UDL in the Skies OR Soaring Senses

My colleague Lindsay and I just completed teaching a course on "barrier-free learning", incorporating Universal Design for Learning principles (UDL). A key feature of UDL is offering multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. Watch this video to see how a flight attendant engaged his audience in a way that sparked the interest of his passengers and encouraged participation. Imagine bringing this into the classroom!


The Rapping Flight Attendant - Watch more Funny Videos

Using Winnie Dunn's classification of sensory patterns, I would identify this particular flight attendant as a "sensory seeker". He added increased sensory input to his typical routine to keep himself and the passengers more alert. Check out Winnie Dunn's book, Living Sensationally - Understanding your Senses to learn more about sensory patterns in everyday life.

Thanks to @rmbyrne for his blog post highlighting this video. Check out his blog Free Technology for Teachers for a wealth of resources at your fingertips.

Russ Hoyt Talking on Siblings

Come to the Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Council meeting on Wed., Nov. 14, 2007, 7:00pm
Lowell Elementary School Library, 175 Orchard St, Watertown, MA.
Childcare will be available.

RUSS HOYT ON SIBLINGS
Come listen to Russ Hoyt, early childhood director for the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District (or Mr. Russ as he is known to the children in the Boutwell Early Childhood Center). In addition to his professional career, Mr. Hoyt has a personal connection to Special Education. Russ’s oldest brother, Rick, was born with cerebral palsy and cannot walk, talk, feed or care for himself without assistance. However, Rick has run the Boston Marathon 26 times, completed the Ironman Triathlon 5 times as a team with his father, and he graduated from Boston University. Russ will share with us the story of his family, his relationships with both of his brothers, and to pass on some ideas and some research findings on how to support healthy sibling relationships. All are welcome.

If you are not familiar with Russ's brother and father, watch this four minute movie on their endeavors...quite inspirational!
What can you imagine?

The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow

Why would a leaf on a path cause a cow to stop dead in its tracks? Watch this video on Dr. Temple Grandin titled "The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow." It is a 48 minute documentary produced by the BBC. This remarkable woman with autism describes what it is like to think visually in our world.

Thinking in pictures gives her a better understanding of animals. Realizing she experiences the world much as animals do, she can relate to them in ways other people can't. Although autism is very different for each person who has it, Dr. Grandin feels the common thread is the ability to notice detail. She developed this talent into skills that turned into a satisfying career. Having a PhD in animal science, she has dedicated her life to the betterment of animals.

Education should have a strong emphasis on building strengths, not just on addressing deficits. Who knows where talents can lead our students!

Other key points in the video:

• deep pressure is calming and relaxing (notice the "squeeze machine")
• people with autism have sensory based thinking (think in pictures, in sounds, in touches)
• sensory defensiveness can create havoc with an individual with autism
• fear is the main emotion in autism (needing to escape from stressful situations)

Creating and Sharing

Never before has it been so easy to produce and share content, whether it is music, video or writing. You can even publish and sell your own book online. The new web opens the door for creating and sharing. Why not step in!

Micheal Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology from Kansas State University, created this video called “Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us”. It's worth watching and pondering.

Digital Natives

Fifteen years ago, the web went world wide. That means the students we work with at Hosmer School are all born AWWW (after world wide web). The internet and other digital tools have been part of their lives since they were born. Their generation is often referred to as "digital natives". Marc Prensky used the term in his 2001 article titled, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - A New Way Of Looking At Ourselves and Our Kids.

If our students are digital natives, we are digital immigrants. Some of us struggle to learn the new language. Those of us who have attempted to educate ourselves still retain our old accents. There is no getting around it. As adults, we bring with us a certain trepidation when approaching new technology.

Now we have begun vacation week, take a minute to watch this entertaining video called "Introducing the book". It is guaranteed to bring you some laughs.

Do you recognize yourself? I do! Each day, I try to be more "kid like" in my approach, however. Kids tackle a new digital task without the fear of making a mistake. They are not afraid to push a button, click on an object or explore a program. They try, fail, try, fail, try, fail, try and then succeed. We can learn from this process. Don't hold back...begin your discovery! Become a life long learner.

This video was posted on Karen Janowski's blog, Teaching Every Student. Visit her site for a wealth of tips, information and ideas as you continue your journey as a digital immigrant.

The Creative Organizer

Here is a video my nephew created trying to clean his room. Although it took four days, you can watch the process in 26 seconds. If only it was that easy. Enjoy!

Mel Minute - Be an Organization Ally

Mel Levine, M.D. is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is also the co-founder of All Kinds of Minds, a non-profit Institute for the study of differences in learning, with financier Charles R. Schwab. Dr. Levine has established a framework for understanding why children struggle in school. He provides a system for recognizing variations in the way children learn and uses their strengths to help them become more successful students.
Watch Dr. Mel Levine speak about being an organizational ally for a child. Visit his website, All Kinds Of Minds, to read more about Getting Organized and Good Work Habits.