Special Education Today

11 March 2010

Blog Update!

Filed under: Teaching All Students, blog, update — Patrick Black @ 10:42 pm


For those of you who read the blog via email or RSS (which I highly recommend) you may want to check out the new design of Teaching All Students.  It's been almost 2 years, and I thought maybe a facelift was in order.  Nothing earth shattering, but I think it's nice to spruce things up every once and a while!  Let me know what you think in the comments!


Patrick


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Wish I had some breathmints

Filed under: Uncategorized — Sarah @ 7:32 pm
It was so nice of the PTA to provide dinner for us tonight, since we have to stay at school until 8 for parent teacher conferences.
 
But....
 
Eating Mexican food strong in cilantro and onions?? Not a good idea right before talking to parents face to face!

Sprout Film Festival returns to C’ville

Filed under: Uncategorized — SpedPro @ 12:31 pm
A touring version of the Sprout Film Festival (SFF), which features films by and about individuals with developmental disabilities, stops in Charlottesville (VA) Friday 12 March 2010. There are to be two shows, one from 10:30 AM to 12:00 noon and the second from 7:00 to 9:00 PM; the former is free and a $10 [...]

Comments Sought on National Education Technology Plan Draft

Filed under: U.S. Department of Education, assistive technology — Elisabeth Williams @ 12:11 pm
Department of Education Seal On March 5, the U.S. Department of Education released a draft of the National Education Technology Plan, a document which outlines how technology can be used to transform teaching and learning.  Centered on five themes: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity, the Plan provides key goals and recommendations. CEC submitted extensive comments, many of which were incorporated into the draft plan.  



The draft Plan is now available for public comment.  Please click here to read the plan and submit comments.



Read CEC’s Recommendations titled: Embedding Technology in Education for All Learners.







Seclusion & Restraints Bill Passes House of Representatives

Filed under: Christopher Dodd, Gerl, S.2860, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions, restraints, seclusion — Jim Gerl @ 11:53 am

Christopher Dodd, U.S. Senator.Image via Wikipedia



The seclusion and restraints bill, HR 4247, now known as the Keeping All Students Safe Act, passed the U. S. House of representatives by a vote of 262 - 153. Here is an account by the Policy Insider blog of the Council for Exceptional Children.

The bill now moves to the senate where it is sponsored by Senator Dodd and is called S.2860. The bill would make seclusion and restraints a last resort and would require training on the techniques and parental notification. There is also a competitive grant program established to encourage school-wide positive behavior supports. Here is a summary of the bill. Here is Sen. Dodd's description. This site has the full text of the bill.

Call or write your U.S. senators and tell them what you think of this bill. This official contact tool
of the U. S. senate may be useful in that regard.
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------- Thanks for subscribing! Jim Gerl

Mouse Emulator Joystick for Orthopedically Impaired: Free software and controller Under $8!

Filed under: assistive technology, game controllers for AT, mouse emulator, using game controllers for a mouse — Lon @ 10:00 am
Joy Tokey!

I recently had to send in a mouse emulator that worked with a joy stick on a power wheelchair for repairs. The student had been using it to access his laptop. He had Kurzweil 3000 (Flash demo) and Click nType keyboard to write in his scanned worksheets, do reports, etc. and now he was stuck without his gear.
I knew it would probably be a month until this student got his equipment back so I needed to come up with a fast fix to patch together in the meantime. I was online searching for mouse emulator software and I came across Joy Tokey, an open source free application that takes a Playstation game controller that is USB and converts the joystick and a couple of buttons to a mouse controller.
I downloaded the app and unzipped it in a folder on my desktop.
I didn't have a PS2 USB controller, but I did have an older PC game controller with 2 thumb joysticks, side buttons, a plus and 4 top buttons - regular game controller. It was USB. I plugged it in with Joy Tokey open and selected the preference for a mouse. It worked great! I had up, down, left, right, with a joystick and 2 buttons were my left and right-click. I could hold down the left-click button and move the mouse to highlight text. I used Click n Type for my on-screen keyboard to type.

I plan to to take this down to the school and hook it up with the student. If we can mount the controller where the student can access the thumb stick and buttons, he will be able to get back to school work!
I looked online and found a USB game controller for PC for $7.99 at Computer Geeks . They also had a wireless joy stick which would be even better for $24.99. For under $8 you can get a controller, download the free mouse emulator app and be ready to rumble.

Next week I will share on some online art programs that work with this set up to do some great drawing and build mouse skills and control.

All the best,

Lon


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Twitter is used to communicate with parents, teach students

Filed under: Teachers/ Educators, Technology in Education — Maria Angala @ 6:14 am
Teachers in Kentucky's Jefferson County are slowly integrating social-networking Web sites into the classroom, saying the sites help improve student learning and communication with parents. One teacher has established a classroom Twitter page and selects students to post short updates about classroom activities throughout the day for parents. Teachers also are using YouTube in lessons, and officials say they are considering lifting a ban on Facebook in schools. The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.)

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