January 2016 Newsletter
ISTE Inclusive Learning Network
President's Message
[image: Photo of Kendra Grant]
Welcome to 2016!
I think teachers are lucky because we get two "new years": the official start of the year and of course September. Both offer the opportunity to start something new or make a change.
Something new I'm exploring this "official" new year is #oneword2016. Helen DeWaard who also wrote this month's blog post suggested the idea when she wrote about her oneword - color (or colour as we Canucks write it :) My word this year is agency. Core Education from New Zealand listed it as one of 10 educational trends in 2015. (inclusion's there too!) My masters work involves online teacher professional learning and UDL. I'm going to explore how Agency fits my two areas of interest.
What is your #oneword2016? Share it with us via Twitter or our Facebook page along with #inclusiveln
I know everyone is busy but I hope you have a chance to read Luis Pérez's brilliant piece "Finding the Light When You're Losing Your Vision". Tweet Luis @eyeonaxs to let him know how you are the light for someone.
And finally, Administrators (and aspiring Administrators) don't miss our own Mindy Johnson's webinar February 16th on Universal Design for Leaning: Top Five Ideas Administrators Need to Know. Register below.
Inclusively Yours,
Kendra Grant
President, Inclusive Learning Network
Build your PLN!
[image: Icon of three people]
Great folks to follow and resources to RT!
- Paradigm Challenge - Annual competition to inspire positive change in the world; a great opportunity to give unengaged learners a purposeful venue to demonstrate learning.
- Nadia Cone - Proponent of assistive technology for students with language disorders (dyslexia); great resources posted frequently.
- Edugator230 - Great resources for dyslexia education.
- Coach Ben - Great overall tech resources: covers a lot of ground for tech education.
- Kia McDaniel - An ELL educator; shares great resources for all learners.
Spotlight: Ideaphora
[image: Ideaphora logo: Connecting ideas, building minds]
Ideaphora is a browser-based knowledge mapping tool that integrates with a variety of online material such as video and text-based resources. The content and map are presented all on one screen providing a seamless way for students to make connections and build their maps. Ideaphora automatically deconstructs digital content into meaningful concepts. Learners then focus on developing connections as they build a conceptual model of their understanding. Ideaphora supports a variety of learners helping everyone develop higher order thinking skills and visual learning techniques. This video provides a brief overview of Ideaphora.
Spotlight: Seesaw
[image: Seesaw logo]
Seesaw is a free service educators can use to collect and review student work in digital portfolios. Learners can “show what they know” in a variety of ways, including: photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. They can log into their class by scanning a QR code, which is a great option for younger learners. The service can be accessed through a web browser, using an app on an iOS or Android device, or with a Chrome extension. On the iPad, the app includes whiteboard capabilities that allow students to record themselves as they draw or annotate to explain their thinking. A unique feature of this service is that teachers can invite parents to see their children’s work, which is a nice way to promote parental involvement. While the core service is free, there is a paid version for school districts with improved statistics and unlimited parent access to the portfolios (the free version limits access to 12 months).
Thought Leader Spotlight: Bryan Dean
[image: Photo of Bryan Dean]
He began his educational journey as a middle/high school teacher working with incarcerated youth & students with emotional impairments. There, Bryan discovered the power of providing appreciative coaching support to colleagues as they worked together to design learning environments that support UDL. When his role changed from school based coach to countywide consultant, Bryan wanted to continue to provide the benefits of elbow-to-elbow coach support on a broader scale, creating the UDL Design Lab.
UDL Design Labs are places where practitioners come to think through UDL principles and learn how to put them into practice in their unique settings. For example, participants bring a challenging lesson plan, a dilemma or an idea for action research and build solutions together. The Labs are open, unstructured spaces that give participants latitude to think through and design solutions. Bryan has been facilitating design labs locally for 3 years and will be bringing the UDL Design Lab onto the national scene at this year’s UDL-IRN Summit.
To learn more about Design Labs or other UDL implementation guerrilla strategies, follow Bryan Dean on Twitter at @drrevdean.
Blog Post: I remember you! How could I forget that face?
[image: Faces surrounding the text, "Finding faces in your PLN."]
Latest News in Inclusive Learning
The Mighty: Finding the Light When You're Losing Your Vision
Fantastic post by our own Luis Pérez on light, literally and figuratively.
Harvard Gazette: Dance That Adapts to Disabilities
Read about the Boston Ballet’s Adaptive Dance Program, breaking ground in understanding dance as a potential learning tool for students with disabilities.
MiddleWeb: A New Year Brings New ESSA Possibilities
A co-teacher's perspective on the new ESSA legislation and what questions we need to ask ourselves to best help every student succeed.
We'll be accepting nominations for the Inclusive Learning Network Outstanding Educator Award starting February 1st! Stay tuned to our Inclusive LN ISTE Connects Community for more information.
Universal Design for Learning: Top Five Ideas Administrators Need to Know
Tuesday, Feb 16, 2016, 07:00 PM
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ISTE Inclusive Learning Network
Email: setsig@gmail.com
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Twitter: @InclusiveLN