Welcome Back!

Welcome back!  I hope you had a wonderful summer vacation!  If you did not have a chance to keep up with my Blog this summer please take a look back at the summer posts and catch up on some of the wonderful modules I shared.

As a general reminder, with this Blog, I (with some help from the YCS Instructional Technology team) will be posting useful Tips and Tricks for our Staff and Students to use in the classroom and for assignments.  We will highlight Google Apps, Extensions and Add-Ons as well as useful websites and iPad apps.


In case you were wondering about the name of the blog...

AT / UDL Tips & Tricks for Everyone...

What does AT stand for?

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology consists of DEVICES and SERVICES that help children 
with disabilities carry out a functional activity in their environment.

What is the meaning behind UDL?


Universal Design for Learning

U.D.L. Technology consists of DEVICES and SERVICES that help children
carry out a functional activity in their environment.


Truthfully AT and UDL go hand-in-hand.

I hope you have a wonderful school year and look forward to share new information with you!

IRIS Center: Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 2)

Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 2): Deepening Middle School Content-Area Learning with Vocabulary and Comprehension Strategies  (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sec-rdng2/#content)

This module examines some of the reasons that adolescents struggle with content-area text and overviews effective strategies teachers can use to improve the vocabulary and comprehension skills of students with a wide range of abilities and across a variety of subjects.

(est. completion time: 1.5 hours)

IRIS Center: Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 1)

Secondary Reading Instruction (Part 1): Teaching Vocabulary and Comprehension in the Content Areas  (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sec-rdng/)

This module describes how teachers can incorporate vocabulary and reading comprehension skills instruction into content-area lessons and will introduce you to a variety of effective practices—including the use of graphic organizers—to help students better understand what they read.

(est. completion time: 1.5 hours)

IRIS Center: CSR

CSR: A Reading Comprehension Strategy (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/csr/)

This module outlines Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), a strategy for helping students to improve their reading comprehension skills. In CSR, students work together in small groups to apply comprehension strategies as they read text from a content area, such as social studies or science. 

(est. completion time: 1 hour)

IRIS Center: Teaching English Language Learners

Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices  (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ell/

This module helps teachers understand second language acquisition, the importance of academic English, and instructional practices that will enhance learning for English Learners.

(est. completion time: 2 hours)

IRIS Center: SRSD

SRSD: Using Learning Strategies To Enhance Student Learning  (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/srs/)

This module features the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, which outlines the six steps required to effectively implement any instructional strategy and emphasizes the time and effort required to do so.

(est. completion time: 1 hour)

IRIS Center: SOS

SOS: Helping Students Become Independent Learners  (https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sr/)

This module describes how teachers can help students stay on task by learning to regulate their behavior. The four strategies discussed are self-monitoring, self-instruction, goal-setting, and self-reinforcement.

(est. completion time: 1.5 hours)