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EdCeptional 06 - Match the Tool!

This week the EdCeptional Crew welcomed our special guest, Chris Bugaj (@ATTipscast).  Chris is an Assistive Technology Trainer with Loudon County Pulic Schools in Virginia - http://www.lcps.org/at.  He is also host of the popular assistive technology podcast, A.T. TIPSCAST - http://attipscast.wordpress.com/, This podcast spotlights different tools and strategies in the form of "A.T.Tips" that can be used to help students who might be struggling in school.  
He is the co-author of The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools: Building or Improving Your District's AT Team, available for purchase through ISTE - www.iste.org/chewat, and make sure you check this book’s Facebook Page - http://bit.ly/atbookfb.  
Finally, Chris is the Co-Author (and sometime narrator) of many stories for children of all ages that are featured in the podcast Nightlight stories - http://www.nightlightstories.net/

To start off we all shared a piece of assistive technology software, and how we use it:

Patrick Black:  Classroom Suite - using it as a interactive calendar activity
Deb Truskey: Dragon Dictation/Dragon Naturally Speaking - which allows you to do voice to text. You can use it as a story starter for kids who have a difficult time getting their thoughts on paper.
Chris Bugaj: www.metaatem.net/words (Spell with Flickr) - Helps students visualize words by remembering the picture of each letter.
Jeremy Brown: Clicker 5 - sentences to describe photos using the forced order feature.  Which allows students to create sentences about a photo in an errorless way.

NEWS WATCH:

BLOG WATCH
“ON THE RADAR”
  • iChat  supports audio and video conferencing, and thanks to its high-quality video and fast frame rate, it’s ideal for those who communicate using sign language. You can clearly see both hand and finger gestures in detail, so you can communicate from afar with the same range of emotions available to you when you’re in the same room. You can also use iChat to place and receive video relay and text relay calls, using a service called HOVRS.com. HOVRS (Hands-On Video Relay Service) can connect you to others using AIM and even those using videophones. Just add “hovrsIM” as a buddy, then type “hello” (or “hola”) in a message. HOVRS places the call and provides a Video Interpreter (VI) or Call Assistant (CA) to facilitate a conversation between parties through speech, sign language, and text messaging.  For more information, visit Mac Accessibility.
  • http://lingro.com/ - coolest online dictionary known to man!  Type in a URL and this tool will make all the words on that site clickable so that you can easily get definitions.
  • TraitR from Toondoo.com for social-emotional goals - www.toondoo.com -
    • Students can make different expressions using an onscreen character generator (like most avatar generators)
  • goalbook  - http://enomeinc.com/ - online IEP tool that’s currently in development.  They have shared a demo video and are seeking feedback.
4.  SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
  • Dr. Gary Brown is having an End of Autism Awareness Month app sale.  Autism Colors & Autism Shapes are now both on sale for half price and Autism Numbers for $1.99! Sale ends May 1st.   http://www.zbobbapps.com/