Parenting in the screen age

Why Kids Need Recess, and why it's endangered

https://www.google.com/amp/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/505850/

Linking inspiring indoor and outdoor accessible environments

A recent interview with Cody QJ Goldberg sparked a potential collaboration between PPS and Harper's Playground and their design team.  Their innovative work on accessible, natural, and fun playgrounds inspired this OT to attempt to apply design techniques to existing sensory spaces within PPS.  Updates to come...

The case for learning through movement

There is building evidence for the importance of students learning with movement.

See full article here: 

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/21/schools-education-teaching-exercise-better-learners

Alternative classroom model

• Project-based learning  is relevant to students. In Johnsonville, students explore issues like buying a home, paying rent, starting a business, and managing finances. Students see adults face these same issues and can relate what happens in Johnsonville to the real world. Relevancy makes each lesson memorable, meaning students are more likely to remember the overall concept of a lesson as opposed to memorizing facts for a test. It encourages collaboration. Desks are designed for individual students—which is why I don’t have any. In my classroom you will only find tables, collaboration bars, and sofas that are perfect places for students to think creatively and problem-solve. It is important that students take an active part in their own learning and are able to solve problems using what they know and have learned. By using critical thinking skills to collaborate and complete performance-based lessons, my students are fully engaged throughout the entire school year.  
• Students are in control. Other teachers trying PBL often tell me, “my kids can’t do it” or “it’s a lot of work.” I think the real issue here is teachers not wanting to give up control of their classrooms. PBL gives me the freedom to facilitate and encourage critical thinking. Additionally, I find students work better when the teacher isn’t hovering over them. PBL promotes students to think creatively and build the 21st-century skills they need to be successful in today’s job market. Students are using pre-built, credible, standards-aligned curriculum. I have discovered Defined STEM is a great tool to help me create relevant lessons I can incorporate into Johnsonville. The supplementary curriculum provides students with research resources, videos, and project prompts that encourage students to think outside the box and put them in real-world situations.

On test scores:  The state of North Carolina does not test students on collaboration and citizenship, but does consider critical thinking a key ability. I’ve discovered the best way to test student’s critical thinking skills is through project-based learning. In addition to working in the realm of Johnsonville, students complete at least one project a month to show what they’ve learned in a real-world situation.North Carolina State testing shows that my PBL model improves student scores. At the end of the 2016 school year, my fifth-grade students scored an average of 85 percent on the state science exam, while my school as a whole scored 58 percent. It’s not a leap to suggest the focus on PBL and hands-on learning was the catalyst for this major boost.

It’s important to remember that every child is different and learns differently. Relating classroom lessons to real life helps students at any level connect with the content and interpret it in a way they are able to understand. When students become part of their own learning, they take pride in their education and become more engaged. PBL not only keeps students busy, but it allows each one to show what they’ve learned in a creative, supportive, and collaborative environment.

Full article here: 

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/10/07/i-made-my-classroom-look-like-the-real-world-and-test-scores-soared/?ps=jreed%40nsf.gov-0013000000niJym-0033000000vVvvC

PPS Teaching, Learing & Technology

https://spark.adobe.com/page/zoiwin4o9R6PR/

NEWSLETTER • ISSUE 3 • NOV. 10, 2016

Sign up for GSUITe training here: 

https://support.google.com/a/answer/7039472

Social Stories for School and Life

Social Stories (search by topic)
https://tp053.k12.sd.us/Following%20Rules%20at%20School.htm

Social Narrative resource (search by topic)
http://www.kansasasd.com/socialnarratives.php

Edutopia resource: Move Your Body, Grow Your Brain

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/move-body-grow-brain-donna-wilson

Kim Levine Shares Sensory Spaces at the Pioneer Program

Kim Levine, OT at Pioneer Program, shared some of the sensory spaces she helped set up.  Some of the rooms features include: adjustable lighting, sound effect machine, multiple swings, squeeze machine roller, trampoline, and sit & spin.  She was able to fund some of the equipment through a Donors Choose grant.

OT's Share Tools at Staff Training at Pioneer

Gina Barnes and Debbie Angle, from the PPS OT Team and Motor Development Team present strategies on emotional and sensory regulation.  They gave an excellent overview of the Zones of Regulation curriculum.

Handwriting and Brainwaves

PENCILS AND BRAINWAVES: AN ANALYSIS ON HANDWRITING AND MEMORY

On September 25, 2013 in General by Timothy Huneycutt

This week we reached out to our Director of Elementary Development, Freddie Kendrick – you may remember reading about her efforts to transform elementary teaching – and she provided us with a wealth of insight into the benefits of handwriting. There’s a lot more to writing things out than initially meets the eye, but we’ll let Freddie explain it herself:

~*~

[Freddie] Despite the fact that more and more people are communicating through text, and even though technology is making an increasingly significant impact on our classrooms, handwriting is an invaluable skill to teach and master. In fact, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) actually include standards for legible manuscript writing in kindergarten and first grade. However, there is no mention of it elsewhere in the other grade levels that I have found, and this is a travesty that should be reversed.

Current research shows an important relationship between writing by hand and learning. For example, in a Wall Street Journal article, Gwendolyn Bounds linked brain scans and behavioral testing together and found that participants who wrote out new letterforms instead of using a keyboard to type them out actually hadincreased brain activity. In the article, titled “How Handwriting Trains the Brain,” Bounds elaborates on this finding and discusses how information written by hand stimulates the brain and increases the retention of that written information.

Handwriting is much more than learning how to use a pencil. It is a tool with which our students can hone some of the most critical learning skills, skills that they will be using for the rest of their lives! In the book,Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen – a professional colleague of mine – writes that excessive stress and threat in the school environment may be the single greatest contributor to impaired academic learning. A multi-sensory handwriting program relaxes the emotional brain to reduce stress levels in students and improve learning. I also asked him for a little more insight into his thoughts on handwriting, and he provided me with an excellent quote:

“Two generations ago, 95% of people in America used handwriting. Today, most use keyboarding. Yet the skills of handwriting remain important. They are memory, focus, prediction, attention, sequencing, estimation, patience and creativity.”  

click below for full article here: 

http://nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/179/pencils-and-brainwaves-an-analysis-on-handwriting-and-memory.aspx

also see: http://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/MJ12%20Berninger.pdf

How Trauma is Changing Children’s Brains

Full article here:
http://neatoday.org/2016/05/17/trauma-and-children/?utm_source=nea_today_express&utm_medium=email&utm_content=trauma&utm_campaign=160601neatodayexpress

Sensory at Rosa Parks

Teachers at Rosa Parks Elementary in North Portland are successfully sharing sensory tools with their students in general education classrooms

“The sensory tools have already done wonders for keeping the kids calm and focused,” said Patrice Pierre, who teaches third grade at the year-round Rosa Parks. “I did not know they would be so perfect for my whole class! The kids really understand that these are tools, not toys. A surprise has been my shyest kids who are using the fidgets for anxiety.”

Rosa Park is the first public school in Oregon to ask for and receive the Shadow Project’s Sensory Tool Kits and teacher training. In a June 2015 Portland Public Schools survey, 60 percent of the district’s staff members felt they needed more professional training, mentorship, or other support in serving special education students.

“We have wonderful sensory libraries from The Shadow Project in the learning center and counselor’s office,” said Principal Tamala Newsome. “But kids need to be able to access sensory tools in whatever classroom they are in, so they are supported throughout the day.

“We are so over telling kids not to move in class,” she said. “Our goal is to work collectively to meet kids where they are at, and keep them in the classroom, so they can focus on learning.”

Fourth grade teacher Marsha Wolfe is excited to have sensory tools in her classroom (above) 

Children in special education who are on (IEPs) Individualized Education Programs need the sensory tools for when they are in their general education classrooms and elsewhere in the school. But the tools are also a benefit for the “children of the gray” who have not been identified for special education but clearly need sensory help.

The Sensory Tool Kits for each K-5 teacher included one dozen hand-held fidgets selected by Rosa’s occupational therapist Martha Thomas, O.T., as well as kinetic sand and beanbag chairs. Teachers were trained on how to work with kids on selecting the fidget that works best for them.

“We know the sensory tools are great for empowering students to regulate their own bodies and behavior,” said Learning Center TeacherKim Giarelli, M.S. “Self-awareness is the first step to student responsibility for setting and achieving academic goals.”

Said third-grader Natalie, 8, who is not in special education: “I talk a lot. When I read, I use Silly Putty and roll it back and forth. It helps me stay calm and quiet.”

(paraphrased from this article)

Vernon Elementary: The Making of a School-Based Sensory Space

This space is the result of the collaborative efforts of Vernon administrators, teachers, occupational therapy, and generous support from the Vernon community. We hope this space will serve as an educational tool and as a safe place where students and staff better understand and meet some of their sensory needs.  We hope this space will facilitate occupational, social, communication, and educational development.  

Zones of Regulation Resource

Excellent resource for Zones of Regulation: overview, videos, models, lesson plans and more
http://mrsduranteszones.weebly.com/the-zones-of-regulation.html

 

Toddler zips around in homemade wheelchair

Apple accessibility improvements -Fall 2016

Full Article:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3093392/apple-mac/13-essential-apple-accessibility-improvements-coming-this-fall.html

Taptic time: Taptic time allows you to silently feel the time instead of hearing it. It’s available with three time telling options including Digits, Terse and Morse Code, meaning blind users don’t have to ask VoiceOver to tell them this. VoiceOver is widely used in the partially sighted community.

iOS 10 Magnifier: Magnifier lets you use your camera as a magnifying glass. You can access things like the camera flash and grab freeze frames. You can also adjust color filters to get a better view. This is going to be a “must use” feature for anyone who is partially sighted. Enabled in Settings>General>Accessibility>Magnifier.

Siri: Don’t underestimate how useful Siri will be to help make all Apple’s platforms accessible to more users.

Apple TV, Switch Control: People of limited mobility will be able to use Switch Control with Apple TV to navigate the system with a single hardware switch. This provides a cursor to navigate on-screen elements and an optional on-screen version of the Siri Remote. What’s even better is that you can use your iPhone (or Mac) as a Switch from which to control your TV using the new “Control other devices” option in the iOS Switch Control menu.

macOS, Dwell control: Dwell hardware uses a headset or eye movements to control events on-screen. This lets users with limited mobility to control the mouse, set timers and much more.

Color control: All three operating systems gain a feature that lets users tint the color of the entire display, which can assist people who are color blind. You access this (on iOS) in General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Color Filters.

iOS 10: Software TTY: This is an important tool for the hearing impaired. Like Hardware TTY devices, it lets users use their iPhone to communicate even though they can’t hear well, using text. The feature is supplemented with TTY-specific QuickType predictions, such as “GA” for the commonly used “Go Ahead” prompt that lets people know it’s time to respond. Transcripts are saved in the Phone app.

Take a few moments to understand the benefits of accessible design with deaf blind disability rights activist, Haben Girma, who spoke at WWDC 2016 (transcript).

iOS: Voicemail transcripts: Voicemail transcripts on iPhone may be useful to everyone who can use them, but could open up new communication opportunities for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

For dyslexia: Apple is improving speech selection in the OS in order to help those with dyslexia. Apple has implemented improvements to Speak Selection and Speak Screen to help people better understand the text that's already been entered. The company has also implemented new audio feedback for typing to help people catch mistakes.

Wheelchair fitness: Apple’s new Wheelchair Fitness Activity tracker is an impressive and original piece of tech, explored in far more detail here.

VoiceOver: A digital DJ app called djay Pro won an Apple Design Award this year, partially because it’s great software for any digital DJ, but also because of its outstanding support for VoiceOver. That support means blind or partially sighted DJs can mix like a pro – watch this video from the 5-minute mark for more on this.

Affordable solar powered gadgets

Help your students work on fine motor skills and learn about solar energy with some of these affordable DIY maker kits.

http://www.browndoggadgets.com/collections/early-education

       

         

A Request to Lego

Please help lobby Lego to make conductive (Maker) Legos by sharing this article/request.

"As an educator and assistive technology practitioner I work on ways to improve access for kids with disabilities.  One technique my colleagues and I use involves using a small micro controller (MakeyMakey) in conjunction with conductive materials (e.g. bananas, clay, etc) to make customized switches.  These switches can automate a voice, turn on a light, or play a song. 

I was excited to hear about Legos commitment to reducing the use of plastics and moving toward a more bio-degradable alternative.  Partly for the environmental reasons and partly for the hope that Legos could some day be conductive, allowing kids and AT practitioners alike to make tools for kids with disabilities.  

I'm writing in hopes that you might be able to consider using conductive materials in developing the next generation of Lego.  It would certainly open a lot of doors for our kids.

Thank you kindly for your time and consideration,"

Pete Carpenter (occupational therapist, father, and Lego fan) 

If you have thoughts or questions, please add to the comments section below.

LEGO for Occupational Therapists: Tips for Incorporating LEGO Into Your Occupational Therapy Program

http://blog.brickmarketplace.com/2016/04/lego-for-occupational-therapists-tips.html?m=1
author: Meaghan Nanson

Occupational therapists have a fun, difficult, and rewarding job. Their goal is to help people with specific physical, emotional, social or developmental needs participate in a full range of activities regardless of disability or other perceived barriers. In short, they provide specialized assistance to people of all ages who want to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Using elements of physical therapy, speech-language therapy, art therapy and more, occupational therapists create an environment that mimics the activities required in daily life – albeit sometimes in fun, creative ways. 

 This is where LEGO toys come in..... (See full article here) 

Rosie and Travis Piano and Violin Duet

Social Skills

AUsomely Social

Fun, innovative approaches to teaching Social Skills and Social Thinking® (based on the works of experts Michelle G. Winner and Stephanie Madrigal.)

http://stretchingsocialskills.blogspot.com/p/youtube-links-for-social-skills.html

Related page:Welcome to Jill’s Social/Emotional Skills Sharing Site!
https://jillkuzma.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/teaching-kids-about-distractions/?platform=hootsuite

Building Accessible Playgrounds in PPS

Harper's Playground

Resources:

PPS's current criteria for playgrounds

related articles: 

Harper's playground 

Would kids play outside more if they had access to school playgrounds?

If you know of a school planning to build or redesign a playground, please leave a comment or contact Pete Carpenter MOT, OTR/L at pcarpent@pps.net

Affordable Summer Camps for Students

Portland Parks and Rec. Camps for Kids

Elite Sports Academy: 

Elite Sports Academy, a Portland based non-profit, offers a cost efficient summer camp to children in low-income families. The camp will focus on education and sports training. Camps start on June 13th, and it will run until August 26th. The cost will be only $25 per week.  The camp will be held at King School from 10am-3pm Monday-Friday, with early drop off and late pick up from 7:30am-5:30pm at no additional cost. There will also be free breakfast and lunch provided every day. 
any questions or would like more information, please feel free to email me at ajwhite1191@gmail.com or call me at 928-814-9648.

 

 

The Adolescent Brain: OHSU informative presentation

https://echo360ess.ohsu.edu:8443/ess/echo/presentation/2a967f84-7a64-4887-bb36-1d19306c44c3

Universal Design for Learning Guidelines

Sensory Screening and Education

Results of a Sensory Screening of a 4th grade class (click here) 

Results

Perpetual Motion in Room 17: Time-lapse video

What can we learn from this?  What were some of the themes, movement patterns?
What were some of the most popular spaces?  Were these areas popular because the
micro-environment was inviting?  How and in what way does the design of the classroom (desk placement and other static features) affect the  movement and shape of the class?  How much do the activities and teacher instructions influence the clusters, movement, and shape of the class?

One thing is clear, many of the students movement needs are encouraged and fulfilled.

Thank you Pamela Kennedy for sharing this fascinating and entertaining video.

EdcampPDX, April 23, 2016

https://ppsintech.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/edcamppdx-april-23-2016/

Literacy Resources

Tumble Books
http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

Open Books
http://openebooks.net

AAC Provider List - (Oregon / Washington private practice)

Greater Portland / Washington AAC Provider List (link here)

AT provider list coming soon

Generation Yes: http://genyes.org/

http://genyes.org/

Project-Based Learning

All Generation YES programs involve students designing, constructing, and assessing projects aligned to student and teacher learning.

Student Tech Leaders

We believe that teams of well-prepared K-12 students are the key strategy for realizing meaningful technology integration. All Generation YES programs have STLs at the center.

Tech Integration

Providing support and resources to schools using technology for improved learning opportunities and academic achievement is a primary goal of the nonprofit Generation YES.

Data Collection & Assessment

Guided authentic assessment and reporting provides students with feedback and educators with solid data on student progress.

A story teller with ALS - OPB with Dave Miller

http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/at-home-with-als-tol/

Co: Writer Universal

Co:Writer Universal accross platforms: I haven't tested it yet, and would love any testimonials / feedback on it's performance.
  http://donjohnston.com/cowriter/

New AAC app. produced locally by Lucas Steuber of Language Craft

Executive functioning for high school students education for teachers, parents

iPads for students with speech apraxia

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/2016-ipads-for-apraxia-program-information-application/

Columbia Regional Events Calendar

CRP Class Calendar: http://www.crporegon.org/Page/2

Video Modeling for Students with ASD: A Hands On Workshop

Lifespan: The Post-High School Gap: Preparing for life after graduation by Diane Wiscarson and Amy Reid

Full article here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BziJzz8UGlvza0dZX1N3SGlmTXc/view?usp=sharing

Technologist In Training Program: Bring your school up to speed

PPS Board of Education Superintendent Report Excerpt 1/12/16

Write Start Handwriting Program: Co-teaching

http://www.write-start-handwriting.org/index.html

Ellen Meets an Inspiring Young Woman

PPS Bond Accessibility Work

"Improved accessibility is a priority of the PPS School Building Improvement Bond"

Access ramp at Wilson High School 2013
New Elevator at James John K-5 2015
Suzanne Stahl, Angela Jarvis-Holland, Carole Smith

Timeline: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/files/bond/Bond_Program_Graphic_Schedule_3_19_15_v4.pdf
Get involved: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/bond/9073.htm



Community members, PPS designers, and Portland Parks and Rec. meet to discuss plans/updates for Grant High School.