Thursday, January 30, 2014

Using I.C.T in special education to support students with special needs



 
Some pupils in your class may have problems in accessing the curriculum due to learning difficulties with reading, writing, spelling or numeracy, visual or hearing problems, emotional or behavioral problems.  I.C.T. can, in many cases, help to alleviate the problems.
 

Check out the following site for ideas on how ICT can assist in your special needs classes.

Voki for Education





We used Voki in the mainstream class to help SLD students identify story grammar elements of folktales. The mainstream teacher  modeled the  completion of the chart with students. By re-reading the story grammar element sentences, students were able to  complete a story retelling chart with the use of story cube generator. Students enjoyed learning and they experienced success. Thanks for Technology.
Use the link below to access Voki.
http://www.voki.com/mywebsite.php

You can access the lesson plan at :
Voki Lesson Plan for story retelling

Shamaa (Arabic)







Are you searching for an online database that documents educational research carried out in Arab countries in all fields of education?
Check out shamaa following the link below: 

http://www.shamaa.org/en/component/About/resume.asp



Friday, January 24, 2014

Concept mapping for kids with reading difficulties


Concept mapping works efficiently with kids with reading difficulties.The reading selection is summarized into a graphic organizer and kids better understand and retain information when ideas, words and concepts are associated with images. Research tells us that the majority of students in a regular classroom need to see information in order to learn it. 

While Mind Maps won’t solve the underlying difficulties that kids with reading difficulties have, they are a very useful tool and give teachers and students an excellent boost in the right direction.
The Key Benefits of Mapping (from a dyslexic point of view):

• Few words used or needed • Can (and should) use pictures and color
• Focus learning
• Allow kids with very little written language to show their understanding
• Encourage self confidence by demonstrating knowledge and understanding in an accessible way.
• Allow students to ‘shine’ through their strengths and not being limited by their weaknesses.
• Great for displays too (this can help the teacher and other students)

I would encourage anyone who works with dyslexics to consider using Mind Maps. Get them to try it and see for themselves how useful they can be. I did and I have not regretted it!

We are using the program below to create mind maps, graphic organizers and more.


kidsispiration