"Guitar Hero" Motivates Middle School Use of Writing Support Tools

"How many ways does Guitar Hero help your brain work better?" I asked. I was working with a boy that needed writing support for some slow processing issues. He was easily distracted and couldn't spell worth a lick.

"Hand-eye coordination," he said. He was very confident, sharp and really knew the laptop we were using. He shared he had a touch-screen tablet laptop at home.

"Good one!" I shared. "What other things do you do that would strengthen your brain?"

"I don't know..." he looked around the room. He was interested but had a hard time staying focused. I prompted him a little and said "You are getting distracted - pull it back in!" with a smile.

And so we worked - but I got him when I had him open "FreeMind" a mind mapping software and we typed "Guitar Hero" in the main cell. He began to label new ones connected with Hand-eye coordination, patterns and memory.

After doing the web of our little writing activity with the mapping, I opened "DSpeech," a talking word processor, and we chose a cool young guy with long hair falling across his eyes for the voice. I showed our student how to shrink both application's windows so he could see his map and copy the words of the main ideas into sentences he typed on the DSpeech text window.

He struggled with the first sentence, and hit "speak" to hear what he had so far. He caught that he had missed a space between two words when he heard them run together and fixed them.

When we were done, he had written 3 sentences, combined his ideas and had correct spelling. He liked to say, "Let's hear everything we have so far" and play it back. There was a sense of progress being made everytime he heard a little more. When he was done and listened to the whole thing, it was ready to be published or converted into an Mp3 sound file for others to hear.

He loved that he could downloaded the Access Apps Suite on a jump drive for free and access them. He could also save his homework on the jump as well - and nothing had to be loaded on a computer. It could all go between school and home.

I shared with the teacher afterwards that we could use DSpeech to write some writing prompt directions and save them to open so he could hear what he was going to do, then open Freemind and have an assistant help him organize his thoughts, then use DSpeech or another tool like Natural Reader by Naturalsoft to write and proof read through text to speech. These are two free tools that can really support developing ideas and provide an order to writing so a student gets guidance through the process visually. I showed him "The Sage" a dictionary and thesaurus that gives him word ideas. If he can't spell a word we will work with a free spell checker tool and get that going for him too.

I had buy-in and interest today as I worked on teaching this student these tools. Using Guitar Hero, gave me instant appeal factor for the assignment as well! Why not try some popular theme ideas to get your students to learn support tools that will strengthen their writing and literacy - maybe you will make self-accommodators out of them in the process!

All the best to you,

Lon

Bookmark this on Delicious

Online Visual Thought Mapping "Cool Tool"

I had fun today exploring and researching some idea mapping sites. I had originally looked for some software that was free to download that allowed a person to create maps of ideas under headings and sub-headings. I found that "Free Mind", a popular free open-source software, wouldn't work on my computer after the downloads. I downloaded the software and the Java updates to run it, but it just froze my screen when I tried to use it.
I looked at several programs that were 30 day trials, but then turned to the free online kind. These are programs that allow you to log on, create mind maps, name and save them under your account in your own online file space, and then re-open and edit them later. They use some pretty sophisticated programming that allows you to map ideas, re-size bubbles, change text, colors, etc. You can drag and drop the maps to be where you want. You can add icons and even link sites, documents and images.
Test Run:
The sites I tried were: Bubbl.us (link here)pictured above. It is probably the easiest to use. The buttons to do what you want appear on each bubble as you roll over it. There is a cool delete X that makes the bubble explode when you hit the X. There is a drag button, a color hue button and an add another bubble under or next-to button.
Another one I tried was (link here). This one was more like a regular desktop application with a series of buttons and menu options, font, size, graphics,
etc. It is pictured below.
What I like about these first two was that you can demo them without having to sign up and create an account. If you are interested in exploring and playing with them you just go to the site and click "start".
The other online idea map software I used was Mind42 (link here).
This online application has a blog on blogger (here) and allows collaboration. While you are online doing your mapping, you can open Google Talk and instant message/invite someone else to get on and collaborate with you.
I have put an image below on the post showing what it looks like with Google Talk on.
You can use a Skype account to allow a log on by others and have a conference collaboration. You can add thumb-shot thumbnails of website pages and add sticky notes. It is probably the most sophisticated of the ones I explored.
Uses:
So what does this have to do with assistive technology? I see several uses. One is as a resource for parents, therapists and teachers to be able to collaborate on an idea or a student. I would love to be able to sit in my office, get a few other therapists online and a parent and work on ideas for a student.
Another use is for students that are ADHD or have a learning disability where they need to have a way to organize their thoughts and keep notes. If a laptop was used, they could take notes and "map" the session for later. These type of apps make a great tool for structuring ideas for reports and writing projects. A student can organize topics and sub-topics to get an over-all view and narrow down the content needed.

"Inspiration" and "Kidspiration" allow students to map ideas and then with one button, convert those ideas into an outline ready to use for writing a paper. Inspiration (link here) has been forerunner in education-based idea mapping, but it is n ot an online application. It is a software you buy and load on your computer.
I am in schools where there is wireless throughout the building. If you have that luxury, the online apps could be a note-taking resource during a class. If not, they would be limited to the computer lab or by connecting a laptop in class via an Ethernet/Internet cable to a hot-spot in the wall.
I would recommend taking some time to explore these online applications. They are free and can be a great organizational tool.

All the best to you!

Lon

A Mentor to Recognize

I was on Google searching for assistive technology blogs a couple of weeks ago and came across one from Brian Friedlander Ph.D. He lives in New Jersey and I credit him with introducing me to the vocation and passion I have today.
Brian taught the assistive technology course for my Masters Degree, Technology in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. He probably doesn't even remember the conversation, but some of us went out to lunch between class sessions and he asked me about what I did. I was working at our Educational Service District doing professional development and technology integration in the classroom at the time.
"Do they know you know about assistive technology?" He asked.
"I don't think so, but I am interested in some of the applications of the software for remedial supports in the general education classroom." I replied.
"Well, I am just warning you. When they figure out you know about AT, it won't be long before you are running that program!" Brian said this with a confidence that surprised me.
Well Brian, you spoke like a prophet and your words did come true! I am in my third year overseeing the AT here in our region of the state. I served on a committee that managed our AT equipment loan program for about 6 months and then was asked to fill a position that had been vacant for a couple of years.
Brian has a unique interest in mind mapping. By graphically illustrating your ideas on paper, you can see patterns and themes to your thoughts and focus on where you want to go. I have been using this more significantly since I began planning to start blogs, work on some materials for free access and for purchase, start up a web site that I am working on to launch soon, and look at personal goals. Using this method and matching it to goals and success principles will have to be another blog entry for another time.
Check out Brian's Assistive Technology Blog and his Mind Mapping information. It is very intriguing.
Thanks Brian!