Tel.A.Vision

Tel.a.vision was created in 2010 and is geared towards helping at-risk and special education students work towards a future goal. Students use this web-based application to create a multimedia vision for their future. Tel.A.Vision enhances creativity, writing, reading and revision skills. This multisensory approach towards a project really enhances participation for reluctant students and will help decrease the number of students that have no hope for their future and at risk of dropping out.

Tel.A.Vision utilizes an entirely online curriculum and includes lessons plans that are appropriate for any student but include specific modifications for students' with special needs. However, the curriculum is appropriate for everyone. Many teachers give students the assignment: "what I want to be when I grow up". Struggling students are not usually motivated by a writing assignment and oftentimes do not see themselves having a bright future.

It costs $250 for up to 30 students. Every student has their own account and the final product can be put onto DVDs.

By developing a concrete and vivid goal to work with, students can begin to believe that they do have something to work for.



References:

Students develop self advocacy skills with "vision video" web 2.0 application. (2010, June/July). Closing the Gap, Retrieved from https://www.closingthegap.com/solutions/articles/1801

*Note: I am in no way being compensated for my review of Tel.A.Vision. Should the company wish to supply me with a license free of charge, I'd be over the moon!

Ginger

The second Web 2.0 tool that I would like to share with you is called: Ginger. Ginger is a tool used to assist individuals' with disabilities (as well as English language learners and young students) with the writing process.

Spelling requires an understanding of the phonological structure of language. However, this is the area that most individuals with learning disabilities (such as Dyslexia) really struggle.

"Spell checkers only suggest the correct spelling for 58 percent of identified errors, and as little as 37 percent for all spelling errors. In other words, 63 percent of the spelling errors made by persons with LD may not be detected by spell checkers" (MacArthur, 1996). The typical spell checker will list about 5 words for the one spelled incorrectly.

The majority of spell checkers are only useful if the spelling isn't too "far off" from the correct spelling of the word. Oftentimes, students' with disabilities spelling is so far from the correct spelling that the spell checker cannot recognize the correct word. Furthermore, a person with Dyslexia may also have a reading disability and be unable to recognize the correct word when it is suggested by the spell checker.

Ginger is an online spelling and grammar checker that relies on full sentence context clues to help the user with the writing process. Ginger premium also includes a text-reader that allows the user to select the word they intended to use, even if they can't read the word on the screen.

A feature of Ginger that I really think is great is that it doesn't underline incorrect words in red. This feature in spell checkers can be very disheartening for the student with a disability. There are also no distracting pop up windows with word suggestions.

The person using Ginger selects the sentence they want corrected and Ginger displays the entire corrected sentence, along with the original sentence. Background colors, fonts and text colors can also be changed in Ginger, which supports students' with visual impairments.

Ginger requires the internet and can be used with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.

I think this is an absolutely fabulous tool, I plan on using it with my students in the future.

You can try Ginger out by typing in a sentence on their blog to see how it works. You can then download if for a free trial. When you love it can't live without it, you can take advantage of one of their payment options:

Ginger Premium - Monthly Payment: $9.99 - Includes spelling and grammar correction, learn from past mistakes and a text-to-speech reader

Ginger Premium One-Time payment: $99.00 (same features as monthly payment)

Ginger - one time payment: $66.00 - Only includes spelling and grammar correction

References:

Feldman-Simon, M. (2010, June/July). A new generation writing solution. Closing the Gap,

Retrieved from https://www.closingthegap.com/solutions/articles/1798

*Note: I am in no way being compensated for my review of Ginger. Should the company wish to supply me with a this fantastic tool free of charge, I'd be over the moon!

Web 2.0 and Blogger

Yes, I am using Blogger to write about Blogger. I have been using Blogger for several years and am beginning to realize the potential it has in a special education setting.

Many teachers' now have classroom blogs used to disseminate information to students, parents and administrators. Some educators are figuring out that a classroom Blog has a real place in instruction can be interactive!

I recently read an article from Closing the Gap, an Assistive Technology magazine. The article highlighted an inclusion program where students are paired with undergrad/graduate teacher education students from Appalachian State University. The college students serve as good written language models for the students in the inclusion program.

The students also participate in a classroom blog. The teacher posts writing prompts at Virtual Authors and each student responds in turn. Their audience is not just school-wide; it also includes the ASU students and anyone else in the blogosphere. This teacher is "creating authentic purposes for reading and writing" (Wollak, 2010).

I will use Blogger in my future classroom because it promotes interactivity, empowerment, engagement and motivation. I will setup a classroom blog similar to Virtual Authors. In addition to writing prompts, I will also have students take turns formatting the blog. I will have a list of blogs for students to explore and they will be required to comment on different blogs (we will use Ginger for spelling and grammar checking).

The use of 21st century tools in the classroom is not only motivating, but it is preparing students with "multiliteracies" (Koppenhaver, 2010). Embracing these tools will prepare students to thrive in our technology-driven world.

References:

Wollak, B. (2010, April/May). Technology supported literacy: students in an inclusion program e-mail, blog and twitter. Closing the Gap, Retrieved from https://www.closingthegap.com/solutions/articles/1787

*Note: Blogger is not compensating me for this review.

CompassLearning and the Odyssey Community

The motto of CompassLearning is "engage, think, learn." The company realizes that students today not only engage with learning differently, but that the educational opportunities are vast.

In July 2010, a study completed by Yahoo! determined that individuals between the ages of 13 and 24 are spending 16.7 hours a week on the Internet. Odyssesy Community meets students in their comfort zone. By taking advantage of social media, Odyssey is encouraging students to really engage in their education. This interactive community facilitates teacher-student and peer-to-peer interaction and allows the teacher to guide learning in a safe environment. Odyssey Community is a prime example of Web 2.0. It empowers students, is interactive, engaging, motivating and has differentiated instruction.

"CompassLearning progresses at a pace unique to each student and challenges students without intimidating them." CompassLearning is a program to use if you are following the Response to Intervention (RTI) model to address the needs of struggling students. There are 4 steps to the RTI model in CompassLearning.

Step 1 - Diagnosis: The assessment provides the teacher with the student's strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2 - Instruction: Instruction is scaffholded, individualized and allows students to work at their own pace.

Step 3 - Progress Monitoring and Reporting: Any special education teacher knows that data collection can be overwhelming and intimidating. CompassLearning automatically collects data on student work and notifies teachers when adjustments in instruction need to occur.

Step 4 - Rejoining Mainstream: Due to the constant assessment of student progress, teachers are aware when students are mastering concepts. Students can then be transitioned to peer level work.

The Odyssey Community offers students a low-stress way to access all features of their educational program. The anxiety of the fear of social interaction or competency in an academic setting complicates the educational process and makes learning more difficult. By taking away the immediacy of face to face group work, students have the time to collect their thoughts and participate in activities at their own pace.

To find out more about CompassLearning, please visit their website.

Statistics taken from: MSNBC

*Note: I am in no way being compensated for my review of CompassLearning. Should they wish to supply me with a license free of charge, I'd be happy!

Welcome!

Hello!

My name is Jaimie. I am a special education teacher and a first year grad student at Johns Hopkins University. My goal for this blog is to share how Web 2.0 Resources can be used in a special education setting.

I am a big fan of collaboration and hope that other special education professionals out there will comment with their opinions of the resources I share.

If you have questions about anything (things I've posted, special education in general, etc.), please don't hesitate to ask.


Stay tuned!

Jaimie

P.S. Here are some special education blogs that I have found to be very useful:

Teaching Learners with Multiple Needs
Teaching All Students
Thoughts on Special Education