Closing the Gap
Closing the Gap is an annual conference that is held in MN. It is attended by people from across the states and farther and the same for the presenters. The conference brings resources and technology for people with disabilities. Although I was not fortunate to attend any presentations I was able to visit the exhibition booths for free. I saw a lot of great ideas and technology advances. I was also able to visit with my friend, Marsha who was an exhibitor. You can check out her book at: Talking with Baby
Here is a link to the list of exhibitors in case you would like to check their resources: Exhibitor List
I should mention that on Monday several of the OTs and SLPs in my school district were honored to have the AssistiveWare CEO David Niemeije present his products – Proloquo2go and Pictello. You can check out these resources here: Prologuo2Go (proloquo means speak out loud in Latin).
Bulletin Board Ideas update
Last year I put up interesting pictures of animals and people. I had the students write what they thought the person or animal was thinking. (see more about this under Bulletin Board Ideas) I found that having the kids write their ideas on a white board was great but…. it got a little messy. So this year I made small thinking bubbles and laminated them. I took pictures of my students and each week I post a new one on my board. The kids write on the small thinking bubbles and we put them around the picture.
I told the students they could pose alone, with props or with each other. This turned into a great problem-solving activity. I had students making silly faces, peeking around corners, posing with my rubber chicken, reading a book, and more. It’s been a fun way to start the session too. After they write on their bubble I give them a lemon head or red hot or some other small candy (gotta love the dollar store). They only do one bubble each week and not one everytime they see me.
I have also not used any sticker or reward charts this year. And guess what… not one kiddo has asked about it!
Halloween
I have added a few more links for free Halloween activities. Check them out under Holidays and scroll down to Halloween.
If you are looking for iPod apps here are some that are free- I’m not saying they are great but only that they are available. There are more but here are a few I found.
Places to look for free apps
There are many ways to look for apps that are free or reduce their price for a limited time. Here are a few that I use:
On Facebook- Free AppToday, TantrumApps, MomsWithApps
More on apps and a fun web site
Here is a list for some apps that may fit your needs!
Ipod and Ipad Apps and Resources
Note taking apps article: http://www.switched.com/2010/09/21/the-best-note-taking-apps-for-the-ipad?icid=sphere_wpcom_inline/
I found this link that goes along with the Howard B. Wigglebottom books. There is also an app for .99 cents. – Howard B. Wigglebottom app
Apps on my iTouch (as of today)
It was a workshop day today. My afternoon was spent with some of the great Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists in my district. We had Mark Coppin visit with us once again. We learned a lot more about iTouch and iPads. There is a great web site to help you with this:
https://mobilelearning4specialneeds.wikispaces.com
The pages below are what is on my iTouch today. Many of these are also listed on the page titled iPod/iTouch/iPad and therapy. I am in the process of reorganizing my apps (again) hence the pictures. I like the visuals to help me think about which apps go together the best. I also have more to add once I sync on my computer. But this may have to wait as it is suppose to be 83 tomorrow here in the twin cities (MN) and I’ve got to enjoy this before our winter comes!
Cindy L. Meester's Blog- Speech Therapy with a Twist 