tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64352180846372246322024-03-13T13:15:26.160-05:00The Early Intervention PlaygroundDiscussing early intervention, early childhood education, play and technology.Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-45647867225151467882016-08-27T12:50:00.001-05:002016-08-27T12:53:18.484-05:00App All Star: ChatterPix Kids<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr2lgdqPGnqp0qnXOPBjgWQKsxhZgpKbVAD7WmPJ2Kxqe6iRK0DhWLfsqcFkW0EZc91Y92O0b7zrL_XvrVOUBqTVdk-gBOwMCThevanSuekAGAfGQXgW5oxZox33VsoRgmDJZZhRF9V8/s1600/Screenshot+2016-08-27+12.39.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr2lgdqPGnqp0qnXOPBjgWQKsxhZgpKbVAD7WmPJ2Kxqe6iRK0DhWLfsqcFkW0EZc91Y92O0b7zrL_XvrVOUBqTVdk-gBOwMCThevanSuekAGAfGQXgW5oxZox33VsoRgmDJZZhRF9V8/s200/Screenshot+2016-08-27+12.39.27.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.duckduckmoose.com/educational-iphone-itouch-apps-for-kids/chatterpixkids/" target="_blank"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7c2d3acc-2897-45f7-acc8-918e5236c158" id="7573015b-0f93-4fb8-9848-dcc34d5edda8"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ac06e7eb-4f7b-469f-af6a-a845b4b99b3d" id="8d0d69ae-9b4d-49ee-9896-f24fe528b9f8">ChatterPix</gs></gs> Kids</a> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7c2d3acc-2897-45f7-acc8-918e5236c158" id="2b7f8612-425f-4580-a083-84303964daad"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ac06e7eb-4f7b-469f-af6a-a845b4b99b3d" id="d09c2b10-80a8-4f70-b7e6-5f99adaab4dd">is</gs></gs> simple to use, fun and engaging app developed by Duck, Duck Moose. The concept is fun, the app allows you to turn anything into a talking picture. To begin, import or take a picture, draw a line on the picture, and record a message. This process results in a video of the chosen image, delivering the recorded message. The completed video can be saved to the camera roll on the device for viewing. <br />
<br />
Our team used this app much like I described in the <a href="http://eiplayground.blogspot.com/2012/09/creating-videos-with-talking-tom.html" target="_blank">Talking Tom post</a>. <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0208e889-794e-45b5-b27d-b7cfbe08f737" id="6ac817a1-0c83-4efa-9154-446174114dc2"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8b5a0320-6b8a-4759-a5ab-fc86d43d7e77" id="78ecfb6a-ec42-40ac-9d19-863460a1c70e">ChatterPix</gs></gs> Kids is a great tool for simple social stories and reinforcing messages. The power is in the image that is used, it can be tailored to the child's preferences. For example, we had a student who was very interested in pirates. This same student was struggling with walking in the halls, not always being first in line and keeping his hands to himself in the halls. His teacher had tried some social stories and was having some success, but she decided to tap into the power of the pirate. She imported a picture of a pirate and had her husband use his best pirate voice to record a scripted message. The message included the student's name and some pirate vocabulary. She played it for the student and he was delighted that the pirate was talking to him. He took the pirate's advice very seriously and showed improvement in his ability to follow rules in the hallway. He would often quote the pirate to remind others of the rules. Another teacher delivered some social stories to a Disney obsessed student via Disney princesses and saw success. <br />
<br />
Another possible application is using the app as a means for students to demonstrate what they have learned after a project is completed. For example, after a study of animals that live in Minnesota, a student can choose a picture of an animal and record some simple facts about that animal, then play it for the class, and email to parents. The app is free, download it and see what you can do with it!Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-57541008675958791812016-03-09T20:59:00.000-06:002016-08-27T12:01:35.509-05:00Four Reasons to join the Division for Early Childhood<div class="p1">
This week, the Minnesota Division for Early Childhood (<a href="http://www.mndec.org/" target="_blank">MN DEC</a><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3536d16a-7b7e-4826-ab11-ae3f4b4759d9" id="53c1ccde-390e-4e89-aa6f-213fbc4b88c8"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="67cd84e2-e547-4cdd-aab5-25ef6ac148d7" id="4108d9e7-ffc4-4a1a-b6e8-e7c52d6d3553"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9487f5f2-9981-46c6-a9f3-47e5c944a94a" id="819eee36-2b79-41e1-8df4-e81bc5bc44a1"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8362f6ca-a4ca-49cc-aaa6-99dad23c44a5" id="d2f5e872-f7ad-4609-b292-75ad1408c815"> )</gs></gs></gs></gs> is hosting the Spring Practitioners Conference. This conference is a wonderful networking and professional development opportunity. Not all of the practitioners who will be attending are members of <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7ecfed44-d73a-4fff-8be5-4660fd0421f3" id="d01958a3-e732-402a-8150-73d0fdc32048"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="73918de3-c87e-4434-91d2-4dcb29485095" id="de5c421c-0da7-48e7-8bce-6a011652a812"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="48f78449-840a-4938-90f2-4b28ca260973" id="1250a072-c63f-418c-ab77-37ad5a71620c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c95da54c-fc62-4554-ba9c-c2cdf2504092" id="48628133-2f3c-4fea-8de4-0322e119b54b"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9761bd22-b29d-4d6f-abd9-2ae12ed3e44e" id="4b7e7286-7519-490c-bb4c-70f34a7d1f28">DEC</gs></gs></gs></gs></gs>, so I wanted to take this opportunity to share the benefits of being a member and encourage practitioners to join. I joined because I wanted to increase my leadership skills and get involved. I wanted to be a voice in the field and grow professionally. There are many benefits to being a member, here are my top four reasons to join. <br />
<br />
<b>Content</b>: If you don't know it already from reading other posts, I like <a href="http://www.eiplayground.blogspot.com/2014/07/confession-i-like-reading-research.html" target="_blank">research</a>. Because I am a member, research journals are delivered to my door and I can access the online archives. When I get into those journals and archives, I get lost in all of that evidenced based goodness! I can be confident that I am staying relevant in my practice and using interventions and practices that are grounded in research. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Discounts and relevant professional development</b>: DEC frequently provides discounts to members on conferences and other resources supported by DEC. DEC offers <a href="http://www.dec-sped.org/learningdecks" target="_blank">Learning Decks</a>, professional development webinars, at a discounted price. For $25.00 you can receive up to date, pertinent PD, in the comfort of your home or office! So far, I have attended one of the Learning Decks and was impressed with the quality and relevancy. I plan to take advantage of this resource again. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Networking</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Membership provides opportunities to expand my professional network. I have attended conferences, joined the board, and joined special interest groups. This expanded network, which includes DEC members from across the nation, provides access to resources, knowledge and inspiration. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<b>Get involved, be a leader, be an advocate</b>: I recently joined two special interest groups offered through DEC. Involvement in these groups, involvement on the board and other networking opportunities will further my ability to advocate for the field and be a voice. DEC communicates policy and advocacy information to members. Staying up to date in these areas supports my efforts to raise awareness about the importance of the work we do in the field of Early Childhood Education.<br />
<br />
Joining DEC was a good decision. Membership has supported my goals in the area of professional development and opened the door to new opportunities. I hope other practitioners will consider the benefits and join. If you are attending the conference, stop by the membership table and they will answer any questions you might have. Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-46846522306503012972015-05-18T21:34:00.000-05:002015-05-18T21:34:05.672-05:00Playful parenting: PBS Parent Play and Learn app <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0cwI4eKB-yMHBkhXHiMInJ7NX-xq9oNS-Xa6G6LxWCoABYxXh6mXYzSl7DeTTJKd2TY4v4C8eWfyGpQ45-Os4pL4W_M8c8eeDYHDCYGtbgFYpHlDXPwxbVhWnqp8zcXAS1c_POrh1gI/s1600/Photo+May+17,+9+26+19+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0cwI4eKB-yMHBkhXHiMInJ7NX-xq9oNS-Xa6G6LxWCoABYxXh6mXYzSl7DeTTJKd2TY4v4C8eWfyGpQ45-Os4pL4W_M8c8eeDYHDCYGtbgFYpHlDXPwxbVhWnqp8zcXAS1c_POrh1gI/s320/Photo+May+17,+9+26+19+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
In a <a href="http://www.eiplayground.blogspot.com/2015/01/playful-parenting-sesame-street-family.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, I reviewed the app Sesame Street Family Play, an app that supports playful parenting by providing hands on, unplugged, play suggestions. I have found yet another app that supports playful parenting. <a href="http://pbskids.org/apps/pbs-parents-play--learn.html" target="_blank">PBS Parents Play and Learn </a>app is a free, bilingual app (Spanish and English) that provides parents with simple activities to play with their children designed around familiar locations. There are 52 activities and 13 games grouped around the following locations: Bath Time, At the Zoo, Playground, At a Party, Play Time, Grocery Store, Library, At the Park, On a Bus or Train, Kitchen, In the Car, In Town, and Restaurant. In each section, there is 1 interactive game, 1 activity for babies, 1 activity for toddlers and 2 activities for preschoolers. The interactive games target math and literacy skills. The games have a parent section that includes explanations of how the game promotes development and provides suggestions for extending the learning in the real world. The activities provide suggestions rooted in evidence based practices, we know promote good outcomes for kids such as talking to children, singing, reading, and pointing out print in the environment. The interactive game in the Bath Time section involves writing letters on a steamy mirror. The name of the letter and the letter sound is stated. The suggested activity for a baby in the Bath Time section is singing a song about washing different simple body parts. With toddlers, parents are encouraged to explore the math concepts of volume by pouring water into containers, while using concepts such as empty and full. In the Kitchen section, the preschool activity involves making patterns with fruit to make a nutritious fruit kabob. The app occasionally provides new activities through a message section. <br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There is also a free play sticker area. This sticker section is great for creative free play and it can be used to design more structured activities. I have used the sticker section for activities such as creating patterns, repeating patterns and following directions. The stickers can be used for sorting activities such as sorting fruits and vegetables. Literacy activities can be extended with the stickers. Children can search for stickers that have the same beginning sound, or attempt to find rhyming words. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPnkaTPm_9NJSS92Dk231Z4_s3TrmizwCS28p0TOI043U5ObCdKI7nFq3Hw62fs31sXg2Gjk9UGU9XDwWuZloUU4WI_yIMgZl45sV89b3sRpIsnqNIaJm0dgQp-XPKKYmC8L2oz7A_pU/s1600/Photo+May+17,+5+39+54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPnkaTPm_9NJSS92Dk231Z4_s3TrmizwCS28p0TOI043U5ObCdKI7nFq3Hw62fs31sXg2Gjk9UGU9XDwWuZloUU4WI_yIMgZl45sV89b3sRpIsnqNIaJm0dgQp-XPKKYmC8L2oz7A_pU/s320/Photo+May+17,+5+39+54+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This app has been added to my parent resource pages. It gets bonus points for being bilingual, free, and parent friendly. </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-26400268797187243492015-05-14T20:21:00.002-05:002015-05-15T06:32:57.480-05:00Early childhood assessment with predictable book, Blue Hat, Green Hat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-jw8OrLeuveH7oj9EZOavcKDOVgSEKlQGgGwp2d0A79j6Qzv2PGZQsUTCHkuSur7H9CHiF5AdzVY1CgYRoRBh06EEzuN_D0o6X9o3ydeq-sT7kiOvYuHsBsAJzPislXUcnExaNeh58U/s1600/Blue+hat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-jw8OrLeuveH7oj9EZOavcKDOVgSEKlQGgGwp2d0A79j6Qzv2PGZQsUTCHkuSur7H9CHiF5AdzVY1CgYRoRBh06EEzuN_D0o6X9o3ydeq-sT7kiOvYuHsBsAJzPislXUcnExaNeh58U/s1600/Blue+hat.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Repetitive books, books with predictable text, encourage children to read along and contribute verbally. Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton, is my favorite book in this category. The predictability, simplicity and pure silliness of this book keeps even the busiest of toddlers and preschoolers interested. The turkey in this book has a great deal of difficulty getting dressed. He puts his socks on his hands and his coat on his beak. I recommend this book to parents who report that they struggle to keep a child engaged in shared reading. In addition to recommending this to parents, I use this book during the assessment process, it is always in my assessment kit. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">When I read this book with a toddler or preschooler, I add another level of predictability by using an action as I say oops. I lightly tap my forehead with my hand. This provides an opportunity to work on imitation of actions along with sounds and words. It is a bonus that the predictable word is an easy word to approximate. Even children who have limited verbal skills might be able to produce an approximation of “oops." If a child is not able to produce an approximation, he might be able to participate by doing the action at the appropriate time.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">During the assessment, I read the book, then I give the book to the child and tell him to read it to me or to his parent, or to a doll. Here are some of the skills I consider during the assessment. Several of these are skills are included on the Teaching Strategies Gold in the ares of literacy, language and cognitive. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Attending to a short, predictable book: I find that this book has better odds of keeping the attention of some children who struggle to attend to books than many others I have used. Parents frequently comment that they are surprised to see a child attending to the book. This story really can keep the attention of even some of our busiest little ones. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Completing predictable lines/contributing language during a book: Often after the 2nd time through, a child can’t help but chime in with “oops." It is fun and silly! </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Shifting gaze from the book to the reader’s face: For children who sometimes forget to shift attention from an object to face, this book is great for encouraging shifting. Because of the predictability, the child knows I am going to be silly at the end of each line, but I pause and wait to do the action or say oops until the child looks up at me. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Imitate actions/sounds: I have completed evaluations and observations where the child imitates very few actions or sounds, but might imitate the action of tapping their forehead and making a sound for oops. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Showing understanding of absurdities: It is always interesting to observe if a child sees the humor on the page before I say oops. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Verbalizing what is wrong and how to fix it: When assessing verbal children, I ask what is wrong and what the turkey should do to fix it. The child gets to practice answering “what” and “where” questions. Where should the turkey put his coat? </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Predicting and answering logic questions: I ask what is going to happen when the turkey is jumping off of the diving board in his clothes. I ask what he forgot to do. I ask how he is going to get his clothes dry. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Understanding that text has meaning: As I say “oops,” I point to the word and say, “this says oops." When I am done reading, I have the child read the book back to me. I observe whether the child points to the word as he says oops. There are 2 words above each picture, so a child might notice as I point to the words that the first word is a color word and the second is the clothing word. I watch to see if the child points to the words as he reads it back. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Colors: I observe if a child is saying the correct color as he reads it back to me. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Story retell: The predictable text is wonderful for promoting story retell. If a child knows colors and clothing, he or she can read it back without help. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Turning the pages: Can the child turn pages one at a time?</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d9197f36-8790-4dfc-90ea-94cf218bf249" id="c4f39b81-9114-4118-bcd6-bfb269280c63">Orientation</gs> of the book: When it is the child’s turn to read to me, I hand the book to him in an upside down position to observe if he turns the book right side up. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Pretending to read: Does a nonverbal child babble with a reading like intonation? What level of detail does a verbal child include when reading the story? Does the child move from the front of the book to the back? Does he point to words as he reads? </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Some parents who observe this activity have purchased the book and report that they enjoy reading it with their child and in some cases it might be the first book they have felt successful with in terms of keeping their child engaged in shared reading. I always encourage parents to connect books with real life. A father recently shared that he used the framework of the text from this book to play a game with clothing as he was getting his toddler dressed. He took different clothes from the drawers, labeled the color and the item of clothing, then ended the sequence by putting a sock on his toddler’s hand, pants on his head, or shirt on his legs and of course, saying “oops." What a great extension activity! So, what is your favorite predictable book? </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-12656190970086495532015-01-28T19:23:00.000-06:002015-01-28T19:38:25.604-06:00Visual Supports: Shopping List Bingo on the iPad<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As I interview parents about community outings, many share frustrations with grocery store visits. We often discuss strategies for providing distractions throughout the store in order to avoid challenging behaviors. A short visual shopping list gives the little shopper a chore. This activity keeps the little shopper busy and promotes early literacy skills, vocabulary building and conversation between the adult shopper and little shopper. I used the app Pages to create the visual, then took a screenshot of the visual. For the Bingo part of the activity, I used the app, Doodle Buddy. Doodle Buddy is a free app, but there are some advertisements. To pull up the visual, choose the tic <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2d1a0fbe-ead2-4536-94f6-ee196ea73475" id="96053576-b4f9-4012-a37f-57a97aa6e05e">tac</gs> toe icon on the bottom, choose "photos" then "camera roll". Select the screenshot. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJdchD11vHQJ_8lyjeE5t1RElqq8NOvQ1xLLpov2ppCY79NTG7VpqfhfGUl0CSPHCkCMFML8VJbKmgIU9gxDkzdcu-AXV3x5n4zC22uxztKQzo0YJBMP4yW8uGeJ_Xq0E4ceFEnL5wx4/s1600/Photo+Jan+19,+9+40+33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJdchD11vHQJ_8lyjeE5t1RElqq8NOvQ1xLLpov2ppCY79NTG7VpqfhfGUl0CSPHCkCMFML8VJbKmgIU9gxDkzdcu-AXV3x5n4zC22uxztKQzo0YJBMP4yW8uGeJ_Xq0E4ceFEnL5wx4/s1600/Photo+Jan+19,+9+40+33+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
For younger shoppers, use the stamp icon to select an image. As the little <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0e41949a-8162-4705-a987-f0edecf2fca9" id="7c85c2d3-12b0-4477-a91b-7cf8d084adb3">shopper finds</gs> the items, he or she stamps the image.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwY3H1g7nYrqLwa2gaOtAAnpNK69u8o93jWHNahWhfaPIwJibQKFPIKzQ1MCXS9EDhTBr32HUHiHv2f_3z4XpxXDncJ4dIUCQIFEpjrZYEEfk9g_EqHpE-67aB2SeVhxG5kSZFQ8eZWfQ/s1600/Photo+Jan+19,+9+36+56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwY3H1g7nYrqLwa2gaOtAAnpNK69u8o93jWHNahWhfaPIwJibQKFPIKzQ1MCXS9EDhTBr32HUHiHv2f_3z4XpxXDncJ4dIUCQIFEpjrZYEEfk9g_EqHpE-67aB2SeVhxG5kSZFQ8eZWfQ/s1600/Photo+Jan+19,+9+36+56+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
For older, little shoppers, consider choosing the writing tool so the little shopper can practice some fine motor skills by making some Xs or scribbling on the item. Guided access can be <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3699dd55-8c12-420f-9ea1-24e9c30d883d" id="a55e81c4-5a49-4ed8-8b24-832ef1cebd8c">used to</gs> keep the child in the app and disable the icons not being used. This activity can also be used as a strategy for completing a sequence such as dressing or the bedtime routine. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
</div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-5886762253047497102015-01-04T16:19:00.000-06:002015-01-04T16:30:39.051-06:00Playful parenting: Sesame Street Family Play<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8T9YoMHzdQVtvaC3EgjPahrKIjOGDX_I8aEdbveipQYpjEAu261zUIVGELODW0TpmEKQ-l8WKoKnAadSrI-GuJMEeJf_5BaWdvdISj3NI-j86KEWAQvcDctRQi6dWLJ32fFQLWkrVdk/s1600/Photo+Jan+04,+3+08+44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8T9YoMHzdQVtvaC3EgjPahrKIjOGDX_I8aEdbveipQYpjEAu261zUIVGELODW0TpmEKQ-l8WKoKnAadSrI-GuJMEeJf_5BaWdvdISj3NI-j86KEWAQvcDctRQi6dWLJ32fFQLWkrVdk/s1600/Photo+Jan+04,+3+08+44+PM.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">In my search for resources that for support playful parenting, I came across the app, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sesame-street-family-play/id690979001?mt=8" target="_blank">Sesame Street Family Play.</a> The app is <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d40ffc80-153c-4f40-a2c5-a389c4586958" id="beb0649d-3203-4fb5-85cb-a47af4210082">$</gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7a6a1797-e851-495a-8e6d-ad063cbc2eb9" id="73886c9c-e2cb-45c6-bc31-066da18ac19a"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="822e2007-47b3-4fb6-b6aa-83bda37972cc" id="1f4b44c6-d3af-4c22-955a-945e502b5cd6">.</gs></gs>99 with an additional in app purchase. According to the description of the app, it is designed to encourage everyday playful moments and includes 150 game ideas. The $<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="bc66cb0e-6b9c-43c3-a0e4-2d895a46bbbd" id="974df1ac-8be6-4f8a-80c0-72cbfdc55b63"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4cf05bf5-f724-4b32-854c-183157d21fce" id="f7089991-9700-474c-ae01-efa48f5d436a">.</gs></gs>99 version of the app provides game ideas for the home. The in app purchase is $1.99 and provides additional activities for when away from home and traveling. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The app prompts the user to choose the area of the house where the play will take place, then asks how many kids will be playing. Choices for locations are Living Room, Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom. Options for players are from 1-4+. Different Sesame characters present games using readily available materials in the chosen area of the home. Sock Skee Ball is a game that was generated when the bedroom was chosen as the location. The app asked if there were several belts and socks available. To play the game, rolled up socks are thrown into looped belts that are placed on the floor. Each loop is assigned a different point value. At the end of the activity, the app describes what type of skills the activity is promoting. In this case, the app explains that Sock Skee Ball promotes spatial relations, counting, and addition. There were games for different routines such as clean up, bedtime, and bath time. An example of a clean up <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1cfaafbc-44b8-4151-a3d9-b30145b1a5bd" id="e8be4d10-050e-40b6-9255-f55697d93a4f"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dcd04b7a-eae1-4a66-ad69-e23314eb7e8a" id="3c69f855-ecb9-40a1-887f-158a15841a9d"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f4f3fe24-720b-4790-b3bb-5d7ef4d329a0" id="e66a3a08-69f0-4f56-916a-d8e345cdb72d">game</gs></gs></gs> is, Cup Handed Robots. The idea of the game is to see how fast you can pick up things with plastic cups on your hands. A novel way to get reluctant cleaners engaged in the process. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="s1"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27uN0O1w7AS9JQ5VE20t8P5PENn4gv01OQ8ReC1hfb9F3b1TGTcQmi-aoauh4s5818YOgswt461G7mzlmdnjXdv48NkTUIFNjxBdL34WmmrUi2zMOg4dlti-9MJexcmGvvkr9ECVLA4Q/s1600/Photo+Jan+04,+3+09+03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27uN0O1w7AS9JQ5VE20t8P5PENn4gv01OQ8ReC1hfb9F3b1TGTcQmi-aoauh4s5818YOgswt461G7mzlmdnjXdv48NkTUIFNjxBdL34WmmrUi2zMOg4dlti-9MJexcmGvvkr9ECVLA4Q/s1600/Photo+Jan+04,+3+09+03+PM.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The home version of this app is a great tool for a parent or caregiver to turn to when a new play idea is needed. The developers have designed many appropriate activities that promote imaginary and active play. </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-51392713698747544312014-07-13T10:47:00.000-05:002016-03-09T19:29:18.821-06:00Research versus reality television<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Please don't judge. I don’t enjoy reality television, but I do enjoy reading research related to my field. Drama is draining, I avoid it as much as possible. Research, on the other hand, is filled with facts, no drama. My magazine holder is filled with journals and that makes me happy! </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"> As much as I enjoy reading research, I don't enjoy doing research myself. When I completed my thesis, the literature review was my favorite part of the process. I savored my time in the library, immersed in the work of others. Less enjoyable was the process of completing my own study, crunching the numbers and interpreting the results. The amount of work needed to complete my small, rather inconsequential study, was staggering. Completing the process increased my appreciation and respect for those who complete well designed studies on much larger scales. To all of the researchers out there, thank you for all of your hard work. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I view reading research as a professional responsibility, it is a practice that supports intentional, effective teaching. It is my responsibility to use effective, evidence based practices when working with families and children. Because I work in the field of early intervention, there is an inherent sense of urgency. I know that the early experiences I am promoting and providing make a significant impact during this small window of development. I want to work with families and teams to choose interventions that will significantly change the developmental trajectory of a child. Reading research helps me stay relevant and be confident in my choices. It helps me decide what I need to keep doing, start doing and stop doing. I know that if my teaching looks the same as it did 20 years ago, I am not being as effective as I could be. Of course, there are practices from 20 years ago that still have plenty of evidence supporting effectiveness, but I also need to identify those stale practices that are not research based. This can be a daunting task, it is easy to drift from implementing a new practice back to the ineffective practice. Knowing what works and putting it into practice are two very different things. That is why my latest reading subject has been implementation science. Again, don't judge! </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">It is much easier to stay current than it used to be. Two things helped me amp up my research mojo, I joined DEC and I followed more researched based organizations and institutions on Twitter. Now that I am a DEC member, research journals are delivered to my door and I can access the archives. </span> Researchers and policy organizations are a part of my healthy, balanced, personal learning network (PLN). Here is a <a href="https://twitter.com/jodialtringer/research-policy/members" target="_blank">link</a> to my Twitter list of research and policy related organizations. Here is a <a href="http://www.cec.sped.org/Membership/Membership-Applications" target="_blank">link</a> to the CEC/DEC membership page. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br />
Now back to reality television. Maybe I would like a reality show about researchers and peer review boards? </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-70110610988620323782014-07-01T21:58:00.003-05:002014-07-01T21:58:43.285-05:00ECSE App All Star: Photo Buttons<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-buttons/id430261125?mt=8">Photo Buttons</a></span><span class="s2"> by <a href="http://www.softwaresmoothie.com/"><span class="s1">Software Smoothie</span></a> is a simple cause-effect app. Touching the screen makes a colorful circle appear, tapping the circle reveals the picture and accompanying sound, tap the picture and it pops and disappears. There are 21 backgrounds to choose from, with a black screen as an option. The black screen with the colorful buttons offers nice contrast for children with visual impairments. The app comes with 54 sample buttons. Under settings, you can select which images you want to appear. You can create customized buttons by using the device’s camera or pulling an image from the camera roll. You can also add a recording to the image. Creating customized buttons was a quick and easy process once I figured out that when in landscape orientation, I had to scroll down to find the “save” button. The app is child friendly in that it does not have any ads or in app purchases and to access the settings, you need to press and hold the icon. A few features that would make this app even better would be the ability to organize the custom buttons and add an option to make the buttons bigger. I also wonder how many custom buttons you can make. I am not sure if there is a limit, I couldn't find any documentation about this on the support site. </span><br />
<span class="s2"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Riip6nLa12uFKsOd54_Pqng17mhtoIg49ZkOBU1adDISVOZSHOnh9JlaZiAq5zUiXrEFlKuZAeyEdBuA_djMQ0QO38CnE-QMXUYn6JSFY-9rUXOcGqdeSvmMHkB5FAeNO-qC5uFbQVo/s1600/Photo+Jun+25,+8+42+05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Riip6nLa12uFKsOd54_Pqng17mhtoIg49ZkOBU1adDISVOZSHOnh9JlaZiAq5zUiXrEFlKuZAeyEdBuA_djMQ0QO38CnE-QMXUYn6JSFY-9rUXOcGqdeSvmMHkB5FAeNO-qC5uFbQVo/s1600/Photo+Jun+25,+8+42+05+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s2"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2">This app stands out from other cause/effect apps because it allows me to customize the images that are triggered by the touch. So now I have an app option that builds visual discrimination skills, cause/effect skills, and functional vocabulary. This app would be a good option for use with children learning English as a second language. </span>I can also see therapists and interventionists finding uses for this app in working on a variety of language and readiness concepts. I look forward to hearing about how this app is being used in ECSE. Here are a few app activity suggestions. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s2"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s2"></span><br /></div>
Photo Buttons App Activity: Color scavenger hunt: Children really enjoy the novelty of popping the images and watching them disappear and going on scavenger hunts. Create a custom scavenger hunt around targeted skills such colors. Create buttons for a variety of colors and the numbers 1 through 5. Touch the screen until several numbers and colors are on the screen. Students take turns choosing a number and color, finding that number of objects of the chosen color, and then popping the number and color to complete a turn. <br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><br /></span>
<span class="s2">Parent App Activity: Nature scavenger hunt: Encourage outdoor play and exploration by using the same method as above to create custom buttons of things in the your yard and outdoor areas. Help your child find and talk about the items before popping the image and making it disappear. </span><br />
<span class="s2"><br /></span>
</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-24546403661369872962014-02-23T09:30:00.001-06:002014-07-01T22:03:53.513-05:00ECSE App All Star: Breathe Think Do With Sesame<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXkoa_0x15iJRkxviq5VR-Tpw_ykJ-hsztKxbkwBPtaD1kVWznOOYMQ-mPCsijbug7qX9ReQuBjYF-XnaECNm4qUe8bW6cImQXZyBtJ8g0PVPO6wHmSwD0BW6GB8SbIa8ge-UFYWPHK0/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+56+06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXkoa_0x15iJRkxviq5VR-Tpw_ykJ-hsztKxbkwBPtaD1kVWznOOYMQ-mPCsijbug7qX9ReQuBjYF-XnaECNm4qUe8bW6cImQXZyBtJ8g0PVPO6wHmSwD0BW6GB8SbIa8ge-UFYWPHK0/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+56+06+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">Not all children who are referred to and evaluated by our team meet the criteria for special education services. These children were referred because they are struggling with some aspect of development and their parents are often searching for resources and support. I collect parent friendly resources on a variety of child development topics to offer these parents. Because we evaluate infants, toddlers and preschoolers, self regulation skills are frequently a topic of discussion and concern. When I found <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/breathe-think-do-with-sesame/id721853597?mt=8" target="_blank">Breathe Think Do With Sesame</a>, in the app store, I knew that I had found a resource to add to my Self Regulation resource list. I plan to share this app with parents, our Occupational Therapy team and Early Childhood Special Educators. This app is a great addition to our social emotional skills toolbox. Currently the app is free. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The app serves two purposes. It educates parents and caregivers about self regulation skills and it provides opportunities for children to practice the skills in a structured but engaging way. The Parent section provides tips and strategies for several challenging issues such as separation, persistence and aggression. This section begins with an explanation of why self regulation skills are important and provides a script of what parents can say to children who are experiencing difficulties in this area. Finally, a specific strategy in each area is given. In the aggression section, the strategy provided is tracing a child’s hand and helping him think of 5 gentle things he can do with his hands so he can think of that next time he is upset. Some of the sections include video clips. A theme throughout the tips and strategies section is the framework of breathing, planning and doing. In the settings, the app has a personalization option. Children are prompted to say phrases that will be repeated throughout the activities such as “think of a plan”. The language can be changed from English to Spanish in the Settings area. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The child section has 5 activities and features a monster. Each activity starts with animation showing the monster struggling with a challenging issue. The issues are getting on his shoes, separating from his mother, a tower of blocks that falls, waiting to use the slide on the playground, and being fearful of the dark at bedtime. After the introduction the screen changes to the monster surrounded by red and looking anxious, upset and/or mad. The narrator encourages the child to tap the screen to help the monster take 3 breaths through his nose and out his mouth. The background color changes from red to blue as the narrator talks about the monster getting calmer. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaStQTVwaL3gRbWFf6DYOBXIhFeUERsmFAo81MMMxk__b6n3VztjltNFNTWt-zGBOG-DQvAE23fMsRZix2b9vbMbO-6XLbuXghCYBxgO7HhuxIOqYKVykRBkpo16JVFh7DisLkEYGEH0/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+56+47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaStQTVwaL3gRbWFf6DYOBXIhFeUERsmFAo81MMMxk__b6n3VztjltNFNTWt-zGBOG-DQvAE23fMsRZix2b9vbMbO-6XLbuXghCYBxgO7HhuxIOqYKVykRBkpo16JVFh7DisLkEYGEH0/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+56+47+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Sne7eo9oKT9bSd4qd2WecSoI3yoEC8MucDnphw_jZmWakL-vSEkiN2obEnWl8LvHW8TpGddizjXDGmhSrwhDXW74S9mWDrcu4D8xyNjNlBT_FxbCryX56Zf9re8N9hDKN1ER11eU4k8/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+57+15+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Sne7eo9oKT9bSd4qd2WecSoI3yoEC8MucDnphw_jZmWakL-vSEkiN2obEnWl8LvHW8TpGddizjXDGmhSrwhDXW74S9mWDrcu4D8xyNjNlBT_FxbCryX56Zf9re8N9hDKN1ER11eU4k8/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+57+15+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Next, the narrator prompts the child to pop bubbles to make the monster think of a plan. The monster thinks of 3 options for a plan. The child gets to choose which plan the monster will use and watch the result. Self regulation vocabulary, such as calm, frustrated, relaxed, and anxious are used throughout the activities. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjA_9MRv_j6Tl1t8yB6HuPDvUhyphenhyphenJGfElc9WDZAe7UaR1f56HZqzG1NnyVxd-aiwy2LkLNM2NrpTOxy24fsQROlnmyFi-QjEudOGiG7krMNQWuwNWvFRUOpMw_kHccIHGl56b7V2-JYlo/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+55+05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjA_9MRv_j6Tl1t8yB6HuPDvUhyphenhyphenJGfElc9WDZAe7UaR1f56HZqzG1NnyVxd-aiwy2LkLNM2NrpTOxy24fsQROlnmyFi-QjEudOGiG7krMNQWuwNWvFRUOpMw_kHccIHGl56b7V2-JYlo/s1600/Photo+Feb+21%252C+10+55+05+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This app is one of many resources Sesame Street offers in the <a href="http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/toolkits/challenges" target="_blank">Little Children, Big Challenges</a> toolkit. I have bookmarked several resources from the toolkit to share with parents. Do you have any other apps you recommend for teaching and/or practicing self regulation skills? </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-43860730718413326302014-02-19T07:38:00.000-06:002015-01-04T16:32:22.966-06:00Engaging apps for Scribbling and Drawing<span id="goog_1677143352"></span><span id="goog_1677143353"></span>Today I am highlighting 2 apps that I would recommend to pediatric Occupational Therapists, parents and teachers of young children, and early intervention providers. <a href="http://www.lazoo.com/" target="_blank"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="65efb97e-d34f-40e4-b8e5-d923d2c3d982" id="900ddf3d-c803-4c86-bfcb-8b3206e318f8">Lazoo</gs></a> offers two apps (currently free) that will get your most reluctant drawers and scribblers motivated to join in the fun. The apps are so engaging, I found myself wanting to try out each scene, looking forward to the animation on each page. The developers were creative in giving a purpose to the doodles and scribbles.<br />
<br />
There is a parent section available, which as you know, earns an app bonus points in my book. The parent section encourages parents to let their child engage in open ended play. Parents are encouraged to comment on the drawings and examples of questions that can spark some conversations are provided. Collaboration, creativity, and the process are emphasized. Here is a quick description of each app. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lazoo-lets-color!/id515438833?mt=8" target="_blank">Let's Color</a><br />
The app offers over 25 different scenes. Each scene has a written question or prompt that <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5a35b62a-abe0-4523-9418-77b7ee8390ea" id="a8e8144f-e6ae-4cf6-bd86-178c6bebbd42">is read</gs> aloud as each word is highlighted. For the example below the prompt is "These kids are playing in the mud, make it messy!". The prompt is only read once and there does not appear to be a way to have it repeated. There are 5 tools available to produce the drawings and there are also stickers for added embellishment. Once the masterpiece is created, the child hits the "GO!" button and watches as her artwork becomes part of the animation. Several of the scenes promote collaboration and imitation by providing more than one image so a parent, teacher or peer can work on one and the child can work on the other. For example, in one scene the child is prompted to draw hair on a figure and there are 2 figures. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRnekRNE_mdZs3P70z_jSPltkT7oujXegYD2VMIqc-JZaeILpVHT0JXnUfSf6Q-NmHng_0_Prkr7UwGo2d37T8ARJmfAFgUu2UO5RsaN8mwd9dbwKrh8aM68h2HeeZTWvPVXRBxHKNhU/s1600/Photo+Feb+18,+9+22+56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRnekRNE_mdZs3P70z_jSPltkT7oujXegYD2VMIqc-JZaeILpVHT0JXnUfSf6Q-NmHng_0_Prkr7UwGo2d37T8ARJmfAFgUu2UO5RsaN8mwd9dbwKrh8aM68h2HeeZTWvPVXRBxHKNhU/s1600/Photo+Feb+18,+9+22+56+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completed picture <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4b751058-3408-4043-bd2c-195605a73028" id="bc4211b9-f6cc-4402-a086-c40576c7fbd9">from</gs> Lazoo's Let's Color app.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squiggles!/id498599631" target="_blank">Squiggles!</a><br />
<span id="goog_949357339"></span><br />
This app has several features in common with Let's Color. A friendly voice provides a prompt such <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="750da4fc-8290-4887-b389-eaada144cce3" id="159a93ab-4f92-4b4f-ade2-b209dd3f48cc">as "</gs>Draw a squiggly mane to turn this <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="750da4fc-8290-4887-b389-eaada144cce3" id="0541fec0-c948-4439-868e-2e65d80d4e72">kitty</gs> into a lion." In some scenes there is more than one image so a team can collaborate and imitate. The tools and the stickers are the same. This app is different in that it provides a prompt in the form of a model of producing squiggles in the intended area and there are fewer scenes. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-xDsOMwyGkUlSCDA3K7VxNdd5uj8zCyHwwSTvNj1AhqJpT22xcd9uaZvMqgk9xkKJ8OqJU3f1nuhy4AVENUhrixP8hWPpgh0cfALRgVqsf-Xsrlx1uMn9OWEPicQx99586TLgG_zUVA/s1600/Photo+Feb+18%252C+9+27+45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-xDsOMwyGkUlSCDA3K7VxNdd5uj8zCyHwwSTvNj1AhqJpT22xcd9uaZvMqgk9xkKJ8OqJU3f1nuhy4AVENUhrixP8hWPpgh0cfALRgVqsf-Xsrlx1uMn9OWEPicQx99586TLgG_zUVA/s1600/Photo+Feb+18%252C+9+27+45+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completed picture from Lazoo's Squiggles! <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9afdde67-3d00-4470-8fd8-859b2353f141" id="b97f6e23-d424-4832-8bca-54823c3737e4">app</gs>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Give these apps a try and enjoy the process!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-57633123578650379322014-01-26T21:22:00.000-06:002014-01-26T21:32:31.964-06:00Snowballs, embroidery hoops and the app, Faces iMake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9rEAH_mr4zDVBslMo052nIQcnw09S-zGM35uD1QqfNi9GUwZo_g8C_XVKM8qLrDLg9I8awxtJN4NUMHJgfQknqRhLdUfB0xTAldG_aVKbZzr8Q0MKxFwnKZw_jYj6r0M-GqV2RfpV-U/s1600/T+and+snowmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9rEAH_mr4zDVBslMo052nIQcnw09S-zGM35uD1QqfNi9GUwZo_g8C_XVKM8qLrDLg9I8awxtJN4NUMHJgfQknqRhLdUfB0xTAldG_aVKbZzr8Q0MKxFwnKZw_jYj6r0M-GqV2RfpV-U/s1600/T+and+snowmen.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Blizzard conditions, low of -19 degrees tomorrow morning, school closed tomorrow, likely late or closed on Tuesday, our crazy winter continues. Perfect conditions for another winter related post. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snowballs-Lois-Ehlert/dp/0152020950/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390791052&sr=8-1&keywords=snowballs+by+lois+ehlert" target="_blank">Snowballs</a> by Lois Ehlert is a favorite winter read for preschool teachers. In this post, I share a few extension activities. <br />
<br />
A traditional follow up activity to the book is an art project where children use various materials to create a collage of a snow creature similar to the book. I loved displaying these creations, each one so unique and reflecting each student's ideas and personality. I wanted to extend this activity by using loose parts that can be arranged and rearranged at a center. During a family gathering, my nephews and neice scoured the kitchen, junk drawer, art cabinet, toy box and yard for materials, added a few embroidery hoops and white paper, then went to work. Different sizes of hoops were used so size concepts were discussed. Following the theme of the book, the kids created snow moms, snow dads, snow babies and snow animals. We took pictures of each creation and planned to create a digital book, retelling the story, but we didn't get that done. It was acutally nice out so we went outside and played in the snow instead!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZz7JZ06CTTlHoAeK0TRP2w-xBYHSd6f6HTDhvaG59M1HwQX0Q74Mj5VssaViQ2VDmS6YohJ1goSbGn4lfNBWma1ChyPDOrhFwTRd4lj85uV8Rft8MvlsUIhZbbEGC1iRTMIIK1YCUWE/s1600/snowman+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZz7JZ06CTTlHoAeK0TRP2w-xBYHSd6f6HTDhvaG59M1HwQX0Q74Mj5VssaViQ2VDmS6YohJ1goSbGn4lfNBWma1ChyPDOrhFwTRd4lj85uV8Rft8MvlsUIhZbbEGC1iRTMIIK1YCUWE/s1600/snowman+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
The second extension involves a "go to App" on my iPad, <a href="http://www.facesimake.com/" target="_blank">Faces iMake</a>. It is a great creative outlet and is a perfect match for the Snowballs theme. Kids can create snow people and snow animals using a variety of vocabulary building props available on the app. The app can be customized by using the camera option. Pictures can be imported from the camera roll or taken with the camera. Using a pencil eraser, the object can be cropped from the background and used in the collage. It is easy to resize and rotate objects, and objects can be locked and moved to the front or back. Once again, the children can take pictures of their creations to share with others. I enjoyed the video tutorials available on the app as well. This app offers great features for the price and promotes creativity and vocabulary building. For those of you in my region, stay warm, stay safe and think Spring!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekw1_f1WKpIhwilY6_2qgqhmkH2sPEkuUt-iHT4fpQPmz6MHJ1Hhzbi6NDAw8tVRkkSNmH-4WZSBYxcW7qi6GpzZib2n1AYbhdktdU-z6KRbqHJOeuTcqPNghNY-VauzJC17cvk7dzeU/s1600/faces+iMake.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekw1_f1WKpIhwilY6_2qgqhmkH2sPEkuUt-iHT4fpQPmz6MHJ1Hhzbi6NDAw8tVRkkSNmH-4WZSBYxcW7qi6GpzZib2n1AYbhdktdU-z6KRbqHJOeuTcqPNghNY-VauzJC17cvk7dzeU/s1600/faces+iMake.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-59741701507426682212014-01-05T15:51:00.001-06:002015-01-04T16:33:04.399-06:00Mitten matching on Explain Everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuOjiISUNH2MD8Pwjf7J3Sq4apOQH2JAFbwfvaRMBewJtCcXqNRRvNCEoxM7jaLpUZJ-nKEejQ9wTefWhojNGeFnna7OqHBcUff2Iw44El0M5s-gCTLoX4Fcx55MU7hWgUTasf9KOCxU/s1600/Photo+Jan+04%252C+4+23+12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuOjiISUNH2MD8Pwjf7J3Sq4apOQH2JAFbwfvaRMBewJtCcXqNRRvNCEoxM7jaLpUZJ-nKEejQ9wTefWhojNGeFnna7OqHBcUff2Iw44El0M5s-gCTLoX4Fcx55MU7hWgUTasf9KOCxU/s400/Photo+Jan+04%252C+4+23+12+PM.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">People in Minnesota are using the term “stupid cold” to describe the weather we will be experiencing over the next 2 days. Tomorrow’s forecast is a high of -18 degrees, low of -28 degrees, with wind chills of 50 below zero. Our state will experience over 60 hours of below zero temperatures. On Friday, the Governor closed schools statewide for Monday. It is cold. I thought it would be appropriate to put together a post about a mitten matching activity I created using Explain Everything. My previous <a href="http://goo.gl/IJrSKZ" target="_blank">post</a> on using Explain Everything for story retelling gives more details about how to use the app. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">When I had a classroom, I offered a mitten matching activity using a clothesline, clothespins and children’s mittens. It was great fine motor practice. I usually had some students who struggled with the fine motor aspect of using a clothespin, so I adapted the clothespins, had an alternative clothesline with <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8ccbc730-bae6-4cb7-9dc4-18bc31728918" id="998ad756-b84c-41db-9f86-1e2d5361094a">velcro</gs>, and sometimes had the student match the mittens by pairing them on the table or floor rather than hang them. This iPad activity would be yet another alternative for accessing this type of activity. A fun variation of this activity would be to take pictures of your students' mittens and use those as the matching items. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">This video was created using the app Explain Everything and gives a brief overview of how I created the activity. </span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/U4gfscNLYYA" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
I drew the clothesline using the writing tool. I found the images on Google and saved the images to my camera roll. I pulled the images into the slide and used the lasso cropping tool to crop the images out of the background. I locked the clothesline and the mittens hanging on the line. I <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e41d2c15-45e4-4f82-b7ba-9683a8772cc7" id="3fea91e9-093c-4279-b8f2-9c36d824f56b">locked</gs> the scale of <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e41d2c15-45e4-4f82-b7ba-9683a8772cc7" id="d158d2d7-dbc9-447b-8346-7040e20e71d2">the the</gs> mittens that will be manipulated by the students. The locking function is activated by tapping square with an <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a2712a40-b2c4-44be-a508-b318972ace47" id="5b8efd32-ef03-4772-b20b-11569d518e0e">i</gs> on the left hand side, then tapping the object. Everyone stay warm and stay safe. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZmk8C4xieP3G67oswdIcs4e9MKptTKwnIAZcVJxPdaXeBupx73MgJfqWeZIkr2w0WY6JNj_YYL8fFbZLigkD4fV8KGlYTrKR-T6xc8w815N18x_NEnYvjqm2m5Dtm5y-7xPqtdK5qk4/s1600/Photo+Jan+04,+5+11+53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZmk8C4xieP3G67oswdIcs4e9MKptTKwnIAZcVJxPdaXeBupx73MgJfqWeZIkr2w0WY6JNj_YYL8fFbZLigkD4fV8KGlYTrKR-T6xc8w815N18x_NEnYvjqm2m5Dtm5y-7xPqtdK5qk4/s320/Photo+Jan+04,+5+11+53+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapping the information icon brings up this menu which includes the lock function. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-88742669054901642842013-10-28T21:28:00.000-05:002017-02-16T12:43:24.852-06:00ECSE and Early Intervention: Welcome To Twitter!<div class="p1">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrzH3VymEi7GlQKm52PTNk_-iXJ-X-FzB2IGZ3UTNEkXSGXwTEUp6qOstScgPheZxUGVlMJTRP-TlEhmpPHUCuoMWDsgsRatzT8nRXFrNoqlMu81fx6QdAmiSZnLQzsT_2SX3YdtXlyI/s1600/%23earlyedsped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrzH3VymEi7GlQKm52PTNk_-iXJ-X-FzB2IGZ3UTNEkXSGXwTEUp6qOstScgPheZxUGVlMJTRP-TlEhmpPHUCuoMWDsgsRatzT8nRXFrNoqlMu81fx6QdAmiSZnLQzsT_2SX3YdtXlyI/s320/%23earlyedsped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I have been active on Twitter for several years. It has taken some time, but I have found a network and community of inspiring early childhood educators, special educators and related service providers (Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and Physical Therapists). While I have had a difficult time finding Early Childhood Special Educators and Early Intervention teachers or specialists, this seems to be changing. In the last 2 weeks, I have added more and more people who have a background in Early Childhood Special Education and/or Early Intervention to my “following” list. When they join, I want to be supportive and personally welcome each of them, but I have so much to say I can’t get it done in 140 characters. Instead, I thought I would write a welcome letter and invite them to read it. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Dear Early Childhood Special Education/Early Intervention provider,</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Welcome to Twitter. I am glad you are here. I have been anxious to connect with professionals from our profession and it has been difficult to find you! My PLN has been a great support for me and Twitter is where I connect with them. Twitter is my primary source of professional development. I hope you find it as useful of a tool as I have. There are many established communities of professionals in the Twittersphere. My goal is to build a community of ECSE and Early Intervention professionals on Twitter. There are a few things we can do to make it easier for us to connect with one another so that we can maximize the Twitter experience. I know many of you are new to Twitter so I am going to offer a few general tips. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> Let’s start with who to follow. If you are interested in finding more professionals in our field, “Lists” are helpful. Many Twitter users create Lists of people who are similar in some manner. I have a List of ECSE professionals, Related Service professionals (speech, OT, PT), and Assistive Technology tweeters. You are welcome to access my lists and see if you can find some new people to follow. You find a person’s lists under their profile. Another way to find someone to follow, is to look at who other ECSE professionals are following, also found under their profile. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> The next useful tool is hashtags. Hashtags make information searchable, allowing users to find information specific to a topic such as Early Childhood Special Education. Hashtags are the little # symbol, formerly known as the number sign, that you see inserted in tweets. These hashtags, while sometimes annoying in popular culture today, do serve a purpose. Give it a try, try searching <b>#earlyedsped</b>. If you are using Twitter, put the hashtag in the search field and the stream will appear. Another tip is to consider using an app such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. These programs allow you to organize Twitter feeds by hashtags, lists and users. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> There are a few other hashtags to consider. Hashtags tend to evolve, new ones appear based on campaigns and new interests. Keep your eyes open for hashtags that are commonly used by those who tweet in the early childhood world. We are an interesting field because we have one foot in the Early Childhood world and one in the Special Education world. We can learn from and contribute to both fields. Therefore, I follow many Early Childhood hashtags such as #kinderchat, #ece, #earlyed, #b25, #prek, #preemies, and #ecechat. On the Sped side, I follow hashtags such as #spedchat, #atchat, #autism, #spedplc, #inclusion and #slpeeps. Our field is in need of a unique hastag. I originally tried #ecse but it seemed that the #ecse hashtag apparently has some meaning in French and is was being used heavily for that purpose. At that time, the feed created by #ecse was more French than ECSE related. That being said, some of us continue to add it to tweets so it worth following that one. I have found useful information under #earlyintervention, but it is also used by professionals in other fields such as mental health, chemical dependency, and medicine. I am proposing a hashtag more specific to our field (I feel like I am running a campaign!!), <b>#earlyedsped</b>. It is still a little long, but I am hoping that it will catch on with birth to 3 early intervention providers and Early Childhood Special Education professionals. I am also hoping that related service providers who work in early childhood will find and use it. It can also be a place where early childhood educators, child care providers and other caregivers of young children can look for information related to young children with special needs. I usually include <b>#earlyedsped</b> in my tweets along with any other tags I think might be relevant. I am asking you to please consider using <b>#earlyedsped </b>when you are tweeting something that would benefit other ECSE/Early Intervention professionals, or you are asking a question and want feedback from other professionals. I look forward to learning from you!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
One last suggestion, then I will stop! Other professionals appreciate it when you share information from conferences or other professional development sessions. Twitter is a useful platform for this purpose. Next time you are at a state level DEC conference, an ECSE leadership conference, or any other training related to our field, consider tweeting about it. Karen Nemeth wrote an <a href="http://languagecastle.com/wordpress/?p=333" target="_blank">article</a> about why and how. Because our field is just starting to use Twitter, you may need to suggest a hashtag for the conference or session. Remember to try to keep the hashtag short so it doesn’t eat up your allotted characters. When you start tweeting about it, make sure to also add #earlyedsped so we know it is related to our field. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> I hope this information is useful and will help those of us in our field connect. I look forward to some great conversations. If you have any questions or suggestions about using Twitter, please email me. I am compiling a list of ECSE and Early Intervention blogs, so if you blog or have a website, tweet it to me or email. My email is <a href="mailto:jodialtringer@gmail.com"><span class="s2">jodialtringer@gmail.com</span></a>. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> Sincerely,</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span> @jodialtringer<br />
Jodi Altringer</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-11061850790715698492013-10-06T15:18:00.002-05:002017-02-16T12:26:29.101-06:00Why Early Education professionals should use Twitter. <div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Recently someone asked me why early childhood educators should connect through Twitter. She shared that her preferred social media platform for professional development is Pinterest. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I use Pinterest and I like Pinterest. Pinterest is a great tool for finding and sharing teaching materials and strategies. I think this is important and beneficial, but there is more to the field of early education than instructional materials, art projects, and thematic units. There are the philosophies, frameworks, and beliefs that lead us to choose the materials we are using. There is not just the “what”, there is the “why”. Why are we teaching what we are teaching, why are we teaching the way we are teaching, and why are we using the materials we are using? I am challenging early educators to move beyond Pinterest, because Pinterest isn't conducive to conversations. I am challenging early educators to take the next step and engage in conversations about early education on Twitter. The conversations taking place move beyond art projects and themes. On Twitter, early educators are challenging one another, discussing best practice, asking “why”, discussing research and advocating for developmentally appropriate practices. They are talking about the importance of early education, policies that shape our profession, and practices that are effective and not so effective in getting the results we hope to achieve. The conversation is taking place with or without you, I am hoping to convince you that it is worth your time to join the conversation, because our field needs more voices. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">K-12 educators are reaping the numerous benefits of connecting with others through Twitter and blogging. The conversations they are having related to pedagogy, research, and what is working and not working in education, challenge individual educators to continue to improve and advance the education profession. These educators' voices are being heard. Policy makers are aware of the conversations and taking note. The field of early childhood education can not afford to miss out on the opportunities that Twitter presents to our profession. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Historically, early childhood has often been overlooked and not given the same respect or attention that is given to the K-12 world. Our field is finally getting some attention. This attention brings with it a great responsibility and sense of urgency. We need to show that as a field, we are also discussing pedagogy, research and “why”. We need to be recognized as a professional group who stays current, integrates research based practice, and knows how to teach. We need to connect and converse so our voices will be heard. We need to share failures and successes so we move our field forward. Collectively we have a rich experience and background, our conversations can encourage and support one another to be intentional in our teaching, leading to positive outcomes for the children and families we serve. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Another reason connecting in early education is beneficial is related to the concept of “burn out”. We have important, rewarding, and often challenging jobs. I have found that connecting with others has lessened my sense of burn out and has sparked a renewed passion in professional development. Knowing that others are facing similar challenges is reassuring. Hearing the strategies they are using to overcome these challenges is inspiring. Reading the latest research, discussing philosophy, beliefs and “why”, strengthens my resolve to integrate research based practices into my teaching and to adapt and improve. It also inspires me to advocate to do what we know is best for children even when faced with many barriers. Connecting with others leads to reflection, reflection moves you forward, moving forward helps you to avoid burn out, stay motivated and stay inspired. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Being a connected early educator benefits you, your profession and ultimately, your students. I hope you will consider joining in the conversation. My Twitter handle is @jodialtringer. To get started, consider searching the following hashtags; #earlyed, #earlyedsped, #kinderchat, #ecechat, #earlyintervention, #preschool, #childcare, and #preK. Talk to you on Twitter! </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-29043084112400182482013-08-19T10:20:00.002-05:002015-01-04T16:35:55.177-06:00Story retelling with Explain Everything app<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1">Story retelling is a key strategy in promoting early literacy skills in young learners. Story retelling supports language development, increased comprehension and encourages a deeper understanding of the language structure of books. It provides opportunities to practice sequencing and use new vocabulary. Research suggests that story retelling is more effective than teacher questioning in increasing comprehension. The Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress include two related indicators, retelling information from a story and representing stories told or read aloud through various media during play. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There are various strategies for story retelling. Using props or toys related to the story, using sequencing cards, role playing and acting out stories are some of the strategies that are effective. This post highlights the use of an app as another strategy for retelling stories. The app is <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8" target="_blank">Explain Everything</a> and it is one of the apps I think every teacher should have on the iPad. It is versatile, easy to use and affordable. It is my "go to" whiteboard app because of one particular tool, the free select cropping tool. This tool essentially allows you to create stickers/props that can be manipulated to retell the story. Think of it as <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="233e913c-33fd-4de4-b6b8-35a0650e6e76" id="7ba43deb-103f-4b90-a09b-b59f64a08938">technology’s version</gs> of <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="233e913c-33fd-4de4-b6b8-35a0650e6e76" id="04c607ac-c68f-4eb8-95f0-01c482333e15">flannelboard</gs> stories or tongue depressor props and the best part is the animated video can be shared with others. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Here is a quick explanation of the process I used. I went to the site, <a href="http://www.kizclub.com/" target="_blank">Kizclub</a> to get the visuals. Under "Stories and Props" there are visuals for many of my favorite books. I saved the PDF’s to Dropbox in a shared file folder so that other teachers can access them. I reviewed the PDF guide for Explain Everything and went to work. Here is a <a href="http://www.explaineverything.com/uploads/4/4/0/0/4400753/ee_guide_140.pdf" target="_blank">link</a> to the PDF guide for your reference. In order to use the free select tool I took screenshots of each page of the PDF so I could edit the photo. I took a screenshot by pressing the home button and <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="064e12d9-38fc-482d-aa4f-8cab2f96ee88" id="826e33ef-682b-4986-9e5a-4e81f641dd76">power button</gs> at the same time. </span>I opened a new presentation in Explain Everything. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Rkd1lXoe8veX7fR5OirlgM8pYPx8f81MAa2HAs-M4WAOn-fL1EWNNTcNk7oBackFUPJkii8zqJ3rYGB5oxMNPvfqq9a7lKFgJqQ1qihaAmmRuiC8mnA3LOqZ0P6XgbxmuxkF1RjcD-8/s1600/Explain+everything+guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Rkd1lXoe8veX7fR5OirlgM8pYPx8f81MAa2HAs-M4WAOn-fL1EWNNTcNk7oBackFUPJkii8zqJ3rYGB5oxMNPvfqq9a7lKFgJqQ1qihaAmmRuiC8mnA3LOqZ0P6XgbxmuxkF1RjcD-8/s400/Explain+everything+guide.jpg" height="316" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I selected the insert image icon and chose “Existing Photo/Video”. I found the screenshot in the camera roll and selected it. Next, I chose the free select tool and outlined the image I wanted and selected done. I repeated this process until I had all of the props on the slide. In the example, I created a second slide with the images of the characters in “wake up” mode. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lCPaMD_0fFQrglay8m3sGPGYJqLGdYsg4wzuCJ93vG0qhtGCCn2eFPgF_o23YAOdtSykOGPJ5fSLCQfeqZgPHJsZtwPyWVV3niSsRAG2FtNWSRDUaAeRwEQP9GdhyphenhyphenXuhAsiYolrKQvM/s1600/How+to+free+select.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lCPaMD_0fFQrglay8m3sGPGYJqLGdYsg4wzuCJ93vG0qhtGCCn2eFPgF_o23YAOdtSykOGPJ5fSLCQfeqZgPHJsZtwPyWVV3niSsRAG2FtNWSRDUaAeRwEQP9GdhyphenhyphenXuhAsiYolrKQvM/s400/How+to+free+select.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The next step is to record the child retelling the story and manipulating the props. The finished product can be sent to <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="98e42d22-4db7-4666-958b-31c1a17ebe7c" id="709915b9-8b9a-4bd4-a0de-0f6af7009e6b">You Tube</gs> for sharing or can be viewed on the iPad. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Here is the example using the Napping House props. I read the story with Olivia and then we went through the book again and looked at the pictures more closely. I had printed out the props and taped them onto blocks. She stacked the blocks in the order of the story as I retold the story without the book. I presented the app and told her that it was her turn to tell the story. She was somewhat shy about being recorded so I provided some support and prompting. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ajlam866IYY" width="420"></iframe>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">In this second example, we personalized the experience. I took a picture of Olivia in a sleeping position and we removed Granny and put Olivia in the story. She asked me to tell the story, so I did, but she couldn’t resist joining in, it is a great example of how technology can be socially engaging and promote cooperation and interaction. She liked this version of the story even more! Next time I would have her draw a house and a bed with the drawing tool. What story are you going to try? </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S78N98hRCX8" width="420"></iframe>Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-55443881602383716172013-07-22T12:27:00.000-05:002015-01-04T16:31:49.275-06:00Time Tracking Tools<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Special education teachers and related service providers (SLP, OT, PT) are often required to track and report the time spent on tasks for funding purposes or for time studies. Related service providers on our team, track indirect and direct service time for 3rd party billing. As a member of the evaluation team, I track the time I spend on evaluation tasks for each student and report it for funding purposes. As things got busy, I found I was doing a poor job of tracking my time and ended up estimating. I turned to technology to help me with this task and I have tried several different tools. Right now, my “go to” tool is a Chrome app, <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/task-timer/aomfjmibjhhfdenfkpaodhnlhkolngif?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon" target="_blank">Task Timer</a>. I create tasks using the initials of my students. When I am working on a task related to that student, I start the timer. The timer runs in the background. The trick is remembering to stop the timer when you switch tasks! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKLmXwK6BumzyabOxwFOyPVAH45wupatfSsLt6G273jYni4xLGJfnDvlRKsWeKMrpEEzV3riE6NSTae1NxKbR7LrkMH7Ai0OkzAjA82lZ6-AkqDEtGRpTI9QO-3Sd41lnYAdlrchyHVE/s1600/Task+Timer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKLmXwK6BumzyabOxwFOyPVAH45wupatfSsLt6G273jYni4xLGJfnDvlRKsWeKMrpEEzV3riE6NSTae1NxKbR7LrkMH7Ai0OkzAjA82lZ6-AkqDEtGRpTI9QO-3Sd41lnYAdlrchyHVE/s320/Task+Timer.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
I also use a Chrome extension, <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/simple-time-track/hbhcgdpbdenjjpekdajanfgchlgacdea?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon" target="_blank">Simple Time Track</a>. Your lists of tasks appear when the icon is clicked. When a task is being timed, “RUN” appears under the icon. This is a helpful visual reminder to turn off the timer when done working on the task. I use both tools for different tasks and as a result am doing a much better job of tracking time accurately. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinU0nd4cH6xJcDj0mcCn9iyvAod2aHAINUemmCvqE5A70pIsFQlNIYp-uYYAift-Ah1gVIRzE30j3EH6EALeL4uHyC-w2MUsmgjm3HbEj1kLAtrmQjD2RXJu26kA38VTF-xLbofig58gM/s1600/Chrome+Web+Store+-+Task+timer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinU0nd4cH6xJcDj0mcCn9iyvAod2aHAINUemmCvqE5A70pIsFQlNIYp-uYYAift-Ah1gVIRzE30j3EH6EALeL4uHyC-w2MUsmgjm3HbEj1kLAtrmQjD2RXJu26kA38VTF-xLbofig58gM/s320/Chrome+Web+Store+-+Task+timer.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-60304797054065046732013-06-28T09:23:00.003-05:002015-01-04T16:34:04.345-06:00Create a Peek a Boo Book with Keynote for the iPad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaXHd8ms57qKfTeVqI8B9P-oSos0jdPdApCLVtavisRux8f_RSowCqpxe_YsrQ92eUri3UARd4zPiN45koAis9yxuGDkU3NTLzNLdOAXmTftbsIobLeX_KLp95MdMhWR_wKbBBiM895g/s1024/Photo+Jun+27%252C+5+45+56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaXHd8ms57qKfTeVqI8B9P-oSos0jdPdApCLVtavisRux8f_RSowCqpxe_YsrQ92eUri3UARd4zPiN45koAis9yxuGDkU3NTLzNLdOAXmTftbsIobLeX_KLp95MdMhWR_wKbBBiM895g/s320/Photo+Jun+27%252C+5+45+56+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peek a boo slide with 2 strips removed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrenQwV3_TXEacbDJGVIVhiveC1CVoavflgAfveLf-aN8O7EY26lc3Ns2knnucW9xceHr8mnw9NOKDgzfqd_w4109ASkE7m1iet6uHg0XKwm3d0-Mu7nYYi3PL_LJsYVlCIyd0JRYY_2I/s1600/Photo+Jun+09,+5+49+49+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrenQwV3_TXEacbDJGVIVhiveC1CVoavflgAfveLf-aN8O7EY26lc3Ns2knnucW9xceHr8mnw9NOKDgzfqd_w4109ASkE7m1iet6uHg0XKwm3d0-Mu7nYYi3PL_LJsYVlCIyd0JRYY_2I/s320/Photo+Jun+09,+5+49+49+AM.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peek a boo!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Peek a boo is an entertaining, engaging, relationship building game. Hiding and guessing games are always a hit with children. Peek a boo <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="de8e01b2-582d-4220-94c8-728dfdd83df9" id="445d8e60-77db-449d-9a4a-2a1241303c6c">books</gs> have a cover that is cut into strips and each strip is removed one section at a time to reveal the picture beneath. I have created many of these books and found the very time consuming to create. My purpose in using these books was usually related to vocabulary building. This activity infuses some novelty while providing the needed repetition to learn targeted words. The books are visually engaging and parents always seemed to enjoy using this type of book with their child. I recently discovered how to create a technology enhanced version of this book using <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keynote/id361285480?mt=8" target="_blank">Keynote</a> on the iPad. Unfortunately, as of when I posted this, Keynote on the iPad does not allow for recording so audio <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c1ca340d-4bd4-4c37-8ca5-af6c5b24a37f" id="7c094aad-5054-4d13-9cd7-dd6092955cc3">can not</gs> be added. Therefore, this activity is not intended for learning centers or self directed time. Instead, this is an activity tailored for two or more, an adult and child or children, engaging in this activity together, just like a book. It could be used as a teacher led group activity. This type of format lends itself to <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="84640248-5d65-4954-99d2-3f1374a9c624" id="25865abc-a6cc-4cab-967c-a54b6ca5f4e5">targeting</gs> describing skills and processing skills by giving the child a clue each time a strip is removed. For example, when using the loon picture in the video, the following clues were given, “it is has feathers and lives in the water”, “it swims fast and eats fish”, “it is Minnesota’s state bird”, “it is a loon”. A variation of this activity would be to provide a related video on the next slide. In a home based setting, this activity would work well for labeling family members and household vocabulary. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">To create a slide, choose a blank slide and add your picture. Add a shape, choosing the square. Resize the square into a rectangular strip. Repeat this until the picture is covered. Choose the first strip and select "animate", then "build out" and select a transition, I chose "dissolve". Repeat this process for each strip. Press the play button to preview the slide. You can change the order the strips are removed. Continue this process until you have your book created. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here is the video describing how to create the slide on the iPad. The video includes a few shortcuts to help speed up the process. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/towC_jB9TZo" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
Note: Creating the slide/presentation on the desktop version of Keynote is very similar. On the desktop, you can create a recording <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8aca375e-17fb-4dd7-bf87-f9d7881f3c06" id="e80d82f6-91b7-434d-9015-50a1125460ee">for</gs> the presentation. You could give the clues and the name of the object. This variation would work well for a center. A laptop could be used at center time and the student could use it as a self directed activity. I tried to transfer a presentation created with a recording on a Mac to my iPad. It <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="afa3aeb1-1935-46cd-80c0-9f72b4072ae6" id="121ca2c9-17c0-44ad-83db-80586dbacc91">transferred but</gs> without the audio, blah! If you have <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d08e2e39-3a03-408e-8b3e-e56158cdf7ad" id="4f160b68-0d54-4762-b0d6-8f0358dae927">Powerpoint</gs> and want to create a similar presentation/book, Gayle Lovely provides a revealing <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d08e2e39-3a03-408e-8b3e-e56158cdf7ad" id="4836ff8d-1024-4322-ae30-764189375500">powerpoint</gs> template on her <a href="http://lovelylearningtools.com/learning-centers.php" target="_blank">site</a>. Happy creating!Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-2350645228556979362013-04-23T21:33:00.000-05:002014-08-07T09:44:30.164-05:00Creating Instructional Materials with Tiny Tap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJbJ3EZKHfR9MBKMwizZ0C9MX-ej60QWE_U5o2RWqct4bMHCEq-qViBd90e_d1GX9QM2jPIXTPuXxtcq7VS57NZ707R6QvIPflGqldvlyrC2tCXgXMyVpDCp5s0V2fpZmWCULs4qS3I4/s1600/Photo+Apr+23,+7+28+06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJbJ3EZKHfR9MBKMwizZ0C9MX-ej60QWE_U5o2RWqct4bMHCEq-qViBd90e_d1GX9QM2jPIXTPuXxtcq7VS57NZ707R6QvIPflGqldvlyrC2tCXgXMyVpDCp5s0V2fpZmWCULs4qS3I4/s400/Photo+Apr+23,+7+28+06+PM.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinytap-moments-into-games/id493868874?mt=8" target="_blank">Tiny Tap</a> is an app that can be used by therapists, teachers and parents to create instructional materials for targeted practice of a variety of skills. Users can create a game based page or book using photos or drawings. Photos can be taken with the iPad camera or imported from the camera roll. Also, drawings can be created within the app using drawing tools and stickers. I created the picture scene below with the app, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/felt-board/id492342753?mt=8" target="_blank">Felt Board</a>. I took a picture of the completed scene which was then saved to my camera roll. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGAN73aKBjw3Cy96-LSpXxEiBt6ZkbeNwsjbxvr3ZSZMwwO12ojQdYn0i_F_eazHYhYFgLNIw9K-fmYF8t7if1XTgQPDlqb8vtbQnSGHFlz7PhN2-LpKwwznYd4jlW4BKOG7xTJWJTQU/s1600/Photo+Apr+23%252C+7+36+50+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGAN73aKBjw3Cy96-LSpXxEiBt6ZkbeNwsjbxvr3ZSZMwwO12ojQdYn0i_F_eazHYhYFgLNIw9K-fmYF8t7if1XTgQPDlqb8vtbQnSGHFlz7PhN2-LpKwwznYd4jlW4BKOG7xTJWJTQU/s320/Photo+Apr+23%252C+7+36+50+PM.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The app is very user friendly but I will provide a few tips that might keep you from getting stuck. Using this picture, I recorded my first question/statement: "Let's play a guessing game, I am thinking of an animal, it has whiskers, pointed ears and says Meow". After recording the statement or question, you are prompted to trace around the correct answer. When done tracing, tap on the question you finished and you will see a menu like the one pictured below. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFOyjU21YRIRH2GdNJa_tEqx_6VF_NVlcJsDQdk8ynnqpNjZVKypHSEvNA-O-LspnrWFDj2Mx3zJgsCX9cplk_9wJnCgAqg-46-Q19zsvFNCDOzMBH27tDulgmJ4xJVJGCLfS2SsNYTY/s1600/Photo+Apr+23,+8+01+29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFOyjU21YRIRH2GdNJa_tEqx_6VF_NVlcJsDQdk8ynnqpNjZVKypHSEvNA-O-LspnrWFDj2Mx3zJgsCX9cplk_9wJnCgAqg-46-Q19zsvFNCDOzMBH27tDulgmJ4xJVJGCLfS2SsNYTY/s320/Photo+Apr+23,+8+01+29+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
From this menu you can customize the experience by providing individualized feedback for the student. You can add a response for the correct answer such as, "yes, you found the cat, it has whiskers, pointy ears and says, meow". You can also add a response for the incorrect answer such as, "oops, that is not the cat, try again". If you don't customize these responses, the app inserts various sound effects such as laughing, cheering and a buzzer noise. Another helpful tip I can provide is related to the background music. The music made it difficult to hear the prompts and it could be distracting for some students. You have the option of turning off the music. When you are on the screen pictured below, tap the cassette tape icon in the upper right hand corner, scroll down and select, "no music". </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI80KzYmZ50WeCwv47YdpWb8uIOC8I9fgLu1SA1wR9japRlZ7ojTFUnFq8YtvrJnkn3emZ2tpH-GFINspw7HXCkLMNvgBQiN1VcPt7iQ0GsctqBmSy2kT6n20jid3JRIrCg_727ZtqIIg/s1600/Photo+Apr+23%252C+8+04+50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI80KzYmZ50WeCwv47YdpWb8uIOC8I9fgLu1SA1wR9japRlZ7ojTFUnFq8YtvrJnkn3emZ2tpH-GFINspw7HXCkLMNvgBQiN1VcPt7iQ0GsctqBmSy2kT6n20jid3JRIrCg_727ZtqIIg/s320/Photo+Apr+23%252C+8+04+50+PM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here is an example of a page I created using the app, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/strip-designer/id314780738?mt=8" target="_blank">Strip Designe</a>r. I imported this photo into Tiny Tap and asked questions related to functions of the objects. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap9U6QSq1RWePZort1GPgC1W_nvuWTaA_8OGCq8f-VxJTZIrntunqAsiAaNmzA6EFu1nQzUki6X1DKb-osPy7ukFluRFa1Bp3odLUznITVHGt7g5CWbLP53Yl_IW2nvwCFLFWcyn4rR4/s1600/Photo+Apr+23,+7+29+02+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap9U6QSq1RWePZort1GPgC1W_nvuWTaA_8OGCq8f-VxJTZIrntunqAsiAaNmzA6EFu1nQzUki6X1DKb-osPy7ukFluRFa1Bp3odLUznITVHGt7g5CWbLP53Yl_IW2nvwCFLFWcyn4rR4/s320/Photo+Apr+23,+7+29+02+PM.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Tiny Tap provides some supports to the learners during game play that can be helpful for learners with special needs. If the student picks the wrong object several times in a row, the correct object is highlighted and the prompt is repeated. There is also a replay button that can be selected and the prompt will be repeated. The drawback of this app is the sharing options. Games can only be shared through Facebook. It would be nice to be able to share games with other Tiny Tap users via email. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Tiny Tap has many possibilities for supporting learners who need targeted practice of skills. Tha app could be used to target language objectives, ELL related objectives, math concepts, and of course literacy objectives. Although I have not tried it, the app seems like it would be simple enough for a young learner to use with some support from an adult. I would like to try having a student take a picture of a scene, create a game by giving clues and have other students play the game he or she created. Has anyone had young learners create a game or book using this app? How did it go? </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="goog_1544906625"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-70350158252554125132013-02-18T12:54:00.000-06:002013-11-10T18:11:20.621-06:00Beyond You Tube: Other sources for video content appropriate for young children<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the previous two posts, I have discussed <a href="http://eiplayground.blogspot.com/2013/02/getting-most-educational-benefit-out-of.html" target="_blank">how to maximize the educational value of using videos with young children</a> and <a href="http://eiplayground.blogspot.com/2013/02/you-tube-increasing-safe-use-with-young.html" target="_blank">how to make You Tube more child friendly</a>. This post is dedicated to moving beyond You Tube in search of other video content that might be appropriate for young children. </span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7064135516993701" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other places on the web to find video content for young children: Start bookmarking!!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kideos.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kideo</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Videos for kids. Some of the content on this site comes from You Tube. When you create an account you can check a box that will make sure your child stays within the Kideo site at all times by disabling links to You Tube. Commonsense media has provided a </span><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/kideos"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">review</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of this site. </span><br /><a href="http://pbskids.org/video/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PBS kids</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: There is a video section at PBS kids. </span><br /><a href="http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/littlekids/video/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National Geographic Little Kids Videos</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Science related videos. Here are some samples, a </span><a href="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/birds-kids/wood-duck-babies-kids/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wood duck vide</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">o and a </span><a href="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/wild-detectives-kids/wd-ep6-hidingacorns/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">woodpecker video</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br /><a href="http://www.nickjr.com/kids-videos/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nickjr videos</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Clips from Nickjr. shows. </span><br /><a href="http://www.kidyos.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kidyos</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Prescreened videos and games for kids. Create an account so you can create playlists. Can also set a time limit. </span><br /><a href="http://www.kidobi.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kidobi</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Prescreened videos. Create an account and a profile for up to 3 children. Commonsense media </span><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/kidobi"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">review</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br /><a href="http://pbskids.org/rogers/videos/index.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mr. Rogers Neighborhood videos</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Clips and full episodes are available. </span><br /><a href="http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos#media/video_4838a9cd-a82f-4a96-8bdd-772f285da7b6"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sesame Street videos</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: You can search by subject and age level. This site offers tips for parents for viewing and learning together. </span><br /><a href="http://www.peepandthebigwideworld.com/video/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peep and the Big Wide World</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Collection of science videos. </span></span></b><br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.48373172990977764" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://ele.fredrogerscenter.org/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fred Rogers Early Learning Environment</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Videos for kids and parents. If you create an account, you can create a playlist. </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iTUNES Video Podcasts</span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iTunes provides another alternative to You Tube. You can find great educational content on iTunes via video podcasts. Many video podcasts are free and can be downloaded to a mobile device for offline viewing or can be watched within iTunes. You can subscribe to your favorites. Here are a few links to get you started. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sesame-street-podcast/id264537349?mt=2"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sesame Street</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Sesame street characters and celebrity guests explain meanings of new words. A great way to build vocabulary. </span><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nick-jr./id432342028?mt=2"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NickJr</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Clips from Nickjr shows. </span><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-kids-cooking/id333183484?mt=2"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two Kids Cooking</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Family time in the kitchen. </span><br /><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seaworld-busch-gardens-animals/id265017511?mt=2">Sea World Busch Gardens Animals</a></span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/australia-zoo-tv-animal-diaries/id388578087?mt=2" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Australian Zoo TV: Animal Diaries</span></a></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/skyguy/id288199094?mt=2" target="_blank">Sky Guy</a>: Answering kid's questions about space and astronomy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any other suggestions for finding appropriate video content for young children? </span>Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-60286044703465715872013-02-10T20:03:00.000-06:002013-11-10T18:11:47.754-06:00You Tube: Increasing safe use with young children<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the previous <a href="http://www.eiplayground.blogspot.com/2013/02/getting-most-educational-benefit-out-of.html" target="_blank">post</a> I discussed strategies for maximizing the educational benefit of videos with young children. The most important strategy, participating in viewing videos with a child, also is the most effective strategy in making sure a child is safe during online experiences. An adult needs to guide and monitor a child's use of You Tube. If an adult plans to allow the child some independent exploration of videos, I recommend using an alternative site or mobile app that connects to You Tube as discussed in this post, or an alternative site for content which I will discuss in my next post. </span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7869364654179662"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You Tube</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">: You Tube is the number one source of video content on the internet. You Tube is </span>not<span style="font-weight: normal;"> an age appropriate site for young children for several reasons. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* The safety features of You Tube are not foolproof. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* Searches can lead to inappropriate content.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* Even if an appropriate video is found and viewed, the related videos may not be appropriate.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* The comments underneath a video are often the source of the most inappropriate material.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For these reasons I recommend using other, more child friendly sites, for video content. But, if you choose to use You Tube, there are some strategies that will increase the safety and appropriateness for young children. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Create an account, create playlists, teach and monitor</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Creating an account on </span><a href="http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1646810" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You Tube</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> allows you to create </span><a href="http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=57792" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">playlists</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Previewed and approved videos can be organized in playlists. Once you create playlists you will need to teach your child where to find these approved videos and avoid unapproved videos in the related video section. Monitor your child closely as she uses You Tube. Here is a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ELk3JfPsJiqG2aPlLcQIYle0GBy16LzvcRHp3E2tjCU/edit" target="_blank">link</a> to a document I have started with some of my favorite videos. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn to set the safety features </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on You Tube such as </span><a href="http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=174084" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safe Search</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Learn more about You Tube on </span><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/youtube-and-your-kids" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Common Sense Media</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and in the </span><a href="http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=126289" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parent Resources</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> section of You Tube.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try web based sites that will enhance safety</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br /><a href="http://youtubeforchildren.com/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You Tube for Children </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a site that is in beta (test version) that removes related videos and comments when a child is watching a video. To locate a video you need to search for it by name. The down side is that each video has to searched individually. Using a tab based web browser such as Chrome would allow a parent to search for several videos and open them for a child in separate tabs. Related videos appear in the viewing window when a video is done. Children will need to be taught to hit the replay button rather than go to a new, unscreened video. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><a href="http://www.safeshare.tv/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safe Share TV</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: This site removes related videos and comments. A user needs to cut and paste the link from You Tube into the search box on the Safe Share TV site. The site will generate a new link. Click on “take me to the safe view” and a new window will open. Using Chrome, several videos could be opened using different tabs. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><a href="http://www.symbaloo.com/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbaloo</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Symbaloo is a site where you can create custom webmixes consisting of tiles that link to You Tube videos. Parents can create an account and create a web mix for a child suing videos that are approved. When creating a tile, choosing “embed” will result in the video opening within the same window, keeping the related videos and comments away. Related videos appear at the end of the video, if a child clicks on the video it plays within the site. Another option is to use a combination of the site SafeShare TV and Symbaloo. </span><a href="http://www.safeshare.tv/" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SafeShare TV</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> strips all of the comments and related videos and gives you a link to copy and paste when you create the tile in Symbaloo. You can not embed this type of link, so the video will open in a new window. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Use a mobile app to enhance safety.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> There are some apps for Android and iOS that can increase safety when using You Tube. There are new apps released on a regular basis so before deciding on an app you may want to do an updated search to see what is available. If there is a choice of allowing a child to use a computer or a mobile device for viewing You Tube videos, I would choose the mobile device with one of these apps. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinytube/id399332898?mt=8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TinyTube</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: This app connects to your You Tube account and pulls in the videos from you Favorites list. You child only has access to videos you previewed and saved to your favorites. There are no related videos or favorites shown while you child is viewing the video but related videos do appear at the end. You will need to teach your child to locate the replay button or use the favorites button to leave the finished video page rather than selecting a related video that you have not previewed. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itubelist-youtube-playlist/id438991471?mt=8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iTube List:</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This app connects to your You Tube account and pulls in video from your playlists. Free version has ads, for .99 you can get rid of the ads. Related videos that have been screened by the app developer, are shown during viewing of the selected video, but comments do not show. When the video ends, a play button appears instead of related videos. </span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht56zAnZhnOvERO2j_GTwEQOuw6ytBP2os_fEz4QFKxADaaxhgQMw_9FT63YHYGXj8Y7mKn6pydxVg5LlN5E1gCii0caKBgfFP0ohvwarBpyUIgIgJUUA6cv8Cof69h526L74U7PBWoAA/s1600/itube+list.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht56zAnZhnOvERO2j_GTwEQOuw6ytBP2os_fEz4QFKxADaaxhgQMw_9FT63YHYGXj8Y7mKn6pydxVg5LlN5E1gCii0caKBgfFP0ohvwarBpyUIgIgJUUA6cv8Cof69h526L74U7PBWoAA/s1600/itube+list.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="goog_1519804994"></span><span id="goog_1519804995"></span><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apps with pre-selected content.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> These apps do not connect with your playlists. Instead the apps curate content deemed appropriate and allow your child to play the videos in a safe, contained environment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weetwoo!-kid-videos-safe-educational/id341005161?mt=8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weet Woo</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A collection of curated You Tube videos for young children provided in a safe, user friendly environment. Here is a link to a </span><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/mobile-app-reviews/weetwoo" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">review</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on Common Sense Media. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gube-kid-safe-videos/id432713858?mt=8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gube</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Another collection of curated You Tube videos for young children. The interface is similar to You Tube. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1012K7FmXGY-Ge-peJzEsSnNNFr-nSqCzA3iNE9g-HDI_d5WmuHg7ZyNCJopdhFKuYjgk4sAaQrnqWcozJrRjaMy1YeESrs6wK2rwSQ8-l3_2ulCrrkYU5oi35rd7mPnCjRhLGLZISuY/s1600/Gube.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1012K7FmXGY-Ge-peJzEsSnNNFr-nSqCzA3iNE9g-HDI_d5WmuHg7ZyNCJopdhFKuYjgk4sAaQrnqWcozJrRjaMy1YeESrs6wK2rwSQ8-l3_2ulCrrkYU5oi35rd7mPnCjRhLGLZISuY/s1600/Gube.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appbuilder.u111793p222571&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5hcHBidWlsZGVyLnUxMTE3OTNwMjIyNTcxIl0." style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kid Tube</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Android version of this type of app. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the next post, I will provide some links to other sources for video content. </span>Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-66359326794508271602013-02-09T15:03:00.000-06:002014-05-14T18:23:03.267-05:00Getting the most educational benefit out of videos <br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In two short weeks, I will be part of a great day, filled with sharing of resources and knowledge at a Tech Fair for Young Children. The event is hosted by a local Early Childhood Family Education program. The goal of the event is to empower parents, caregivers, and educators of young children to make informed, developmentally appropriate decisions related to the use of technology with young children. I am providing three different sessions, one of these is on the use of video with young children. This post summarizes the first part of our discussion on how video can be educational and what adult’s can do to maximize the impact on learning. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br />
<b>Why use video with young children?</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Video is engaging and attractive to young children. Videos can provide experiences a child might not otherwise have. If a child is asking what the inside of a bee hive looks like, a hands on experience may not be available but you might be able to find a fascinating video of the inside of a bee hive. You could explain what you know about bee hives, but with video they can hear it and see it, much more powerful. Educators can use video to expand content and flatten the classroom walls. Another opportunity videos offer is a novel way to provide needed repetition of some skills that require it. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">Some child development experts worry that when children are watching videos, they are <b>not</b> engaging in activities that we know are good for their development such as playing, engaging in physical activities, or playing outside. Intention and balance are the key. Mindful, informed, developmentally appropriate use of video can support and encourage all of these other things we know are good for children. Watching a video of the bee hive might encourage a child to go outside and count how many bees he can find in the garden or lead to a cooking activity with honey. Video will be much more educationally rich when combined with "unplugged" developmentally appropriate activities to help the learning stick. Here are some tips and strategies for getting the most educational bang out of videos. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
1. <b>Follow the child's lead</b>. Why do pigs like mud? Do baby <a href="http://www.safeshare.tv/w/URDdAIbBmS"><span class="s2">kangaroos</span></a> really live in a pouch? Children ask so many wonderful questions. These questions lead to teachable moments and are opportunities for you to spark that sense of wonder and inquiry. You can answer by saying, "let's find out" and model the research process. Video can be a great tool to answer some of these questions and provide experiences that will lead to expansion and more inquiry. If you just visited the fire station and your child is buzzing about the experience, finding a video about fire stations encourages further reflection.</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"> </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">2. <b>Preview the content</b>: Always watch videos all the way through to make sure the content and the way it is delivered is developmentally appropriate. It is important that an adult is guiding young children through this experience by making responsible choices regarding content. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">3. <b>Watch the video with the child</b>: This is the tip that can have the greatest impact on increasing the educational value of the experience. There have been numerous studies finding that children get greater educational benefit from engaging in the use of digital media with someone else. Talking about the content with someone else increases recall and understanding, co-viewing encourages narration skills, and acquisition of new vocabulary. The Fred Rogers Early Learning Environment is home to an informative<a href="http://ele.fredrogerscenter.org/activity/dialogic-video-viewing"><span class="s3"> video</span></a> that demonstrates very specific strategies adults can use while watching videos with young children. Adults are encouraged to treat videos like they would a book by pausing the video, asking questions, commenting, expanding on the child's comments and helping the child make connections. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">4. <b>Set Limits</b>: Children need support in establishing and following limits. If needed, use a support such as a timer. </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="p3">
5. <b>Keep the learning going, provide extension activities that will help make the learning stick</b>:<br />
<b> Connect digital and real life experiences</b>: After viewing the video together, turn to an “unplugged” activity to help make the learning stick. If your child watched a video of a <a href="http://www.kenkenkikki.jp/zukan/e_bull_m_d51px.html"><span class="s3">bulldozer leveling dirt</span></a>, get a bulldozer, head out to the dirt pile or sandbox and give it a try. If a child watches a video of <a href="http://pbskids.org/rogers/videos/index.html"><span class="s3">Mr. Rogers visiting the stage of STOMP, </span></a>head to the kitchen to see what you and your child can find to make music. After a child watches a video about <a href="http://wonderopolis.org/?post_type=wonder&s=boomerang&x=0&y=0"><span class="s3">boomerangs</span></a>, challenge him or her to make one with paper and tape, or other materials, then take it outside and see if it works.<br />
<b>Model other forms of research and inquiry</b>: Go to the library and find books about bulldozers. Go to the zoo and watch the kangaroos. Visit a local beekeeper and ask questions about bee hives. </div>
<div class="p3">
<b>Create</b>: Now that you have acquired some new learning, create a product that demonstrates that learning. Documenting and revisiting experiences in a different way will help the new learning stick. Draw a picture of a bee hive or make a bee hive out of clay. Create a video of the Stomp production in your kitchen and share it with Grandma. </div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">The next part of the discussion will be where to find educational videos and how to provide the safest experience possible. Did I miss any strategies? </span></div>
<div class="p5">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br />
</span><span class="s4"><br />
</span><span class="s1"> </span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-85039754680826921532012-11-03T10:49:00.000-05:002014-08-07T09:45:52.021-05:00ECSE App All Star: Book Creator Recently, I have been asked to make recommendations regarding digital storytelling apps. I am finally feeling like I have had enough experience with a variety of apps that I can make better informed suggestions. In this post, I will focus on teacher created stories and the app, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8" target="_blank">Book Creator</a>. Special Education teachers create books for many purposes including social stories, vocabulary development, and targeted literacy instruction. In the past, creating customized books was very time consuming and involved scissors, glue, copying, laminating and binding. Technology has made this task much less daunting.<br />
<br />
The combination of two features, the ability to add audio and the sharing options, make Book Creator a very useful app. Book Creator works well if you are using 1-2 photos per page and need to have audio. The audio feature is a necessity with young learners who can't read independently. The sharing options are more extensive than many other digital storytelling apps. The finished product is an epub file. If a student is going to be accessing the book on the iPad, the book can be opened in iBooks and the audio remains. If you need to share the book so it can be accessed on a device other than the iPad on which it was created, you can open the file in Dropbox. Once I had the file in Dropbox, I pulled it onto my desktop. I ran into a road block when I tried to open the file on my computer because I didn't have anything installed that could read epub files. My next step was to download the Chrome Extension, <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readium/fepbnnnkkadjhjahcafoaglimekefifl?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon" target="_blank">Readium</a>. Once the file was in Readium, it opened and the audio remained. You could put the file in a shared folder on Dropbox and make it available to other teachers. There is also an option to email the file as an iBook or as a PDF, which would work well for sharing the support with parents. If a hard copy of the book is needed, there is an option to print.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8njHDU8WDsdeS18NRmuBPMyb_ab2G-hdp-u-lnV0384KSuudXjn9MtIYoWBvc7qV-LtA6fhdJZx5AcfIULdZIuwgiQ2s4rk_OfnliVjE80yy_5vQO4qrm7s56VPd98KMW1I8_hrtBQU/s1600/Readium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8njHDU8WDsdeS18NRmuBPMyb_ab2G-hdp-u-lnV0384KSuudXjn9MtIYoWBvc7qV-LtA6fhdJZx5AcfIULdZIuwgiQ2s4rk_OfnliVjE80yy_5vQO4qrm7s56VPd98KMW1I8_hrtBQU/s400/Readium.jpg" height="192" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book created with Book Creator on iPad, opened in Readium.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I highly recommend Book Creator for the purpose of making materials to support students with special needs. It is easy enough that it can also be used by young learners to create their own books. Here are some ideas of instructional materials that could be made using this app:<br />
<u>Preschoolers</u><br />
Create social stories: how to stand in line, how to ask a friend to play, how to cope with setbacks.<br />
Create customized books with targeted vocabulary.<br />
Create books to support speech/language goals such as functions, classification, and opposites.<br />
Create visual schedules and sequence boards.<br />
<u>Toddlers/Home based</u><br />
Create customized books of family members.<br />
Create books with targeted household vocabulary.<br />
Create books with audio from a family member who may not be available to read in person such as a grandparent or a parent in the military.<br />
Create customized books dealing with situations that may create anxiety such as separation from a parent at child care. <br />
Create a book preparing a toddler for a new experience such as a visit to the doctor.<br />
Create a book from the child's point of view about sensory challenges to share with other family members. <br />
<br />
Are you special educator using digital storytelling tools to create instructional materials? What apps have you found useful? What types of materials are you creating?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-11770653230428914512012-10-31T21:16:00.000-05:002015-01-04T16:38:13.697-06:00Self Regulation, the 5 point scale and the iPad<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmCR7PTk0y_wRZKl7VIw0BpG9_4_9mFlHl1JU9JTAaMSaiku6_om7NBs_MBF03Q2ia967-RUQmWKVBio2O9aL7NdhfopavcslglWNIKEVZDzYyXGq6skBWzfUYbKlwyb7RRe2lYMieo0/s1600/Photo+Oct+31,+6+10+12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmCR7PTk0y_wRZKl7VIw0BpG9_4_9mFlHl1JU9JTAaMSaiku6_om7NBs_MBF03Q2ia967-RUQmWKVBio2O9aL7NdhfopavcslglWNIKEVZDzYyXGq6skBWzfUYbKlwyb7RRe2lYMieo0/s400/Photo+Oct+31,+6+10+12+PM.png" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Created on the iPad with Pages</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
Self regulation skills has been a hot topic among the Kinderchat network on Twitter. I have learned so much from these connected educators as they discuss this topic. They have been sharing resources and ideas for supporting the development of these skills in young learners. These educators are aware of how complicated the concept of self regulation is and how important it is in a child’s development. Studies are finding strong connections between a child’s ability to self regulate and later academic success. Self regulation skills also play a critical role in a young learner’s social success. There are some children who need more support than others in developing and demonstrating self regulation skills. There is great variation in self regulation skills at the preschool level. Factors such as temperament, social history, social stressors, prematurity, and medications can affect a young learners ability to develop self regulation skills. Some children need specialized instruction especially in regulating activity level and emotions.<br />
<br />
The 5 point scale is a tool that is valuable in teaching self regulation skills. Kari Dunn Buron is the teacher who can be credited with the concept of using this simple, but effective tool. Her <a href="http://www.5pointscale.com/" target="_blank">website</a> explains the concept and provides several examples. I highly recommend her book, <a href="http://www.aapcpublishing.net/book/view/111/the-incredible-5-point-scale-assisting-students-with-autism-spectrum-disorders-in-understanding-social-interactions-and-controlling-their-emotional-responses-" target="_blank">The Incredible 5 Point Scale</a>. Think of the scale as a thermometer that provides a visual for levels of a behavior or feeling, applying a number and color to each level. The numbers and colors not only provide a visual but also a common language that can be used to discuss and guide the behavior. The scale can be used to teach skills such as the regulation of voice volume, activity level, and emotions, especially anger and excitement. The voice volume scale pictured above, can be used as a universal tool in a preschool classroom. Children who need specialized instruction might benefit from repeated practice moving from a 4 voice to a 2 voice. In our program, it is not unusual to see the special education assistants in a class wearing a small version of the chart on a lanyard. This mobile version can be used in the library or other places outside of the classroom. When using the scale for managing activity level, the specialized instruction might involve teaching the child how a 5 and 3 looks and feels. The next step in the instruction would be to identify calming strategies to assist in moving from a 5 to a 3.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
We typically use <a href="http://www.mayer-johnson.com/boardmaker-software" target="_blank">Boardmaker</a> to create paper versions of the scale. The iPad along with apps such as Skitch and Doodle Buddy allow a teacher to take a picture of the paper copy and draw over the top of it. The student can circle the number he or she is at and identify where he or she needs to be. Teachers can store the scales on the iPad and have them readily available when needed. Another option is to create a template of the numbers and colors using the application, Pages, on a computer or on the iPad. The template below was created by inserting the square shape, filling it with a color and typing in the corresponding number. This template can be customized with pictures from the camera roll on the iPad. Once a photo is added, the mask option and resizing tool will help you get it to the correct size so that it can be aligned with the corresponding number. In this example, I used the same Boardmaker icons but you could pull real photos from your camera roll. When the scale is finished, a screenshot of the scale can be stored on the iPad and viewed when needed. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PcU3XET5iuxGvlZAq5B1aP4fooqKqMVaS6JZn570WlOcqAdt_rw0Ve_hxwYPryPePNpUuSGoVKdRyFRsUGq7VFdJkrlQfH4odygBi8_ku-QgWZdO_pmK96GNBQvJnHXBsHGEIbyDSIE/s1600/Photo+Oct+31,+6+11+08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PcU3XET5iuxGvlZAq5B1aP4fooqKqMVaS6JZn570WlOcqAdt_rw0Ve_hxwYPryPePNpUuSGoVKdRyFRsUGq7VFdJkrlQfH4odygBi8_ku-QgWZdO_pmK96GNBQvJnHXBsHGEIbyDSIE/s320/Photo+Oct+31,+6+11+08+PM.png" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnKQy61JJrR4U696VH-b1YH53HAGejycFWbzsk9dg00kDYPTgS8hiEIhfHcVZY-oG6DVKDo6vFc3fqmHOvvliyBzw84oYx1tp0DPiH1APesxAiT__IJU0-DxfTv3qhNfPU6r6tthyTls/s1600/Photo+Oct+31,+5+44+15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnKQy61JJrR4U696VH-b1YH53HAGejycFWbzsk9dg00kDYPTgS8hiEIhfHcVZY-oG6DVKDo6vFc3fqmHOvvliyBzw84oYx1tp0DPiH1APesxAiT__IJU0-DxfTv3qhNfPU6r6tthyTls/s320/Photo+Oct+31,+5+44+15+PM.png" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I am on the lookout for apps that use the 5 point scale. I recently discovered the free app, the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autism-5-point-scale-ep/id467303313?mt=8" target="_blank">Autism 5 - Point Scale EP</a>. This app has great potential but doesn't quite meet our program's needs. The app opens to a main screen with the numbers and colors, along with drawings of a face expressing varied emotions. When you select a number, it moves to a screen with that number and face. On the second screen, the app allows you to customize it with your own picture, text and even audio but when you go back to the main screen, the customization isn’t there. It also does not allow you to save scales for different purposes. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD-N7B3l4NF9Nafp6SIPU_DyNBeOwJTCt6JWtj49aVGkCf3TL8TgaKs1dOL91h7R65mQmRuJsB4eM8m4Iw_dHmHZwWeGs8JIIWCC-aSqHZoDv6Ug60XdmrWHZlpBT6elwjqopYYb3ems/s1600/Photo+Oct+31,+8+58+36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD-N7B3l4NF9Nafp6SIPU_DyNBeOwJTCt6JWtj49aVGkCf3TL8TgaKs1dOL91h7R65mQmRuJsB4eM8m4Iw_dHmHZwWeGs8JIIWCC-aSqHZoDv6Ug60XdmrWHZlpBT6elwjqopYYb3ems/s320/Photo+Oct+31,+8+58+36+PM.png" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am interested in hearing if others are using the 5 point scale or other visuals for teaching self regulation. <a href="http://mattbgomez.com/regulating-the-yelling/" target="_blank">Matt Gomez </a>wrote a post about using the app, Too Loud, to help regulate voice volume. What visuals have you created? Are you using any technology to support the use of these visuals? Please share your thoughts and experiences. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-82372217876492576452012-10-07T08:50:00.000-05:002015-01-04T16:46:09.618-06:00Communicating Developmental Concerns to ParentsAs part of my initial interview with a parent prior to beginning an evaluation, I ask what concerns prompted a referral. When parents share that it was a child care provider or early childhood teacher who recommended the referral, I ask follow up questions about the process. In some cases, parents and educators report that the process of determining there was a concern, and making a decision to refer went smoothly and everyone was on the same page. In other cases, it is clear that the path leading to referral was very rocky and anything but smooth. Based on my conversations with parents and educators, I developed some tips for early childhood educators and child care providers related to sharing developmental concerns with parents.<br />
<br />
Why have these conversations?<br />
For early childhood educators this is a very difficult task met with feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. This is expected, it isn't comfortable to be the initiator of this topic. Monitoring a child's development is one of our roles as an early childhood educator and sharing concerns related to possible delays is a responsibility we have as advocates for young children. Early educators and child care providers have a foundational knowledge of child development and parents are resources for strategies that may be helpful in addressing concerns. Therefore, communication between parents and educators can lead to interventions that address the needs of the child and should take place as soon as possible after a concern is identified. <br />
<br />
What concerns have parents reported about the process?<br />
One concern I have heard from parents is that they feel "blindsided". Parents report that the provider or educator had not discussed any concerns until <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="81d38361-b509-4406-a6ef-9de04394d88f" id="fd77a0f4-466f-4b98-8921-41cb296f7134">conferences even</gs> though there had been concerns prior to conference time. Parents questioned why the educator did not share concerns as soon as the concerns were noticed, rather than wait until a formal conference time. Another scenario that leads to this feeling of surprise relates to the setting of the conversation. Parents often report being pulled aside during pick up time and told that their child should be evaluated. This does not allow for the time needed to discuss the concerns and leaves the parent feeling overwhelmed and caught off guard. Another concern I have heard is the lack of documentation to support the provider or teacher's suspicion. With these concerns in mind, here are some suggestions. <br />
<br />
<b>Tracking Tool</b><br />
Do: Use a tracking tool such as a developmental checklist or screening tool with all children in your program. Parents in your program should be informed of the use of and purpose of a tracking tool. A tracking tool provides a framework for ongoing parent communication which promotes trust. The tracking tool will provide you with the objective documentation and data needed to identify concerns. You can use this documentation to guide your discussion and provide a visual for the parent.<br />
<br />
<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d242ed85-f1c2-4a06-9c64-4b362cc32c03" id="2ad8881d-c2a3-4030-ba01-770e771f5960">Don't: Adopt</gs> the use of the tracking tool only for one child. Parents can feel defensive if they feel that their child is being "singled out" or treated differently than the other children. <br />
<br />
<b>Scheduling the Meeting</b><br />
Do: Schedule a meeting as soon as possible. If possible, plan the meeting at a time both parents can be in attendance. Provide a private setting for the meeting. Inform parents of the topic of the meeting so that they can prepare.<br />
<br />
Don't: Have discussions about concerns during pick up and drop off time. This compromises the privacy of the family and doesn't allow enough time for discussion. Don't talk about the concerns in front of the child. Don't avoid the discussion for a long period of time because you want to wait until conferences to share the information. <br />
<br />
<b>Preparing for the meeting</b><br />
<b>Do</b>: Prepare, prepare, prepare. Think about what you want to say and how you want to say it. Focus on the need to "rule out" possible concerns. Be honest. Give parents honest information, but use kind words. Prepare data, observations and checklists ahead of time. Prepare options for a plan. If you feel a referral is the best option, have the referral resources ready. Knowing a parent might not be ready for a referral, have some strategies prepared. You can generate a list of strategies ahead of time, adding parent suggestions to this list at the meeting. Some providers find it helpful to role play the meeting and script some conversation starters.<br />
<br />
<b>Don't</b>: Go to the meeting unprepared.<br />
<br />
<b>The Discussion</b><br />
<b>Do</b>: Start the discussion with strengths. <br />
<i>Script: Anna's checklist indicates that she exceeds age appropriate skills in the area of motor skills. She enjoys art projects and is already demonstrating a mature grasp on the pencil. She works hard at cutting and is beginning to cut out more complex shapes. </i><br />
<br />
Lead into the discussion of concerns by encouraging parents to share observations, questions, or concerns. This will provide you with a clear understanding of whether they have concerns and how their concerns compare to yours. <br />
<i>Script: What types of activities does Anna like to do at home? What do you notice is more difficult for her? </i><br />
<br />
Use the tracking tool as a visual. The tracking tool gives parents something to think about without putting a label on it, it gets the conversation started and the information is objective. Keep the focus on the child and how the possible delay is impacting the child. Be supportive. Practice active listening techniques. Be calm but concerned.<br />
<br />
<i>Script: Based on a review of the developmental checklists and classroom observations, I am concerned about Anna's ability to.......</i><br />
Be specific about the skills. Examples might include, communicate with peers, follow directions, attend to group activities, interact with peers without conflict, complete classroom routines in a timely manner<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dffdb491-c1e2-45d5-a5e0-8625a411fb84" id="389409b7-b86a-4495-9c87-b4bec543609f">, complete fine</gs> motor tasks without frustration, etc.<br />
<br />
Explain how her skills compare to her peers and how the difficulties are impacting her functioning.<br />
Script: <i>On the checklist, her understanding of language concepts is at a 24 month level. She is demonstrating a delay in this area compared to other 4 year old children. These concepts are important for following directions. Because she doesn't understand the concepts, she needs demonstrations and to have the directions repeated to her, one step at a time. If the task involves a lot of verbal directions, she will often stop paying attention or leave the task. </i><br />
<br />
<b>Don't</b>: Use jargon, acronyms and labels. Your role is not to diagnose or label, this should only be done after a comprehensive evaluation. Focus on observable behaviors, impact on functioning, not on labels. Avoid scaring a parent, remember, "calm but concerned". This can be difficult, but be sure not to dismiss a parent's <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="505e4186-a25b-4e30-acab-c76b7b76861d" id="7f056656-62c0-4c88-9774-6f25809f22a2">concerns</gs>, even if they are not the same as your concerns. Don't frame the concerns as how they are impacting you, it will sound like complaining and can make it personal. Again, focus on the impact on the child, not on you or the program.<br />
<br />
<b>Scripts to avoid (I know they are obvious!)</b><br />
<i>I think Anna is <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d93798b5-9f47-4484-b3c4-ce15e1fe6038" id="ebaaf90e-a9fc-482d-a36e-8a3789a4d79a">apraxic</gs>.</i><br />
<i>I think Anna is following further and further behind and might not catch up to her peers.</i><br />
<i>I know you are concerned that she doesn't know her alphabet but I am not worried about that, her speech development is much more concerning. </i><br />
<i>I can't understand anything Anna is saying, I have to guess what she wants. I don't call on her at circle time because I am afraid I won't understand her. </i><br />
<br />
<b>The conclusion of the meeting</b><br />
<b>Do</b>: Be open to trying the parent's suggestions. <br />
Script: It sounds like at home, you encourage Anna to breathe deeply when she is frustrated, I will encourage her to do the same at school.<br />
<br />
Reassure parents that you will support them. Explain the role and importance of early identification and intervention. <br />
Script: <i>I think it would be beneficial to have a more formal observation and evaluation completed so that we can rule out any possible delay. An evaluation can also lead to appropriate strategies that will help Anna feel more successful and decrease her frustration. She is learning in a different way and strategies I use for many children are not meeting her needs. I want to make sure I am providing the appropriate support she needs and could use further guidance. </i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Finish the meeting in a positive way and with a plan, which may include referring to other resources or trying some pre- referral interventions. If the plan involves implementing some strategies and monitoring the child's response, establish a timeline and schedule a follow up meeting to discuss progress.<br />
Script for strategies: <i>We have decided to try the following strategies, .... <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f9235a16-28cd-487c-b629-65a52dffbeb1" id="5b319cdd-3b1b-4fc3-830b-11256970118e">for</gs> 3 weeks and document Anna's response to the strategies. Let's plan to meet in 3 weeks to evaluate the plan and see if any further action is needed.</i><br />
Script for referral: <i>Thank you for your time today. Talking to Anna's pediatrician about these concerns is a good idea. Here is a copy of the observations and checklists we discussed to share with the pediatrician. Let's plan to meet again in 4 weeks to discuss the results of your visit to the doctor.</i><br />
<br />
I hope you found some of these suggestions useful. As difficult as these conversations can be, you are advocating for the child by taking steps to make sure his or her needs are being met. I am interested in hearing more about your experience as either a parent or an early educator or <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0c6612b6-e56c-4f12-a6a6-5db2b53ddd52" id="bc0f23a6-189e-456c-833a-7e794a8fd01b">child care</gs> provider who may have been involved in this type of conversation. I want to continue to support early childhood educators in this area so that developmental concerns are addressed. Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435218084637224632.post-42772938648627191112012-09-09T19:40:00.001-05:002015-01-04T16:41:07.893-06:00Creating videos with Talking Tom<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7Ovaap5tDvhw7kTQZnWqLenpL6aTC9g8WLCIMqB08F8MIVNoLUTCqeKNel3gFmzTGzg6VpHOvuxwf4oKNAT1e0EI9x-GSzNie1o7_gGs2VUwMTnHyibaVtZteevjzxKtVcRI5KsV5Lo/s1600/Paul+Bunyan+Land+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7Ovaap5tDvhw7kTQZnWqLenpL6aTC9g8WLCIMqB08F8MIVNoLUTCqeKNel3gFmzTGzg6VpHOvuxwf4oKNAT1e0EI9x-GSzNie1o7_gGs2VUwMTnHyibaVtZteevjzxKtVcRI5KsV5Lo/s400/Paul+Bunyan+Land+2.jpg" height="348" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
If you grew up in Minnesota, you might have visited a small amusement park located in Brainerd called Paul Bunyanland. I visited the park when I was a preschooler. While I don't remember any of the rides, I do remember our arrival. As I walked through the gate, a large statue of Paul Bunyan welcomed me to the park and he knew my name! This same magic can be created using the app, Talking Tom, and many of the other similar "talking" apps. Young learners find Talking Tom very amusing and motivating, they are very intrigued when Tom uses their name or mentions their class in the video. Here are some uses of the app in early childhood and special education:<br />
<b>Remind students of rules</b>: "remember quiet hands and quiet voice at circle time", "to be safe on the playground we go up the stairs and down the slide". <br />
<b>Encourage them to try something new: </b>Have <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b24c323a-b1be-43a3-840a-cd6551d916ce" id="ff95033d-4cbd-4bb7-b2b0-b150357217bd">Talking</gs> Tom be a special guest who speaks to the entire class when it is time to try a new food at snack. Call him Chef Tom and have him encourage everyone to try a taste.<br />
<b>Provide feedback/celebrate success</b>: "You did it, you were safe on the playground".<br />
<b>Give clues or prompts for a game</b>: Develop a scavenger hunt related to a concept such as signs of spring and have Tom <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3f6ec79f-18d6-4cd4-b4e3-c7439f29daa3" id="e121c7db-7c95-4c2d-a8e3-ddd78097782e">give</gs> the clues, "find something that smells good and grows".<br />
<br />
In this example, I use <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talking-tom-cat-2/id421997825?mt=8" target="_blank">Talking Tom 2</a> for a <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4e093a6a-20fa-4f68-9525-d7e73ae4b89c" id="26baf7fc-e7cd-4b48-9f6b-a06eb2f929a1">rule</gs> reminder. For the students I support, circle time can be a difficult part of the day. The combination of factors such as close proximity to peers, large quantities of verbal information, and the need to stay in one place for a long period of time, challenge many students who have difficulty with self regulation, auditory processing, and attention issues. At the beginning of the year, the teacher usually invests a few minutes at the beginning of circle time to remind all of the children of the rules, but toward the middle of the year these group reminders aren't given as frequently. The adults who support the children with special needs typically need to continue to provide reminders about circle time rules. We like to provide the reminders immediately before circle time and provide immediate feedback. We know that after so many repetitions our voices can start to sound like the teacher <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9b1c44e8-c7ed-4a52-a721-ac7517dc73bc" id="ac07d9c6-2c14-4687-b30f-716f2ca773d2">on</gs> the Peanuts, "wah, wah, wah"! In an attempt to provide some novelty we created this video with the purpose of reminding a student of the two rules he struggled with on a consistent basis. The second video was created to provide feedback and celebrate his success. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/98ZZTol3MTc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hX9qCPfb5ds?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
To create the video, begin by accessing the Talking Tom settings, found under the iPad settings (the gear icon). Find the Talking Tom app by scrolling through the apps on the bottom left and select it. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdvobq6kbnd-HtoWoOkydpu21cxQaJng9ZmstO0Y8r2Dgxt-ZrqpVJf4v5PHteXL1c8BpJgSwmtCihxdiJ5KNdwadyjrP17f4T5abrnQw-HTUp_98SlgZWa128M4BHSSsZbUcRU-NjLs/s1600/Talking+Tom+settings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdvobq6kbnd-HtoWoOkydpu21cxQaJng9ZmstO0Y8r2Dgxt-ZrqpVJf4v5PHteXL1c8BpJgSwmtCihxdiJ5KNdwadyjrP17f4T5abrnQw-HTUp_98SlgZWa128M4BHSSsZbUcRU-NjLs/s320/Talking+Tom+settings.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Turn on the longer listening time and user recorded video. Your next step is to script your message, in order to get the "Paul Bunyan effect" make sure you include the student's name or the class name. I believe the video can be a maximum of 60 seconds. If you pause and Tom starts to mimic your speech, that is okay, it will not show up on the video, only what you say will be on the video. When you are ready, tap the video camera icon, located on the left hand side, near the top of the screen. The icon flashes when it is <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e7d457ea-d2c9-4de2-9ffb-eea99c6fa944" id="7d7714b1-f309-4aa9-83d6-dad4cf833c55">recording</gs>. Tap the video camera to end the recording. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpkaQfMI-pHYFLWL8TWymK7i6mcrtwBa6FMwMHF-HTohpiQ-vurgtV7rKvjld98JteuoSADLv-oyYAw9JPo1cvRGwHiwiqPshGIygy42z0zU-Lby3YWFUoBLxlftJWEtBgQTQTQRyNbo/s1600/Talking+Tom+video.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpkaQfMI-pHYFLWL8TWymK7i6mcrtwBa6FMwMHF-HTohpiQ-vurgtV7rKvjld98JteuoSADLv-oyYAw9JPo1cvRGwHiwiqPshGIygy42z0zU-Lby3YWFUoBLxlftJWEtBgQTQTQRyNbo/s320/Talking+Tom+video.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A new menu will appear when you end the recording. If you are not satisfied with the video, tap the X on the top right of the menu and try again. If you are happy with your product, you have several options for sharing the video. If you have an account, you can upload the video to You Tube. The other option is saving it the the iPad in the photo roll by tapping "Photos". </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have been finding many uses for Tom and his friends. I use the app with students to encourage sound and word imitation, they enjoy hearing their voice in the video. If you are allowing a student to use the app, make sure to turn the violence off in the settings, it is found in the same place as the recording options. Also beware of all of the ads and in app purchase options. How do you plan to use the video feature of this app with young learners? </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Jodi Altringerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769973351221003544noreply@blogger.com0