Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Reading Technology Workshop on Saturday, March 3

Reading Technology Workshop on Saturday, March 3rd

From the International Dyslexia Association, Upper Midwest Branch Website:


Saturday, March 3, 2012
8:30 am. -- 1 p.m.
Groves Academy, 3200 Highway 100 South, St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Registration fee: $50 (per family, maxiumum two people per family); IDA Members receive a discount
No walk-in registrations accepted; CEU's offered!
To register, CLICK HERE
This workshop addresses how to use current technology tools to support reading and will provide hands-on experience in the following:
  • Definition of Alternative Print and acquiring it for class reading content;
  • How to use Learning Ally and BookShare in the classroom and at home;
  • How to search and download a book from Learning Ally to include: listening on a computer, listening to a portable android device/MP3, listening to an iOS devices (iPad/iPhone/iTouch);
  • How to search and download a book from BookShare using Kurzweil, ROL, an iOS device and Read & Write Gold
Attendees must bring laptops with wireless. MP3 Player, iTouch, iPad or iPhone desired but optional. Please have iTunes loaded with an active membership (if using Apple products, Learning Ally (formally RFBD) and BookShare with user id's and passwords created ahead of time. Instructions will be mailed prior to class.
Presenters: Erika Kluge Framke is the director of THINK with Success and is an assistive technology specialist and special educator. She works with students in grades 2 through college to enhance their academic success through the use of Assistive Technology in the areas of reading, writing, note-taking and executive funtion. Cindee McCarthy is the current president of the board of the International Dyslexia Association, Upper Midwest Branch.



Link to IDA-UMB site by clicking on workshop title above or here: http://www.ida-umb.org/pages/calendar/detail.cfm?EventID=135

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2e Newsletter Briefing

2e Newsletter, a subscription service, has a special, free issue out today, Feb. 15, 2012.
Click here for access
Articles include the recent, brief article, The Upside of Dyslexia in New York Times and links to reactions to the article. Several other interesting articles, too.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Links of Interest: iPad apps, In-class Strategies


Links of Interest: Two from Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities

1) There’s an App for Your Child with LD

by Shelley Lacey-Castelot, ATACP, M.S.

http://www.smartkidswithld.org/news/ipad-apps-for-kids-with-ld

2) Strategies to Help Students with LD in Science Classes Click this link to a short article in the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Blog article. It contains some very concrete suggestions.


Sunday, February 5, 2012

2012 Youth Achievement Award « Smart Kids With LD

From the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities website:

2012 Youth Achievement Award

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We’re pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the ninth annual Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. This $1,000 award recognizes the strengths and accomplishments of young people with learning disabilities and ADHD. It will be given to a student 19 or younger for demonstrating initiative, talent and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field—including art, music, science, math, athletics or community service. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.

The award will be presented at the organization’s annual benefit on the evening of Friday, June 8, 2012 at the Stepping Stones Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut. Transportation and hotel accommodations will be provided for the winning student and his/her parents.

Please download and return the application form, with supporting documentation, by February 28, 2012.

Download – 2012 Youth Achievement Award application form.


2012 Youth Achievement Award « Smart Kids With LD

Links of Interest: NYT "The Upside of Dyslexia"

Links of Interest
From the New York Times:

OPINION

The Upside of Dyslexia



Permalink here (and here http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-upside-of-dyslexia.html )

Socio-Emotional Needs Presentation in Saint Paul


from the Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented website on Feb. 5, 2012:

St. Paul Chapter of MCGT (GRASP) 

February 2012 Event



Socio-Emotional Characteristics and Needs of Gifted Children
DESCRIPTION: Healthy socio-emotional development is critical to successful
functioning in life yet is often omitted from discussions on cognitive development.  Presented in a lively, humorous format, this talk will teach you the subtle (and not so!)  nuances gifted children present in their socio-emotional development and you’ll take  away skills to enhance your child’s functioning in this key area of development.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012; 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Saint Paul Public Schools District Office
Board Room, 360 Colborne St., Saint Paul, MN 55102
REGISTRATION: RSVP online: https://sites.google.com/site/graspmn/events
• Sorry, no child care available
• Open to the public, $5 donation for non-GRASP members;  memberships available at
http://mcgt.net/mcgt-membership/membership-form

LINK HERE for more information, including a bit about the presenter, Wendi M. Schirvar, Ph.D.


Book Sale Monday, Feb. 6th
From the Hennepin County Library website:
St. Anthony Library 
Monday, Feb. 6, noon–7 p.m. 
Bargain hunters and book lovers take note: the Friends of the Library will hold a sale of hundreds of adult and children's fiction and nonfiction books in hardcover and paperback. Most books, withdrawn from the Hennepin County Library system or donated by the public, will be priced $1 or less. Funds raised will benefit the library.

LINK HERE for more information