Thursday, December 21, 2006

Shift Happens - 2006

It's that time of year again. Time to reflect on what a difference a year makes. As Karl Fisch said in his video, "Did you Know?" we are living in exponential times where "Shift Happens!"

For me, that is the 2006 reality.

How can education ever be the same? How can my work as an assistive and educational technology consultant ever be the same? There are so many opportunities for collaboration; so much information to be shared. There are so many new online tools that benefit struggling learners or help me in my profession; sometimes it's overwhelming to stay on top of things. But what is so encouraging is to see the changes for our students.

Just last week, a high school student told me that CueCard was the greatest thing for him in preparing for an English quiz. He said that what would normally take him well over an hour to prepare for, took less than half that time. He was THRILLED because he recognizes that he is a slow processor and this tool facilitated the process for him.

Another parent called me and told me her fourth grade son who dreaded writing anything, was now coming home excited to complete his writing homework because of strategies and tools that I recommended in his report. She was so grateful because the battles were over.

Technology makes a difference. And it's not just the availability of the technology but the applications and instruction that must occur simultaneously.

Shift happens - let's be a part of that paradigm shift that promotes independence and success for our students. Let's not settle for anything less.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

GatherPlace Part 2



The opportunity to work with Brian Friedlander using GatherPlace web conferencing software worked out well. We had arranged to use Skype to allow us to have a whole class conversation. What was a little strange was hearing my voice with the delay in my headset - a little disorienting at times. It's also a challenge to teach without seeing your audience - are they engaged? are they falling asleep? are they responding at all?
What I loved about the experience was the opportunity to try out this online resource. I think the possibilities for remote consultations and trainings are excellent. There is no need to download software. It's as easy as typing in the digit code for the session. And it works with any operating system which is necessity for me where I work with districts that use both Windows and Mac.

Thank you Brian for sharing this program with me!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Gather Place

Brian Friedlander has asked me to offer training about the exceptional, educational features in Microsoft Word to his graduate students in his class in New Jersey. This is an exciting opportunity for me because I will offer this from my computer using Skype and Gather Place software. (Free 14-day download, watch the demo.) Gather Place calls itself the "easy and affordable web conferencing solution." The students will see my screen while I present and share applications and we don't even need to be in the same room, never mind the same state!

Some cool features about Gather Place are that there is no need for special software to be installed on the viewer's computer and I can take control of the viewer's computer remotely if they have a question about software use or computer integration.

Remote training is so cool! The possibilities for providing "need to know now" training are fantastic. I'll let you know how this works because this is a relatively inexpensive way to offer training.

And I thank Brian for showing me this tool and giving me this opportunity to use it for remote professional development!

If you have experience with this software or can recommend something else, please let me know.