Monthly Archives: June 2021

Podcasts with Audio Stories

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Listening to audio stories can help learners become better readers. Summer is a great time to listen to stories while on a podcast iconwalk, on a hike, or in the garden. Listen to stories in the car during any summer adventure. Podcasts featuring fictional content are a fun way to enjoy literature alone or together! Some examples of podcasts with fictional content include the following:

 

Keeping Track of Found Resources

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The school year may be over but the learning never stops! Learning happens anytime, anywhere! When learners are doing their own independent research on the web they need a way to keep the resources they find. The Google Keep Chrome extension allows learners to save a link to a web resource (website, video, audio file, PDF, etc) directly into Google Keep. Users can add labels, colors, and text to the note to help with organization. Users can then access the web resource again from their curated list kept in Google Keep. Learners can use this method for keeping track of important materials they discover over the summer and beyond! The following video tutorial from Anne Arundel County Public Schools can help you learn how to save web resources into Google Keep.

We all scream for ice cream (when modeling language using augmentative/alternative communication)

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Summer is the perfect time to make ice cream together! It is also a great opportunity to model language using augmentative/alternative communication (AAC). When making ice cream together, communication partners (you!) can help a student learn vocabulary by using the AAC yourself to comment on what’s happening while you add ingredients, ask open-ended question about the steps in the process, and respond with anything that keeps the interaction going.

Use commonly found materials around the house to make ice cream while modeling on AAC

The following is an example created by Jessica Cerovich, a Speech-Language Pathologist, who models language using an AAC application while making ice cream.

  • Comment on the cooking using words and phrases like “Put in”, “Big”, and “Let’s go!”
  • Ask an open ended question like “What do we do now?”
  • Respond when the child communicates anything.

Text Simplification for Websites

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Text simplification invites learners to customize the presentation of material in a way that makes it easier for that individual to access by reducing the amount of visual clutter and allowing for the use of customized fonts, spacing, colors and more! Read&Write for Google Chrome is an extension available in the Chrome browser for anyone in LCPS to use. The Simplify Page tool removes visual clutter from web pages and places the simplified text into a new tab. The amount of text displayed can be adjusted using the + and – icons. Visual contrast can also be customized (black on white, white on black, blue on yellow, and yellow on blue). Different fonts can also be selected.