PATINS PROJECT -Rapid Fire-

11:45 Today!  Tune into PATINS TV Live with us!  Jeff Bond and I will discuss and demonstrate the new ICAM database and ordering interface in 15 minutes!   Just Click here at 11:40am to watch us live!  http://bit.ly/z3sNwI

Did you know?  PATINS has a prize drawing for all those that participate in our Training Follow Up Surveys.  Sue Buse from Merrillville Community School Corporation was chosen as the lucky winner for this past quarter and received a Point 2 View USB Camera! Congratualations!

 AppWriter/Dyslexie Font:  A really cool, but not free ($20) app found awhile back by our SW Coordinator, Sandy.

• An Article on it: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/design-architecture/appwriter-brings-dyslexie-font-other-assistive-tech-to-ipad/5153
• The App:   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appwriter-us/id490076103?l=us&ls=1&mt=8

Facebook and Accessibility Resource:  http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/online-media/social-media/facebook

Readability App:  You may have heard me talk about Readability for web browsers before and I’m sure I’ve blogged about it in the past as a way to make reading on the internet much more accessible, easier, and more efficient.  Well, about a month ago the Readability App was released and is free!   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/readability/id460156587?mt=8 

Beth Poss & Adapted Art on Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/possbeth/adaptive-art/

Are You Doing Great Things?  You PROBABLY are and may not even realize it or might not consider it that great, but just think about it for a moment.  Could another educator somewhere in IN benefit from hearing more about what you’re doing?  Are you implementing Accessible Materials, creating Accessible Materials, promoting Accessible Materials, utilizing Assistive Technology to allow access to the curriculum or having success in your classrooms and school buildings in other innovative ways that improve access?  If so, you should consider sharing with other educators at the PATINS State Conference, Nov. 8-9, 2012 in Indianapolis!  The Call For Proposals is now open!

• Informational Flyer: State Conf 2012 Flyer 1 CFP
• Submit A Proposal: http://svy.mk/StateConf2012

Some Upcoming Opportunities from Apple:

“Our next round of events focusing on Special Needs will be hosted in

Wichita, KS, Omaha, NE and Rosemont, IL.  It’s not designed to be a “training” but instead

a learning opportunity for schools to learn more as they make assistive

technology decisions.”  -Joseph Lee, Apple, Inc.

Here are the URL’s to register:

• June 5
  Hyatt Regency Wichita, KS
  https://edseminars.apple.com/event/X5m4R-4E2tV
• June 6
  Embassy Suites – Omaha, NE
  https://edseminars.apple.com/event/fNEWg-x7Nwv
• June 7
  Hyatt Regency O’Hare – Rosemont, IL
  https://edseminars.apple.com/event/ftkkd-3sR9H

A Few Reminders & Updates: 

Starting on March 20, 2012, Jeff Bond and I initiated the PATINS LIVE TV Series.  Yesterday (May 1) we did the 4th episode in this series.  These are LIVE broadcasts that take place at 11:45 EST and finish at 12 noon.  So far, we’ve demonstrated such things as text-to-mp3, iBooks and iPads and other portable devices and on May 15th will cover the new ICAM changes!  You can also click on the Channels Dropdown menu and choose PATINS TV to watch recorded (and captioned) past episodes!  Get caught up now, you don’t want to miss a moment of this excitement!  ;)

–-Of course, these are all free to watch!   We are also seeking your input!  Send us your questions, comments, topics you’d like to have us cover, or suggestions to make PATINS TV Better!  We want to hear from you! Just click here:  www.patinsproject.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=3&Itemid=42  OR click Send Us a Message anytime from the PATINS website.

—We’d like to encourage you to grab some lunch, grab some colleagues and grab a seat in front of a computer at 11:45 on the FIRST and THIRD Tuesdays of each month, to watch us live!  Simply go here to watch:  www.patinsproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=41

Young Children Series:  Starting in February and ending in April, PATINS hosted a 3-part Webinar Series on Young Children and Accessible Materials called, “AIM To Start Early.”  All of these webinars were recorded and have now been captioned and made available for you to watch any time of the day or night.  Just go to the Video Collections page on the PATINS Website and then choose the channel called, “AIM For Young Children.”   You CAN GET PGP points for watching these videos, but remember that you must submit the survey at the end of EACH of the videos in order to qualify for the PGPs for any of them.  Contact me with questions.

Here’s a flyer with more info on this great video series, feel free to pass it on to your colleagues: EC Flyer 2012

1. 

2.

STEM Apps and Tools/Resources:   STEM, of course, is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and has been receiving lots of attention for several years now.   It’s very important to make sure that our students with special needs are included in all the STEM attention.  Here’s a few tools I’ve come across recently that are worth checking out and might help:

Science:

• Experimenter: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/experimenter/id345896572?mt=8
• Frog Dissection 1: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frog-dissection/id377626675?mt=8 
• Frog Dissection 2: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kid-science-frog-dissection/id467248214?mt=8
• Great Migrations:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/great-migrations-hd/id400915143?mt=8
• Language Central for Science: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/language-central-for-science/id416219211?mt=8
• Journey to the exoplanets: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/journey-to-the-exoplanets/id463532472?mt=8
• iLearn Solar System: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ilearn-solar-system-hd-making/id405602441?mt=8
• Brainpop: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brainpop-featured-movie/id364894352?mt=8
• Bob Explores Light: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bobo-explores-light/id463809859?mt=8
• Cut The Rope:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cut-the-rope-hd-free/id394611607?mt=8
• Cut The Rope Experiments: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cut-rope-experiments-hd-free/id473681736?mt=8
• Where’s my water:   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wheres-my-water-free/id467810884?mt=8
• Vernier Video Physics:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vernier-video-physics/id389784247?mt=8
• Quick Scope: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quick-scope/id429603226?mt=8
• Coaster Physics: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coaster-physics/id393340142?mt=8

Math

• Fractions Calculator Lite:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fractions-calculator-lite/id379865232?mt=8 
• Fractons App By Tap To Learn:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fractions-app-by-tap-to-learn/id387434956?mt=8
• Splash Math 3rd Grade:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splash-math-3rd-grade-worksheets/id449564960?mt=8
• Motion Math Hungry Fish:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-hungry-fish/id483049169?mt=8  
• Motion Math Zoom:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-zoom/id451793073?mt=8
• Motion Math HD:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-hd/id410521340?mt=8
• RocketMath:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rocket-math-free/id408770902?mt=8
• Time Match:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-match/id470503067?mt=8

Serious Video Games:

• Wolf Quest:  http://www.wolfquest.org/
• PhET Interactive Simulations: http://phet.colorado.edu/
• Frogguts.com: http://www.frogguts.com/

Edyburn’s Text Compactor: 

• http://textcompactor.com/about

Text 2 Mindmap

• www.text2mindmap.com

Scratch

• http://scratch.mit.edu/#

Visual Dictionary

• http://visual.merriam-webster.com/ 

Challenge Based Learning

• www.challengebasedlearning.org

SoundingBoard, a quality AAC App that’s normally $50, is free today in the iTunes Store!  Check it out! 

AIM To Start Early: AIM for Young Children with Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner  Part 3 WEBINAR RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE.  It has been captioned and is ready for viewing and taking the PGP certification.

Watch it right here:

OR watch this video, the first 2 parts of this series, and  ALL of the other PATINS Videos here:
http://bit.ly/patinsvideos2  

2012 PATINS Tech Expo last Thursday was attended by about nearly 600 people and went extremely well!  We had

• Handouts and Info: http://nwpatins.pbworks.com/w/page/52537410/2012%20PATINS%20TECH%20EXPO%20HANDOUTS%20and%20INFORMATION
• PGP Info for Attendees:  http://nwpatins.pbworks.com/w/file/52809762/Professional%20Growth%20Points.pdf
• BookStream Info: http://nwpatins.pbworks.com/w/file/52843556/bookstream.pdf
• Cool Tech Expo Slideshow (thanks Sandy!):

Submit To Present!  …at the 2012 PATINS State Conference!  Call For Proposals is OPEN and now with the Tech Expo behind us, we can focus our attention on the return of the State Conference to Indianapolis!  We have two amazing and exciting Keynote Speakers already booked, a great location and are looking for those of you who are doing exciting things in your classrooms and schools to provide Accessible Instruction to all of your students!  At the VERY LEAST, mark your calendars now for November 8-9, 2012, Downtown Indianapolis!

• State Conference Informational Flyer Available Here: StateConf2012Flyer1.pdf
  
• Call For Proposals Open!  Click To Submit: http://svy.mk/StateConf2012  

Next Week: STEM Apps and Software, Some Important Dates and more!

• Bookshare Android App: https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Android+Mobile+Reader
• An Android DAISY/NIMAS Reader App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ndu.mobile.daisy.full
• Access to eBooks from NFB:  http://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm12/bm1201/bm120105.htm
• Accessible Math: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=12782
• More Accessible Math: http://accessiblemath.org/resources.htm
• Some Social Media Guidelines:  www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-guidelines-steven-anderson#.T4h65WiiD8E.twitter
  

PATINS TECH EXPO NEXT WEEK! 

Tech Expo Advice!

We’ve got some exciting and interesting new tools and concepts we’ll be implementing at this year’s Tech Expo.  Those of you registered for the 2012 PATINS Tech Expo on April 19th in Indianapolis will want to:

• Bring ANY laptop, netbook, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Tablet, etc., device that can get on the internet and had an internet browser.   We’ll have wireless available for free.
• If you have a device that has a camera, such as an iPad2 or iPhone or newer iTouch or Android phone or tablet, make sure that you have a QR Code Reader App installed!  Here’s a few QR Code Reader Apps and a little more info on what QR Codes are:
• Some Free QR Reader Apps:
• QR Reader for iPhone:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-reader-for-iphone/id368494609?mt=8
• Scan for iPad: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scan/id411206394?mt=8
• Scan for iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scan/id411206394?mt=8
• Qrafter: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qrafter-qr-code-reader-generator/id416098700?mt=8
• For Android 1: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sugree.barcodegen&feature=search_result
• For Android 2:  https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ScanLife&feature=search_result
• For Android 3: https://market.android.com/details?id=tw.com.quickmark&feature=search_result
• For Android 4: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.threegvision.products.inigma.Android&feature=search_result
• http://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/apps/qr-code.php
  • http://coolcatteacher.visibli.com/share/jOGKDA
  • Here’s general info on QR Codes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code
  •  Here’s 1 piece of software for reading them w/out a phone, Download and install it.  Then use JING to screenshot the QR Code and drag/drop it into this software: http://www.bctester.de/download/bctester_en.zip
  • Here’s 13 Possible Uses for them: http://www.fastcompany.com/1720193/13-creative-ways-to-use-qr-codes-for-marketing 

Good News!  AIM For Young Children Videos!

The  March 5^th Video Presentation of Kelly Fonner, Scott Marfilius and Donna McNear is now READY FOR YOUR VIEWING!

• Click on the below link to view this presentation consisting of 4 video segments in the AIM for Young Children Channel.  Total time is appr. 2 hours to view all 4 segments.
• http://patinsproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=41
• You can view only the videos in this EARLY CHILDHOOD Collection by clicking the “Channel” Drop-Down Menu and choosing, “AIM For Young Children.“  …Looks like this:

• Reminder:  After viewing, we’d like you to complete the 2 minute evaluation.  That link is:  http://svy.mk/aimforyoung2   
• This completed evaluation is REQUIRED to be eligible to receive Professional Growth Points for your participation.
• The 3^rd and final part of this Young Children Series is a webinar on Monday, April 2….right around the corner.

Two Apple Events For Sp. Ed. Coming Up: 

• March 21 @ 8:30 AM-12:30 PM – Chicago, IL - Special Needs Briefing for K-12 Educators
• March 22 @ 8:30 AM-12:30 PM – Indianapolis, IN - Special Needs Briefing for K-12 Educators

PATINS TV COMING SOON!  Starting March 20th, 2012 (1 week from Tuesday),  PATINS will begin a new online video series on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM), Assistive Technology (AT), UDL and other collaborations with Indiana service providers.  Many of these videos will be LIVE broadcasts and they’ll always be during lunch at 11:45am EST!  They will all be short (15-minutes) and practical/applicable to your districts, schools, and classrooms right away.   The image above is a preview of what you’ll see and in this first (March 20th) episode.  On March 20th, you can expect Daniel McNulty and Jeff Bond to provide a very short introduction followed by a demonstration of iBooks for your iPads, iTouches, iPhones and the start of a discussion on portable AIM tools which will take a look at comparing E-Ink Devices to LCD Devices and will be continued in future episodes.  Here’s some additional info you’ll need!

• PATINS TV Episodes will always the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month
• 11:45 – 12:00 EST  (lunch time learning)
• Plan to join 5 minutes early if you can.  You’ll be prompted to install an optional piece of software the first time, that will make the video run smoother.
• We welcome questions, concerns, comments, AND SUGGESTIONS for future PATINS TV Topics that YOU want to have us cover! Email me:  nepatins@ciesc.k12.in.us
• At the scheduled times, the PATINS TV Videos should start playing automatically with the link below.  Alternatively, you can click “View Live Schedule” on that web page.
• To View PATINS TV starting March 20th, simply click HERE: http://bit.ly/patinsvideo

Early Intervention Switch-Ready Apps:

1. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touch-switch/id467933372?mt=8
2. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inclusive-smarty-pants/id490126715?mt=8
3.  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/switch-kids/id467551739?mt=8
4. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ispeak-button/id471583149?mt=8
5. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/switch-kids-lite/id480241366?mt=8
6. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/attainment-switch/id432089360?mt=8
7. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/five-sharks-swimming/id490124748?mt=8

Braille App for your iOS or Android Phone:
http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/20/can-braille-be-faster-than-qwerty-app-developer-thinks-so/?hpt=hp_bn6

Create A Story Using Apps:    www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3753  

5 Common iPad Questions Answered:  http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3672

Some Thoughts/Advice for Parents of 1:1 Programs:  http://www.thethinkingstick.com/advice-for-parents-of-11-programs-2/

QR Codes! 

• Create QR Codes using Google.  Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRrhbsZ9BS8&feature=related
• Lots of QR Information from Shamblesguru: http://www.twylah.com/shamblesguru/tweets/97347103327662080 
• AND… in the next couple of weeks I will be interviewing some staff from Yorktown schools here in Indiana who have done some really cool things with Kg and 1st Grade Students using QR Codes.  These will be short video interviews and will be posted here on this blog!

Early Childhood Part 1 of 3 Webinar Recording AVAILABLE NOW!

The PATINS Project is hosting a three-part series on AIM to Start Early: Implementing Accessible Materials with Young Children with national presenters Kelly Fonner, Scott Marfilius and Donna McNear:

Feb. 6, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

- The first event in the series was a webinar with Scott and Donna that covered the current educational contexts for using AIM with young children, as well as foundational concepts, research implications, developmentally appropriate practices and the instructional framework.

Please visit the PATINS Video Collection Library Channel web page for viewing

You will need to visit this web page  to fill out the follow-up survey which will qualify you for Professional Growth Points.  Please note viewing this video on a Mac computer requires the Chrome browser.  If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Stabenfeldt at 812-490-7927.

Mar. 5, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

- The second event will be a live streaming event with Kelly, Scott and Donna that will encompass implementation with demonstration of appropriate technology tools and software and instructional supports.

April 2, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

-The final event will be a follow-up webinar with Kelly and Scott that will focus on developing a plan for implementation and program development/improvement.

Please visit the Survey Monkey web page for Registration information for this informative series.

Professional Growth Points (PGPs) for participation require participation in all three events of the series.  You will need to visit this web page to fill out the follow-up survey for each of the three events to qualify for Professional Growth Points.

All three videos will be on the AIM for Young Children Channel which is available by clicking on the dropdown arrow in the All Channels box in the middle of the page on the PATINS Video Collection Library web page.

CONGRATULATIONS LISA SMITH from Brownsburg Community School Corporation!  A few weeks back (February 3rd posting)  marked the 200th post to this blog since Fall of 2007 and a chance to enter a drawing for some PATINS Goodies AND a full-day  AT/AIM Training on the topic of choice and at the winner’s school!   I’m happy to state that my random number generator spit out a “6″ and LISA SMITH from Brownsburg, you were indeed the 6th person to enter that drawing!   Thanks for playing and I’ll be in touch soon to schedule your training!  If you missed that 200th posting, check it out HERE

The Final of  the 6  Mostly Free, Easy, Fun Ways to Get Books/Content on Your iPad:

• Use iAuthor on a Mac Computer: OK, so this is definitely my favorite!   VERY cool and can be pretty simple or highly complex!  BUT, even though it’s free, it’s only for Mac computers.  I have started creating a couple of books and made a little time this week to finish a sample book and get it onto my iPad.  Here are my perceptions so far:
• If you’re familiar with using iWeb, then iBooks should be a breeze.  If you’ve never used iWeb in the past, there will be a little learning curve, but it’s not bad.
• There are several templates offered to help you get started.  They are a nice way to jump right in and start creating by dragging and dropping.
• Dragging and dropping images and other content like Word Docs or Pages Docs or videos into the templates automatically adjusts the text to flow around them.
• You can (and should) add interactivity to your books with various widgets… even ones that utilize multi-touch.
• Accessibility MUST be considered and built-in.  You’ve likely heard me say many times already that DIGITAL does NOT equal ACCESSIBLE.  So, your primary text and table of contents and glossary are built to automatically utilize the built-in VoiceOver on the iPad, BUT be sure you add accessibility to your other media and widgets!
• It’s pretty simple to then export your book to the iBookstore and make it available for purchase OR free download.  It’s also possible to export it directly to iBooks.
• RESPECT Copyright.  Know where you’re getting the content from for your book and if it’s not your content, DO NOT use it w/out permission of the owner.  This includes images, videos, and all other intellectual property.
• I intend to keep exploring iBooks and posting periodic updates as I learn.  For now, if you have a Mac with OS X LION, get iAuthor for free here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks-author/id490152466?ls=1&mt=12

My Web, My Way:  “Making the web easier to use.”    This great tool allows users to identify specific difficulties they have with using the web and then offers several methods/tools for helping!

• www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility

Typing/Keyboarding Resources &  Programs:  I have seen a lot of requests lately for online keyboarding tools.  So, here’s just a small list.  I’m sure that there are more and please feel free to comment here on the blog OR email me with your own suggestions to add to this list.  What’s sort of interesting about this particularly listing however, is that I had a 10 year old student try them all out and provide a couple sentences worth of her initial opinions of them.  (Student comments in parentheses below.  I’ve corrected some of her spelling, but made no other changes to her comments/notes)  Keep in mind that these are not my perceptions necessarily, but the initial feelings of a 4th grader who spent only about an hour and a half exploring these sites.   She had prior knowledge of computer use, but not necessarily any real typing skills.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ (…is a good typing center because it gives you advice and speaks on what you do, giving you checks and X’s.)
• http://www.nimblefingers.com/ (…is a good site, because when you go on it, it has nothing that will distract kids.)
• http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr076.shtml  (…seems like just information for teachers)
• http://www.typeonline.co.uk/lesson1.html    (…gives you 5 types of information and tells you how and where your fingers go.  It’s good and will not distract me.)
• http://www.customtyping.com/typing_tutor-parents.htm  (…seems like it’s mostly for grown-ups and principals) 
• http://www.typingweb.com/   (…is not OK for kids.  Seems too hard and won’t tell anything they will remember.)
• http://www.goodtyping.com/ (…you need to register)
• http://www.powertyping.com/  (…is good because it gives letters and sentences for you to type)
• http://sense-lang.org/ (…is a cool and good site.  You can practice test.  The test you give yourself and even more serious tests they will give the sentence to you.  …a longer one.  …but you pick the subject)
• http://www.typing-lessons.org/  (…gives you all different kinds of options to choose from for learning to type)
• http://www.slimekids.com/games/typing-games/type-em-up.html  (…is the perfect website for kids, but lots of it is games for typing, which could help)

Improv & Bookstream Demonstration Webinars:  Last week I mentioned the new communication development from Don Johnston.  This week I found out about a few demonstration webinars of the Improv software that might be of interest:  (all here: http://www.donjohnston.com/webinars/index.html)

• Fri, Mar 2, 2012 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM CST <https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/794589310>
• Wed, Mar 14, 2012 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM CDT <https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/340055118>
• Wed, Mar 28, 2012 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM CDT <https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/776626046>

Early Childhood Part 1 of 3 Webinar Recording AVAILABLE NOW!

The PATINS Project is hosting a three-part series on AIM to Start Early: Implementing Accessible Materials with Young Children with national presenters Kelly Fonner, Scott Marfilius and Donna McNear:

Feb. 6, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

- The first event in the series was a webinar with Scott and Donna that covered the current educational contexts for using AIM with young children, as well as foundational concepts, research implications, developmentally appropriate practices and the instructional framework.

Please visit the PATINS Video Collection Library Channel web page for viewing

You will need to visit this web page  to fill out the follow-up survey which will qualify you for Professional Growth Points.  Please note viewing this video on a Mac computer requires the Chrome browser.  If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Stabenfeldt at 812-490-7927.

Mar. 5, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

- The second event will be a live streaming event with Kelly, Scott and Donna that will encompass implementation with demonstration of appropriate technology tools and software and instructional supports.

April 2, 2012; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

-The final event will be a follow-up webinar with Kelly and Scott that will focus on developing a plan for implementation and program development/improvement.

Please visit the Survey Monkey web page for Registration information for this informative series.

Professional Growth Points (PGPs) for participation require participation in all three events of the series.  You will need to visit this web page to fill out the follow-up survey for each of the three events to qualify for Professional Growth Points.

All three videos will be on the AIM for Young Children Channel which is available by clicking on the dropdown arrow in the All Channels box in the middle of the page on the PATINS Video Collection Library web page.