultation services are a convenient, personalized and caring resource. Sample questions that parents or professionals may ask have been posted as have the qualifications of our highly experienced Consultants. Pass the word…
Be sure to browse the tremendous resources on this website AND subscribe to get their newsletter!
Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss 1775 Garland Ln Minneapolis, MN 55447 US
********************************************************
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAUNCHES
COLLABORATIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR TEACHERS
TALLAHASSEE – Florida's teachers have a new way to communicate and collaborate with other teachers across the state through a private social network called the “Florida Teacher Community.” The Florida Department of Education, in partnership with Novachi, today launched a new, easy-to-use tool developed specifically for Florida's teachers. Kelly Seay, Teacher Liaison at the Florida Department of Education, will manage the communication and collaboration interface. Novachi will provide hosting and technical support.
“Communication with teachers is incredibly important in Florida and I am delighted that our educators will have additional tools and resources available to them,” said Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “This will provide our teachers with another medium to collaborate and share ideas to boost student achievement, and ultimately, Florida’s education system.”
The Florida Teacher Community integrates Novachi's industry-leading Integrated Education System with the Ning social platform, the world's leading platform for custom private social websites, to provide Florida teachers with the means to collaborate and host discussions on various aspects of their profession. Teachers will be able to work together to establish best practices, communicate about what works in the classroom, share solutions or suggestions for changes to support Florida’s students, and help shape education policies and practice. The private online community features blogging, forum and group discussion, as well as photo and video sharing capability.
In addition to the social community, teachers will have access to a variety of educational resources to support daily teaching responsibilities. As other tools and resources prove to be useful for teachers, they will be added to the Novachi Apps launchpad. The Florida Teacher Community is private for teachers; however, the resource applications on the platform can be shared with parents and students to enhance collaboration beyond the classroom.
Each teacher will soon receive an email directly from Novachi Support with account access information allowing them to sign on to the Florida Teacher Community. For more information, visit http://www.fldoe.org/JustForTeachers/.
********************************************************
HIGHLIGHTED APP: BUILDER APPS
We love all the apps from Mobile Education. They range in price from $3.99 to $9.99. You can search for them in the iTunes Store. They have the following titles available at this time:
- Story Builder
- Sentence Builder Teen
- Sentence Builder
- Question Builder
- Conversation Builder
- Language Builder
- Preposition Builder
- Rainbow Sentences
- Speech Journal (This is the only one I haven't seen.)
Sentence Builder
********************************************************
WEBSITES
Portaportal.com
- This is another online bookmarking site similar to Diigo and Delicious.
Symbaloo
You can use Symbaloo to create an online desktop (webmix). Add the websites you visit the most often, and you can just click to get there. You could create a webmix for school that your students could use, and another webmix that you can use personally. Here are some good examples:
- Classroom Resources
- Subject Area Sites for Grades 3-5
- Online Educational Games
- Online Children's Book (free)
- Ms. Lee's Class Symbaloo
- This great site has signed stories for young children, but be aware that it is in BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE.
- Zimmer Twins
- Make your own movie making using cartoon characters. It's FREE!
- Have Fun Teaching
- This site has lots of worksheets, songs, coloring pages, flash cards, videos of songs (not free), tools, and activities.
Brightstorm has filmed teachers teaching curriculum in Math, Science, SAT, ACT, and AP subjects. The Math and Science videos are available free. [Note: not captioned, but there is a transcript available.] There are more than 2500 videos available at this time.
********************************************************
SAVE THESE DATES!
FEHI
November 9-10, 2012
Westin Hotel, Lake Mary, FL
FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference)
January 28-31, 2013
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando
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Kay Ezzell, Technology Resource Specialist
Resource Materials and Technology Center:
Deaf and Hard of Hearing/FDLRS
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
207 N. San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
1-904-827-2684
1-800-356-6731
ezzell_k@firn.edu
rmtc78@gmail.com
http://rmtc.fsdb.k12.fl.us/
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The Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (FDLRS/RMTC) is funded by the State of Florida, Department of Education, Division of Public Schools and Community Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education Student Services through federal assistance under IDEA Part B, IDEA Trust, and general revenue funds.
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