neurodivergent/special needs

Connecting the education community with research on learning — from digitalpromise.org

Excerpt:

When designing a program or product, many education leaders and ed-tech developers want to start with the best knowledge available on how students learn. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

Although thousands of academic articles are published every year, busy education leaders and product developers often don’t know where to start, or don’t have time to sift through and find studies that are relevant to their work. As pressure mounts for “evidence-based” practices and “research-based” products, many in the education community are frustrated, and want an easier way to find information that will help them deliver stronger programs and products — and results. We need better tools to help make research more accessible for everyday work in education.

The Digital Promise Research Map meets this need by connecting education leaders and product developers with research from thousands of articles in education and the learning sciences, along with easy-to-understand summaries on some of the most relevant findings in key research topics.

Also see:

Understood.org — resources for learning & attention issues

On 04/04/2016, in accessibility / UDL, attention, K-12 related, mathematics, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, productivity / tips and tricks, reading, relationships, social learning / networks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

understood.org

From DSC:
I’d like to thank Jenny Zeeff for the reminder on this resource. Though I’ve posted this item before, Jenny reminded me of this set of resources that might be very useful to someone else out there as well.

Telepresence robots to beam psychologists into schools [Nichols]

On 11/06/2015, in accessibility / UDL, health, ideas, K-12 related, neurodivergent/special needs, psychology, robotics, telecommunications, telepresence, vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

Telepresence robots to beam psychologists into schools — from zdnet.com by Greg Nichols
Researchers in Utah are experimenting with robots to solve a pressing problem: There aren’t enough pediatric psychologists to go around.

Excerpt:

Researchers in Utah are using an inexpensive robotic platform to help teachers in rural areas implement programs for children with special needs.

It’s another example of the early adoption of telepresence robots by educators and service providers, which I’ve written about here before. While offices are coming around to telepresence solutions for remote workers, teachers and school administrators seem to be readily embracing the technology, which they see as a way to maximize limited resources while bringing needed services to students.

Some great applications of AR: “How Blippar Education supports special needs students to improve learning”

On 07/28/2015, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, history, ideas, machine-to-machine communications, neurodivergent/special needs, science, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

How Blippar Education supports special needs students to improve learning — from blippar.com

Excerpts:

Firstly, high school teacher Katrine Pinkpank’s class made individual, blippable posters for their Earth Day projects in April. When passers-by blipped these posters – all of which were hung in beautiful frames in the hallways – they were taken to a video of the students doing their Earth Day presentation in front of the class. One student in the class is legally blind, so the braille on his poster was used to trigger the blipp. These hallway boards have become living, breathing, 3D tributes to the work of our students.

In Room 407, students used Blippar in many different ways. Wendy Thompson, an early adopter of the technology, used it for a Women’s History Month project where students created an app-smash between Blippar and Trading Cards. The students created trading cards about famous women in history – such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frida Kahlo, and Mary Shelley – then used Blippar to add photo galleries, hyperlinks, and videos so people passing the bulletin board could scan the cards and view pop-up content about these remarkable women.

Secondly, the class made the school newsletter blippable.
…
Using Blippar and Tellagami, the students created talking digital avatar videos that illustrated their post-secondary and transition goals.

From DSC:
Though this posting focuses on the use of Blippar, an augmented reality app, I also think beacons (such as from Estimote), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and apps like locly could be used to relay information from students, teachers, and faculty members who could record and provide presentations concerning their work — with pieces of their work being located out in the hallways or actually anywhere on a campus. When someone approaches a piece in the hallway, a pre-loaded application on that person’s mobile device — such as locly — would be activated to display a “card”/link to the video describing that piece. The author, creator, designer doesn’t need to be physically present in order to tell people about their work.

Also see:

4 Great Augmented Reality Apps for teaching Science
Excerpts:

Elements 4D
ZooKazam
NASA’s Spacecraft 3D
Anatomy 4D

Matching pedagogies with technologies — this is the type of interface that could help!

On 07/24/2015, in accessibility / UDL, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, ideas, interface design, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, personalized/customized learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The folks who worked on the Understood.org site have done a great job! Besides the wonderful resources therein, I really appreciated the user experience one is able to get by using their site. Check out the interface and functionality you can experience there (and which I’ve highlighted below).

We need a similar interface for matching up pedagogies with technologies.

DSC-NeedThisInterface4SelectingTechs4Pedagogies--July2015-flat

Also, there are some excellent accessibility features:

From DSC:
When you read the article below, you’ll see why I’m proposing the aforementioned interface/service/database — a service that would be similar to Wikipedia in terms of allowing many people to contribute to it.

Why ed tech is not transforming how teachers teach — from edweek.org by Benjamin Herold
Student-centered, technology-driven instruction remains elusive for most

Excerpt:

Public schools now provide at least one computer for every five students. They spend more than $3 billion per year on digital content. And nearly three-fourths of high school students now say they regularly use a smartphone or tablet in the classroom.

But a mountain of evidence indicates that teachers have been painfully slow to transform the ways they teach, despite that massive influx of new technology into their classrooms. The student-centered, hands-on, personalized instruction envisioned by ed-tech proponents remains the exception to the rule.

A note to Double Robotics — can you work towards implementing M2M communications?

On 07/22/2015, in 21st century, accessibility / UDL, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, ideas, machine-to-machine communications, neurodivergent/special needs, robotics, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
A note to Double Robotics — can you work towards implementing M2M communications?

That is, when our Telepresence Robot from Double Robotics approaches a door, we need for sensors on the door and on the robot to initiate communications with each other in order for the door to open (and to close after __ seconds). If a security clearance code is necessary, the remote student or the robot needs to be able to transmit the code.

When the robot approaches an elevator, we need for sensors near the elevator and on the robot to initiate communications with each other in order for the elevator to be summoned and then for the elevator’s doors to open. We then need for the remote student/robot to be able to tell the elevator which floor it wants to go to and to close the elevator door (if if hasn’t already done so).

Such scenarios imply that we need:

Industry standards for such communications
Standards that include security clearances (i.e., “OK, I’ll let you into this floor of this public building.” or “No, I can’t open up this door without you sending me a security clearance code.”)
Secure means of communications

A major request/upgrade might also include:

The ability for the Double App on the iPad to make recordings, have an auto send option to send those recordings to the cloud, and then provide transcripts for those recordings. This could be very helpful for accessibility reasons, but also to provide students/learners with a type of media that they prefer (video, audio, and/or text).

“Learning in the Living [Class] Room” — as explained by Daniel Christian [Campus Technology]

On 11/05/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, computer science, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, expectations, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, formal learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, immersion, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, marketplaces, media/film, Michigan, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), neurodivergent/special needs, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, organizational change, pace of change, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Learning from the Living [Class] Room — from Campus Technology by Daniel Christian and Mary Grush; with a huge thanks also going out to Mr. Steven Niedzielski (@Marketing4pt0) and to Mr. Sam Beckett (@SamJohnBeck) for their assistance and some of the graphics used in making these videos.

From DSC:
These 4 short videos explain what I’m trying to relay with a vision I’m entitling, Learning from the Living [Class] Room. I’ve been pulse checking a variety of areas for years now, and the pieces of this vision continue to come into fruition. This is what I see Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) morphing into (though there may be other directions/offshoots that they go in as well).

After watching these videos, I think you will see why I think we must move to a team–based approach.

(It looks like the production folks for Campus Technology had to scale things way back in terms of video quality to insure an overall better performance for the digitally-based magazine.)

To watch these videos in a higher resolution, please use these links:

Alternatively, these videos can be found at:

.

How technology is changing education for students with disabilities [edudemic.com]

On 01/21/2013, in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs, by Daniel Christian

How technology is changing education for students with disabilities — from edudemic.com

Excerpt:

Some people see computers as little more than gaming consoles and shopping tools. Recently developed electronics, however, have revolutionized education for children with disabilities. If you know a child with disabilities who is struggling, you might want to explore some of these devices.

What an amazing person and teacher! [New York Times article & video about Jeffrey Wright]

On 12/31/2012, in engagement / engaging students, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, neurodivergent/special needs, physics, relationships, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Article:

Video:

Mr. Wright said he decided to share his son’s story when his physics lessons led students to start asking him “the big questions.”

“When you start talking about physics, you start to wonder, ‘What is the purpose of it all?’ ” he said in an interview. “Kids started coming to me and asking me those ultimate questions. I wanted them to look at their life in a little different way — as opposed to just through the laws of physics — and give themselves more purpose in life.”

.

From DSC:
My thanks go out to Mr. Joseph Byerwalter for this very powerful piece…

Assistive technology and the 1:1 student [Marcinek]

On 11/30/2012, in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs, tablets, by Daniel Christian

Assistive technology and the 1:1 student — from edutopia.org by Andrew Marcinek

Excerpt:

A Transformative Experience
Meaghan recalls her first moments with the iPad and how she and her liaison discovered the variety of new opportunities that this one device presented. One of the first things she used was the ability to invert the colors of the screen. The iPad gives users the opportunity to read predominantly black text on a lighter screen, or to invert the colors and overlay white text on a black screen. This one feature, Meaghan recalls, was “transformative” in her learning of what the iPad could offer her educational experience.

Aside from the color inversion, Meaghan utilizes the VoiceOver feature that will read any selected text on the screen, and the Zoom feature that requires a double-tap of three fingers.

Beyond the simple flip of a switch in the accessibility options, Meaghan soon found many new opportunities for her learning on this one device.
.

Photo credit: Sean MacEntee via flickr

Transitioning students with disabilities into college and careers [Pauley]

On 11/20/2012, in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs, by Daniel Christian

Transitioning students with disabilities into college and careers — from ed.gov by Linda Pauley

Excerpt:

Scott Rich is a prime example of how a student with disabilities can be successful. Rich was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, and behavioral problems affected him throughout elementary school. He had difficulty engaging to the point that he was expelled on several occasions, and during middle and high school, he suffered anxiety and time management issues.

Today, life for Rich is an entirely different story. At age 29, Rich has earned his M.A. in Special Education, a B.A. in Geography, and a Minor in Special Education. Rich now works as an outreach advocate and is mentoring students with special needs and autism.

Also see:

ldonline.org — the world’s leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD
Assisting students with special needs — from edweek.org by Larry Ferlazzo

Special Education 101 Infographic [rossieronline.usc.edu]

On 11/13/2012, in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Special Education 101 Infographic

Excerpt:

…we would like to present the following infographic as an introduction to this rapidly growing field. It provides an overview of what special education is, how students are referred for special education services and definitions of acronyms common to the field, like “IEP” (or “Individualized Education Program”), along with much more.

Although special education began in the 1950s as a movement to win individuals with disabilities a free and quality education, it has today come to embrace the ideal of inclusion, with many students with disabilities being taught in general classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers. Thus, as fully inclusive classrooms become more of a reality, all prospective teachers can benefit from a better understanding of the basics of special education. The number of students receiving special education services is also steadily on the rise, so now is certainly the time to start learning more about the field.

Goalbook — looks to be a solid tool for supporting/transforming special education

On 10/19/2012, in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Special Education and the Common Core — from goalbookapp.wordpress.com

Excerpt:

The three strategic initiatives below are the most fundamental initial steps to fulfill the promise of this new change:

Special Educators Trained in Common Core Standards and Curriculum
Standards Aligned IEPs
General Educators Trained in Universal Design for Learning

Also see:

Goalbook Nabs $915K From NewSchools & More To Help Teachers Transform Special Education — from techcrunch.com by Rip Empson
Excerpt:
With the new infusion of capital, the startup plans to develop a “Goal Bank,” or a repository of individual goals (aligned with Common Core State Standards) that will include assessments, instructional resources and videos, that is designed specifically for special education teachers.

Learning Ecosystems

How technology is changing education for students with disabilities [edudemic.com]

What an amazing person and teacher! [New York Times article & video about Jeffrey Wright]

Assistive technology and the 1:1 student [Marcinek]

Transitioning students with disabilities into college and careers [Pauley]

Special Education 101 Infographic [rossieronline.usc.edu]

Goalbook — looks to be a solid tool for supporting/transforming special education

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