top 10 Blogging tips

Top 10 blogging tips

1. Always include a link to the originator of your knowledge.  LET THE MAN BE KNOWN
2. Exercise editorial discretion.  If there's anyone following you, it will be because your viewpoint helps them to find things they want to read. 
3. Make sure you care about your topic.
4. So many blogs to choose from.
5. Blogs are available anywhere.
6. Blogs can be accessed at the user's pace.  They can give you the tip-of-the-iceberg introduction to a subject and point the way to more.  An interested reader can pick an choose what interests them.
7. The interactive qualities of blogs aren't up to the standards of one-on-one face-to-face teaching, but they stand up well in comparison to what happens in a lot of overcrowded classrooms.
8. Blogs can allow students to self-publish at extremely low cost, and with a great deal of control over the way their ideas are presented.
9. As a centerpiece of a class project, a blog could provide a great way to distribute, collaborate, and collate the work.
10. Stealing others is alright when you link them in. You can't always have original ideas... can you?

10 Video tips

Top 10 video tips

1. The Khan Academy is fantastic and probably has already done what ever you're planning on doing. Look there then develop your own once you realize you are in trouble.
2. write a script and go over it a couple of times.  Not everyone can ad-lib well. Except for me...
3. Have fun with it.
4. Make a good background so you don't look like a ghost
5. Make sure that the camera angle and position is alright.
6. Now you're thinking about being taped. 
7. Moving your frame of reference can give your film the feeling of motion
8. You don't have a professional cameraman, so you're out of focus now. but thats ok most cameras can fix that on their own.
9. Relax and make your video
10. EDITTING TAKES A LONG TIME

10 things to know about Powerpoint

GREAT TIPS FOR POWERPOINT
1. PowerPoint shouldn't be something to read off of. It's a place for lecturers to allow for extra information and pictures to be developed for the audience while you speak.  Don't write every word you'll say on the Powerpoint.

2. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Pictures are a great way to interrupt a PowerPoint and allow students to  visualize the lecture.

3. Graphs can be an excellent way to also give information. Many times numbers look great but when you can see a Pie Chart you learn the same info in a more visual way.

4. POWERPOINT should not be the only method of teaching. It's Boring... use it in moderation

5.  Stay away from animations it takes too much time.

6. Stay away from transitions... kids in elementary school will probably like it because its a distraction but in high school and professional situations it just is too playful.

7. Clip art is not your best option. There are millions of pictures on the internet. grab one that works and remember to site it in a references portion.

8. Recording your voice is a cool experiment to use. It would allow you to send out powerpoints to students and allow them to view them on their own time with notes that you think are important to the powerpoint.

9. Powerpoints can be great for notes for students. printing out the powerpoints on note sheets or even giving the PowerPoints to students will allow them to use them as a great exam study guide.

10. Again, Lecture is not the goal here in schools today. Powerpoints are an excellent way for students to see what needs to be learned for a test but it leads students to drift off and get distracted with other things. Use them in moderation. as I stated in 4

Below are some other great tips found on http://www.techrepublic.com

1: Know how to use the program

Your users must know how to run PowerPoint. More important, they must know how to adapt if the technology fails. Don’t turn your users loose until they’re prepared to face the giant blank screen of death. This advice seems obvious, but many presenters are lost if something technical goes wrong. Don’t let that happen to your users!

2: Know the material

#1 can be a showstopper, but it shouldn’t be. In fact, if the presenter is thoroughly familiar with the material, a technological mishap won’t even matter. Make sure your presenters can carry onwithout the visual aids. The audience will appreciate the message just the same, perhaps more.

3: Practice

Knowing how to deliver the material can mean the difference between an ordinary presentation and a great presentation. Make sure users know how to use PowerPoint’s stopwatch feature to rehearse their presentations. PowerPoint records the time spent on each slide, as shown in. This information will help users stay on track during the actual presentation. The Rehearse Timings feature is in the Set Up group on the Slide Show tab. In PowerPoint 2003, it’s on the Slide Show menu.

4: Print a slide list

No matter how well presenters know their material, they can benefit from a slide list. First, it’s great for documenting the presentation. Second, it’ll help the presenter find specific data on the fly. (To jump to a specific slide, they can enter the slide number and press [Enter].)

To create a slide list based on slide titles, click the Outline pane’s Outline tab. For a shorter list of just slide titles, collapse the view by right-clicking the pane and choosing Collapse and then Collapse All, 

To print the list, click the File tab and choose Print. Click the second item under Settings and choose Outline from the Print Layout options. With Outline selected, click Print to print the outline view — your slide list. In PowerPoint 2007, click the Office button and click Print. (Choose Print from the File menu in PowerPoint 2003.) Then, choose Outline View from the Print What drop-down and click OK.

5: Keep it simple

Where text is concerned, less is more. Your presenters don’t want the audience reading slides; they want the audience listening to them. Your presenters are the text. Slides are just visual clues that support the discussion.

When a text-heavy slide is necessary, the presenter should hold the slide back until it’s relevant and then pause so the audience can read it. When creating a self-running presentation, users can relax this rule quite a bit.

6: Don’t rely too heavily on bullet points

Most experts recommend that you not use bullet points (which run amuck with PowerPoint’s layout defaults). Here’s the general rule: Each bullet point should be a slide of its own. If this is too overwhelming at first, show users how to organize the information using bullet points and then move each bulleted item to a blank slide. From there, they can develop that single thought using graphics and (some) subtle animation. Naturally, the presentation will have a lot more slides, but the overall presentation will be more effective and memorable. Removing bullets doesn’t tie your users’ hands; it frees them up so they can move beyond mere bullet points.

Following the advice in #5, you’ll get rid of the introductory text in Figure D, leaving some ugly bulleted text to revamp. If you move each bullet to its own slide, you generate six slides, but they’ll be more memorable. The introductory slide doesn’t need a bit of text — leave that for the presenter — but the message is clear and the audience will remember it.

To avoid the wrath that the above pronouncement is sure to unleash, I add this simple disclaimer: Bullet points aren’t bad or wrong. But use them sparingly because slide after slide of them is ineffective and boring.

7: Use Slide Master

Creating the presentation can be a laborious process, so efficiency matters. Show users how to configure the Slide Master first thing. It saves time up front and later. Users can quickly create a consistent look that’s easy to maintain. If they decide to change an attribute at some point, they need to change only the Slide Master, not every slide in the presentation.

Slide Master, is on the View tab in the Master Views group (Presentation Views in PowerPoint 2007). In PowerPoint 2003, choose Master from the View menu and then select Slide Master.

8: Use common fonts

PowerPoint doesn’t embed fonts by default. That presents a problem if the system that runs the presentation doesn’t have the presentation’s fonts installed. Windows will substitute a font, which might work; and then again, it might not. Users can avoid this potential problem by using common Windows fonts, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Tahoma, and so on. In fact, you might make a convention for using common fonts. Another workaround is to embed the fonts in the presentation. Doing so eliminates substitutions, but also increases the size of the presentation. This is one area where #7 can help: You can quickly avert disaster by updating the font via the Slide Master.

To embed fonts, click the File tab, choose Options (under Help), select Save in the left pane, and then check the Embed Fonts In The File option. In PowerPoint 2007, click the Office button and then click PowerPoint Options. In PowerPoint 2003, choose Options from the Tools menu.

9: Use legible fonts

Users, especially those new to PowerPoint, will often go overboard with specialty fonts, attributes, and splashy colors, just because they’re available. Help users avoid this pitfall by applying these basic guidelines to improve legibility:

• Make sure the font size is large enough to see in a conference or meeting room (start at 26 points and don’t be afraid to go larger).
• Use a sans serif font.
• Keep attributes, such as bold, underline, italics, and shadows, to a minimum. While these attributes may be effective in print, they can appear out of focus on a slide.
• When using color, contrast is good.
• Use dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background.Anything in between is a wash.

10: Avoid clip art

Clip art has a tendency to be overdone. It’s just too complex for presentation purposes. Your users will ask, “If I limit the text and don’t use clip art, what’s left?” Let them create their own simple graphics using basic shapes and symbols. It takes practice and patience, and don’t expect them to reinvent themselves as graphic design artists. Just introduce PowerPoint’s graphic tools and see what happens.

Of course, you don’t have to ban clip art entirely. Show users how to make small adjustments to simplify and improve clip art.

Rough Draft IEP powerpoint

http://www.slideshare.net/upload?from_source=loggedin_newsfeed

Traumatic Brain Injury

Speech and Language Impairment

SPEECH and LANGUAGE

IMPAIRMENT

Definition

·         There are many kinds of speech and language disorders that can affect children. In this fact sheet, we’ll talk about four major areas in which these impairments occur. These are the areas of:

o   Articulation | speech impairments where the child produces sounds incorrectly (e.g., lisp, difficulty articulating certain sounds, such as “l” or “r”);

o   Fluency | speech impairments where a child’s flow of speech is disrupted by sounds, syllables, and words that are repeated, prolonged, or avoided and where there may be silent blocks or inappropriate inhalation, exhalation, or phonation patterns;

o   Voice | speech impairments where the child’s voice has an abnormal quality to its pitch, resonance, or loudness; and

o   Language | language impairments where the child has problems expressing needs, ideas, or information, and/or in understanding what others say. (1)

·         Specific words in IDEA

o    “(11) Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” [34 CFR §300.8(c)(11]

Characteristics

·         A child's communication is considered delayed when the child is noticeably behind  his or her peers in the acquisition of speech and/or language skills.  Speech disorders refer to difficulties producing speech sounds or problems with voice quality.  Characteristics may include:

o   interruption in the flow or rhythm of speech such as stuttering (known as dysfluency);

o   trouble forming sounds (called articulation or phonological disorders);

o   difficulties with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice;

o   trouble using some speech sounds, such as saying "see" when they mean "ski."

·         A language disorder is an impairment in the ability to understand and/or use words in context, both verbally and nonverbally.  Characteristics include:

o   improper use of words and their meanings;

o   inability to express ideas;

o   inappropriate grammatical patterns;

o   reduced vocabulary and inability to follow directions 

Strategies

·         Patience, patience, patience

·         Accepting and accommodating an individual’s speech and individual instruction

·         Encourage the student to participate in classroom activities, giving her adequate time to speak.

·         Create an environment of acceptance and understanding in the classroom, and encourage peers to accept the student with speech impairment

·         Practice and maintain easy and effective communication skills:

o    model good listening skills,

o    facilitate participate of all students in discussion and activites

·         Speak to the student as you would with any other student.

·         Do not interrupt or try to complete her thoughts. Ask her to repeat her message when necessary; do not feign understanding.

·         When introducing new vocabulary, help the student practice difficult words. Dividing words into syllables and pronouncing each syllable will improve speech, reading and writing.

·         Using many different listening activities will also aid the student in comprehending and determining her own production of sounds.

·         Have the student answer “yes” or “no.”

Resources

Definitions

·         http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,A,300%252E8,

·         http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/speechlanguage

Characteristics

·         http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/MCSSped/speechlang.htm

Strategies

·         www.ataccess.org

·         www.asha.org

·         www.projectidealonline.org

·         http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-education/

Christopher Baer, Laura Varela, Perrine Voisin 

Other Health Impairments

Hearing Impairment

Specific Learning Disability

Definition:  disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury , minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.  If the student does not achieve at the proper age and ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences age-appropriate instruction in one of more of the following areas:

·         Oral expression

·         Listening comprehension

·         Written expression

·         Basic reading skill

·         Reading fluency skills

·         Reading comprehension

·         Mathematics calculations

·         Mathematics reasoning

Does not make adequate progress to meet age or grade-level standards in one or more of the prior areas identified when utilizing the process of the child’s response to empirically based interventions; or a pattern of weaknesses and strengths that have been determined to exist in performance, achievement or both, relative to age, state-approved grade-level standards, or intellectual development, as determined by certified assessment professionals. Specific learning disabilities are considered a high-incidence disability.  The U.S. Department of Education reports that there are over 2.8 million students being served for specific learning disabilities and that’s approximately 47.4% of all children receiving special education.

Characteristics:

—  Intellectual

—  Academic

—  Reading

—  Writing and drawing

—  Arithmetic

—  Behavior

—  Communicative abilities

—  Physical

Teaching Strategies

Perceptual Difficulties

—  Do not present two pieces of information together that may be perceptually confusing.

—  Highlight important characteristics of new material

Students with Attention Difficulties

—  Maintain attention by breaking long tasks and presenting limited amounts of information.

—  Use prompts and cues to draw attention to important information. (like highlighting instructions)

Students with Memory Difficulties

—  Chunking- grouping of large strings of information into smaller or more manageable “chunks”.

—  Rehearsal or repetition, either oral or silent

—  Elaboration weaving of the material to be remembered into a meaningful content.

—  Categorization- being able to memorize information in categories. Ex. Animals

RESOURCES

—  www.interdys.org

Gives information about dyslexia, October is national dyslexia awareness month.

—  http://www.projectidealonline.org/specificLearningDisabilities.php

Gives helpful information, not for just one disability, but for several disabilities.

—  http://www.ldaamerica.org
Want to create opportunities for success for all children with learning disabilities.

—  http://www.ncld.org

Gives basic information and resources for schools.

Orthopedic Impairment

Orthopedic Impairment

Definition: Orthopedic impairment is defined as a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

Characteristics of Students who have Orthopedic Impairment:

·         Learning, perceptual, or sensory problems

·         May impede speech production

·         Impede expressive language of the child

Characteristics based on 3 Categories of Orthopedic Impairments:

Neuromotor Impairments: an abnormality of, or damage to, the brain, spinal cord, or nervous system that sends impulses to the muscles of the body. These impairments are acquired at or before birth, and often result in complex motor problems that can affect several body systems.

·         Limited limb movement

·         Loss of urinary control

·         Loss of proper alignment of spine

Two most common are Spina Bifida and Cerebral Palsy

1.      Spina Bifida: is a developmental defect of the spinal column. It may or may not affect intellectual functioning. Spina bifida occulta is a mild condition while spina bifida cystica is more serious.

·         Involves some paralysis

2.       Cerebral Palsy : refers to several nonprogressive disorders of voluntary movement or posture that are caused by malfunction of or damage to the developing brain that occurs before or during birth or within the first few years of life. Individuals with cerebral palsy have abnormal, involuntary, and/or uncoordinated motor movements.

The four most common types of cerebral palsy include:

·         Spastic (very tight muscles occurring in one or more muscle groups that result in stiff, uncoordinated movements)

·         Athetoid (movements are contorted, abnormal, and purposeless)

·         Ataxic (poor balance and equilibrium in addition to uncoordinated voluntary movement)

·         Mixed (any combination of the types)

Degenerative Diseases:  are composed of various diseases that affect motor development. The most common is muscular dystrophy.

·         Muscular dystrophy: group of inherited diseases characterized by progressive muscle weakness

Musculoskeletal Disorders: are composed of various conditions that can result in various levels of physical limitations

·         juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

·         limb deficiency

Teaching Tips

• Special seating arrangements to develop useful posture and movements
• Instruction focused on development of gross and fine motor skills
• Securing suitable augmentative communication and other assistive devices
• Awareness of medical condition and its effect on the student (such as getting tired quickly)
• Educate everyone in the school community on a student’s disability
• Have parent/student/resource staff conferences to ensure classroom is accommodating for each child’s IEP

Due to the various levels of severity of orthopedic impairment, multiple types of assistive technology may be used

·         speech recognition software

·         screen reading software

·         augmentative and alternative communication devices (such as communication boards)

·         academic software packages for students with disabilities

Learning Tools

• Physical Therapists who work on gross motor skills (focusing on the legs, back, neck and torso)
• Occupational Therapists who work on fine motor skills (focusing on the arms and hands as well as daily living activities such as dressing and bathing)
• Speech-Language Pathologists who work with the student on problems with speech and language
• Adapted Physical Education Teachers, who are specially trained PE teachers who work along with the OT and PT to develop an exercise program to help students with disabilities
• Other Therapists (Massage Therapists, Music Therapists, etc.)

Additional Resources

·         Project Ideal: http://www.projectidealonline.org/orthopedicImpairments.php

·         Bright Hub Education: http://www.brighthubeducation.com

·         National Center on Accessible Instructional Materialshttp://aim.cast.org/learn/disabilityspecific/physical

United Cerebral Palsy: http://www.ucp.org/