neurodivergent/special needs

Google is making it easier to find out if places in the community are accessible to people with disabilities, all with the touch of a button. [Heasley]

On 02/23/2023, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), Google, neurodivergent/special needs, by Daniel Christian

Google Enhances Accessibility Information — from disabilityscoop.com by Shaun Heasley

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Google is making it easier to find out if places in the community are accessible to people with disabilities, all with the touch of a button.

The company said recently that it is expanding a feature called “Accessible Places,” which allows Google Maps users to see if businesses are wheelchair accessible and free of stairs.

Google originally rolled out Accessible Places in 2020 in the U.S., Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom, but now says the option is available globally and includes details on more than 40 million locations.

Along the lines of accessibility-related items, see:

Over 11 Million Jobs in the U.S. May Exclude Color-Blind Persons — from billfischer.substack.com by Bill Fischer
Employing design solutions that involve text, pattern, and other types of visual differentiation besides color as well as developing color-identifying smart-glasses technology can start to break down occupational barriers for color-blind persons.

Excerpt:

Below is a list of occupations that require testing for color-blindness, divided into two categories: those in which design choices create challenges and those in which the issues are rooted in the natural environment.

Two items re: accessibility / inclusive design / special education

On 02/11/2023, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), content development, aggregation, repositories, curriculum, education, neurodivergent/special needs, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Imagine Learning Announces Major New Special Education Initiative — from businesswire.com; via GSV

Excerpt:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the United States serving 15 million students in more than half the districts nationwide, today announced a major new initiative to address the urgent learning needs of more than seven million students with disabilities across the U.S.
…
Imagine Learning is also launching Imagine AscendTM, a new comprehensive solution for special education students that combines digital courseware with highly qualified virtual instructors. Imagine Ascend provides districts with a sustainable solution for staffing shortages and a scalable approach to increasing graduation rates, both critical needs of special education programs. The Imagine Ascend portfolio of curricula and services will support learners with accommodating instruction and help educators serve students with disabilities.

Learn Smarter Podcast — from learnsmarterpodcast.com

Somewhat along these lines…for some other resources related to the science of learning, see cogx.info’s research database:

Scientific Literature Supporting COGx Programs
COGx programs involve translation of research from over 500 scientific sources. The scientific literature below is a subset of the literature we have used and organized by subject area to facilitate access. In addition, we have worked directly with some of the authors of the scientific literature to help us translate and co-create our programs. Many of the scientific papers cited below were written by COGx Academic Partners.

Topics include:

- Information Processing
- Executive Function
- Long-Term Memory
- Metacognition
- Emotions & Engagement
- Cognitive Diversity

Also see:

USEFUL LEARNING WITH EFRAT FURST (S3E10) — from edcircuit.com with Efrat Furst, Tom Sherrington, and Emma Turner

College Guide for Students with Disabilities and Their Parents [ivypanda.com]

On 01/20/2023, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), colleges, community colleges, higher education, IT in HE, law schools, neurodivergent/special needs, UK, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

College Guide for Students with Disabilities and Their Parents — from ivypanda.com; with thanks to Yvonne McQuarrie for this resource

Excerpt:

According to recent statistics, 18% of undergraduate and 12% of graduate students have temporary, relapsing, or long-term disabilities. Students might have noticeable disabilities, but many disorders are “hidden.” Luckily, modern colleges have many resources that allow people with disabilities to attend classes and thrive in their academic life. This guide will focus on the advice that can help students with disabilities successfully navigate their higher education.

Discovering Autism and Community Later in Life [Dater]

On 01/16/2023, in communities of practice, Emotion, hearts -- matters of the heart, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, social learning / networks, society, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Discovering Autism and Community Later in Life — from aane.org by Brenda Dater, Executive Director

Excerpt:

This month we are discussing autism and aging. Many older adults in AANE’s community were children in the 1950s, 60s and 70s when the diagnosis of autism as we understand it today didn’t exist. Some were misdiagnosed with conditions like childhood schizophrenia, but many were just harmfully labeled as odd or having behavior problems. Because of the lack of awareness and understanding about autism, many have come to their diagnosis, or self-understanding, in their fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond, often after many years of being misunderstood or not fitting in at school, work, or socially. The stories they tell about feeling relief to have an explanation for their experience and finally…finally feeling like they belong warms my heart.

Digital Trends’ Tech For Change CES 2023 Awards [Prindle]

On 01/07/2023, in A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, assistive technologies, business, global / globalization, neurodivergent/special needs, productivity / tips and tricks, society, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Digital Trends’ Tech For Change CES 2023 Awards — from digitaltrends.com by Drew Prindle

Excerpt:

CES is more than just a neon-drenched show-and-tell session for the world’s biggest tech manufacturers. More and more, it’s also a place where companies showcase innovations that could truly make the world a better place — and at CES 2023, this type of tech was on full display. We saw everything from accessibility-minded PS5 controllers to pedal-powered smart desks. But of all the amazing innovations on display this year, these three impressed us the most…

Also relevant/see:

Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2023 Awards — digitaltrends.com by Digital Trends Staff
From Autocycles to Flying Cars, the Wild Mobility Solutions on Display at CES 2023 — from singularityhub.com by Vanessa Bates Ramirez
This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio — from digitaltrends.com by Drew Prindle

37 predictions about edtech’s impact in 2023 — from eschoolnews.com by Laura Ascione
What edtech trends will take top billing in schools and districts in the new year?

Excerpts:

School districts will begin to offer microschool options. With 65% of K-12 parents backing school choice, school districts will realize that in order to stay competitive and meet the needs of students and parents, adopting and offering innovative learning models is key. One of the shifts the industry can expect to see in the coming years is school districts offering mircoschool options within the district itself. While historically independent learning institutions, microschools will be adopted within school districts that are responsive to this need for choice and evolving learning needs of students.
—Carlos Bortoni, Principal, Industry Advisor, K-12 Education, Qualtrics
…
In 2023, educators nationwide will benefit from the most recent wave of edtech consolidation. The various services and products acquired by consolidators over the last year or two will be integrated into increasingly comprehensive platforms offering instructional content, assessments, and classroom tools all in one place. As this occurs, the power and effectiveness of those edtech resources will grow as they begin to work in concert with each other seamlessly. The combination of these resources will empower administrators, teachers, families, and students to better leverage edtech’s ability to improve learning.
–Kelli Campbell, President, Discovery Education

From DSC:
Vision is key here…not just data. If data provided all of the answers, being an effective, impactful leader/administrator would be far easier.

Also from Laura Ascione, see:

Most high school grads feel their skills aren’t up to par — from eschoolnews.com
Family, friends, and educators help students make decisions, develop confidence, and identify personal aptitudes as they leave high school

Inspiring Goals: Educators Share Their Vision for the Classroom in 2023 — from blog.edmentum.com

Excerpt:

We asked educators on Facebook and Twitter to share with us what their goals for the classroom are for 2023. Here are a few of our favorite responses that we think will inspire you as you set your own goals for 2023:

MAKING THE BENEFITS OF PRE-K EDUCATION LAST — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch

Excerpt:

Pre-K education has come to the forefront recently. Earlier, a kid’s first five years of education were essentially the family’s responsibility. However, research has revealed that these first five years establish the foundation for their further development.
…
It’s worth investing your time and effort in early education programs as they offer several benefits. Pre-K learning gets the children ready for academic success and empowers them for adulthood. Children who have attended early education programs are more likely to pursue higher education and receive higher salaries when they join the workforce, thus securing a better life for themselves.

9 Tech-Friendly Hobby Ideas for High School Students That Will Help Their Career Prospects — from emergingedtech.com by Lucy Manole

Excerpt:

Hobbies and interests are great additions to your resume. They provide potential employers with a fair idea about your personality and help them understand whether you’re the right fit for the position you are applying for.

Hobbies increase your chances of employability by demonstrating your passion and dedication. They help you become more adaptable and reduce stress thereby influencing your performance at school.

Finding a new hobby can be challenging as there are so many hobbies to choose from. A hobby is something that keeps you engaged and happy in your free time. Hence, you must choose a hobby that helps you relax your mind while, ideally, complementing your existing skills. This will give you a competitive edge over others when searching for a new job.

Here’s a list of top hobbies that will boost your resume and make you more employable.

9 Hobby Ideas You Can Add to Your Resume
#1. Blogging

The School That Calls the Police on Students Every Other Day — from propublica.org by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica

Excerpt:

On the last street before leaving Jacksonville, there’s a dark brick one-story building that the locals know as the school for “bad” kids. It’s actually a tiny public school for children with disabilities. It sits across the street from farmland and is 2 miles from the Illinois city’s police department, which makes for a short trip when the school calls 911.

Administrators at the Garrison School call the police to report student misbehavior every other school day, on average. And because staff members regularly press charges against the children — some as young as 9 — officers have arrested students more than 100 times in the last five school years, an investigation by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica found. That is an astounding number given that Garrison, the only school that is part of the Four Rivers Special Education District, has fewer than 65 students in most years.

This year, the Tribune and ProPublica have been exposing the consequences for students when their schools use police as disciplinarians. The investigation “The Price Kids Pay” uncovered the practice of Illinois schools working with local law enforcement to ticket students for minor misbehavior. Reporters documented nearly 12,000 tickets in dozens of school districts, and state officials moved quickly to denounce the practice.

Best YouTube Math Channels — from educatorstechnology.com by Med Kharbach, PhD

Excerpt:

The list below features some of the best Math YouTube channels to help your students and kids learn math in engaging ways. I was so picky in my selection and I handpicked only those math channels that I believe would provide real educational value to students.

.

There’s not a lot of research on dysgraphia yet—but here are a few signs to look out for, plus some strategies to help affected kids express themselves. pic.twitter.com/rlb9p9D8Yu

— edutopia (@edutopia) December 17, 2022

.

How Inflation Is Squeezing Early Childhood Educators — from edsurge.com by Emily Tate Sullivan
Rationing heat, taking on extra jobs, dipping into savings, raising wages for staff — child care providers are using a mishmash of methods to manage rising prices and keep their doors open.

In case this site is helpful to you or someone you know: allaccesslife.org

On 11/11/2022, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), IT in HE, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, participation, platforms, tools, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Addendum on 11/14/22:

clusiv.io — as mentioned at The Accelerator at WGU Labs Invests in Platform for the Blind or Visually Impaired

Clusiv is an online learning platform for the blind and visually impaired that teaches occupational training, technology skills, and educational courses to empower employment. We help remove barriers to successful employment by teaching the skills you need to be equipped for the modern workforce.

In one giant classroom, four teachers manage 135 kids – and love it [Morton]

On 11/09/2022, in accessibility / UDL, change, collaboration, education, experimentation, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, more voice more choice more control, neurodivergent/special needs, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, using teams, by Daniel Christian

In one giant classroom, four teachers manage 135 kids – and love it — from hechingerreport.org by Neal Morton
Schools in Mesa, Arizona, piloted a team teaching model to combat declining enrollment and teacher shortages; now the approach is spreading

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Five years ago, faced with high teacher turnover and declining student enrollment, Westwood’s leaders decided to try something different. Working with professors at Arizona State University’s teachers college, they piloted a classroom model known as team teaching. It allows teachers to voluntarily dissolve the walls that separate their classes across physical or grade divides.

Here, more than 130 freshmen at Westwood High School learn in one giant classroom overseen by four teachers.

Team teaching is taking hold in Mesa, Arizona’s largest school district. Here, more than 130 freshmen at Westwood High School learn in one giant classroom overseen by four teachers. Credit: Matt York/Associated Press

By giving teachers more opportunities to collaborate and greater control over how and what they teach, Mesa’s administrators hoped to fill staffing gaps and boost teacher morale and retention. Initial research suggests the gamble could pay off.

Also see:

Educator shortages are a real crisis — especially in special education — from k12dive.com
Administrators are straining under the pressure of finding qualified personnel to meet federal requirements on specialized instruction and related services.

The Council of Administrators of Special Education is keenly aware of the shortage of qualified teachers, specialized instructional support personnel and administrators to fill vacancies in school districts across the country, with shortages particularly acute in special education. We hear daily from administrators citing the impossibility of finding qualified personnel to meet mandates of the federal law requiring specialized instruction and related services for children with disabilities.

How can colleges better serve students with autism? [Spitalniak]

On 11/09/2022, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), colleges, community colleges, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, higher education, neurodivergent/special needs, psychology, student-related, United States, universities, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

How can colleges better serve students with autism? — from by Laura Spitalniak
Professor Sarah Howorth says her program at the University of Maine helps bridge the gap between high school and college for students with autism.

Excerpts:

In 2019, Howorth led the pilot for the University of Maine’s Step Up to College, a program meant to model how colleges can effectively support students with autism spectrum disorder.
…
There are so many myths and misunderstandings out there about what a person with autism is like. Autism is not necessarily associated with cognitive impairment. I have a 16-year-old son who is on the autism spectrum. He is also very intelligent, and he’s definitely college bound. There’s a lot of kids out there like him on the autism spectrum.

Individuals on the spectrum bring a lot to communities, whether that be university campuses, or high schools or businesses. Oftentimes, we focus on the challenges they face, but I think they have many, many more strengths than challenges.

Look at things from a Universal Design for Learning perspective. The things that you offer for students with autism on college campuses, like peer mentors, will help all students.

Also relevant/see:

The Intersection of Autism and Trauma — from aane.org by Janet Barbieri
Exclusion and Trauma — from aane.org by Brenda Dater

So what can we do to decrease the exclusion and bullying that leads to trauma? We need to create activities and spaces where autistic people can be their authentic selves and be accepted without having to mask to fit in. We need to eradicate the isolation that is so commonplace by creating supportive communities that are truly safe and inclusive.

Why Businesses Struggle with Web Accessibility (And How to Fix It) [boia.org]

On 10/19/2022, in accessibility / UDL, business, corporate / business world, marketing/social marketing, neurodivergent/special needs, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Why Businesses Struggle with Web Accessibility (And How to Fix It) — from boia.org

Excerpt:

An accessible website means more traffic, better search engine optimization (SEO), reduced exposure to lawsuits, and better brand perception — but despite the benefits, most businesses fail to adopt the principles of accessible design.

In their 2022 report on the state of digital accessibility, WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) found that 96.8% of the internet’s top 1 million homepages had detectable accessibility errors. That number was actually a slight improvement from previous years: WebAIM’s 2021 analysis found that 97.4% of websites had potential barriers for users with disabilities.

For businesses, those numbers should be a wakeup call. But despite growing awareness of digital accessibility, many organizations struggle to make concrete changes.

Below, we’ll explain the key factors that prevent businesses from taking the right approach — and provide some tips for overcoming those challenges.

“4 Tips for Choosing Accessible WordPress Plugins” + “Are Hamburger Menus Bad for Accessibility?” [boia.org]

On 10/16/2022, in accessibility / UDL, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), blogs / blogging / vlogging, neurodivergent/special needs, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

4 Tips for Choosing Accessible WordPress Plugins — from boia.org

Excerpt:

WordPress plugins can change how your website operates — typically, that’s why you want to install them in the first place. If you need to add a form or a video player on your WordPress site, you’ll probably look for a plugin before attempting to code your own solution.

But unfortunately, some plugins can alter your content in unpredictable ways and create accessibility barriers. Needless to say, you’ll want to avoid those issues if possible. Fortunately, WordPress is a fairly accessibility-friendly platform — and by following a few simple tips, you can reach a wider audience.

Are Hamburger Menus Bad for Accessibility? — from boia.org

Excerpt:

In web design, a hamburger menu is a button — usually with three horizontal lines — that typically opens a navigation menu. The icon vaguely resembles a hamburger (or any other sandwich), hence the name.

Like many trends in web design, hamburger menus are controversial: They can cause accessibility issues, depending on their implementation, and they might obscure important navigational information. However, they’re extremely common — and while they pose a few potential issues for users with disabilities, sidebars can be accessible with appropriate markup.

Addendum on 10/18/22:

How Web Accessibility Can Benefit People with Dyslexia — from boia.org

Basically, kids can take pictures of anything they encounter, like a dog, and make that still image look like it’s talking using the ChatterPix software, which is great for classroom multimedia projects and ideal for kids who enjoy creating content. #STEAM https://t.co/NhEWi8BcWK

— Eduporium (@Eduporium) October 12, 2022

Assistive Technology for Kids with Multiple Disabilities — from equalentry.com

Lego Owner to Acquire Education-Technology Firm Brainpop — from nytimes.com by Trefor Moss
Kirkbi, the family-run company behind the world’s largest toy maker, plans to establish an education business

Excerpt:

Lego owner Kirkbi A/S is buying U.S. video-learning firm Brainpop for $875 million, according to the companies, as the family behind the world’s largest toy maker expands into the education business.

The Danish company said the purchase of Brainpop, which produces short animations used in schools to help children learn everything from math to music, was part of a plan to build a new business pillar. The deal—through which Kirkbi is acquiring Brainpop’s owner FWD Media Inc.—is expected to close Tuesday, the companies said.

“We are definitely on the path to establishing the Lego idea of learning through play in the formal education space,” said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, executive chairman of the Lego Brand Group, the Kirkbi entity that oversees the toy brand.

Learning Ecosystems

Google is making it easier to find out if places in the community are accessible to people with disabilities, all with the touch of a button. [Heasley]

Two items re: accessibility / inclusive design / special education

College Guide for Students with Disabilities and Their Parents [ivypanda.com]

In case this site is helpful to you or someone you know: allaccesslife.org

Why Businesses Struggle with Web Accessibility (And How to Fix It) [boia.org]

“4 Tips for Choosing Accessible WordPress Plugins” + “Are Hamburger Menus Bad for Accessibility?” [boia.org]

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