PATINS UDL Project

On the CAST web site there is a feature called UDL Spotlight. They are focusing on the Columbus, Indiana, school district!

http://udlspotlight.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/a-district-implements-udl/

They have interviews with administrators and teachers explaining how UDL has helped and continues to help them improve classroom instruction for all students. They implemented UDL to modify curriculum development and teaching in every classroom. UDL is giving everyone in the district a way to work together toward the same goal of improved achievement for all students.

The Loudon Co. Public Schools in Ashburn, VA, has an extensive web site with many, many resources.

The have a UDL section to the web site at:

http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/50910068152053/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=93292&50910068152053Nav=|&NodeID=5482

It includes Overview of UDL information as well as Planning and Technology Tools. There is a link to a pocket card with UDL information and to sample UDL Lessons and Resources.

Check it out!

Using the Tic-Tac-Toe lesson assignments designed while participating in the PATINS UDL Project, Autumne Streeval and Harriet Armstrong from Columbus East High School went to Microsoft’s U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum and took top honors. They will move on to the national competition in Brazil later this fall.
To see a video interview with Autumne and Harriet, go to:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=60404

FETC Fall ’09 Virtual Conference & Expo is coming to you live on Thursday, October 22, 2009. This FREE 100% online educational event gives you the opportunity to participate in highly informative virtual sessions from the convenience of your office, visit the Virtual Expo Hall and chat with real live exhibitors, and preview and evaluate the latest hardware and software available today.

This extraordinary online educational event delivers valuable presentations and unlimited networking opportunities straight to your desktop — all at NO CHARGE!

Attend this 100% online event to enjoy:

• A dynamic exchange of best practices and tips for success
• Expert speakers sharing their views in an effective, interactive way
• A virtual networking lounge to reconnect with colleagues and make new contacts
• Real-time access to other participants through instant messaging
• Technology product and service demonstrations in our virtual exhibit hall
• Free content downloads and presentations to go
• And much more!

Attend as many sessions as you like, visit the virtual exhibit hall at any time and network when it’s convenient for you.

There are no travel expenses. No lines. No substitutes to schedule. No funding approval needed.

Register today to participate in this compelling new virtual event — invite your colleagues and staff to participate at NO CHARGE!
For a schedule of events and to register, go to:

http://virtual.fetc.org/Microsites/FETC-Virtual/Event-Home.aspx

This is a web site that combines curricula + wiki to yield Curriki. (A web site where the community shares and collaborates on free and open source curricula.) This is a project started by Sun Microsystems to develop works for education in a collaborative effort.

They are focusing initially on developing an online repository for K-12 curricula in the areas of mathematics, science, technology, reading and language arts, and languages. They want this repository to attract everyone from educators, students and parents, to programmers, instructional designers, authors and public officials throughout the world to contribute or freely access quality learning materials. (A very similar concept to Wikipedia, which most of us are familiar with.)

You can find lesson plans, teaching activities, student worksheets and more. You can contribute by sharing your favorite curriculum resources. You can collaborate with teachers in your school or educators around the world. If you join (it’s free) you will be able to collect resources in a personal collection, to modify those resources to meet your specific needs, to contribute your own resource information, and to participate in the educational community by providing feedback and comments.

Check it out at:

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/

TeacherTube is a free resource for videos, documents, audio and photos that relate to teaching. The videos, documents, audio and photos are searchable in channels, including: history education, health, math, reading, writing, social sciences, science, physical education, career & technology education, languages, fine arts, tutorials, special education, and elementary, middle school, high school and college areas .

This web site also has areas where you can set up a group to share information and for blogs.

http://www.teachertube.com/

Teachers’ Domain is an online library of more than 1,000 FREE media resources from the best in public television along with lesson plans for English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and the Arts. These classroom resources, featuring media from NOVA, Frontline, Design Squad, American Experience, and other public broadcasting and content partners are easy to use and correlate to state and national standards. [http://www.teachersdomain.org/]

The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at WGBH recently has received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop a version of the Life Science portion of the Teachers Domain digital library that is accessible to users with hearing, vision, and physical disabilities.

AND…You can help develop the lesson plans that are accessible to students with disabilities and earn a stipend. Read on….

This comes from:   Mary Watkins
Director of Communications and Outreach
Media Access Group at WGBH
Email: mary_watkins@wgbh.org
http://access.wgbh.org
One Guest Street
Boston, MA  02135
617 300-3700 v/fax
617 300-2489 TTY

The Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), a nonprofit research and
development organization, is working with NCAM to conduct research with
teachers of students with disabilities to inform the development of the
accessibility features for the Teachers Domain library. As part of our
research activities, we are currently looking for teachers of students with
hearing, vision, or physical disabilities who are interested in planning six
life science or biology lessons incorporating resources from the life
science section of the Teachers Domain digital library and then carrying out
these lessons with their students. The lesson planning will take place at
teachers’ convenience. The research involves documenting how teachers use
the Teachers’ Domain digital library for planning (using interviews and web
statistics), the lessons they planned (collecting copies of the lesson
plans), how the lessons are being implemented (using teacher
questionnaires/logs), and how students respond to the lessons (through
student questionnaires, work samples, and assessment tasks built into the
lessons). Teachers will receive a stipend of $800 for planning six lessons,
carrying them out in their classrooms, and participating in data collection
activities.

If you are interested in participating, please contact our project partner at EDC, Babette Moeller.

Babette Moeller Email:  bmoeller@edc.org

This is a great web site for locating open source (free) software that addresses a multitude of barriers to accessing the curriculum.   http://www.oatsoft.org/

You can search the software database by the need that it meets, by the type or category of software, or see all the titles. (There are over 150 titles listed.)

You can also contribute toward projects developing new software or introduce software that you have developed.  There is a forum area for discussion and a news section with the latest developments. There is something here for everyone.

For the past few summers Harvard’s Graduate School of Education has held a week-long UDL seminar during the summer. This is a great opportunity to get a UDL specialist trained for your school district. This year’s seminar will be held July 6 – 10, 2009. You can find more information at http://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/k12/programs/ude.html

Westfield-Washington Schools will be hosting a FREE Promethean Interactive Whiteboard Conference on March 13th, 2009 at Maple Glen Elementary School, 17171 Ditch Road, Westfield, IN, 46074.

Please feel free to join us for breakout sessions on uses of Promethean in the classroom, lunch, keynote speaker and door prizes.

You are welcome to bring any other staffers from your district that you think will benefit from this conference.

All that we ask is that you and anyone else attending, please register at the following link, so that we are aware of how many to expect.

https://www.eventville.com/search/groups.asp?coordinatorgroupid=1001051

Click on “Indiana” on the map and then click “register” to sign up for the specific breakout sessions and complete your registration. You will also see the conference schedule and other items.

Remember that this is a FREE conference!

Lunch will be provided free of charge from Kelties Restaurant.

Please let Eric Esterline (phone: 317-867-8034) know if you have any questions or would like directions.