Summer 2019!!

Summer vacation is here! YEAH!! Teachers everywhere are prepared to rest and recharge.

Even though summer provides teachers with a break from the day-to-day classroom environment, I know you are always planning, prepping, and preparing for next school year.

Each week this summer I will post a new module from The Iris Center at Vanderbilt Peabody College (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/). Each module will contain between 1 and 3 hours worth of readings and videos which have great information to help you in your classroom next school year (and beyond).

Each module I post is in the IRIS STAR Legacy Modules list (https://tinyurl.com/y56eews6) and is available for a Professional Development Certificate. Additionally, running through the end of 2019, IRIS Professional Development Certificates (https://tinyurl.com/y472jytb) will be FREE, courtesy of funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs.

I will post the first module link next week. This week rest, relax, recharge, enjoy your time off!

Accessibility at a Glance

Microsoft has created a YouTube channel video series called Accessibility at a Glance.

Accessibility at a Glance  (https://tinyurl.com/y2a9qz7y) is a series of short videos built to help you learn how to create an inclusive digital experience for people with disabilities.  While many of the videos highlight Microsoft's built in accessibility features, there are a couple of sub-series, like Inclusive Interviewing, that contain great, universal information that can benefit everyone.   

LibriVox

Do you enjoy listening to books? Have you had some of the classics on your "to read" list?

LibriVox (https://librivox.org/) lets you listen to books, available on the public domain, for free. This service is similar to the eBooks available through Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/), which I wrote about last week (https://at-udl.blogspot.com/2019/05/project-gutenberg.html).
 

Volunteers from all over the world read the books published on LibriVox.  The audiobooks are free for anyone to listen to.  You can listen on your computers, an iPod or other mobile device, or you can burn it onto a CD.

Project Gutenberg

Looking for something to read this summer?  How about you try some of the classics from Project Gutenberg  (https://www.gutenberg.org/).

Project Gutenberg focuses on the world's great literature, for which the U.S. copyright has expired.  You can chose to read these free books as an epub, on a regular web browser, or with an eBook reader, such as Kindle eBooks.  

They offer over 58,000 free eBooks digitized and diligently proofread by volunteers, for enjoyment and education.

Stuff You Missed In History Class

Are you looking for something fun and educational to listen to this summer?  

Check out the podcast "Stuff You Missed in History Class"  (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-missed-in-history/id283605519?mt=2)".  

In this podcast by HowStuffWorks, you will join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class.  They post new podcasts every few days and with 300 current episodes there is surely something for everyone.

Article: What Teachers Need to Know About Students With ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)

This does not necessarily fall under AT or UDL but it does contains some great information that I wanted to share.

Oppositional defiant disorder, commonly known as ODD, is a behavioral disorder in which children are—as the name suggests—defiant to the degree that it interferes with their daily lives.



Between 2–16 percent of the population may have ODD, and we’re not entirely sure of the causes.

For more information please read the article written by WeAreTeacher Staff on April 2, 2019:

What Teachers Need to Know About Students With ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) (https://rebrand.ly/e23f1)

SlideShare by LinkedIn - Guest Informer

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com) has a new section called SlideShare (https://www.slideshare.net/).  I learned about this new feature from our district Technology Resource Specialist, Jerilyn Lynn.

In this section you can discover, share and learn new things.  It is a place to "share what you know and love through presentations, infographics, documents and more".

Some individuals have used this section to make slide shows of picture books.  They are simply a scan of the books, no attached audio that I have found yet.  These are a nice quick way to project a book to read to your class, that is already flat and doesn't require you to use (or have) a document camera.   Some are of higher quality than others but most that I have looked at so far are good.

Please keep in mind that these digital copies of books are not necessarily accessible materials compliant, just simply the book available in a non-paper format.

A few favorite titles that I have come across in my quick search are:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (https://www.slideshare.net/samanthamorris211/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-7574597)

If You Give a Moose A Muffin by by Laura Numeroff (https://www.slideshare.net/mol_by/if-you-give-a-moose-a-muffin-presentation) 

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (https://www.slideshare.net/peneglos/thegivingtree)