PATINS PROJECT -Rapid Fire-

The end of the school year is happening this week for some of the schools in Indiana.  Others will end next week and a few others, the week after.  It is a time of good-byes and new beginnings for children changing buildings, seniors starting their post secondary adventures and teachers, administrators and other school personnel who will be packing up their classrooms and offices and moving on to other adventures of their own.  Education is an on-going process.  We do not start over with ABC’s and 123′s at the beginning of each year.  We review.  So, with that in mind, it is important for those who are moving on to leave some of the knowledge that they have gained for those that will come after them.  If you are one of those professionals that has had a relationship with PATINS and is now leaving for retirement, or another post, we want to thank you for all you have done for your students.  If you have borrowed assistive technology, called/emailed questions or attended our conferences, you are marked as an educator who will go to any length to facilitate your student’s needs.  We also have a favor to ask.  Before you leave, please leave some wisdom for the educator who is following in your footsteps.  Leave them a note filled with some of your favorite tips and tricks and let them know how PATINS can help.  Thank you.

An important PATINS email should be coming to you soon!

In it will be a survey that will help to develop the interstate assistive technology and universal design for learning webinar series for the 2013 – 2014 school year. All responses are confidential, and we would like to receive it back by May 31, 2013. This interstate webinar project is a collaborative effort among Indiana (PATINS), Ohio (OCALI), Michigan (MITS), Texas (TATN) and Minnesota Department of Education. The survey has 2 questions so it won’t take very long to complete.  When you get your email, we encourage you to forward this survey to all of your colleagues, including general and special education teachers, building level, district level, and special education administration, related services professionals, IT professionals, AT consultants, etc.   Thank you in advance for your feedback!

What’s that you say?  You want to take it right now?  Well, Ok, just click on the red “I Can’t Wait!” and the survey is all yours!

I Can’t Wait!

Speaking of surveys… our app this week is AnswerGarden.  It is a simple app that can be used as a feedback tool.  As people answer the question it creates a word cloud of the answers!  Please click on the icon below to view my question for you!

News

The Autism Society of Indiana in partnership with the Indiana Governors Council of People with Disabilities is presenting in 2013 the 1st Annual Indiana Youth Leadership Forum (IN-YLF), which is based off of the California Youth Leadership Forum.  The program is an exciting five-day leadership program for students with disabilities (any and all types) where students will learn everything from technology to resource agencies to creating a “Personal Leadership Plan” to help reach education and career goals.  In addition, the students and their peers will be able to meet and interact with leaders in the State; professionals and role models from the “disability community”.

We need your help in getting the word out to students that you know that fit the criteria for the forum. The students are to be between the ages of 16-21, in 11th or 12th grade in high school and have a disability. The disability may include a variety of disabilities such as learning, visual, mobility, mental health, developmental, hearing, and neurological impairments.  In addition, the students have to show leadership at school and/or in the community.  Please visit our website at to learn more http://www.inylf.org/ our program.

We will be selecting, from all the applicants, 25 students that will attend this year’s forum which will be held July 27th – July 31st, 2013 on the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus in downtown Indianapolis. Please help us by spreading the word to any organization, group, or school that you know in your area that may have students that qualify. Any way that we can help you spread the word such as a newsletter or website blurb that we can provide for you, please let us know. Attached is the student application. Please help us by forwarding the application to anyone that would know of a student that could meet our criteria. It is also available online electronically – this is the preferred method of submittal. The applications are due May 24, 2013.

Please feel free to contact me or Jennifer Coffey, IN-YLF Coordinator (Jennifer@inautism.org or 1-800-609-8449 x66) if you have any questions or would like to be involved even as a volunteer for the event. Anything I can do to help you and your organization to spread the word, please let me know. You can also follow us on Facebook (Indiana Youth Leadership Forum) or Twitter (@inylf) for updates about the event as well.

via: David Goetz, david@inautism.org Rural Outreach Ally, Autism Society of Indiana,  1800 – 609 – 8449, ext 333

CIESC and Apple partnered to offer a Train-the-Trainer Summer Camp June 18 through June 21 for Technology Integration Specialists to further support innovation in schools with iPad 1:1 digital learning initiatives. The Apple courses to be covered are iOS Creativity , iOS Productivity, iBooks Author, iTunes U Course Manager.

Register at http://bit.ly/Y406Cq or www.ciesc.k12.in.us. Only 20 registrants are accepted. Send a Team! For more info see flyer: http://t.co/0HBPvWmgCf 

WE HAVE ONLY 8 SPOTS LEFT, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU!

For some, the school year is winding down for others there is quite a bit left.  Regardless, it is a good time to look at summer camps!

Through the National Federation for the Blind students can attended the BELL Program – Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning   The goal of the program is to provide 2 weeks of Braille instruction enrichment to children ages 4-12 who are blind or have low vision.  The program runs from Monday through Friday for six hours a day and incorporates all of the great summer camp activities like:  crafts, games, projects and field trips.  All of these activities will be related to the NFB BELL curriculum.  THE DEADLINE FOR SIGN UP IS MAY 15th! 

Click here for more details!                     Link for sign-up.

Here are some other links to articles with lists of summer camps for students with disabilities in Indiana.

Friendship Circle Blog list of summer camps

Indiana Resource Center for Autism Summer 2012 Camps and Programs

I get asked all the time, “What is your favorite app?”  In general it depends on what is supposed to be accomplished.  That said, I try a lot of apps!  I do have some that I really like.  I hope that I can highlight some that will help you.  So, to this end, I will be posting an app each time I blog.  This first one is a blockbuster!

Native Numbers  $4.99 

Native Numbers is a completely complete way of learning what a number is and what it represents.  Students will first work with rods, no numbers.  They will be asked to “touch one”.  They will then see a square white rod and will need to touch it to make it continue.  They will then see a rod called 2 (appropriately sized), 3 and 4.  Then they are given the rods in sets of 2 and asked to touch the one that is named.  This goes on through nine.  Once completed they are introduced to sets.  The next lesson reviews and then has them compare rods and sets.  Finally the 4th lesson introduces numerals.  Though the scope of the app they will work with tallies, counting up, counting down and counting on.  The final group of lessons involve demonstrating mastery.  I thoroughly enjoyed the process and would love to see it applied to foreign language, science and anything else the developers at Native Brain can come up with!

Have a great week!

Productivity is one of those words thrown around in society that act like a non-specific band-aid for fixing whatever is wrong.  If we increase student productivity…  Teachers need to use their time more productively…  and so on.  Sometimes increasing productivity requires increasing stimulation.  While researching this week’s tip I came across the focus@will site.  www.focus@will.com    The site streams music that is picked to increase productivity.  It has tips running along the bottom, and 8 different genres of music to run in the background.  Listening to music without lyrics works really well for me.  The trick in a classroom is to find a music style that suits the students that need it while not disturbing the ones that don’t.  In this way it becomes yet another tool in your UDL tool box!

This is what I was listening to while writing.

I started out researching “SpeakIt”, a free app on the Chrome Web Store.  For those using the web browser Chrome, once installed, this app will translate all highlighted text to speech while on the internet.  SpeakIt adds a speaker button to the right of the bookmark star just outside of the URL address box on the Chrome browser.  The user just needs to highlight the selection to be spoken and press the speaker symbol.  The pictured box will appear and read.  To get this app, go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/home  search SpeakIt in the search window and follow the instructions.  While I would not recommend this app for all text to speech needs, it is free, easy to download and can be used in some non-essential ways.  One of my favorites is for proofreading.  I will let the computer read what I have written while I listen for content.

So how did one thing lead to the other?  I pulled up this article http://edudemic.com/2013/04/cycle-of-productivity/ ”This Is The Modern Cycle of Productivity” by Katie Lepi on Edudemic.  I was testing SpeakIt for this post.  It is a quick fun article and lead me to focus@will.  Try the app on the article and you will notice that the graphic will not read.  That is because it is just a picture of the original graphic.  This is an issue that has been discussed and will continue to be discussed when looking at truly accessible reading material.

Don’t forget that it is Autism Awareness Month.  The Appy Mall as well as Appolicious have been listing several free and reduced autism apps!

See you at the PATINS Tech Expo!

PATINS 2013 Tech Expo

Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Fountains
502 East Carmel Drive
Carmel, IN  46032

In the case of a zombie apocalypse it would be important to have a stockpile of things you would need to survive.  The school year is no different.  Time and money are limited commodities.  According to apple.com there are over 300,000 *apps.  It is getting hard to sort through them.  There are several ways to search for the app you need.  Here are some sites that are categorizing and rating apps (android too) that can help you save time finding what you need.

• http://www.appolicious.com/
• www.freeapps.org/
• http://www.appymall.com/#
• http://theappyladies.wordpress.com/
• http://appadvice.com/appnn

17 Days until PATINS Tech Expo!

Check out the CIESC Newsletter here:  http://www.ciesc.k12.in.us/

Let me know some of your favorite sites for searching for apps!  I know I missed some good ones.

See you at the Expo!

Sandi

 * as of 3/26/2013 Mac User Magazine reports - Apple’s iOS App Store passes 800,000 available apps by KENNY HEMPHILL on MARCH 26, 2013

mrrrrr apps! (Zombify Me – app used for picture)

Did you know that there are 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays in March this year?  A Facebook “friend” sent me a message that this phenomenon would not happen again for 823 years.  That just is not true.  Any month with 31 days will have 3 consecutive days that occur 5 times within that month.  The next time March will do this is in the year 2019.  Hmm, that doesn’t seem like 823 years.  Not even in dog years.  Internet sites like Snopes www.snopes.com and Hoax-Slayer www.hoax-slayer.com are the first places I go when I want to validate information on the internet.  Skepticism is one of those skills we all need to hone as information becomes more readily available.  Many argue that our students need to be taught the ability to find information instead of memorizing facts.  Along with that ability comes the need to verify facts or to know where to find reliable confirmation of facts.

With the Tech Expo around the corner I would like to spotlight some of the “Not for Profit” organizations that will be lending their expertise to the Expo this year.

• Achieve 3000
• Best Buddies Indiana
• Down Syndrome Indiana
• Effective and Compliant IEP Resource Center
• INDATA Project at Easter Seals
• Indiana Center for Accessible Materials
• Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services
• Indiana Resource Center for Autism
• Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Indiana Educational Resource Center
• Indiana School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library
• PATINS Project
• Refurbished Computers

As you can tell from the list this is an impressive gathering of expertise.  Another reason to attend the PATINS Tech Expo!

It doesn’t seem that the month of March is going to be easy to categorize weather-wise this year.  Hang in there, and be glad there weren’t 5 Mondays this month!

ISTEP, Spring Break and winter storms!  Weather wise, the February 26th (close enough) Parent Evening featuring Adapting the iPad for Accessibility at the Logan Center in South Bend, IN iPad was postponed due to inclement weather.  It has been rescheduled for May 6, 2013 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.  Hopefully even South Bend will be snow-free by then.  The good news is that this rescheduling allows us to reopen registration for this event!  There are only 20 spaces available.  To see the information and to register, please follow this link.  A Parent Evening featuring Adapting the iPad for Accessibility

For those of you looking for a parent evening a little further south, March 19, 2013, parent night will be in Greenwood, IN.  There are still spots available.  To see the information and to register, please follow this link.  A Parent Evening featuring Adapting the iPad for Accessibility

The PATINS Tech Expo is getting closer!  The presentation information as well as information on hotel accommodations, and registration for attendees and presenters is posted at:  www.patinsproject.com

I am currently on spring break and had to rely on PATINS Project Administrative Assistant Glenda Thompson, to help me send some information to a director in my region regarding the Fall PATINS State Conference and including PATINS in the Special Education Improvement Award.  Her advice and information were so well stated that I wanted to post it here. “Our PATINS State Conference is coming up November 4 & 5, 2013 in downtown Indianapolis at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The cost is $75/day which covers the catering costs. There will be a full slate of National and Local presenters along with a keynote each day. That Registration will be up by the end of this week and we are firming up our Presenters even as I type-a list for your review will be on www.patinsproject.com very soon.
As you formulate your proposal and allocate your monies, keep in mind our annual Spring PATINS Tech Expo for 2014. This will be held in Indianapolis as well but NO registration cost and complimentary lunch. If you could plan for subs and send some teachers to this event they will have a full day of vendor driven presentations, PATINS staff available for support and discussions and an Exhibit Hall full of vendors to explain their technology and tips. If you or any of your colleagues can come THIS year, please do. It is next month, April 18th and I have included the registration link for your consideration. Register Here! “

For more info on these topics and more, contact your region’s Coordinator and stay warm and dry!

The Indiana Department of Education announced on Friday 2/22/2012 that the Office of Special Education (OSE) will be accepting proposals for a Special Education Improvement Award.  ”Each LEA is invited to submit a proposal to the OSE highlighting how they would use a $70,000.00 award to improve upon their current services for students with disabilities.”  For more information, this announcement can be found on the IDOE Learning Connection Site within the Special Education Community.  www.learningconnection.doe.in.gov

Among the other requirements, the award states that:

“This plan must include at a minimum one of the following options:

• Consultation with PATINS about using the technology in the LEA.
• Proof of registration for members of the LEA to the PATINS conference.
• Monies allocated to the PATINS project for profession development.”

Contained in the materials provided is a template that can be used to create the budget and narrative as well as examples.

LEA’s are going to have to act quickly as the deadline for proposals is the close of business, March 28, 2013.  Applicants are encouraged to submit their proposal via email to Andrea Lakin at: alakin@doe.in.gov

Contact your PATINS coordinator!  PATINS is excited to be an integral part of this award.  I have been contacted by several districts already and am looking forward to assisting them in this venture!

In other news…

The Central Indiana Educational Service Center or CIESC has a great website http://www.ciesc.k12.in.us/  On there you will find information about PATINS, Indiana Online Academy, Drivers Ed. and a link to their monthly newsletter.  http://www.ciesc.k12.in.us/images/CIESC_Feb_2013.pdf

Another great resource provided by the CIESC is the Indiana Online Academy (IOA).  They are now providing an educator centered site called eDESK devoted to professional development and resources.  http://www.ioaedesk.com/ check it out!

Also, don’t forget the next Parent Night, March 19th in Greenwood, IN!  Click here for the full flyer http://www.patinsproject.com/images/stories/parentnightflyer31913.pdf

Best wishes for a busy March!

2012/2013 has been a year of new things for many of us.  Tuesday (2/19), NE Coordinator Julie Kuhn will make her PATINS TV debut. This episode will explore some essentials of seated positioning for access to the curriculum.  By the end of 15 minutes, you will know some things to look for to help all students get the most out of seating and positioning, so that instead of trying to overcome gravity or fatigue, the student can spend most of their energy on learning and accessing the curriculum.  The episode starts at 11:45, but the live connection will be open starting at 11:30 am EST.  Log in early just in case.   http://www.patinsproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=41 

Have you tried the 2013 edition of the Tar Heel Reader yet?  www.tarheelreader.org  It is the same great collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books that can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces but they have made some great upgrades.  All books can be navigated with two switches, more search terms can be used to find books, and collections can be created and shared.  For a complete listing of the updates http://tarheelreader.org/2013/02/06/welcome-to-the-new-tar-heel-reader/  If your computer has problems with the new format, there is a classic mode available.

It’s a new beginning for PATINS TTA (Targeted Technical Assistance) Grants.  Round 4 begins on Monday.  Five school corporations around the state will be working hand in hand with PATINS Coordinators to align their policies and procedures with the 7 AIM indicators.   http://aim.cast.org/learn/policy/stateresources/quality_indicators  I will be posting a confidential peek into this process as the weeks go by.  No names, no locations, just a weekly peek into the process.  Stay tuned!

I am Sandi Mahl, PATINS SE Coordinator.  A brief explanation before the blog:   As you know Daniel McNulty, now State Project Director of PATINS usually writes this blog.  He has not given it up; however, he is no longer able to keep it as current as he would like it to be.  So, I will be taking a guest role in writing the Rapid Fire Blog.  It was an easy fill for me as I was just beginning some blogs of my own.  The Rapid Fire Blog will probably change its “voice” a bit, but you will still find the same information here.  With me blogging, the Rapid Fire Blog will become part of a trio of blogs:

Rapid Fire – Just the facts ma’am

smahlthoughts* – A deeper look into the topic with some personal opinions thrown in http://smahlworldindustries.edublogs.org/

smahlstuff* – A more emotional, hold hands and sing Kumbaya look at the topic with lots of opinions and a look at the twisty road my mind travels. http://smahlstuff.edublogs.org

*Any opinions or mistakes expressed on smahlthoughts and smahlstuff are all my own.  They are not endorsed by nor are they intended to reflect negatively or positively on PATINS.

So, let’s get started!

I received notification that the ICAM Dispatch blog had been posted this morning.  I love the way Martha Hammond writes so I clicked on it immediately.  In it she listed some reminders of what different PATINS people were doing and that yesterday was Digital Learning Day.  Very appropriately, I spent 90 minutes listening to an ATIA webinar on tools for storytelling in the 21^st Century.  The content was great I heard about tools that I knew and tools that were new to me.  Webinars are great ways to seek information from others in the least amount of time.  While the ATIA webinars are not free, PATINS and our counterparts in Michigan (MITS) and Ohio (OCALI) have teamed up to present some great FREE webinars.  Here are some of the ones coming this month.

Julie Kuhn – NE Coordinator

2/14/2012, 8:30am – 9:30am EST – AT Feature Match:  Assistive Technology (AT) is not really about the Stuff.  It’s about knowing the student, what’s required and what the desired end result is. This presentation will show you how to get where you need to go.

To register:    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AT_Feature_Match_Registration_2-7-2013

Martha Wells Hammond – ICAM Library Services Consultant

Sandi Mahl – SE Coordinator

2/14/2013, 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST – Early Childhood Indicators of Latent Print Disability:  In this training I will discuss early indicators of possible print disabilities that families may encounter as students begin reading.  This training is not a diagnostic tool, but a guideline to help families/teachers/caregivers be aware of potential problems, and to begin preparing with early interventions if problems do present. Some iPad apps with an Early Childhood focus will also be demonstrated.

To register:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NKY7P8B

2/19/2013, 11:45am – 12:00pm EST – PATINS TV – Another Special Guest today; our NE PATINS Coordinator Julie Kuhn provides some especially relevant insight from the perspective of an OT into positioning for access to the curriculum!

Barb Meier – MITS Presenter

2/21/2013, 3:15pm – 4:15pm EST – Tools to Support Students who Struggle with Math: This session examines FREE (and very low cost) tools and strategies that support student access to the curriculum. Learn about virtual manipulatives, talking calculators, and other items to support students as they access the mathematics curriculum. The focus of this webinar is on students with special needs but these tools support ALL students in the classroom.

To register:  http://tinyurl.com/8ebjug7

These and other Interstate Webinars are listed at: http://www.patinsproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=40

Accessible Instructional Materials

TTA Grant Applications Due Feb. 7, 2013

 Let PATINS Help Make Your District More Accessible to ALL of your Students

• This is a unique opportunity to have dedicated PATINS Coordinators working directly and intensively with your district to make sure it is as accessible and efficient as possible with regard to the 7 AIM Indicators, which can be found here: http://aimconsortium.cast.org/best_practices/quality_indicators

You SHOULD consider this opportunity IF:

• You have no idea what constitutes Accessible Instructional Materials!
• You’ve run into difficulty finding Accessible Instructional Materials for
  students in your district.
• You’ve not always been able to provide alternate formats of materials in a timely manner.
• You don’t have Policies & Procedures in place regarding the flow &
  Implementation of Accessible Instructional Materials
• You have Digital Rights Managers (DRMs) that are overwhelmed and frustrated.
• You have students not performing to potential because they cannot access
  their curriculum.
• You are not collecting data on Accessible Instructional Materials and their impact on student achievement and behavior.
• You’ve purchased publisher’s materials that are NOT accessible.
• APPLY HERE by Feb. 7!
  http://bit.ly/ttaspr2013 

If you have questions:
Daniel G. McNulty, PATINS/ICAM Director
dmcnulty@ciesc.k12.in.us or 317-387-4153