How a collaborative mindset helps teachers reach all learners

Special ed and general ed teachers work together at one district to improve outcomes for everyone

collaborative-mindsetThe implementation of the Common Core State Standards has been met with anxiety from administrators and educators at every level, because, like any major change, it can seem scary and overwhelming. General education teachers have had to learn and apply new instructional strategies to address the new standards and the vision that the standards embody, particularly universal design for learning. Special education teachers have been required for the first time to become pseudo subject-area experts to help struggling students and those with learning disabilities meet the standards.

This can be a stressful time for everyone. However, when educators are empowered to share their expertise with one another, and given the time and place they need to collaborate, they surpass expectations and their students soar.

At Sweetwater Union High School District, located near San Diego, we bring general and special education teachers together to meet the needs of students through a framework known as universal design for learning, which provides something of a blueprint for creating learning goals and materials that work for all learners. We accomplish this through carefully-designed cohorts, teacher-led “zones,” online resources support, and by fostering a collaborative culture.…Read More

S.C. streamlines special education processes

Enrich State will centralize special education program data management, reporting and compliance monitoring to save staff time and money at both the state and district levels

special-edUnder the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), states are required to collect and report data on a number of indicators concerning special education.

Gathering this data is often costly and time-consuming. To streamline special education program management for both state and district personnel, the South Carolina Department of Education has partnered with Excent to implement Enrich State, a special education data management system  designed for the state level.

With the configuration and implementation process nearly complete, South Carolina school districts will soon take advantage of productivity-enhancing features that will help them fulfill their responsibilities to the Department of Education with less hassle.…Read More

On-demand special ed PD links educators with evidence-based training

Administrators, educators and parents have access to high-quality special education training written by leading experts, in one online system

special-educationWith the U.S. special education population having grown by 73 percent in the last three decades, school leaders, teachers and parents are looking for new ways to better support the 6.4 million students who need special education services.

At the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention & Expo, Scenario Learning launched its Exceptional Child Online Professional Development System (Exceptional Child). The system provides on-demand, evidence-based special education training for all staff members who support students with disabilities.

“Having a son with autism, building the Exceptional Child System has been a labor of love,” said Brian Taylor, CEO of Scenario Learning. “All children, including students with special needs, deserve the opportunity to reach their highest potential. And to do that, everyone from principals, special education directors, teachers, support staff, parents and community members must understand the unique learning needs of the students they support.”…Read More

Social robots could better engage children with autism, research says

Preliminary research indicates that students with autism might develop stronger social skills via interaction with social robots

robots-autismMilo visits elementary and middle school-aged children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders in order to teach research-based behavior and responses. He engages in a way that helps children better develop and enhance social and emotional skills.

He also happens to be a robot.

Social robot developer RoboKind recently released preliminary research results regarding Milo and Robots4Autism that indicate children affected Autism Spectrum Disorders are more engaged in autism therapy when interacting with social robots than with other people.…Read More

5 useful apps for students with autism

These apps, which focus on communication, visual prompts, and more, are aimed at helping students with autism

autism-appsMobile technology has opened up a plethora of resources for students with special needs, including students with autism. For Autism Awareness Month in April, we’re highlighting resources and tools that educators might find useful in helping engage students with autism.

The autism spectrum disorder rate in children is about 1 in 68, according to current CDC research. As more students on the autism spectrum enter classrooms each year, technology has the potential to help those students have equal access to educational opportunities.

The website APPitic.com, an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, offers a number of apps pertaining to special education, communication, and helping students with autism. Here, we’ve gathered a handful of those apps, and you can access more on the APPitic site.…Read More

CASE endorses Fast ForWord

Online language and literacy intervention uses the principles of neuroplasticity to target the root causes of slow academic progress in struggling students

fast-forwordThe Fast ForWord program from Scientific Learning Corp. has received an official endorsement from the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), an international professional organization affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

CEC’s members are dedicated to the enhancement of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual in society. CASE provides leadership and support to members by shaping policies and practices which impact the quality of education.

Fast ForWord earned the endorsement after meeting or exceeding all of the CASE criteria. CASE bases its endorsements on a rigorous evaluation of a wide range of criteria including the product’s research base, application with students who have learning differences, application in diverse settings, performance in field tests, customer satisfaction, and enhancement of professional practices advocated by CASE.…Read More

Improving online accessibility for students a major issue for schools

As schools make recorded lessons available to students online, they may not be making them accessible

accessibility-ccIn February, advocates for the deaf filed federal lawsuits against Harvard and M.I.T., stating that both universities violated antidiscrimination laws by failing to provide closed captioning in their online lectures, courses, podcasts, and other educational materials. In Harvard and M.I.T. Are Sued Over Lack of Closed Captions, the New York Times highlighted portions of the complaint and zeroed in on the fact that, “Much of Harvard’s online content is either not captioned or is inaccurately or unintelligibly captioned, making it inaccessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

Applying ADA to Online Education

This new case highlights a particularly controversial subject in an era where more colleges and K-12 schools are making lectures available online and developing related content that may not always be accessible to students with disabilities. Sheryl Burgstahler, founder and director of University of Washington’s DO-IT Center and UW Access Technology Center (ATC) in Seattle, says part of the issue lies in confusion over exactly how the American Disabilities Act applies to the world of online education.…Read More

Rural district meets speech language pathologist shortage

Mississippi district partners with PresenceLearning to add online SLP services

slp-servicesIn rural southern Mississippi, finding enough qualified speech-language professionals to fully serve a growing population of students with speech and language delays can be problematic.

Stone County School District in Wiggins, Miss., employs three speech-language professionals: two fully certified, Master’s level speech-language professionals who are responsible for higher-level activities such as full evaluations, reporting and leading IEP meetings, and one speech-language professional with a Bachelor’s degree and who can perform a more limited set of therapy activities as regulated by law.

To redistribute the workload and fill gaps, Stone County School District partnered with PresenceLearning to provide students with online access to an additional fully certified Master’s level speech-language professional.…Read More

Tool aims to help maximize learning for students with autism

Web-based approach helps high-functioning learners with autism become fully independent and socially integrated

autism-toolA new cognition tool is intended to help higher-functioning students with autism maximize their learning potential when they demonstrate inflexible thinking and difficulty identifying relevant information.

Skills Advanced Cognition, from SKILLS, is a web-based system is a specialized tool for the design and implementation of advanced teaching plans to help higher-functioning individuals diagnosed with autism reach their fullest potential.

Characteristics of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD), formerly known as Asperger’s syndrome, include: awkwardness and challenges sustaining conversation; difficulty understanding social rules, sarcasm, irony and humor; lack of empathy; difficulty understanding complex concepts; and obsessive interest in a particular subject.…Read More

New PD focuses on dyslexia

Program aims to help K-12 teachers identify students who may have dyslexia and teach these students how to read

dyslexia-readingLiteracy publisher MindPlay has introduced a new professional development program about dyslexia for K-12 teachers and parents.

Understanding Dyslexia is an online program that helps teachers identify students who have dyslexia, a learning disability that affects as much as 10 percent of the population. The program also explains how to help these students learn to read.
Dyslexia is a significant obstacle to student achievement in school. Therefore, nearly 20 states now require that teachers receive specific professional development on the topic.

MindPlay’s Understanding Dyslexia was co-authored by Dr. Nancy Mather, Ph.D., and Barbara J. Wendling, M.A. The program includes modules on definition and description of dyslexia, components of assessment, and effective instruction.
Participants may earn three hours of continuing education credit for successfully completing the course.…Read More

New partnership supports online learning for special education students

Fuel Education and PresenceLearning team to give schools innovative, flexible special education solution

special-educationAcross the country, schools and districts are leveraging digital learning to overcome staffing and resource challenges to improve outcomes and to address the many needs of their K-12 students—whether to expand course options, to provide assistance to those who need additional help, or to provide an alternative learning environment.

Now, through a partnership between PresenceLearning and Fuel Education, schools can use digital learning to address the needs of their special education students, too.

More than 13 percent of America’s school-age population—more than 6 million children—require special education today, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Given this challenge, compounded by a nationwide shortage of special education teachers and related services clinicians, schools struggle to provide the federally mandated services that these students need to progress academically.…Read More