Curriculum Connections

It is true that you can learn something new all of the time! I did not know that October is "Disability Awareness Month". The lesson plans are informative and creative. They look like activities that most students wouldn't mind doing.

One of the things that I learned during this program of Discovering Assistive Technology is that I can easily reach out to other departments in the school and inquire as to things that I can do in the media center to make accommodations for students with disabilities. There are many highly qualified people with great ideas! If we only had more time, or we had some control over our professional development days at school, cross curriculum planning would be wonderful. If this ideal planning session ever took place, I would gladly recommend this site! (Discovering Assistive Technology listed above). The books on the recommended reading list look interesting, and I think some of them would be a great addition to our teachers section of reading material. And finally this is my only BLOG and I have linked your site several time :)

Thank You
Thank You
Thank You

Etiquette and Awareness

This weeks module explores Etiquette and Awareness. Although two of the hyperlinks provide in the module were not working, I understand the idea. There is power in the words that we use when we are communicating with a person with a disability. The You-Tube video was a nice switch demonstrating an able bodied man as he navigates the world of that is occupied only by people with handicaps. I passed the Quiz on knowledge and attitude relating to a person with disability with a 100%. The last part was interesting, the ten commandments with the increasing font size. I was wondering why it was like that until I pushed the glasses up further on my nose! It was much easier reading the larger size font, as a I'm sure a person with low vision would agree:)

Resources for Independent Living, Inc. Is Burlington County New Jersey web site that is a good source of information on programs that serve people with disabilities.
Here are the web sites that I felt would be useful for Assistive Technology:
1. The Aliance for Technology Access This site was designed to help students with disabilities increase their use of technology.
2.Assistive Tech by Tobii ATI is another great source of hardware and software specifically for assistive technology.
3.Family Guide to Assistive Technology has many links to helpful sites including funding AT, making AT decisions, and making AT a part of a childs education.
4. Assistive Technology for Children with Autism I liked that this site had specific information for children wit autism. Some times it is nice to get specific information
5. Assistive Technology partners is the next web site I would like suggest for my students and parents to review this site offers persons with disabilites to reach their highest potential through the addition of appropriate assistive technoloy.