Apps for Students with Dyslexia (Week 6)

Powered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking, "Dragon Dictation" is a speech-to-text/voice recognition software application. The students are able to dictate anything and the app responds by inputting text. This is great for those that may be slow typists, those that are weary of their spelling, or just those that need to quickly input text. The text can be seen on the screen and can also be edited. This is a free app. It is very user-friendly and doesn't require training (as many of Dragon's software do). Tapping the red dot that appears on the screen starts the recording, and tapping it again ends it. "Dragon Dictation" is specifically for iOS devices.





Powered by Inspiration, "Inspiration Maps" can be used by students to plan, organize, and brainstorm ideas through creating maps, organizers, and diagrams. The maps, organizers, and diagrams can be transformed into outlines. This app has many of the features of the Inspiration software. The work can be printed from the iPad or emailed as a PDF. While this is a free app, it can be upgraded to allow interface between the app and Inspiration 9.1. With the $9.99 upgrade, additional options to share the diagram or outline become available.



"GarageBand" lets you record and edit your voices directly on the iPad. It can be used to record and edit timed readings. The editing feature is much easier than other software. Finished recordings can be emailed. This app costs $4.99.



With Educreations, you are able to turn your iPad into an interactive whiteboard. You can add text, drawings, and photos as well as information from Dropbox or the internet. You can also record you voice and attach it to any page you create. The background options include lined paper, graph paper, and a coordinate grid. If the backgrounds don't suit your needs, you can always take a picture of your desired background and use that. This free app is awesome for animated lessons on-the-go.



"SpellBoard" uses custom spelling lists and adds fun, interactive activities to them. It allows you to add student profiles that allow performance tracking. For younger students (and weaker spellers), and adult would need to enter the wordlist. The words can be voice-recorded as well. SpellBoard quizzes can also be shared with other users. This app has a study mode that allows students to hear and see the word and definition. The words can also be written by hand (like using a virtual whiteboard). This is a great tool for students to practice spelling. SpellBoard is available for iPad and Mac. The cost is $4.99. There is a companion app, "SpellBoard Buddy", for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Clicking on the icons will direct you to the apps' website for more information.

Be a Good Digizen (Week 5)

Why is it important to be a good digital citizen?
The use of the internet is constantly increasing. For all to fully enjoy the capabilities the internet brings us, we must be good digizens (digital citizens). Being a good digital citizen is parallel to respecting others. Respect for others can cover many situations. It can be disagreeing with a statement of someone else in an agreeable manner, and it can also be citing the work of others so that you are not guilty of plagiarism. A good digital citizen does not tolerate or participate in cyber bullying or cyber stalking. They don't release or demand personal information on the internet because they know that it's dangerous. A good digital citizen knows that being a good digital citizen is important

What value does a good digital reputation have?
Your digital reputation is known as your digital footprint, and it follows you everywhere. Anything that has been posted on the internet can never be fully deleted. People can access anything you have posted from anywhere in the world. In today's society, many representatives for schools and companies are searching the internet for prospective students and employees. They are checking digital footprints. These companies and schools don't want to be represented by people who have a bad reputation. It is also important because many people in your personal lives don't want to be associated with people who have negative digital footprints. Having a good digital reputation is important because it follows you for the rest of your life.

Below I have included link to pledges for goood digital citizenship for parents and children.

Parent Pledge of Good Digital Citizenship

Child Pledge of Good Digital Citizenship

Materials Generators (Week 4)

According to Robyler and Doering (2013), materials generators include desktop publishing software, web page editors, whiteboard activity software, test and rubric generators, worksheet and puzzle generators, IEP generators, graphic document makers, and PDF and forms makers (p. 143). These tools have a variety of uses in the classroom. Below I have listed a few of the materials generators with an explanation of how I would use them.

1) Online rubric generators allow educators to create rubrics from scratch, entering their own standards. Several of them have pre-created rubrics with the option of editing. As a teacher, there are several ways I would use a rubric. The first way is probably the most common: projects. The project rubric would list the requirements or standards I would expect upon the completion of the project. It would give students the option to be creative with their work, as well as create a quality project. The rubric would outline my expectations including some or all of these aspects: presentation, appearance, organization, information, and mechanics. The students would be given a copy and we would discuss the outline of the rubric. Here is an example of an oral presentation rubric for a middle school humanities project. As a student, I loved to use collaboration rubrics. This is another way I would use rubrics in the classroom. The rubric would outline the expectations of the students as a team member. Each student would get a rubric for each of their other team members, and they would be required to honestly grade their team members. There would also be a note section for any comments the students want to leave. Team members would not be allowed to see the grades or comments that their other teammates gave them. The individual student's final collaboration grade would be based on what I observed as well as the input from their other group members. Here is an example of a collaboration rubric. There are several other ways rubrics can be used in the classroom. Below is a list of links to other types of rubrics.

Other Rubrics
Math Problem-Solving Rubric
Discussion Participation Rubric

2) Teaching students with learning disabilities definitely requires using an IEP generator. Individualized education plans (IEP's) are used with students that have delayed skills or other disabilities and need special services, support, or accommodations. An IEP generator would me to create a plan specific to the student’s needs. It would include any accommodations the student need, whether they need services such as speech or occupational therapy, etc. Some IEP generators allow you to edit and make changes or include other information. This is helpful when tracking the child's progress. It also helps when recording notes of IEP meetings. Below is a list of different IEP generators with links to their websites.

IEP Generators
IEP4U
DDtrac
IEP Planet

3) Web design software would have to be my favorite! I love the idea of having a classroom website. Like most websites, my classroom website will be a source of information. It will keep parents and students up-to-date on current events in the classroom and contain links to pertinent information for parents. Photos from class trips and activities will be uploaded here. Students will be able to access links to high-quality resources and activities on the website. This saves time and paper. There will also be updates on the curriculum, including resources for parents to help their children with homework. Below are links to a few classroom websites that I found.

Classroom Websites
Midland Academy, Georgia: 3rd grade
Resurrection Catholic School, Pennsylvania: 4th grade
David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center, FL: 4th grade