Carole Zangari from the PrAACtical AAC blog wrote to ask me if I could create a brief tutorial on how to access audio content via podcasts so she could better direct readers to some of the A.T.TIPSCAST episodes featuring communication strategies.
This is a step-by-step guide for anyone interested in learning how to search, listen, and subscribe to podcasts.
Sponsor Information –
This bonus content of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products. Texthelp will continue to sponsor the A.T.TIPSCAST with new episodes starting in the Fall!
New Content Coming Soon –
As mentioned in previous episodes, I was forced to cut back on the number of episodes produced during the 13-14 school year. Kids getting older, selling our house, moving, and all the rest of life’s adventures forced a truncated Season 7 with 12 new episodes rather than the typical 20. The A.T.TIPSCAST will return in the Fall with at least 12 new episodes spanning the 14-15 school year. See you then!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Use promotion code ATTIPS14SAVE10 to get
10% off online orders of Read&Write!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires March 31, 2014.
Episode Overview-
Episode #128 features a reading of Chris’ automatic email reply message while he is away at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference which features app review resources and strategies for teaching reading of multisyllabic words.
A.T.TIP #410 – Georgia Tech Tools for Life App Review site – http://bit.ly/gatfl
A.T.TIP #411 – AppoLearning is an app by Appolicious that showcases the five best educational apps for school-aged students as selected by teachers and app experts across 150 different subjects – http://bit.ly/appolearning
A.T.TIP #412 – Using a mirror to count syllables
A.T.TIP #413 – Highlight vowel sounds in words to count syllables
A.T.TIP #414 – Put syllables on index cards or cells on a graphic organizer to make them easier to manipulate. Drag them around to make words.
A.T.TIP #415 – Place syllables on full pieces of paper and hop to them to make full words.
A.T.TIP #416 – http://arflashcards.com – Winner of the 2013 Edublog Award for Best Mobile App
Also Mentioned In this Episode –
The votes have been tabulated for the 2013 Edublog Awards!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #124 features a recording of the events that transpired when Chris and his wife, Melissa, went on a romantic, rustic retreat only to discover an iPad in an abandoned cabin in the woods.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #123 features a recording of a statement by the spokesman for N.O.T.S.I.C.K., the faux National Organization for Training and School Improvement in Classrooms for Kids, pertaining to the outbreak of the PD2.0 virus. A text version of this statement including additional visuals can be read at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Hot Topics Accessibility blog.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #376 – Automatic reply e-mails to share professional development resources (See a sample at http://bit.ly/emailreply)
A.T.TIP #377 – E-mail signatures to share professional development resources
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning Read&Write software solutions. Click on the banner below to learn about the amazing Read&Write products.
Episode Overview-
Episode #122 features an original short story written for the Closing The Gap Solutions publication about a frustrated assistive technology specialist who is ready to throw in the towel and look for a new career due to the number of reports she is writing. During a serendipitous meeting she finds two colleagues who offer suggestions as to how she might solve her problem. A big thanks to Melissa Bugaj for narrating the story. If you prefer to read the text version of the article complete with illustrated comics you can subscribe to Closing The Gap Solutions.
A.T.TIPS in this Episode –
A.T.TIP #375 – A Consultation First Model of Service Delivery
One was on professional development and the other was on daily classroom tools.
The book is now available for pre-sale.
Upcoming Presentations –
Chew the P.H.A.T – Policies & How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 9th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Get Your Body Moving – Adventures in Gesture-Based Learning with Karen Dietrich & Dr. Tara Jeffs – 8am on October 10th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Multi-modal Professional Development with Sally Norton-Darr – 8am on October 11th, 2013 at Closing the Gap in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #114 features a reading of the extended version of an article written by Beth Poss and Chris Bugaj for the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s April Newsletter. The article describes effective professional development practices useful for any institution.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp, provider of the award-winning literacy solution Read&Write GOLD. To learn about Read&Write Gold and their suite of web apps click on the banner below!
Use promotion code ATTIPS13SAVE10 to get 10% off online orders of Read&Write GOLD!
Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires May 31, 2013.
Episode #110 features a discussion about coming together to create a centralized repository of resource slides from which people can draw upon to create their own Strategy-A-Day Calendar.
This episode also features a bumper from Amy Braddock, the assistive technology specialist for West Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota
A.T.TIP #320 – The Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research’s ongoing Tip of the Day images accessible from http://bit.ly/icater and from their daily Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/IOWA_iCATER.
FREE Webinar: The Great Eightwith Sally Norton-Darr for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 13th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Xbox 360 & Avatar Kinectwith Dr. Tara Jeffs, Karen Dietrich, and Mark Nichols for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 20th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
FREE Webinar: Can You Hear Me Now? Integrating Audio in the Classroomwith Melissa Bugaj for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Wednesday – March 6th, 2013 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.Cancelled due to inclement weather. Rescheduled for Wednesday – April 10th, 2013 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Episode #101 of the A.T.TIPSCAST features a brief discussion about what comes next in one’s personal quest to learn more about the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning framework. Download a .PDF Transcript of this episode.
This is the first episode of Season 6 of the A.T.TIPSCAST!
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #90 features a discussion of tools that can be used to summarize text.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #86 features a round robin resource sharing event conducted during the Virginia Society for Technology in Education 2011 Conference in Roanoke, Virginia known as the “Strategy Smackdown.” Participants in the Smackdown shared different tools useful to help educate students.
Also, I’d like to thank Adam Bellow for contributing the bumper at the beginning of the episode. You can check out his website at http://edutecher.net.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #84 features the second of two parts of a recording of a discussion at the George Mason University Assistive Technology Share Fair of 2011 about the educational uses of podcasting.
Episode #83 features the first of two parts of a recording of a discussion at the George Mason University Assistive Technology Share Fair of 2011 about the educational uses of podcasting.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #82 is a recording of an event where Chris and his wife Melissa describe a variety of educational tools as they conduct a paranormal investigation.
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. To learn about these products and their new suite of web apps go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #81 is the first episode of the fifth season of the A.T.TIPSCAST and features a brief discussion about the technology skill of downloading a file from the Internet.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #79 features a discussion about the use of the free versions of some common interactive whiteboard software titles.
This episode also features a bumper from Becky Switalski who is encouraging people to submit photos to be shown on the big screen in Times Square to raise awareness for National Down Syndrome month and to kick off the Buddy Walk season. If you can, submit a picture for the presentation!
The question booklets for Volume 11, 12, and 13 are now available. If you’re new to the A.T.TIPSCAST and you’re not sure what that is, you can find out more by checking out the special episode about professional development posted back in May, 2009.
You can find the Question Booklets for every volume by clicking on the “Free PD Kits” link in the top right corner of this page.
Volume 11 (Episodes 67 – 68, Total Running Time 1:14:43)-
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by the Intel Reader. Learn more about this handheld, portable device with built-in optical character recognition and text-to-speech technology at http://careinnovations.com/reader.
This episode features a brief description of optical character recognition (OCR) and features an interview with Steve Gallo from Intel – GE where we talk about the implementation of the Intel Reader for students and in the classroom.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #72 features a discussion of the use of digital video with students, in educational evaluations, and in educational reports.
A.T.TIPS In This Episode-
A.T.TIP #191: Scripting for Video Production
A.T.TIP #192: Students Interviewing Others on Video
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Special Episode #5 features a quick introduction to podcasting with a little bit of Mardi Gras nonsense thrown in for fun. Melissa Bugaj, host of the Night Light Stories podcast, co-hosts the episode.
Upcoming Presentations-
ESBOCES Model Schools Technology Leadership Webinar Series
Practical AT – March 7th, 2011 – 8:00pm – 9:00pm with Sally Norton-Darr
UDL & Assistive Technology – April 4th, 2011 – 8:00pm – 9:00pm with Sally Norton-Darr
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools. Learn more at http://iste.org/chewat.
The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools
Episode #69 is features another recording of a live event from the Techknowledgy 2010 Conference in Richmond, Virginia. At that conference I presented a session called Alternative Professional Development. I use the term “presented” loosely because, although I was listed as the presenter, the session was more of an integrated brainstorming session. I was more of the moderator for the discussion than a presenter. During the session we tried to outline some of the common problems with staff development happening in public schools and then try to come up with some solutions. During the course of the discussion a bunch of great ideas were mentioned about how to address some of the problems with the typical professional development model. Furthermore, a number of concrete resources are mentioned that can be used to assist students. You can access the entire presentation as generated by the audience here: Alternative Professional Development Presentation from Techknowledgy 2010.
The episode also features a bumper from Rochelle Hamilton and Cindy Carmina who are educators from Prince William County, Virginia.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #68 features a round robin resource sharing event conducted during the Orlando ATIA 2011 Conference known as the “A.T. Smackdown.” Educators like Dave Hohulin, Karen Janowski, Brian Wojcik, and a host of others shared different tools that they have found useful to help educate students. With this go round, I got to be there in person to record the live event!
Also, I’d like to thank Eliza Anderson, for contributing the bumper at the beginning of the episode. You can check out the free newsletter/e-zine with information on how to subscrive and contribute over at http://atprogramnews.com
Special thanks to Dave Hohulin and Brian Dowd for sharing their notes of the event (which helped tremendously in putting the list below together).
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #65 features a round robin resource sharing event conducted during the Chicago ATIA 2010 Conference known as the “A.T. Smackdown.” Educators like Dave Hohulin, Karen Janowski, Brian Wojcik, Patrick Black, and host of others shared different tools that they have found useful to help educate students. Lucky for us they had the foresight to make an audio recording of the event! You can check out a full list with brief descriptions of each tool over at http://teachingall.blogspot.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
This episode of the A.T.TIPSCAST is sponsored by Texthelp Systems, provider of award-winning literacy solutions including Read&Write GOLD and Fluency Tutor. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.
Episode #56 continues an exploration of different ways for students to practice keyboarding skills and keyboard accessibility.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of te show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
No new audio with this post. It is a blog only update to let you know that the Question Booklets for Volume 5, 6, and 7 are now available. If you’re new to the A.T.TIPSCAST and you’re not sure what that is, you can find out more by checking out the special episode about professional development posted back in May, 2009.
You can find the Question Booklets for every volume by clicking on the “Free PD Kits” link in the top right corner of the page.
Volume 7 (Episodes 45 – 49, Total Running Time 1:09:35)-
Episode #50 features a discussion about the educational uses of video conferencing.
The episode features a special segment from Claire, the daughter of one of my colleagues, and her friends who delivered the audio on a CD within a bowl full of Jell-O.
Episode #44 is up for your listening pleasure and boy is it a doozy! It clocks in at just under 42 minutes! Yikes! Episode #44 is kind of a unique episode because it features a recording of a live event. Back on November 14th I was lucky enough to attend the Powering Up with Technology Conference in Prince George’s County Maryland. At that conference I presented a session called Alternative Professional Development. I use the term “presented” loosely because, although I was listed as the presenter, the session was more of an integrated brainstorming session. I was more of the moderator for the discussion than a presenter. During the session we tried to outline some of the common problems with staff development happening in public schools and then try to come up with some solutions. During the course of the discussion a bunch of great ideas were mentioned about how to address some of the problems with the typical professional development model. Furthermore, a number of concrete resources are mentioned that can be used to assist students. You can access the entire presentation as generated by the audience here: Alternative Professional Development Presentation from PUWT09.
The episode also features a bumper from Robin Lesht who is a speech-language pathologist from Mount Prospect, Illinois. I met Robin at ATIA 09 where we shared different experiences working in the field of speech-language pathology.
A.T.TIPS In This Episode-
A.T.TIP #67: Document Holder from Inverted CD case and Alligator Clip
Many a student has strained their neck transposing a handwritten assignment onto the computer because the paper was flat on the desk. To alleviate the neck strain people started to use document holders so that they didn’t have to constantly shift their field of vision from the paper to the screen and back again. Sure, you could go out and spend money on a fancy, commercial document holder or you could take an unused CD case that you probably have lying around, flip it over so the hinged cover is upright and then fasten the paper to it with an alligator clip. Done and done, instant document holder.
This website provides over 1000 pre-made lessons/presentations on a wide variety of curricular topics. The media-rich presentations are similar to a PowerPoint presentation and each one is available to be viewed online via your web browser. Each presentation is useful as a pre-learning activity where students could be asked to independently review content before a class discussion, as an alternative source of content to complement or supplement another lesson, or as a follow-up/review activity at the end of a lesson.
This website allows you to create an animated talking head. Use text-to-speech or record a voice to have the voki speak the message. Vokis could be used by a teacher to introduce a lesson, give verbal instructions for an assignment, record reminders to students, provide feedback and more! Vokis could be used by a student as an alternative means of expression for presentations, practicing conversations, or demonstrating knowledge. Check out these ideas on how to use Voki in your classroom from The Edublogger.
This website allows you to upload a picture, select a portion of that picture that will move (usually a mouth), and then record a message. When the message is played back, the selected area will move in time with the message. Blabberize can be used in similar ways as Vokis. It could be used by a teacher to introduce a lesson, give verbal instructions for an assignment, record reminders to students, provide feedback and more! It could be used by a student as an alternative means of expression for presentations, practicing conversations, or demonstrating knowledge.
4. www.delicious.com – Social Bookmarking Site. Note that the A.T.TIPSCAST uses delicious to share resources on the left side of the page.
5. www.Prezi.com – A new and interesting way to create a presentation. Information is presented on one large canvas and you zoom into different areas of the canvas to view the information.
6. www.tinyurl.com – A useful way of making long URLs shorter. Shortened URLs are easier for users to remember (like www.tinyurl.com/nlsstories) and easier for people to type in if entering a URL from a piece of paper.
7. Tonyvincent.info – A link library of useful educational resources created by the keynote speaker of the conference, Tony Vincent. **Corrected from original post- Tony made a comment below sharing that the site he used to present at the conference was http://tonysite.info ***
8. Radio WillowWeb Podcast – Radio WillowWeb is a podcast for kids
and by kids from the students at Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. Each new show is called a Willowcast. Each Willowcast can be heard on WillowWeb as an mp3 digital audio file.
9. ASHA Podcast – The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s podcast features interviews with different individuals making strides in the field of speech-language pathology and audiology
10. Quick Access Toolbar in Word 07 – Microsoft Word 07 features a quick access toolbar that can be customized, allowing for favorite tools to be shown and less used tools to be hidden. This feature helps to reduce clutter on the screen while highlighting to students some key/important features they could be using in Word.
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #43 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #43 features some more feedback from listeners of the show. There was still too much feedback to fit it all into just this episode so you can expect to hear at least one more Listener Feedback episode in the future.
The focus of the Classroom Acoustic Coalition Facebook group is to bring about awareness about acoustics in the classroom. In the episode Signal-to-Noise ratio is mentioned as something to consider when working with students. The following are some other helpful resources about S/N and classroom acoustics:
This website allows you to quickly upload pictures and videos (.mpegs, .mpgs, .mp4, .mov, .avi, .wmv, .jpg’s and more) and then select from a number of free montage styles and music to create a nicely polished, professional looking, special effect ridden video. Once finished, the website generates a URL for your video that can be shared. The website is easy to use and would allow students to be able to create flashy presentations above and beyond just a simple slideshow. Plus, there is nothing to install. All of the controls and design occur right there on the website all for free. The only downside is that only some of the montages and music is free. For access to the complete library you need to become a premium member and pay a fee. Also, to export the video into another file format you need to be premium member. The following are some of the videos I’ve made using this website:
This website allows you to capture a video of whatever is happening on your screen. You can export videos as .swf files (flash) and .mov files, which means you can save the videos right down to your computer. You can choose to record the entire screen or record a rectangular area of the screen. Screentoaster.com is a great way to capture and share what a student has done on a computer and is also a great way to capture any lesson done on the computer. Also, a student could capture work they’ve done on a home computer to share back with teacher. It is also great for making short video tutorials providing directions for how to do something on the computer. Students could watch these videos over and over again as a way to have instructions repeated as many times as necessary.
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Run! Run! Run for your lives! Episode #42 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #42 features a visit to Count Edula’s mansion where he asks about some tools he can use to help organize his “hypothetical” zombie army. Chris’s suggestions just so happen to be useful tools to help students as well.
Google Earth lets you to zoom anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. Google Earth is a free software program you can download and install on your computer. When you launch the program you see a celestial view of the earth. On the left hand side you see a search window. Type in any location, hit the magnifying glass icon, and watch as you zoom to that location. Also on the left side of the screen you’ll find a section called “layers” click on any of the boxes there to add additional features to what you see in your search. So, for instance, if you select the “3D Buildings” layer when a 3 dimensional image of a building is available you will see that building in three dimensions. Try it by searching for any major city, like Chicago, and you’ll see a three-dimensional representation of tons of different buildings or try doing a search for one of the lighthouses along the Outer Banks. In more remote locations like those you can really see the difference between the 2 dimensional representations and the 3 dimensional representations. There is a street view layer that is awesome where you can see, where available, a 360 degree digital image as if you were standing at a given location. Students who have trouble visualizing how tall something is, or what something might look like, or how a structure might appear in real-life, can experience these places in a very tangential way. Using Google Earth before or after a field trip or community-based instructional trip can bring a totally new dimension to the learning experience. What’s nice about Google Earth is that it’s totally free. Students can download it at home to explore on their own. Again, this is just scratching the surface of what it can do as there are all different types of layers, including shipwrecks, weather conditions and forecasts, and global awareness.
Google Earth 5 allows you to create a tour by creating a movie. One of the icons is a little video camera. Just click on that video camera icon and then the little red record button that appears. Teachers can use this with students to give a little video tour of where they are going or where they have been. Students can also use this feature to demonstrate their knowledge. A student records themselves traveling from place to place in Google Earth to demonstrate they know how to get to a location from a location, that they know where on the globe an event occurred or where a place is actually located. You could even use it as an alternative way to tell a story. Instead of writing that essay on what they did over Winter Break, students can virtually take the teacher and other students to that location by showing it on Google Earth.
Mystudiyo.com is a website that allows you to create assessments using all sorts of different media. There are different assessment types to choose from, but the one that I think is easiest and most relevant to students is the multiple choice type of assessment. Once you choose your assessment type the website takes you through a series of questions to set-up your quiz. It’s like a quiz wizard that walks you through creation, step-by-step. You can choose from different looks of your quiz and you can add introductory media using text, an image, or video to give directions which is perfect for students who might have trouble reading instructions. You can also have text, an image or video accompany each question, which means you could read each question aloud and save it as a video to have a much more accessible assessment. At the end of the assessment a student can be presented with a scoreboard to see how well they did. Once you’ve finished creating your quiz the website generates a unique URL for your quiz. Take that URL and distribute it to students for them to take the quiz on your computers or, if possible, on their own home computers. See how well you can do on the quiz created by Count Edula for his zombie horde.
Shorttext.com allows someone to either type or copy/paste text directly into it. Then, once they are ready, they click on the “Create URL” button to make a URL for that text. In the future, they just go back to that unique URL to access that text again. It’s a handy way to save information. For instance, students who tend to lose things, like thumbdrives or assignments, can post it to Shorttext.com. Then, all they need is the URL to go get it. Unlike a thumbdrive, the URLs can be shared with a teacher or in a safe location that doesn’t get transported to and from school. There are some other tools on the net that might be better for organization of assignments and such, but shorttext.com has a very simple interface without lots of buttons or other functions. This makes it less intimidating, which is why I like it and which is why it might be perfect for some students and teachers. Check out a piece of intercepted correspondence from one of Count Edula’s zombie field generals.
Points of Interest:
Mentioned in the podcast is an article by the New York Times about Wikipedia’s new policy about editing entries about living people.
Also, if you haven’t seen this Common Craft How-to video, well, it might be worth your time to help you prepare for the impending apocalypse.
I hope to meet you at any or all of these presentations. But, if you can’t make it to those, and you’re interested in any of this (or other) content for workshops in your district please contact me at attipscast@gmail.com. We can work together to set something up either in person or virtually!
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #41 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #41 features some feedback from listeners of the show. There was too much feedback to fit into one episode so you can expect to hear more in the future.
The episode also features a bumper from Sally Norton-Darr and Judith Schoonover about the new version of CAST’s BookBuilder. Judith and Sally will be doing workshops on this at the following professional conferences if you’re interested in attending:
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
The next episode should be coming out shortly but, in the meantime, something strange happened. I received this strange invitation today when I got home from work. Check it out:
Well this was the big secret project I’ve been working on that I had mentioned in previous episodes. I introduce to you now “The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District’s AT Team” by Christopher Bugaj and Sally Norton-Darr. The book is being published by the International Society for Technology in Education (better known by the acronym ISTE) and will be available for pre-order in February March of 2010.
The Content:
As the title suggests the book provides strategies of building an assistive technology program in public schools. Answers to common questions such as “How do we consider AT for every student?”, “How does assistive technology get documented in an IEP?”, “What are some effective ways of working with Instructional Technology?”, “Who should be on an AT Team?”, “When and how do you write an AT evaluation report?”, “What is the most effect service delivery model?”, “How do you adequately follow-up with teachers and students?”, “How do you collect data and demonstrate progress?”, and “How do you build a comprehensive assistive technology program?” are all found in the book.
The Style:
The book is written in such a way that it is easy to use and fun to read. We wanted to create a book that wouldn’t feel like a chore to read. Therefore, the book is laced with engaging analogies and humorous stories which emphasize and clarify the points being made. In the future we hope to have some excerpts for you to sample, both in text and audio formats. Throughout the book we provide procedures that have not only been relatively easy to implement but also have proven exceptionally effective for us. In fact, that was kind of our mantra for the book, “If it’s working for us, why wouldn’t it work for you?”
More to Come:
I’ll be sharing more information in the coming weeks and month about purchase information, pricing, and how you can help spread the word about the book if you’re interested in helping out.
I hope to meet you at any or all of these presentations. But, if you can’t make it to those, and you’re interested in any of this (or other) content for workshops in your district please contact me at attipscast@gmail.com. We can work together to set something up either in person or virtually!
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
No new audio with this post. It is a blog only update to let you know that the Question Booklets for Volume 4 are now available. If you’re new to the A.T.TIPCAST and you’re not sure what that is, you can find out more by checking out the special episode about professional development posted back in May.
The Resources:
Download these files to make your own staff development workshop out of the A.T.TIPSCAST!
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #39 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #39 describes different ways to utilize the Photo Album feature of Microsoft PowerPoint to facilitate digital storytelling. The episode features a discussion with the newly-improved, fan favorite, B-Bot!
A.T. TIPS In This Episode-
A.T.TIP #57: Photo Album Feature of PowerPoint
In PowerPoint 07 Photo Album can be found in the “Insert” tab. It is built right into this version.
Although there may be slight variations based on the version of PowerPoint you are using, the Photo Album feature of PowerPoint looks like this:
I’ll be presenting at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)- June 28th – July 1st in Washington, D.C. (Poster Session: Chew the P.H.A.T-Policies and How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr).
Contact Information-
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #38 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #38 features Part 2 of the interview with Chris Cummins, a high school English teacher and adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia who is currently teaching a class on Literacy and Technology. The second part of the interview focuses more on specific tools that can be used to create graphic organizers while also touching upon some ideas about implementing graphic organizers across the curriculum.
“The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) is an Open Source project based at Tufts University. The VUE project is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information.”
A.T.TIP #56: Record Sound Feature of Inspiration (Not Free)
Students who can tell you a story (or explain an essay) orally but who have difficulty expressing those thoughts in a written format can use the “Record Sound” feature of Inspiration to complete writing assignments, like stories, essays, or essay questions on tests. The strategy involves the students recording one thought per cell in a web or outline created in Inspiration. Once they have recorded each sentence orally they can go back, listen to the sentence in the cell, and begin typing it in. Every time they get stuck with spelling or forget what they were going to type they can re-listen to their own recording to type it in. The following screenshots explain how to use the “Record Sound” feature of Inspiration.
Let’s say you have a graphic organizer that looks like this:
After selecting a cell, the student can record his voice by going here:
Once the student has selected “Record Sound” the following window will appear. Use the red record button to begin recording. Use the “Save” button to save the recording.
Once the sound has been saved the selected cell will display a “speaker” icon in the upper right hand corner. Double-click on this speaker icon to hear the recorded message as many times as necessary while the student types the words.
Additionally, teachers could use this feature to leave hints or reminder to students when developing a graphic organizing template.
Upcoming Conference Presentations-
I’ll be presenting at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)- June 28th – July 1st in Washington, D.C. (Poster Session: Chew the P.H.A.T-Policies and How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr).
Contact Information-
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #37 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #37 features Part 1 of a two part interview with Chris Cummins, a high school English teacher and adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia who is currently teaching a class on Literacy and Technology. During this first part of the interview Chris and I talk about a few different styles of graphic organizers as well as discuss how to implement graphic organizers in a high school setting.
I’ll be presenting at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)- June 28th – July 1st in Washington, D.C. (Poster Session: Chew the P.H.A.T-Policies and How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr).
Contact Information-
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #36 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #36 features a discussion about Book Builder by Sally Norton-Darr, Judith Schoonover, and Mark Nichols. They will be doing a presentation centering on the uses of Book Builder during the National Educational Computing Conference on June 29th. They are asking that you leave a comment on this blog post talking about how you use Book Builder, improvements you would like to see to Book Builder, or anything related to your experiences with the tool.
While you’re there, check out the book Sally and Judie created:
Support The Cause-
My colleagues will be riding in the local Tour De Cure on June 14th, 2009, sponsored by the American Diabetes Foundation. If you can donate, even a dollar, it would be much appreciated. Select the “donate” button on either website to make a donation.
Upcoming Conference Presentations-
I’ll be presenting at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)- June 28th – July 1st in Washington, D.C. (Poster Session: Chew the P.H.A.T-Policies and How-to’s in Assistive Technology with Sally Norton-Darr).
Contact Information-
If I don’t get to see you at NECC we can still connect virtually. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #34 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #34 describes another strategy for assisting students who have trouble maintaining appropriate volume while speaking. The episode also features a bumper from my mom, Jackie Bugaj. I’d like to thank Thomas F., Doug G., Michael M., Christopher C., and Timothy C. for their contributions that can be heard at the end of the episode.
A.T.TIP #48: Digital Voice Feedback Modulators
Here are some videos that further explain how to use digital voice feedback modulators.
Visual Feedback For Volume Management:
Visual Feedback With Audacity:
My colleagues will be riding in the local Tour De Cure sponsored by the American Diabetes Foundation. If you can donate, even a dollar, it would be much appreciated. Select the “donate” button on either website to make a donation.
I’ll be presenting at these two upcoming conferences:
1. Teacher Researcher Conference – May 27th, 2009 in Fairfax, Virginia (Session on Strategy-A-Day Calendar on Teacher Desktops as an Agent of Change with technology resource teachers).
If I don’t get to see you at either of those conferences we can still get together virtually over the Internet. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Episode #33 is up for your listening pleasure! Episode #33 describes a strategy for assisting students who have trouble maintaining appropriate volume, rate, or pitch when speaking. This episode is one of my contributions to Better Hearing and Speech Month by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The episode also features a bumper from Speech Language Pathologist and Assistive Technology Specialist, Beth Poss. Check out the website www.matnonline.com for more information about the Maryland Assistive Technology Network as well as incredible resources related to assistive technology. I presented on the topic of Alternative Professional Development at the MATN conference which was held on May 7th, 2009. The presentation was an collaborative effort between myself and the audience. Here is a PDF of what we put together during the workshop: Alternative Professional Development Presentation from MATN on May 7th, 2009.
A.T.TIP #47: Voice Feedback Modulators
Here are some sample Voice Feedback Modulators
Voice Feedback Modulator #1
Voice Feedback Modulator Sample 1
Voice Feedback Modulator #2
Voice Feedback Modulator Sample 2
Classroom Voice Feedback Modulator
Classroom Noise Feedback Modulator
In a case you missed it, here is the link to the video I submitted for the Better Hearing and Speech Month Video Contest for 2009 titled “2 Minute Mouths“. I didn’t win, but I had tons of fun making it and I do think it could be useful to people of all ages.
My colleagues will be riding in the local Tour De Cure sponsored by the American Diabetes Foundation. If you can donate, even a dollar, it would be much appreciated. Select the “donate” button on either website to make a donation.
I’ll be presenting at these two upcoming conferences:
1. Teacher Researcher Conference – May 27th, 2009 in Fairfax, Virginia (Session on Strategy-A-Day Calendar on Teacher Desktops as an Agent of Change with technology resource teachers).
If I don’t get to see you at either of those conferences we can still get together virtually over the Internet. Join the A.T.TIPPERS group on Facebook and/or Classroom 2.0 ! You can also follow me on twitter.com.
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
I’ve put together a professional development packet for you to download and use within your school or school district. Here is how it works.
The Problem:
Educators don’t have time to stay after school for staff development, but most, drive to work. Some educators may be reluctant to utilize new technologies, but most know how to operate a CD player. Educators are being asked to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of every learner every day.
The Solution:
The A.T.TIPSCAST is a free podcast that provides strategies to help educators differentiate instruction. As someone who organizes staff development workshops for your school or school district, download the episodes in each volume and burn them to a CD. Download the question booklet for that volume, print it out, and put it with your newly burned CD. Devise a method for distribution and then distribute to staff. E-mail me to get a copy of the answer booklet with all the answers in it. You’re done!
With minimal effort you’ve introduced three awareness level staff development workshops that educators can take without ever leaving their car! That’s over 3 and a half hours worth of professional development content at your fingertips with more to come as additional volumes of the A.T.TIPSCAST are completed (Volume #4 isin production now)!
The Resources:
Download these files to make your own staff development workshop out of the A.T.TIPSCAST!
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com. Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here:
Hey everyone,
Sorry, still no new audio content but that will change in the next few weeks. In the meantime, there has been some news surrounding the A.T.TIPSCAST. The A.T.TIPSCAST won the award for Best Professional Development Podcast during the Third Annual Teachers’ Podcast Awards! The Teachers’ Podcast is hosted by Mark Gura and Dr. Kathy King. Episode #27 is their most recent episode and it is where they announce the winners of the podcasting awards. There were three categories including Best Student Project Podcast, Best Teacher Podcast, and Best Professional Development Podcast. Approximately 15 minutes into episode #27 is when they announce the winner of the Best Professional Development Podcast. Needless to say, I was thrilled to even be considered, let alone win the award! One of the prizes for winning the award is to participate in an episode of The Teachers’ Podcast. I’m very much looking forward to the interview!
Thank you very much Teachers’ Podcast!
Leave a comment down below or drop me a line at attipscast@gmail.com Let me know what you think of the show! You can access the podcast and register as a fan of the show from here: