What other technologies are you using?

I really enjoyed our brief session on Bookshare yesterday and am very excited to check out all of the sites provided to us when I get a moment.  It made me wonder though: what other technologies are you (as student support staff) using with your students?  What technologies do you wish you were using?

At Excelsior, in the 8th grade, we have begun using iPod touches with students.  There are some incredible apps available that aid students in everything from practicing their multiplication facts to dictating five paragraph essays for printing.  I'm still a novice with the device, but the kids have been MORE than happy to assist me in my learning!

One technology I haven't used but am looking at trying is the use of the SmartPen.  My thought process is to buy one for myself and use it in the general education classes to take notes for the students, then have them utilize the notes/audio during a direct studies time.

What about all of you?

IEP Tip Number 3:

Let's keep talking about progress monitoring....did you know that to help with decision making on a student's goal area,you may either use the 4 point decision making rule (4 points above or below the aim line) to help determine if instruction on the goal area needs to change or you could use a trend line analysis (this means that after 7 data points a black trend line will appear on the graph) and you analyze that as to progress that is being made toward the goal area. Feel free to contact your AEA staff with any questions on progress monitoring!

Unique learning

Thanks for sharing the Power Point and the helpful hints regarding Unique Learning Curriculum. I have been using this curriculum with three students and we enjoy all of the activities...and how they relate to the classroom work.

IEP Tip Number 2:

Did you know....

Did you know that when you (as the teacher responsible for the IEP) write a goal on an IEP that you become responsible for setting up the graph for progress monitoring? As an example if you are writing an IEP at the end of the school year you would still need to set the graph with the baseline information that you have for writing the goal. It is almost impossible for the next year's teacher to set up a graph with no baseline data available. Best practice is to have the graph set up prior to submitting the IEP.

IEP Tip Number 1:

Did you know?

Did you know that progress monitoring is a required component of the IEP process? Each IEP goal needs to have a graph with data that is collected and entered twice a month? You can always do weekly collections(this might happen more on behavioral goals) but the charting only needs to happen twice a month on the web IEP program.

The graphs have been a wonderful tool to show students, families, and staff the progress being made on a goal area. Congratulations to all of you who have succeeded in charting and graphing this year!

Extended School Year Services

Good Morning,
Although the snow is flying and the Holiday music is playing, I want to take an opportunity to guide us in some preplanning for the upcoming summer. As you may know, the summer school program funded through general education funds will not be in place this coming summer. I anticipate this will in turn impact requests for extended school year services for students with IEPs. As you may remember, extended school year services are considered through the IEP team process. The data needed to help with that consideration is the progress monitoring (charting) of IEP goal areas. I would encourage teachers to gather progress monitoring data after the Holiday break to help with any requests that may come this upcoming spring. Further information is available on the Grant Wood website at:
http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/divlearn/specialeducation/index.html

May you all have a well deserved restful Holiday break and I look forward to working with you in the upcoming year!
Take care,
Julie

Supply Budgets

Hello,
I hope this finds everyone safe and sound during our first Iowa snowstorm! Last night at the school board meeting the Linn Mar Budget Management Model was reviewed. The model lists some budget goal priorities. One of those priorities is to reduce supply and equipment budgets by 10% and eliminate or reduce purchases of supplies and services. Student Services will be implementing this priority by several means. One of those means is to reduce special education classroom supply budgets by 10%. Karen Wilson has the adjusted amounts of remaining budgets. All purchase orders will be reviewed and must be connected with specific curriculum needs and/or individual student needs.
If your classroom is planning for a field trip off the Linn Mar campus after January 1, 2010 please contact your building principal. In turn, they will contact me with any questions/concerns that may arise.
For those of you using the Unique Learning Curriculum, we will continue to monitor the number of printed copies and will reimburse the printing costs back to the building’s print budget at the end of the year. Please remember to notify Karen Wilson with the number of copies made on a monthly basis. As a reminder, these costs are budgeted through the Special Education ARRA (Stimulus) funds.
Any other questions/concerns please feel free to contact me.
Take Care,
Julie