Web+Sites+and+Apps

=Websites & Applications - I never thought I would have a list this big compiled in the first semester...=

1. [] · I have to start off with this website, because this is one that Dr. Williams gave as a resource for our Key Assessment projects in SPED. This site gives valuable information on various learning disabilities and the characteristics associated with the unique learning styles. It gives ideas for activities and modeling strategies as well. I feel like my heart is currently aimed toward children with ASD, so a website like this will lend me ideas on how I can successfully integrate different models in the children’s reading programs 2. [] · This website is one that I have become very familiar with, as we have used these “weekly readers” in the resource classroom that I am currently placed in. These are magazines that you can subscribe to online or have them sent to you through the mail. These magazines go along with an interactive verbal read aloud. The rate of speaking can even be adjusted. This is just a great way for all levels of readers to experience a change up in instruction, where they are asked to follow along as the passage is read to them. We currently use them with the fourth and fifth grade students, who struggle with fluency and comprehension. 3. RAZ kids · “ Reading A-z” or RAZ kids is one I chose to put in my library not because it is pushed in class, but because I have observed the usefulness for all ages. Once again, this is a program that we use in my current placement. We use it on Fridays for the K-1 students, as an alternate form of instruction, contrasted by small group work the rest of the week. This program is great because the students are on very different levels, however this program has them advancing at their own pace, and the best part about it is that the children take ownership of their own reading. It does read-alouds, guided reading, and has fun quizzes for the kids to take. I would use this similarly in my classroom, as a time for the kids to read separately and work on comprehension, through modeling and imitation. 4. abcya.com · This website is actually the home screen for all the computers in the lab at Riverview. This site is not dedicated solely to reading, but geared for all subjects by grade level. The kids love games, no matter what. This would definitely be a program used at free time, but it practices sounds, letter recognition, and parts of speech. It advances by grade levels, and is honestly very challenging at the fifth grade level. So for me, I would use it as a type of free time, but also as a challenge to the kids. 5. Harry Wong – “Effective Teaching” · I have to include the Wong family in this list of resources just for the classroom management techniques that can definitely be tied to literature and all other content areas. I read their book “The First Days of School” over the past summer, and their model of routine and expectations opened my eyes up so much to the things I could possibly encounter in my first year of placement. I just wanted to include this because in literature, you want the kids to have high expectations and goals laid out for them. Take AR tests for example. The goals set by each student are so different, but through practice and routine, the route to the goal appears to them. I wish I could go more in-depth on the Wong philosophy, but it is all about routine and high expectations. The most crucial area for the routine would have to be the steady application of peer reading strategies in the classroom. 6. “Arthur” – PBS Kids · I am going to through in a TV show into this mix! This show was introduced in 1996 and the episodes still run. This show was originally a kid’s book, which turned into the TV sensation. It is aimed at children between the ages of four and eight to foster an interest in reading and writing. You can download episodes off of GPB, which can tie into lesson plans. It is a kid friendly show that can portray ideas through the character’s social interactions. I would use an episode here and there to introduce concepts or broaden ideas on a concept that we have already learned about. 7. [] · This site is packed with all kind of games, webinars, checklists, and ways to integrate the whole family into the child’s reading development. It has the “toolkits” that are differentiated for different learning styles, which I love. It has up to date news articles pertaining to the most recent transitions in children’s literature. I think I would use this for a tool with the classroom parents. They could use this at home, working on games and digging into the toolkits with their children, while keeping up with the relevant changes in their child’s education. 8. [] · Now, this one may seem a little off the wall, but blind/low vision was what my big project for SPED was over. I had a little boy in my first placement class that was legally blind, so I think it is very important to have access to resources for those students that need visual accommodations. Not necessarily just visual, but other disabilities as well, but this was one that I had found in my low vision research. It provides technological assistance ideas and gives tips on differentiation through other senses in the classroom. It instills the thought of making reading and writing more than just visually driven concepts. 9. [] · This is of course a Disney website that promotes eBooks for classroom and personal downloads. They have a wide range of selections that include directed movies, as well as other books. These books will hit the interests of the kids, so it is a waste to let opportunities like this slide by. I would use these as a reading station, which could be uploaded to the IPad for the children to independently work. You could even use this as idea generation for a writer’s workshop! 10. [] · When I found this resource I was almost mad because I feel like I was left out as a kid not knowing this was there for use. This website contains kid friendly versions of the award winning magazine. It has great visuals on this website that would really get the kids excited. ALL kids love animals at their age. I would use this as a website that they could go to for science or specific writing days. I would also consider ordering class sets that could be placed in the classroom library to bulk up my non-fiction selection.

Parents:
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This American Foundation for the Blind has set up this extensive website to explain visual impairment and how it affects families all over the world. It is a great tool for the families and the individuals who are visually impaired due to the accessibility of utensils on the actual website. It has options for magnification and everything. It is an amazing source for links to services as well.


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Like the home page says, “This is your one-stop resource for anything blindness related.” This website offers a constantly growing forum of podcasts and tutorials on different topics related to visual impairment. It gives feedback on tools and technology that is currently being used by those with visual impairments. It is just a great tool for input on tools for families who experience visual impairments.


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Living Blind is another site that allows the families of blind or visually impaired individuals to come together and express thoughts and ideas. The tips given on the site allow the members to grow together without ever having to meet face to face. It is a source of relaxation and moral support between its supporters.

Kids:
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We wanted to include this website as a reference for kids or adults who are visually impaired. It is a question and answer service provided by librarians who are trained in Braille or other visual limitations. The individual can call in to the librarian and obtain assistance with the concept he or she is studying.


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This site is a very positive place for the children to gain hope for a bright future. It provides ideas, information, and assistance for those who visually impaired. It is all about instilling the idea of high expectations. It discusses educational considerations, O&M, and leisure activities. I like how it accounts for all areas of the child’s life.


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This is a simple blog put together that highlights upcoming holidays and events for children who are blind or visually impaired. It is similar to Pinterest, because it gives ideas as far as ways to celebrate the days. Like for Halloween, it gave costume ideas! It has many more links to boards on Pinterest as well.

Teachers:
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Even though the funding to this site has just ended in September, this site is staying open until September, 2014 to provide the world with its resources. It gives an extensive overview of all types of visual impairments and tips for us, the teachers, the parents, and other professionals. At the bottom of the visual impairment section, it provides the accessible resources and materials.


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This site breaks down the roles and responsibilities of the educator when working with a student who is visually impaired. It offers a membership and holds information for various workshops around the United States. Of course this website also gives a mound of reliable resources for all of those working with the child. It has what seems to be an infinite amount of useful information.


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This site is caters to the needs of brand new teachers as well as veteran instructors. It offers information, advice, and lesson plans suited for working with students who have visual impairments. It gives original ideas to use in your classroom that will positively affect the student. It breaks down the resources into educational ages as well (K-5, Middle, and High).

Local:
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The CVI, or Center for Visually Impaired, is Georgia’s largest service provider for the blind and visually impaired. Their mission is to empower these individuals with an ownership of independence and dignity. It is a fully accredited private facility that provides rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired.


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The VIFGA, or the Visually Impaired Foundation of Georgia, is dedicated to the idea ensuring that all visually impaired Georgian’s receive the tools and services needed to develop to their full potential. They link to other organizations, vendors, and highlight future events. They have support groups ready for assistance at any time and claim to assist in any way.


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The VRSGA, or the Vision Rehabilitation Services of Georgia, is devoted to rehabilitating individuals of any age who are visually impaired. They provide tools and techniques for every day routines. They go by individualized plans of service for each client including vision evaluations, O&M, access technology training, and counseling. There are numerous applications for services and career opportunities.

I just wanted to throw in this graphic organizers because they seem to be so hard to find. A solid reference page for a student can mean the world, as we all learned in the writing lab. It really depends on what element you are working with, but these will always be key components of your lesson.
 * [|Lit Circle Structure - First Grade] - This website gives a day by day schedule for a sample Lit Circle. It discusses foundation and organization of the lesson.
 * [|General Information - Lit Circles] - This site is a great summary of Lit Circles. It gives a definition of roles and what age groups can benefit from this type of instruction.
 * [|History and Future of Lit Circles] - This site dissects the history of Lit Circles and predictions of where we could take them in the classroom.
 * [|Lit Circle Activities] - This gives us ideas for activities in the small group setting. This reinforces the idea of the idea of freedom in choice and assessment.
 * [|Book Samples - Lit Circles] - This actually gives a few examples of books you could use and sample questions that go along with the Lit Circle.
 * [[image:http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/67/3f/cc/673fccaa07b8b72cd8da73a1a2f26f48.jpg width="325" height="332" caption="Character Trait Graphic Organizer freebie from Laura Candler's Literature Circles page"]] ||
 * Character Trait Graphic Organizer freebie from Laura Candler's Literature Circles page ||
 * Character Trait Graphic Organizer freebie from Laura Candler's Literature Circles page ||
 * [|Read.Write.Think] - This website was given to us at some point this semester. I wrote it down on my list of never ending resources, but I must say it is AMAZING for any framework, teaching concept, or any other area of teaching development.
 * [|Mrs. Candler's Resources] - Mrs. Candler has compiled a massive amount of valuable resources for Lit Circles.She has included Webinars, videos, and text to support the framework models.
 * [|Resource Center] - This resource center breaks it down into grade level structures, themed units, standards, and extension ideas.
 * [|Inside A Dog] - "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
 * [|Power of Lit Circles] - Highlights the reason for Lit Circles and the power that they can have.
 * [|Role Cards] - Printable PDF Role Cards that can be laminated for the students.
 * [|IPAD Work!] - Ways to incorporate IPAD technology! It speaks about apps that can be used to download E books as well.
 * Differentiation Techniques - Of course we need to implement differentiation in this framework and here are some ideas on how to go about it.
 * [|RAZZZZZ Kids] - Reading A-Z has books that include Lit Circle journals on their website. These books start at Level G.
 * Lit Circle Wiki - What do you know? I found a WIKI that is full of resources for us!
 * [|Pearltree - Lit Circles] - Pearltree is this awesome program that I personally haven't seen yet! It looks similar to Prezi. This particular one is a link to multiple Lit Circle resources.
 * Better Readers - Another WIKI for everyone to look over.
 * [|PB Work] - No this isn't a link to SPED and you will find no Guided Notes, but you will find even more information regarding Lit Circles.
 * [|Slide Share] - This site is full of videos related to the Framework. It seems to be kind of like Youtube.
 * [|Teacher's Cabinet] - General Information
 * [|Lesson Plan] - Sample Lesson Plan
 * [|Lesson Plan] - Sample Lesson Plan
 * [|Lesson Plans] - Lesson Plan Website
 * Edmodo’s iPad app - Allows the student to work from home on the IPAD app
 * Below are various links that can be used in the student roles of Literature Circles

Reading  - iBooks  - Kindle  - barnes and noble reader - Twitter - Dropbox - GoogleDocs - Evernote - pocket - cheddar - GoodReader  - Notability

Discussion Director - VoiceThread

- Coveritlive

- Skype

- Edmudo

**Vocabulary Enricher (Word Wizard)** - dictionary app.**Connector** -VoiceThread  - Coveritlive - GoogleDoc - flickr - iPad camera roll**Summarizer** - Comic Life
 * -** Strip Designer

- iMovie

**Illustrator** - painting/drawing apps

- Skitch

**Travel Tracer** - Popplet - Comic Life

 - GoogleMap - MyMaps