It's true that there are many apps and websites that learners can access to support a variety of learning needs and accommodations, but did you know that the iPad is armed with an arsenal of built-in supports as well? Let's explore the Accessibility Features iPad offers to support users:
Accessing Accessibility Features
Open the Settings app > General > Accessibility Inside the Accessibility menu, you'll see a wide range of features to support: Vision, Interaction, Hearing, Media, and Learning.
Vision
iPad users can utilize a variety of tools to support diverse vision needs. Check out the Accessibility Vision menu below. Hover over each of the black and red targets in order to learn more about each feature. While all of the features create an iPad experience unique to each user, I've used red targets to highlight features that I wanted to draw attention to for the wide variety of learner needs that can be met.
Interaction
iPad users can utilize a variety of tools to support diverse physical and motor needs. Check out the Accessibility Interaction menu below. Hover over each of the black and red targets in order to learn more about each feature. While all of the features create an iPad experience unique to each user, I've used red targets to highlight features that I wanted to draw attention to for the wide variety of learner needs that can be met.
Hearing and Media
iPad users can utilize a variety of tools to support diverse hearing needs and enhance media functionality. Check out the Accessibility Hearing and Media menu below. Hover over each of the black and red targets in order to learn more about each feature. While all of the features create an iPad experience unique to each user, I've used red targets to highlight features that I wanted to draw attention to for the wide variety of learner needs that can be met.
Learning
iPad users can utilize Guided Access to support diverse learning needs. Check out the Accessibility Learning menu below. Hover over the red target in order to learn more about this feature. What are ways you use Accessibility features in your classroom to support the unique needs of your learners? Share in the comments below!
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My teammate Megan Kozar curated a fabulous list of resources for the 1:1 elementary classroom. After reading her post, I was inspired to create one with a secondary spin! Check out these great resources for your 1:1 secondary classroom. iPad Troubleshooting If learners are having trouble with technology, there are a few troubleshooting steps they should try before submitting a HelpDesk ticket. You can print the troubleshooting guide and display it in your classroom as well as post a digital copy to your Schoology courses. Should these steps not address the issues, learners will need to submit a HelpDesk ticket from their classroom. Their sign-in credentials are their district email addresses and passwords. Learner Experts
Ask 3 Before Me in the 1:1 Classroom An oldie-but-goodie strategy to empower the learner experts in the classroom is Ask 3 Before Me. This strategy requires learners to ask their peers for support before coming to you with a question. More often than not, learners can work together to figure things out. In the 1:1 classroom, Ask 3 Before Me is still a great strategy. Learners certainly can ask three peers before asking their educators for help with an app or with their iPad. However, another fun spin is to have learners ask a peer, Google, and YouTube before bringing a question to their educator. This will not only help them find needed help or a solution, but also empowers them to own their experiences and become more self-reliant, as well as foster a classroom community of collaboration. Check out this quick video by my teammate Kasey Kemp introducing Ask 3 Before Me! Changing Learner Passwords CISD educators now have access to accounts.coppellisd.com and are able to support learners in changing their passwords. Check out the instructions below for how to change a learner's password. Apple Classroom "Apple Classroom turns your iPad into a powerful teaching assistant, helping a teacher guide learners through a lesson, see their progress, and keep them on track. With Classroom, you can easily launch the same app on every [connected learner iPad] at the same time, or launch a different app for each group of learners" (Apple Education Services). With Classroom, you can easily launch the same app or link on every learner's device at the same time or launch a different app or link for each group of learners. Classroom helps teachers focus on teaching so learners can focus on learning. We are happy to report that our engineers were able to enroll our learners using data from eSchool Plus/Pentamation. This means that when you open the Classroom app on your CISD educator iPad, you should have your classes ready for you. (Note: Learners do not need to download an app! The app is only for you as an educator to use.) Below you will find Apple Classroom integration ideas and resources to get you started from the Coppell DLC team. If for some reason you do not see the classes or learners you need within Classroom, please place a HelpDesk ticket so that our technicians may help troubleshoot the issue. Please reach out to me with any instructional support questions you have. I would love to help you harness the power of this amazing management tool! Digital Workflow Figuring out the best balance of digital and analog work and how to transform learning with a device is a tricky task. Andrew Marcinek, author of "Myth vs. Reality in a 1:1 Classroom," says: ...What the device and its applications really allow teachers to do is challenge students in new ways. It opens up new avenues in instructional designs and revises the role of the teacher to more of a facilitator for learning. Increasing rigor and deepening learning through a digital workflow is one of my passions as a DLC. I would love to partner with you to find new ways to transform learning for our learners. If you would like to explore workflow on your own, you can find resources in the Schoology course linked below. Recording in a Noisy Classroom When I was in school, classrooms were quiet places where learners faced the front and worked independently. Now, classrooms are collaborative places where learners work together to show what they know in creative and engaging ways. While these noisier environments can make it difficult for learners to create clean audio and video recordings, it's not impossible, and it doesn't require you purchasing or creating recording booths. Check out this great video by Seesaw Ambassador Andy to learn how to create recordings with great audio, even in a noisier environment. Let's Share! What are your other go-to resources, tips, and tricks in your 1:1 classroom? Share in the comments! A lot of things come, go, and evolve in the world of education, but one thing remains true: Great teachers focus not on compliance, but on connections and relationships. What we also know is that relationships and connections extend beyond the school. It is not only important that we connect with learners, but that we help create connections with their parents and families. Google Voice is a voicemail service platform that allows you call parents without giving out your personal phone number. You can make calls from both your computer and personal phone. Get Started with Google VoiceFollow the steps below to set up Google Voice and make calls through your web browser. Prefer to make calls through your cell phone instead? You can also check out this helpful video to learn how to set up Google Voice using the iOS or Android app.
2. Log into Google Voice with your gmail address and accept the terms of service. Note: You will be asked to accept the terms and conditions. This includes verifying your account with a U.S. phone number. However, this phone number will not be shared when you make a call with Google Voice. 3. Set up your Google Voice number.
4. Verify your Google Voice number.
Now You're Ready to Make Connections!You can easily begin making phone calls on Google Voice using the phone icon in the left menu of the screen. Prefer to make calls from your phone?
Download the Google Voice app for iOS or Android and you can also make phone calls through your phone - all without revealing your personal phone number! Simply sign into the app with your Gmail account credentials and you're ready to start making those connections! Google Voice is just one of many ways to foster a powerful home-school connection. How do you connect your classroom? What are your favorite tools, tips, and tricks? Share in the comments! We are only days away from welcoming the inaugural freshmen onto our brand new campus, and while I know we are fast and furiously putting the finishing touches on the classrooms, we are also preparing the digital environment inside of which our learners will create, collaborate, and share their learning. Check out these 9 tips, with resources created and curated by the CISD Digital Learning Coaches, for setting up your digital classroom in Schoology! Save yourself from having to manage your different class periods by linking like courses together. Note: This only works for classes with the same PEIMS number, so you can link all of your sections of APHUG, but you cannot link a U.S. History course with a World History course. Consider how you will organize your courses. Whether by unit or chronologically, it is important to know how you will structure your courses to ensure your learners can easily access and interact with the content they need. To utilize Schoology to its fullest potential, be sure to connect Google Drive to your Schoology Resources, and have your learners do the same! You and your learners will only need to complete this step once, so many of your learners have already done this. Note: Although the Schoology app is a wonderful tool on the iPad, learners will need to complete this step on the web version. Think about how you will establish the norms and expectations for how learners will interact inside of their digital classroom. Speaking of communication inside of the digital learning environment, consider how online discussions can help capture the learning process and allow learners choice in how they show what they know. Not only is our district Learning Management System (LMS) a place for learners to interact, but it is also a place to collaborate with other educators. Consider setting up Group Resources with your teammates in order to create a collaborative space for easily sharing Schoology materials. Build inside of resources so that you can easily copy content from Resources into your Courses or Groups. Provide parents with the resources they need to navigate Schoology successfully. Consider not only sending these resources directly to your parents and learners, but establishing a Parent Resource folder inside your Schoology courses. Know when to recommend that your learners use the Schoology web browser vs. the app. Consider uploading the learner-facing resource below to your courses so learners have easy access. Think about how you can leverage Schoology to activate creativity and critical thinking in your learners. Schoology is more than a content landing-page where learners can access resources. Think about ways to activate learner creativity and engage critical thinking through the variety of tools Schoology provides. As we all get ready to head to the pool, I wanted to provide you a few helpful hints to ensure you are set up for a successful summer. Reset Your Password You'll need to change your CISD password before you leave for the summer. Additionally, you need to set up security questions so that you can unlock your account (on your own) if you are ever locked out.
Remember: Once you have changed your password, you should update any devices configured with your CISD email account with your new password. Examples include smartphones, non-district iPads, and personal computers. Save Your Schoology Content Do you want to save your Schoology course content from this year so that it is easily accessible in your resource section for next year? This video will help! If you don’t save now, don’t worry; your course content will live on in the archived course section. Saving to resources just makes it easier when designing over the summer or in August! Have a great summer! Technology allows us to create experiences for our learners that were at one time impossible. With Augmented Reality, we can quite literally put learning in someone's hands. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are popular ways for technology users to engage in an experience. Today, I'm going to focus on AR, which "delivers virtual elements as an overlay to the real world," as opposed to VR, which "offers a digital recreation of a real life setting" (Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality). I tend to think of VR as more immersive, but I love the way that AR brings the real and virtual worlds together. Today, I'm going to share two ways that AR has brought learning to life in my schools. Merge CubeAt TCEA this year, I learned about the Merge Cube during one of my sessions. When I came across these AR cubes at Walmart on clearance for $1 each, I filled my buggy with them and couldn't wait to share them with the educators at my schools. The Merge Cube is a physical cube covered in shapes that look kind of like QR codes, and when paired with any of the Merge Miniverse apps, brings learning to life. One of my favorite apps in the Miniverse is Galactic Explorer, which puts our solar system in the palm of your hands. Learners can experience the orbit of the solar system around the sun from various viewpoints, and can zoom into each planet to see a more detailed view of that planet and its satellites. I love how the third graders in Eileen Fox, Tiffiny Houdek, NatashaMalik, and Gina Pletcher's classes used Merge Cubes to explore the galaxy, and then added these fun artifacts of their exploration to their Seesaw science journals. The Merge Cube also brings the human body to life with Mr. Body, a free app, and AnatomyAR, a paid app. Using these apps, learners can explore and read about various organs and body systems. My very, very favorite thing about many of the Miniverse apps is that they include a screen recording feature so that learners can manipulate the cube and AR experience while showing what they know about the solar system or the body systems. And in iOS11, learners can use the built-in screen recording feature for those apps that do not have a screen recording function. Want to use the Merge Cubes in your classroom? Let me know! I have a set to share. Google Expeditions AR Pioneer ProgramTwo weeks ago, a third grade educator, Michael Upchurch, initiated a visit to Pinkerton by Google Expeditions AR Pioneer Program. If you've ever experienced or led a Google Expedition, the Pioneer Program is the AR version of Expeditions (which are VR experiences). The Pioneer Program actually comes to your campus with their own equipment, and their representative teaches you how to lead the AR experience for each session. Every educator at Pinkerton signed up to bring their class to a 30-minute session. The educators chose the content we would explore, and a group of five educators (Rhonda Pickrell, Narda Holguin, Meghan Hunt, Jennifer Hays, and me) facilitated each session. (Facilitating a Pioneer experience is very similar to leading a Google Expedition.) During each session, both the facilitator and classroom educator asked questions to prompt the learners to consider different facets of the experience and to make connections to topics discussed in the classroom. For example, our third graders explored a lesson called Animal Camouflage, and throughout the session, we looked at different animals and the different environments in which they lived. The facilitator and classroom educator asked learners to identify the adaptation created from the animal's environment and made comparisons between animals, environments, and adaptations. Learners also drew parallels between animal adaptations from the AR experience to a recent experience they'd had in the school garden, where they explored different plant adaptations. The kindergartners, who have been learning about weather patterns in class, got to see Forces of Nature, such as tornadoes and volcanic explosions, come to life. As they discussed weather patterns they have learned about in Science, they also made connections to verbs they have been learning about in English/Language Arts. Interested in hosting a Google Expeditions AR Pioneer Program at your school? Are you excited to bring AR to your classroom? Already using AR to create authentic experiences for your learners? Be sure to share in the comments! It's not a secret that one of my very favorite things about the work I do is that I have to learn - like, all the time. The world is constantly evolving, and technology evolves at an even faster rate. If I stop learning, even for a second, I just know I'll miss something amazing. Lately, I've been focusing on learning to code. And not just learning to code, but specifically learning Apple's unique programming language: Swift. To do this, I've been working my way through the Learn to Code 1 lessons found inside the app Swift Playgrounds. Moment of truth: I struggle. But I'm learning and improving every time I go into my Playground. I can feel my neural pathways firing when I write line after line of code. My thought processes are constantly challenged when I work to not only solve a puzzle, but also when I try to come up with ways to write more efficient code (I tend to write out all of the individual commands first, then go back and create functions, for loops, while loops, the whole shebang). My brain feels exhausted after each challenge - and that's how I know coding and computational thinking are invaluable skills to teach our learners. As you learn to code, you learn to think, too. Though still a work in progress, I am excited to share my work and my reflections so far. You can explore my experiences on my digital portfolio, in a collection where I've housed my notes and reflections for each of the Learn to Code chapters. After getting positive feedback for the 3rd Nine Weeks Integration Menu, the team of elementary DLCs got together to continue the work for the 4th nine weeks. I'm so excited to present to you the Digital Learning Lesson Library, where we will continue to curate ideas for technology integration experiences aligned with the district's UbDs. Just like the first menu, each idea is broken into three pieces: Learn, Do, and Reflect. You can use the pieces individually or as a complete series. Some of the integration ideas are more built out than others. If you see something you’d like to implement, please let me know so I can support you in designing and implementing the best possible experience for your learners! What are you excited to implement? Share in the comments! Ten Minute Teacher: 5 Ways to Bring Computational Thinking and STEM Together Vicki Davis's podcast is one of my favorites because it's a quick listen, and I always have great nuggets to take away. I can listen to one of her episodes in the time it takes for me to get from my daughter's school to either of mine, which means I can learn something every day! We want to teach the process, not the product. I love this episode in particular because Davis's guest provides 5 great ways to combine two initiatives that are HUGE in education right now: computational thinking and STEM. I also love Davis's website, which provides a list of and links to all of her episodes with a short summary to help her listeners pick the best episodes for them. Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes: Hanging Out for Authentic Feedback Check out this blog post by my friend and teammate Monica Champagne, who is a high school DLC. I love this feature because it showcases not only a great way one CHS educator utilizes Flipgrid, but also highlights how CHS learners connected with elementary learners. If it seems like this entire link roundup is a list of podcast episodes, you're right. These last few weeks, I have found myself on-the-run all the time, which means I haven't had much time to sit down and read. Lucky for me, podcasts are hands-free and flexible, so I can keep learning, even when I'm on the go! Check out some of my favorite March listens on this month's Link Roundup! Ten Minute Teacher: 5 Ideas for Writing with Technology Vicki Davis's podcast is one of my favorites because it's a quick listen, and I always have great nuggets to take away. I can listen to one of her episodes in the time it takes for me to get from my daughter's school to either of mine, which means I can learn something every day! What I love most about this episode is not about the technology tools and digital learning strategies that interviewee Meg Ormiston shares, but that her focus is on learning first. She talks about the 5 Cs (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, and Computational Thinking), and then shares her strategies through the lens of one or more C. CISD Digital Learning: Apple a Week Did you know that the team of Digital Learning Coaches in CISD has a podcast? Led by Trisha Goins and Alli Pryor, follow along as we have explored why Apple in education. Though the series have officially come to a close, stay tuned! We will be bringing more content and new topics your way in upcoming episodes. How I Built This: Patagonia - Yvon Chouinard Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs in his podcast, and even though he doesn't specifically deal in education, there is so much to learn from our visionary business magnates. In this episode, Raz interviews Yvon Chouinard, founder of popular sportswear brand Patagonia. The reason I love this particular episode so much is because Chouinard speaks to the spirit we instill in our learners today - we want our learners and young people to find problems in the world, and then envision and build solutions. I never intended to start a business. It's just - I just have this knack that every time I look at a product, I look at it and I think, you know, I can make something better than that. It could be better. Want to hear more? Check out the Resources tab to see a longer list of my favorite podcasts!
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