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https://www.asha.org/

http://speechymusings.com/blog/

https://www.blogger.com/profile/16494849868073451460

https://praacticalaac.org/praactical/praactical-resources-blogs-we-love/

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Video

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Beth Poss: Supporting Your Youngest Learners - AAC in the Cloud 2020

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The AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom - AssistiveWare

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The doors to the AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom are open! The Core Word Classroom is a free resource designed to support the implementation of any communication device based on core words.

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https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books free online pdfs for reading books using screen castify

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-websites/7-websites-with-free-online-books-for-kids/  Free childrens books websites.

http://www.magickeys.com/books/  Free children's books online

https://openlibrary.org/ free children's books sign up its free really nice selection

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How to Create Drag and Drop Activities with Google Slides

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Editor's note: Shaun Langevin contributed to the most recent update of this article. Use these links to jump to any section below:
Google's most popular tools-Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs-are staples for getting organized and getting work done. These collaboration-friendly tools have revolutionized the way we communicate, work together, and store information online. For teachers and students, the education-friendly platform Google Classroom brings the benefits of paperless sharing, assessment, and digital collaboration to classrooms. Tens of millions of teachers and students use Google Classroom in thousands of schools worldwide, making it one of the most popular edtech tools around.

Read on to find answers to teachers' most commonly asked questions about the platform, with all kinds of information on how you can use Google Classroom with your students. Also, be sure to check out our guide for parents and caregivers, and our detailed review of Google Classroom's learning potential.

Google describes Google Classroom as "mission control for your classroom," which might be the easiest way to think about it. Simply put, it's a platform that ties together Google's Workspace tools (formerly known as G Suite) for teachers and students. It also acts as a digital organizer where teachers can keep class materials and share them with students-all paperless-ly. From there, you can pick and choose the features you want to incorporate. This flexibility and seamless integration with Google's popular tools have made Google Classroom one of the most widely used edtech tools today.

Technically, no. Google Classroom is not a stand-alone learning management system (LMS), course management system (CMS), or student information system (SIS). That said, Google regularly adds new functions to Google Classroom. As of August 2023, Google Classroom can sync data with Skyward 2.0, Skyward Qmlativ, Follett Aspen, and Infinite Campus student information systems. As Google continues to add features, it may start to look, and function, more like an LMS. But for now it's best to think of the tool as a one-stop shop for class organization.

Streamline how they manage classes. The platform integrates with Google's other tools like Docs, Drive, Forms, Meet, and Calendar, so there are many built-in "shortcuts" for classroom-management tasks. For example, if you post an assignment with a due date, it's automatically added to your students' class calendar for them to see.

Digitally organize, distribute, and collect assignments, course materials (think: videos, websites, PDFs, and more), and student work. Teachers also can post an assignment to multiple classes or modify and reuse assignments from year to year. If your students have regular access to devices, Google Classroom can help you avoid some trips to the photocopier and cut down on some of the paper shuffling that comes with teaching and learning.

Communicate with students about their classwork. You can use the platform to post announcements and reminders about assignments, and it's easy to see who has or hasn't completed their work. You can also check in with individual students privately, answer their questions, and offer support.

Give students timely feedback on their assignments and assessments. Within Google Classroom, it's possible to use Google Forms to create and share quizzes that are automatically graded as students turn them in. Not only will you spend less time grading, but your students will also get instant feedback on their work. Teachers can view individual and class data within Forms or an automatically generated Google Sheet.

Anyone! Google Classroom is included as a free service for anyone with a personal Google account. It's also free for organizations using Google Workspace for Education or Google Workspace for nonprofits. In most cases, teachers and students can access Google Classroom using a Google account provided by their school. While teachers and students in schools are the primary users of Google Classroom, some features can be used by administrators, families, clubs, after-school programs, and homeschoolers.

Because it's a fairly flexible platform, educators use its features in a lot of different ways. With Google Classroom, teachers can:

Formative: You can quickly create, distribute, and collect digital exit tickets or auto-graded assessments. And you can pose discussion questions for quick insights into what students are thinking.

Summative: Tests can include traditional question types like multiple choice, short or paragraph answer, checkbox, and more. There also are options for students to upload files (like movies or photos) when responding to a question or prompt, allowing students to share their knowledge in a variety of ways.

Grading and rubrics: Teachers can simply assign points to different assignments, or give different weights to different types of assignments (essays, classwork, homework, etc.). You can create rubrics right in Google Classroom, and students can view these as they work. Turned-in work can be graded using the rubric, and the score will be automatically calculated. Take note, however, that it isn't possible to use standards-based grades (at least not yet).

Plagiarism check: Another feature called "originality reports" is essentially a plagiarism-checking tool that compares a student's Google Document with webpages and books readily available on the internet. If the feature is turned on, students can run reports before submitting assignments-and teachers can run them after. Teachers may want to use the originality reports feature as an opportunity to teach the importance of citing sources.

Can teachers use Google Classroom for assessments and grading?

Yes. Google Classroom can help teachers streamline summative and formative assessments through its own features and third-party integrated tools.

Do teachers use Google Classroom to teach live, like with Zoom?

Some teachers use Google Meet as a video conferencing solution (instead of Zoom or a similar tool). Google Classroom integrates with Google Meet, and teachers can set up video meetings from within Google Classroom for live, or "synchronous," instruction. By default, students can't begin a meeting before the teacher, or rejoin the meeting if the teacher is the last person to leave. Google Meet videos created from within Google Classroom are only accessible from school-managed Google Workspace for Education accounts.

In addition to live-video capabilities, the recording feature in Google Meet gives teachers an easy tool for creating prerecorded video lessons for asynchronous learning, which students can watch on their own time. The Google for Education Teacher Center has helpful video tutorials about Google Meet to help teachers get started.

How do I set up Google Classroom?

The basic setup process for Google Classroom is pretty intuitive, even for first-time users. The Google for Education Teacher Center offers several tutorials for getting started-this is your best bet if you're looking for the most up-to-date videos and information. There are also plenty of do-it-yourself tutorials on YouTube posted by teachers and tech-integration specialists. Many of these teacher-created videos include practical tips and tricks they've learned from using the platform in their classrooms.

How can Google Classroom support differentiation in the classroom?

Read Along: This tool pairs young readers with a digital reading assistant named Diya, letting teachers assign activities based on grade or Lexile level while also tracking reading metrics like speed and fluency.

Reading Mode: Students and teachers can now customize how they view digital texts by adjusting typeface, font size, and colors, in addition to reducing potentially distracting elements like images and video.

Google Classroom makes it easy to customize assignments for individual students or small groups. Teachers can give modified or differing assignments to specific students or groups in a class. You also have the option to check in with a student privately to see whether they have questions or need extra help. An online differentiation strategy like this can make your efforts less conspicuous to the class, so students won't feel singled out in the way that they might with other types of in-person differentiation.

In addition, Google Classroom has unveiled new accessibility tools to allow for students of all learning abilities to engage with classroom content:

With or without a tool like Google Classroom, differentiation is always going to be a matter of creative problem-solving, and there's no one or "right" way to do it. Luckily, lots of teachers share their tips, tricks, and creative solutions online. Here's an example of how one teacher uses Google Classroom to meet students at their levels.

How can administrators and curriculum coaches use Google Classroom?

Google Classroom isn't just for teachers. Superintendents, principals, and curriculum coaches can benefit from using Google Classroom to organize staff notes, announcements, dates, documents, and other resources for teachers and other school staff. When using Google Classroom in this way, administrators can intentionally model many of the technological skills and proficiencies they'd like teachers to use.

Curriculum coaches can create anonymous questionnaires (using Google Forms) to receive feedback on recent professional development. Coaches can even go a step further and upload videos of model lessons for teachers in their district to view-a great way to bring teachers who are new to a school or district up to speed.

How can families and parents stay in the loop with Google Classroom?

Google Classroom has options for teachers to send out updates about students' classwork, but it doesn't offer the level of communication you'll find in tools like Seesaw, ClassDojo, or Remind. Google refers to parents and families as "guardians" who can opt in to receive email summaries about missing work, upcoming work, and other class activity. However, it doesn't include direct-messaging features for families or allow families to comment on their children's work.

What's new in Google Classroom?

The platform has been updated quite a bit since its launch, and Google continues to introduce new features regularly, often based on feedback from teachers.

*Please note that there are different membership tiers with Google Education tools, which may impact which new features you and your school district have access to in Google Classroom.

Mix up the types of resources you share with students in Google Classroom. In addition to Google Workspace tools like Docs and Slides, teachers and students can share other types of media, including images, links to websites, YouTube videos, and screencasts.

Provide students with a variety of options for submitting work. For example, you might offer students the choice to respond to a reading assignment with a comment, video clip, or drawing that shows their thinking (see our section on differentiation above).

Use Google Classroom's stream page to create an interactive hub. Within Google Classroom, the Stream is a feed where everyone in the class can find daily agendas, announcements, and upcoming assignments, and it's the first thing students see when they log in. You can also set up class discussion boards on Stream, where students can interact online by asking questions or commenting on each other's posts. These discussion boards can help increase class participation and offer students more equity in having their voices heard (or read) by the class.

Integrate digital citizenship lessons. You can use the Stream as a closed social network of sorts, and it can be a great way to help kids practice using all kinds of different digital citizenship skills like engaging in civil discourse or deescalating digital drama in a "walled garden" setting.

How can I make Google Classroom more engaging and interactive for my students?

Check out the following tips to make the Google Classroom experience as engaging as it can be:

What other apps and websites integrate with Google Classroom?

There are now hundreds of external apps and websites that integrate with Google Classroom, and the App Hub is a great place to explore your options. Some of these apps may partner with Google, while others create and publish their own third-party add-ons as Chrome extensions. If you're using Google Classroom extensively, integrating other edtech tools can be a way to streamline your instruction.

For example, say you want your students to study some vocabulary words using Quizlet; you can use the Google Classroom integration to directly share and assign a particular flash card set to your class. Or if you're looking for other learning content online, there are integrations with publishers like Newsela, Khan Academy, and BrainPop, among others-you'll find all kinds of articles, videos, and other educational content to share with your students.

What is Google doing with my students' data? Should I be worried about privacy?

As an educator, protecting your students' privacy and data should definitely be a consideration whenever you're choosing a digital tool for your classroom. Anytime a tool might collect data from students, it's essential to ask questions about how the companies involved are securing, using, or storing student data. For more information, be sure to read our full privacy review of Google Classroom.

Google says that data privacy and security are high priorities for all Google Workspace for Education products. However, educators should keep in mind that parents and families have a right to opt out if they don't want their children to use Google products in school. Before launching Google Classroom, school administrators and teachers might want to have an alternative plan in place for students who may opt out.

In the past, some educators, families, and advocates have expressed doubts about Google's ability to deliver on promises about privacy and data protection. What's more, the prominence of Google branding and products in schools has raised questions about the trade-offs of allowing Google to build its brand in schools. Whether you use Google Classroom or not, it's important to get students thinking critically about data privacy and the commercialization we see in different aspects of our lives-including our classrooms.

Where can I find more ideas about using Google Classroom?

If you're looking for official information about Google Classroom, check out Google for Education's X (formerly Twitter) feed for product updates, ideas for teachers, videos, and even a newsletter about Google Workspace for Education products. Many Google Classroom fans are also posting and even podcasting about all the ways they're using the platform with students. With millions of teachers and edtech specialists field-testing, experimenting, and innovating with Google Classroom, it's easy to find tips and inspiration from fellow educators online.
Image courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.
As you're using Google Classroom, don't be afraid to get creative with your own strategies, hacks, and innovative uses for the platform. Like most edtech tools, Google Classroom is what you make of it, and how it works will probably look very different from classroom to classroom. What's most important is to find the strategies and tools within Google Classroom that work best for you and your students. Feel free to share the ways you're using Google Classroom with your students by adding a Community Rating to our review!

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Teachers' Essential Guide to Google Classroom | Common Sense Education

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What is Google Classroom? And how are teachers using it? Learn more about this popular platform and how to use it with your students.

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As a recent article published by USA Today phrased it, educators and students are in the midst of a "huge educational experiment." To date, all 50 states have closed for at least a short period of time ; some have even taken the step to close for the rest of the academic year. In many cases, public-school instruction has now shifted into the online learning format.

In making this transition, schools are working through what online learning looks like and how to include all students. Students with disabilities have services that are guaranteed to be delivered by law included in their IEP. How can schools effectively provide special education via online learning? During the time of COVID-19, there's an expansion of free online resources available to educate students with disabilities. #TeacherTipsCovid19 #ParentsAreTheNewTeachers Click To Tweet

As a former special education teacher, I know firsthand how much work it takes to keep all the balls in the air on a day-to-day basis. Shifting that entire process online is a monumental task! Here at National School Choice Week, we have gathered resources into one spot to help with this transition. Of course, we are not legal experts, and the guidance listed herein may not be exhaustive as the situation is evolving on a daily basis. Our goal is to provide a helpful jumping off point for educators as they tackle this new challenge.

Jump to a section:

Federal Guidance

Like teachers across the country, administrators are also trying to figure out how to navigate online learning and special education The U. S. Department of Education has created a central website where they are housing all of the information that is being pushed out to schools.

On March 21, 2020 the Department of Education released a Supplemental Fact Sheet about serving children with disabilities. Here are a few key points that answered questions I had when thinking about transitioning service delivery to a virtual model:

How do we deliver instruction? - This document reiterates that all school districts must provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), however, delivery of FAPE in the current environment may include special education and related services being conducted through distance instruction provided virtually, online, or telephonically.

What do virtual modifications look like? - Modifications (such as extended time, videos with captioning, and accessible reading materials) and many speech or language services can be given through video conferencing.

What happens if we can't provide instruction? - If schools are unable to provide services due to the global pandemic, the individual IEP teams will need to make the determination if, and to what extent, students are owed compensatory (make-up) services once school resumes.

We have IEP/Evaluation due dates coming up - what do we do? - Additionally, this document provides guidance regarding IDEA Timelines and possible extensions to timelines during school closure to COVID-19.

Click on the circles in the graphic below to see the different guidance documents that have been published regarding serving children with disabilities.

Understood has also published a post discussing the legal FAQs related to school closing and special education in collaboration with Lindsay Jones of the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

State Guidance

Just like the U.S. Department of Education, each state's education department has their own guidelines for the schools in their state for special education during COVID-19. While all states have to follow the federal guidelines that have been released, they also are providing specifics to their educators.

For example, the informing their schools to keep a log of services that are not provided (with dates) and conduct IEP Team meetings through alternate means of communication. Regarding instruction, if the students continue to be given North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has released an Exceptional Children Division Update direct instruction by an EC teacher through online mediums it is unlikely compensatory education will be required. If the school determines that they will continue learning through packets of work without direct instruction from trained staff then compensatory instruction will be needed (even if the packets are based on IEP goals). This guidance expands on the information being provided by the federal government and provides specifics for NC educators.

Many states have housed information regarding serving students with disabilities on their websites. We have gone through and found where that information is located for each of the 50 states.

Click on your state in the map below to see what your state guidelines are!

Instruction, Accommodations, & Modifications

For over 20 years, online education for students with disabilities has been occurring . Currently, over 30 states have online instruction! These online schools provide special education and related services by using small group or individualized online instruction, delivery of specialized content virtually, and other related services as indicated by the students needs.

For instance, Virginia Virtual Academy is one school who is already providing public education online. VAVA is a tuition-free, online public school that provides a personalized course program, taught by certified teachers, and a vibrant school community. They provide their online learning students with disabilities instruction from special education teachers according to their IEP. Related services, if required, are provided in a virtual therapy room.

This offers many examples of what specially designed instruction (SDI) could look like in the virtual setting. They make suggestions such as: using virtual meetings to provide instruction, the use of verbal/picture/visual prompts & cues, teaching relaxation & breathing techniques, and counseling. presentation from the Alabama State Department of Education Virtual Schools Webinar Do you have a student with social skills needs? They suggest using social stories to show examples and generate responses.

Importantly, one consideration to keep in mind is confidentiality. Whatever route you and your school choose to continue to provide instruction to students with disabilities, make sure that it maintains student data privacy .

You can also have technology provide accommodations for you as you navigate online learning and special education!

Many devices, including , provide program (with a free account) that Mac/iPad, Windows, Android, and Chromebook digital modifications that can help your students access the text that is on the screen. Capti is a Text to Speech Anywhere accommodates those with special needs and provides reading accommodations to all. As a bonus, Capti integrates with many of the LMS systems you are already using (Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, and more)!

There are over . The extensions help with 30 Chrome web extensions that can assist students with accessing their instruction text to speech (read aloud of text), readability (remove distractions, change fonts, color overlays), reading comprehension (dictionary, summarizing, auto highlighting), focus (remove distractions, provide pre-determined breaks), and navigation (click-free browsing, keyboard shortcuts).

Tips and Tricks

One thing that continues to inspire me is the way that educators band together to help each other out. The education community has pulled together to make sure that all classrooms making the transition have what they need by sharing resources, advice, and providing encouragement. Here are some articles and resources that have been shared about effective online learning and special education services:
CEC and eLuma: Best Practices for Educating Online Suggestions to Help Autistic People Get Through This Pandemic Online Instruction Can (and Does) Work for Students with Disabilities When Children with ADHD attend School from Home: An Expert's Tips Occupational Therapy and E-learning: Resources, Activities, and Next Steps Are you already providing special education services virtually? Have you run across a helpful resource while transitioning online? Email us your tips on online learning and special education: info@schoolchoiceweek.com
More Resources

(If you are looking for content area resources, check out this page with 100+ Free Online Resources for Schools .)

The AAC Language Lab offer real-life solutions in support of language development for students who use augmentative and alternative communication. Interactive materials have been designed for Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs), Educators and Parents. With over 50 years of experience in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) PRC-Saltillo is pleased to offer this unique online resource.

Free Services Offered: Free 2-month subscription

How to Use: Create an account, under the My Account tab go to Purchase for Myself and select Free 2 Month Trial under the Language Lab purchase options.

This is an ongoing compilation of free resources available online, and this document will be continually updated with new links. New resources will be added to the TOP of the appropriate category for easy visibility. Here are the categories of resources: Temporary Free Resources, ASL Storybook Readings by age, ASL Storytelling, Basic ASL & Vocabulary, Deaf Culture, Preschool - Grade 8 Breakdowns, ASL Songs, Science, Social Studies, ELA, and For Parents.

Free Services Offered: Ongoing free list of resources.

How to use: Visit the Google Doc today!

AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom offers a range of resources designed for AAC implementation. The materials provided can be used to teach and model core words throughout the day. You will find materials such as printable core word displays, planners for teaching core words during common activities, Core Word of the Week planners and displays, and resources & references for AAC implementation. There is also a section of the website dedicated to using core words at home.

Free Services Offered: Always free

How to Use: Visit the website to create your free account today.

Attainment is offering free web-based subscriptions for their research-based literacy programs: ELSB (Early Literacy Skills Builder), ELSB for Older Students, ERSB (Early Reading Skills Builder), Access Language Arts, and Access Language Arts: WRITE. Digital content retrieval is available through the new Attainment Hub website.

Free Services Offered: Free, 90-day web-based subscriptions for the literacy programs.

How to Use: For more information, email info@attainmentcompany.com

The website has a simple social story to help children understand the changes in their routines and the anxiety in the adults around them. This social story is available in English and Spanish.

Free Services Offered: Free Social Story

How to Use: Visit the website to download today.

To help educators, parents, and learners during this time of need, the Tobii Dynavox team has gathered their resources and created Coronavirus materials within them. There are resources for Communicating about Coronavirus: topic pages for Snap Core First, activities and resources, videos to get started, and Hospital Intensive Care Unit Communication Resources. You can also access these resources: Pathways (free Snap Core First companion App), 30-day free trial to Boardmaker Online and Boardmaker Activities-to-Go (free, ready-made activities).

Free Resources Offered: Communication Materials, Activities to go, and a free trial to Boardmaker.

How to Use: Visit the website.

Capti is a text to speech anywhere platform. You can sign up for a free account that has the following features: text to speech for reading; speech tracking word by word; fonts, colors, masking, etc.; cross-device sync; screen-reader accessibility; advanced text navigation; and offline use. A Chrome Browser Extension applies these features to any webpage and allows the import of articles/text/images/documents to Capti. You can save to Capti from links, phone, computer, Drive, Dropbox, Bookshare, Project Gutenberg as rich text format.

Free Services Offered: Free Account

How to Use: Visit the website and sign up for a personal use account today.

The challenge of the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities is to address learner variability by conducting research to make online learning more accessible, engaging, and effective for students with disabilities, for whom traditional forms of education have been only moderately successful and the precipitous growth in online instruction threatens to exclude. To address these issues, the Center will assume a leadership role in conducting research and building a network of research collaborators representing a wide array of disciplines whose expertise impacts learner outcomes.

Free Resources Offered: Publications and Resources (UDL Scan Tool, VPAT List, State Policy Guide, and Resource Documents)

How to Use: Visit the website.

This website offers a list of Chrome extensions for students with special needs. The blog lists over 30 Chrome web extensions that can assist students in five main categories. These are: text to speech, readability, reading comprehension, focus, and navigation.

Free Services Offered: Free list of Chrome Extensions

How to Use: Visit the website to find installation links.

Didax has a whole host of virtual manipulatives available online to enhance at-home learning. Additionally, if you want to use the tools within your online learning platform, they can be embedded using the iframe command. You can download the iframe texts for each of the tools by following the link on their website.

Free Services Offered: Always Free!

How to Use: Visit the website today to start using these tools!

List of resources to help special education students and families during home learning. Resources are available in the following categories: visuals & social stories, parent guides, language arts & reading, math, additional academic resources, and social skills/social emotional skills.

Free Resources Offered: Free read!

The Teachers Pay Teachers account Curriculum for Autism, run by Kristen who is a single mom to a young adult with autism, has a free guide to starting home learning for parents of kids & teens with autism. This guide provides support and reassurance as parents start having to educate their child/children at home.

Free Services Offered: Free Guide

How to Use: Download today from Teachers Pay Teachers (you will need to sign up for a free account).

Helperbird is a browser extension that gives you features to help make websites accessible. The extension includes features such as dyslexic fonts, an immersive reader layout, changing of font sizes, screenshots, reader mode, Google Translate (over 23 languages), color blindness underline, and color blindness text stroke. Works on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Free Services Offered: Free download of the extension.

How to Use: Visit the website to download today.

PresenceLearning is a teletherapy platform that has been designed by clinicians for clinicians to serve K-12 students with special needs. There is a full therapy command center, dynamic camera and video modes to focus on multiple types of intervention, synchronized collaborative work-space, and an evidence-based/user-generated content library. PresenceLearning has made their teletherapy platform available for onsite school clinicians to continue serving students at home during school closures.

How to Use: Fill out the form to schedule a conversation about how they can help during COVID-19 related school closures.

Readtopia is a special education instructional program designed for teachers who work with middle and high school students with autism and other complex needs. It serves as an integrated comprehensive reading curriculum across several domains of study including ELA, Math, Social Studies, Life Skills, and Science. Readtopia uses Integrated Thematic Units to bring together all subject areas and skill development and provides graphic novels that are written at seven levels (but the cover is the same!) to help you differentiate.

Free Resources Offered: Free Mini Thematic Unit (one month of content)

How to Use: Visit the website and sign up for a free trial.

Pat Noonan is a special education teacher from Methuen, MA, who has launched a YouTube channel dedicated to putting out weekly videos for students with autism and intellectual disabilities. The videos incorporate Boardmaker pictures into a familiar TV show format that students enjoy (think Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, etc). Each video comes with 3 companion worksheets that are linked in the video description.

Free Services Offered: Free videos and downloadable worksheets.

How to Use: Visit Pat's YouTube Channel to watch the videos, the links to the worksheets are in the video description!

This site is the home for a remote learning experience for students with moderate and severe disabilities. Until this current crisis ends, the site will provide quality lessons and activities for teachers and parents to utilize. There are currently 3 modules available, each lasting for 2 instructional weeks. Should there still be a need the next series of modules will be uploaded March 30, 2020.

Free Services Offered: Three free two-week modules teaching Maps and Globes, Levels of Organization: an Introduction to Biology, and Because of Winn Dixie

How to Use: Visit the website and sign up!

Stages Learning is giving free lessons, materials, activity sheets, data tracking sheets, behavior management tools, and a basic overview of how to use the system to those who are working with children with autism or other special needs at home. These materials are a sampling of lessons and are 100% free to families.

Free Services Offered: ARIS Emergency Home Education Program Overview, Language Builder ARIS Manual - Abbreviated for Home Use, 34 Downloadable Lesson Plans for Early Autism Education, and 56 Language Builder Picture Cards for Download.

How to Use: Visit the website to download today.

Tar Heel Reader is a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces. These include touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches (instructions are available online). You can also write your own books using pictures from the huge collection in the platform or that you upload. The website is available in multiple languages.

Free Services Offered: Free, accessible books.

How to Use: Visit the website to start reading today!

From the Council for Exceptional Children: "You never stop advocating for them, and neither do we. As you work to be there for your students while out of the classroom, find tips and resources for delivering special education online in TEACHING Exceptional Children. Topics include making online learning accessible, considerations, comprehension, support, special educators' roles, designing online learning, and more."

Free Services Offered: This journal issue is open access and available for free through April 18.

How to use: Visit the website.

The Social Express is a company focused on Social-Emotional Learning and Career Path Exploration. The platform contains interactive lessons that allow users to safely practice skills needed to manage real-life social situations. The fun and easy to use program helps drive learning and success in and out of the classroom.

Free Services Offered: Social Express and Cool School are free through April 15th, 2020.

How to Use: Fill out the form on the website and watch your email for instructions.

Think Inclusive has put together a list of news articles, blog posts, videos, webinars, and other information that they think are useful during this time of great uncertainty. Helpfully, the resources are broken into the following categories: latest news, remote learning, webinars/videos, coronavirus explainers, online resources offering free trials/access, opinion, blog posts, and authors reading books.

Free Services Offered: Free resource list that is updated daily.

How to use: Visit the website!

TouchMath is a multisensory math program that makes critical math concepts accessible for students who struggle to understand grade-level content. The program is committed to maximizing student potential through its delivery of hands-on math programs, cultivating success with individuals of all abilities and learning styles. To help keep students on track, TouchMath is providing free resources. These include: Workbooks (organized by grade level and topic, 56 activity sheets in each), Free Stuff page has downloadable samples, Desktop TouchLines free to download, and all TouchMath Apps are free in the App Store for iPad and Google Play.

Free Services Offered: Workbooks, downloads, TouchLines, and Apps

How to Use: Visit the website and follow the instructions.

Vizzle is digital and engaging standards-aligned content for all learners. As the teacher you can quickly assign standards-aligned content from a variety of subjects. Vizzle automatically collects data to help you determine student proficiency of individual learning targets. Plus, there are teacher-driven student profiles with gamified progress pages and animated reinforcers to motivate and engage students. Vizzle was created based on research demonstrating the efficacy of an interactive visual language approach to educating students with special needs.

Free Services Offered: 2-week free trial

How to use: Visit the website to learn more and sign up.

About Me

Rebecca Collopy is the school celebrations assistant for National School Choice Week, helping to raise awareness about the amazing things our participants do throughout the year and during National School Choice Week. She previously worked in both a traditional public school and public charter school setting as a special education teacher and special education program coordinator. During her teaching experience she got to witness firsthand the impact school choice can have on a student's education.

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Educating Students with Disabilities During the Time of COVID-19 | National School Choice Week

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As a recent article published by USA Today phrased it, educators and students are in the midst of a "huge educational experiment." To date, all 50 states have closed for at least a short period of time ; some have even taken the step to close for the rest of the academic year.

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Getting Started with Google Classroom | EDTech Made Easy - GOOGLE CLASSROOM TUTORIAL

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How to Teach Remotely with a Google Slides Hyperdoc

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How to Create Interactive Google Slides + Grab FREE Choice Board Templates! ⬇️

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7 BEST Websites and Apps for Distance Learning

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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-New-Bitmoji

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/07/30/bitmoji-classrooms-why-teachers-are-buzzing-about.html

https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-bitmoji-classroom/

https://mrhillmusings.com/2018/03/11/bitmoji-for-teachers/

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I absolutely love Bitmoji! It allows users to create a personal avatar of themselves that appears in hundreds of picture messages. It never gets boring because new images are added regularly. Students have strong connections with their teachers and relate to them. For this reason, it's worth adding a personal touch to digital correspondence. Bitmoji is a fun, easy way to personalise communication and feedback. It can be used by teachers in many ways.
Bitmoji app
The app is available for free on iOS and Android from the App Store and Google Play. Once installed, you can create your avatar and then add the Bitmoji keyboard through your phone settings (the app will show you how to do this). Once installed as a keyboard, Bitmoji images can be accessed and used in the same way as standard emojis, compatible with most apps including Gmail, Snapchat and Whatsapp.

If you plan to link Bitmoji and Snapchat, click here to read about some new updates (scroll down to the Snapchat part). These include 3D Bitmojis, AR and Friendmoji. I'm not on Snapchat but these new features sound cool!
Bitmoji Chrome extension
Click here to download the Bitmoji Chrome extension. It will then appear in your extensions bar (at the top of your Chrome browser). The first time you click this icon, you will be prompted to sign in. After that, you'll see all of your Bitmoji stickers in a small window. Right-click to copy the images or simply drag them to compatible websites and documents.

Also, after you have signed in, the Bitmoji icon (your cartoon face) will appear in Gmail's 'compose' window. Click the icon to add Bitmoji stickers to your emails.
Personalise feedback
I like to add a Bitmoji sticker to student work when I provide feedback. In most cases, the Bitmoji alone is insufficient, but I think it works well when combined with more informative feedback. Again, it adds an important personal touch. Bitmoji stickers can be dragged from the Chrome extension onto G Suite documents. Fun and encouraging stickers can be added to students' digital assignments effortlessly.
Personalise presentations and assignments
As well as personalising feedback, Bitmoji stickers can be added to presentations, assignments and worksheets. Again, this is easy to do from the Chrome extension window. Simply drag, drop and resize. You can search for relevant images using Bitmoji's search bar. It's easy to find a Bitmoji to meet your needs and match your purpose. For example, the Bitmoji below works well for encouraging a deeper response. There are also great stickers to match questions or extension challenges.
Email communication
Bitmoji and Gmail are nicely compatible, especially from a Chrome browser. Clicking the Bitmoji icon when composing a new email gives me quick access to my stickers. Likewise, from the Gmail app, I can access the Bitmoji stickers from my additional keyboard. Email has become much quicker and more fun. On a daily basis, I reply to students and colleagues with personal Bitmojis (when appropriate, obviously).
Bitmoji for students?
Although I recommend Bitmoji for teachers, I wouldn't necessarily encourage students to create their own. Although most of the images are child-friendly, there are some that are mildly inappropriate for children. It depends on the age and maturity of the students and how much they can be trusted to ignore inappropriate text such as 'sexy' and 'LMFAO'.
Create your own Bitmoji
By this point, you're probably trying to imagine what your own cartoon self would look like. Find out by creating your own Bitmoji! This can be done through the Bitmoji app. Your personal emoji only has to be created once. After that, it can be accessed on any device by logging into Bitmoji. The app will guide you through the step-by-step process but click here if you need additional guidance. When you have finished, share one of your stickers with me on Twitter (@AhillAdam). I can't wait to see you as a cartoon!

I'm not saying that Bitmoji will change the world. It may not be the most transformative technology tool for teachers. However, the importance of strong teacher-student relationships should not be underestimated. Bitmoji helps to build those relationships and enhances communication by making it more personal and relatable. Plus, it's relevant and great fun! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.
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I absolutely love Bitmoji! It allows users to create a personal avatar of themselves that appears in hundreds of picture messages. It never gets boring because new images are added regularly. Students have strong connections with their teachers and relate to them. For this reason, it's worth adding a personal touch to digital correspondence.

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More and more states and cities have put together plans for going back to school for the 2020-2021 school year. Each area in the country has somewhat different plans. Some are starting out with 100% distance learning, some are implementing a hybrid model and others are going back to in person learning with modifications. As we start to go back, using any of those approaches, children are going to need INFORMATION. What will they see that is different? What are the new norms? Are masks required? What about on the bus?

As humans, we all thrive on routine. Children's (and adults) routines have been disrupted over these past several months. Stories can help ALL children understand what is going on around them. Information about their new routines can reduce anxiety and fear. This will lead to smoother transitions into the new routine.

I've listed all of the COVID-19 stories that relate to schools here for easier access for parents and educators. When I write more stories that pertain to school, I will add them to this list. I wish you all well as we embark on this new school year. Stay well!
Riding the Bus Will Be Different Coughing, Sneezing and More Coronavirus, What Is It? Distance Learning, What Is It? Distance Learning Tips Expectations For Online Learning How To Video Chat With Other People Going Back To School What Is Social Distancing? What Is Hybrid Learning? Getting My Temperature Taken Wearing A Mask Wearing A Mask To School When Can I Stop Wearing A Mask? Putting A Mask On My Toys Why Does My Teacher Look Different? My Teachers Are Wearing Face Shields Greeting My Teachers and Friends (during COVID19) Masks, Face Shields and Gloves, Oh My! Who Should Wear A Mask? Mask Etiquette Story

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More and more states and cities have put together plans for going back to school for the 2020-2021 school year. Each area in the country has somewhat different plans. Some are starting out with 100% distance learning, some are implementing a hybrid model and others are going back to in person learning with modifications.