Phrasal Verbs Machine

It's great to find an app that is focused on a particular skill, but also very contextual. Phrasal Verbs Machine (free) is a gorgeous example dedicated to building understanding of phrasal verbs- a verb paired with a preposition. These are known to be challenging to ESL/ELL populations but also are quite figurative in nature, and so are helpful to target metalinguistics for our more literal thinkers. The context of the app is "the circus world of The Amazing Phraso and his friends." Using the app, you can manipulate an old-fashioned "machine" to pair any of 100 phrasal verbs with prepositions.

In Phrasal Verbs View, you slide wheels to align verbs with paired prepositions, then tap view to see a terrific short animation of the phrase:

The animations play quite quickly but can be replayed. This activity is great for developing prediction and visualization skills by asking students what they think they will see in the machine for each combination.

In the "Exercise," the reverse situation is involved. An animation is played and you are asked to choose from a few choices to describe the animation, thus also working on main idea.

I hope you enjoy this unique and generously free app from Cambridge University Press- another example of a nicely designed app for older students!

Thanks to Richard Byrne at iPad Apps for School for pointing this app out.

Blogobirthday and Giveaway!

Hi Folks,

This month, I am celebrating the fourth year of this blog! Wow! Thanks all who keep reading and keep me writing...

To celebrate, and because of a convenient coincidence, I am going to give away 10 codes for the full version of Comics Head (normally $3.99), a terrific comic-making app. Jay from NextWave Multimedia saw my post on how Comics Head could be used to build narrative and social awareness, and offered up the codes to you guys.

Image via Flickr Creative Commons by Omer Wazir

I don't normally do giveaways because they frankly are hard to do via blog! Also, I am headed to sunny FL tomorrow for the remainder of school vacation week here in the Northeast, and so don't have much time to devote to this. So, we are going to keep this REALLY simple. If you would like to receive a code:
-Leave a comment on THIS POST within 24 hrs about how you use comics in your work (any kind of comic, digital or not). Some readers have reported trouble posting a comment. Good teachable moment- if you ever have trouble with a website, switch browsers (Chrome generally works well with Blogger).
-Leave your email address in the body of the comment (if you don't, you have not entered).
-If I receive more than 10 comments, I will pick by random number generator and email you the code- 24 hrs from now!
-If I don't get 10 comments in 24 hrs, I am going to give the codes to Twitter pals (Twitter pals also feel free to comment here, haha)!
-You will need to redeem the code immediately or may lose the opportunity to do so, as they expire soon.
-Please do not email me about the giveaway, as the instructions and everything you need to know about it are above.

Much thanks!

EDIT- I realized I don't have wifi on my plane, and I don't want to bring my computer on vacation! So I did the drowning a bit early. Winners: Linda, Matt, Lisa, Ilene (email comment), Leslie, EasyRead, Diana, Sharon, Ryan, Stephanie

Sorry if you didn't win- thanks for participating!!

DirecTV's "Don't" commercials

YouTube gives you on-demand access to just about anything, including commercials that have a language teaching purpose.* DirecTV's recent campaign consists of stories that start when someone is not using DirecTV, and end with an unfortunate consequence. I actually had a student suggest this series while we were using ads to learn about expository text structure. The cause-effect chain in each clip is very fun to explore, and can be used to target inference, complex sentence formulation or sequencing (you could also screen-shot each condition and make a visual sequencing activity, or place your shots in something like Popplet for sequencing). As the character's situation often changes, this provides good opportunities to explore the story grammar element of setting, do situational analysis with Sarah Ward's STOP (Space, Time, Objects, People) strategy, or even Social Behavior Mapping (see the work of Social Thinking® by Michelle Garcia Winner). Exploring a few of the clips would also allow you to work on main idea, i.e. what overall is DirecTV saying about their service as opposed to cable.

As these ads are off-color and have hints of violence, you would want to use them with an older population (especially the last two, which are a bit saucy). Also be very careful to preview each one before showing, as these ads have been parodied in inappropriate ways, and you wouldn't want to show one of those videos.

A number of the clips are embedded below- email subscribers click through to the post to see them.








These last two are definitely more for older students/teens:




*If YouTube is blocked at your school, apps such as TubeBox allow you to cache (download) any YouTube video for offline viewing, or download to your computer using sites such as KeepVid.

EDCO Class Canceled

HI Folks,

Unfortunately we had a (too) small enrollment for my EDCO Tech Links to Language Intervention class that was supposed to run tomorrow 2/7. Winter blues? EDCO has notified enrollees but asked me to post as people called today about it, and they are worried others might show up having not registered...

Thanks- hopefully we will reschedule for summer or fall.

Apps Gone Free

The F in the FIVES Criteria has long since changed from "Free" to "Fairly Priced," but we all love a bargain. One of the best ways to find "finds" is a daily check of the Apps Gone Free app (free). This app, a resource from the terrific App Advice blog and website, lists apps that have "gone" free for a day or so. The apps tend to be of higher quality both because they usually cost some money (not always an indicator of higher quality, admittedly), but also because they need to have a minimum rating of 3 stars in the App Store in order to be listed. Apps Gone Free is a great way to hone your evaluation-at-a-glance skills; take a look at the apps listed and do a quick FIVES analysis (or application of other criteria you find handy) in your mind before you even download. In this case, there's no risk if the app doesn't turn out to be something you could use!

Another feature I like in this app is that you can easily share your bargains with colleagues via email or twitter, so they can grab the app while it is free as well, and perhaps you can collaborate over ideas. Keep in mind to alert them that the apps listed are only free for a very limited time!

Social Fortune and Fate/Comics Head

As a member of the Social Thinking® Blogging Team, I am happy to be given the occasional opportunity to review one of their excellent products (I have them all anyway)! In this post, I will be taking a look at Social Fortune or Social Fate: A Social Thinking Graphic Novel for Social Quest Seekers (SFOF) by Dr. Pamela Crooke and Michelle Garcia Winner. This book is positioned as geared toward Middle School students and a great starting point for teaching Social Thinking concepts to older kids, and it is indeed both.

SFOF is formatted as a graphic novel with a twist- one half of the book depicts episodes where characters make "unexpected" social choices and must deal with how they have changed others emotions in negative ways, leading to icky consequences. Flip the book over and the episodes, with identical situations, are presented as the characters utilize expected behaviors, with more positive emotions and consequences resulting. The episodes include ten situations very relevant to middle and high school settings (upper elementary, too), including participating in class discussions, group work, finishing homework, asking for help, figuring out what to say when hanging out, and dealing with boring moments.

Image from Social Thinking website, product description page.

Each situation is depicted, discussed, and analyzed with a number of visual and conceptual tools that you can target with students in many other "teachable moments" beyond the contexts of the book. These include a spin on Social Thinking's Social Behavior Mapping technique, in which behaviors are linked to others' thoughts/feelings, consequences and feelings about the self, here called the Road of Social Fortune or Fate. Once explored, this concept can be used in all sorts of situations across the home and school day (see also the book on Social Behavior Mapping or its in-depth teaching via Think Social). The book also includes "Emotion Meters" and a "Problem Thermometer" to emphasize  understanding of behavioral impacts on others' emotions and the "Size of Problem" strategy.

One of my favorite aspects of the book, besides the Manga graphics which kids tend to find engaging, is the use of "Strategy Codes" related to the episodes to emphasize ways of thinking about the social world. Geared to access kids' interest in games ("cheat codes" can be used to navigate through levels of various video games), these handy acronyms are ripe for visual display and reference in your therapy room. These include MOBS (Moments of Boredom Survival), FOTO (Filter Thoughts and Opinions Often), TAC (Think About Choices), and FBI-ESP (Feel it Big Inside, Express it Smaller in Public). Once established in your students' memory, these can provide quick ways of providing feedback on both expected and unexpected behaviors.

Like many aspects of Social Thinking, kids will need some time and extra activities to process and apply the information in this book, and I have mentioned before that I would be reviewing some Social Thinking products with a tech spin. I often pair lessons from SFOF with comic creation, a natural connection to the contexts of the book. Real-life photo comics can be great to create with students, but can take a bit of work with the staging and acting involved (see Story Me for a great way to get your feet wet with this type of app). I like at first to use comic creation apps that contain some content, i.e. characters and backgrounds. For awhile, this was an area lacking in iPad-dom (but see the wonderful Pixton if you have a laptop available), but this changed with the release of Comics Head (free, with full version allowing for unlimited editable comics available at 3.99).

Comics Head is a one-stop comic creator allowing you to select from a variety of character styles, emotions, and settings, including importing background images from the Camera Roll. Though the menu takes a few minutes to get used to, you (and students) can create comics with ease once familiar with the features. Comics Head also works well when paired with the Story Grammar Marker® methodology to help students plan their stories- what will the characters, setting, and initiating events be? The app, like Pixton, allows you to save your comic as a template; you can therefore remix the comic showing the characters making different social choices and experiencing corresponding likely consequences.

I have used Comics Head in this way to make comics in which students apply the various Strategy Codes from SFOF- this one was a TAC (Think about Choices), and although not exactly a nuanced interpretation of that strategy, was great work for this student!

Comics Head also lets you insert (and trim!) saved pictures, thus allowing for limitless contexts. Beyond Strategy Codes, you can consider creating comics for situations not addressed in the book or, for younger students, comics relevant to the Superflex! curriculum.

As always, YouTube is a great source of video tutorials on any app, including Comics Head.

I hope you will check out Social Fortune or Social Fate (and Comics Head). Even if you are just getting started, both of these resources will open a lot of doors for you!

Disclosure: Author was provided a free copy of this book (but already had it!) by Social Thinking, based on the work of Michelle Garcia Winner, and is a contractor for provision of blog content and workshop presentations for Mindwing Concepts, creator of the Story Grammar Marker.

30/30

30/30 is a free app that I have used in lessons specific to teaching kids about executive functioning, but it can be used with many contextual tasks (e.g. a game, project, or assignment) to help students build planning, time estimation and self-monitoring, including social behaviors that contribute to effective task completion. The app is basically a timer, but it allows you to break down tasks into their component parts and guesstimate time for each. 30/30 also allows you to color code task elements, which works well if you are using strategies such as Sarah Ward's "Get Ready-Do-Done" approach.

For any task, you can give it a label at the top of the screen (main idea), then double tap each task element to edit its description and time interval, as well as color. The app is VERY gesture-based, but provides a tutorial when you first open it- my recommendation is to screen shot this or write the information down so you can remember what the different gestures do. Also be aware of the settings (tap the cogs)- you can turn off notifications and sounds, especially for those who get nervous with timers, and this area also allows you to email the complete list of tasks onscreen, which is great for collaboration with other educators or parents working with the student. You can also upload task lists to iCloud for use with different students or groups. This is a nice app to use in conjunction with an interactive whiteboard to keep ALL students on task.

Have you tried 30/30? Let us know in the comments what you think of it!

Still Space Available- PD Opportunity in Boston Area

I am happy once again to be offering the "Technology Links to Language Intervention" course starting in February. This is a hybrid course with a 6-hr face-to-face workshop in Waltham on February 6, 2014 followed by an required online component, offered for PDPs and an optional graduate credit available from Framingham State College (not for official ASHA CEUs). The online activities require about an hour weekly and run through March 14, 2014.

In this class, you will:
-experience models of technology integration with curriculum contexts and IEP objectives
-evaluate web and mobile (iPad) resources according to the FIVES criteria
-learn many tech tricks and practice them with peers
-create pre- and post-activities around technology resources and contexts that further clinical objectives
-access channels for further learning about technology integration in your work.

My favorite part of the course is when I get to step back a bit (but not totally!) and let participants engage with each other around selected articles related to tech integration and language-enriching methodologies, as well as create and share with each other exemplars of work created with web tools and apps.

This course is designed to be helpful to SLPs and anyone else who works closely with language development issues, such as ESL/ELL teachers, literacy specialists, or special education teachers. The course is listed as being geared toward K-8 but has applicability for the preschool and high school populations as well.

You can find all the information and registration materials here! (registration is managed entirely through EDCO) Hope to see some of you there.

Daisy the Dinosaur

Did you hear about the Hour of Code? This initiative in computer science education was featured in December 2013 in many schools where students were encouraged to work on programming projects. While programming might seem far removed from special education, it incorporates many skills our students need: language, sequencing, cause-effect, problem solving!

So it's nice to see some apps available that address these skills in very basic ways. Daisy the Dinosaur is an app that was actually designed to attract girls to programming, but it can be "repurposed" for speech and language activities:

The app has two modes: free-play and challenge. In "free-play," you can move the dinosaur using a number of verbs or modifiers. In challenge mode, you are given a set condition to achieve, such as making Daisy spin five times.

I do wish the app allowed you to select specific or leveled challenges instead of requiring you to proceed through them sequentially (though in doing so, you can note which programs you can instruct students to achieve). However, for a free app it offers a fun and engaging way to develop skills of following directions and sentence formulation (particularly sentences using the subordinating conjunction when). Additionally, as the app consists of selectable actions, it could be used to develop narrative action sequences.

Timeline

The folks at ReadWriteThink are doing a nice job turning a number of their language-based web tools into apps- that are free, to boot. Brought to us by the International Reading Association, these apps including Trading Cards and RWT Timeline make great use of some of the features the iPad has to offer. Namely, it's great when an app lets you set up profiles for students or groups for saving work, as we often don't complete activities with students in one session, and can focus more on the language opportunities inherent in creative processes if you can come back and complete work. These apps also allow you to add pictures from the camera roll (which, if saved from the internet, provide endless visual contexts) and share in various formats, facilitating consultation and collaboration. Additionally, the RWT apps have a mature look and feel that fills in some of the dearth of apps geared toward middle-high school students.

What can you do with a timeline, or more specifically the RWT Timeline app? Break down any sequence, a story line, or historical content. It's very simple to use, and again, FREE, so I hope you will check it out!

Common Core Connection:

-CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study. 

-CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4 Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.