Survey Says Part Deux....

Click the link for the results of the second survey!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-PWL5JTY8/
I will also post graphs from Excel to highlight individual levels of interest and happiness. I suspect that the most interesting data from this project will be qualitative rather than quantitative! Stay tuned for insights...

Survey Part Deux for LVS Grade 6 & 7

Click the link below!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/75XJ5TQ

Reading with Fingers...

Today we learned about reading with our fingers. Tyler showed us how he uses a Brailler and how he reads Braille. We made multiplication flashcards, looked through Braille books, and talked about  Braille on money. Tyler made us each an index card with our name on it. Tyler also reads with his ears. 6W at LVS

P-C Language

When discussing a book with at person who is blind or dyslexic, it is important to use the word "reading", not listening. Readers with visual impairments or word blindness READ books, they don't listen to them. Thank you.

A Movie in Your Head!

Audio Comic Books (+more)...Cool Beans!
http://www.graphicaudio.net/our-productions/genres/comics/dc-comics-comics.html

- use carefully based on age of reader










image found using Google images

Great News!

Introducing... Alternate Formats Online!

The Manitoba Education Library is proud to announce a service which allows school resource Teachers, on behalf of Visually Impaired or Print Disabled students, to download Alternate Format materials directly to their computers.

Who can use this service?

This service can only be used by certified school Resource Teachers acting on behalf of Visually Impaired or Print Disabled students.

What can I download?

Currently, Mp3 audio files (e.g. audio books).

How does it work?

You must have a personal account with the Manitoba Education Library. Your online Library account will allow you to log into the AF Online service.

How do I register with the Education Library?

Call 204-945-7835   (Toll Free: 800-282-8069 x.7835).

You will need to have your Teaching Certificate number ready.

You can also navigate to the Library's online registration form:

Library Home Page => About the Library => Join the Library / Update Your Information => Join

What if I already have a Library account?

Please call the number above to verify your personal information, or update your information using the online registration form. Afterwards we'll provide you with an online User ID and Password. We can follow up by mailing you a Library card and your account information.

What else can I do with my Education Library account?

Your account gives you access to all Manitoba Education Library resources. These include: Professional Learning resources about students with physical, learning, and developmental disabilities; online databases specializing in education; classroom materials such as DVDs, CDs, kits and puppets. Most of these resources are accessible online, or can be ordered though our online catalogue and sent directly to your school!

Visit us at: http : //www. edu. qov.mb . ca/kl2/mel

Manitoba Education Library

Borrowing Policies & Procedures

* Effective .lulv 2014

Main Collection	Alternate Formats	Alternate Formats Online
Circulation Desk	Orders which include Braille/e-text:	For General Assistance
204-945-5371	204-945-7838	204-945-7835 or 204-945-7838
Toll Free: 1-800-592-7330	Toll Free: 800-282-8069, ext. 7838	Toll Free: 800-282-8069
irucirc(5)Rov.mb.ca	iruafcbraille(5)gov.mb.ca	(ext. 7835 or ext. 7838)
Reference Desk 204-945-7830 Toll Free: 1-800-282-8069 x.7830 iruref@gov.mb.ca	Orders which do not include BraiMe or e-text: 204-945-7835 Toll Free: 800-282-8069, ext. 7835 iruafc@gov.mb.ca	Library IT Department 204-945-4904 iruit@gov.mb.ca
•     Materials are signed out in	•     Materials are signed out in	•     Resource Teachers access AF
the teacher's name, using the	the student's name, using the	online using their personal
teacher's personal Library	student's Library account	online Library account
account		•    To download materials on
•     Materials are sent to schools	•    All materials are sent to	behalf of a Visually Impaired
free of charge ($5.00 flat fee*	schools free of charge	or Print Disabled student,
for DVDs/VHS sent through		teachers must know the
Canada Post rather than		student's Library account
school courier)		number
•     Most materials, including	•     Most loans are for the	•    To verify or retrieve their
CDs, games, puppets and kits,	duration of the school year	online login information, or
are 28 day loans, renewable		to obtain a student's Library
up to 3 times except when		account number, or for help
requested by another patron		navigating AF Online, Resource Teachers should
•     Media items, including DVDs,	•     Some materials have shorter	contact one of the general
VHS, CD ROMs and selected	loan periods (e.g. touch	assistance numbers above
kits, are two week* loans,	books are 3 month loans)
renewable up to 3 times		•     Downloaded materials must
except when requested by		be deleted at the end of the
another patron		school year
•    Teachers can renew/request	•    Teachers can request
materials using their online	materials using the online
Library account	order form

Visit the Library's online catalogue: http : //library, edu. gov.mb . ca

- from handout form Manitoba Education Library, May 2014

Survey Says....

 Survey was out of 80; therefore the higher the number at the top of each bar, (presumably) the more happy and interested that student is at school. Student names have been removed for obvious reasons.

Call me a WHAAAAmbulance!

They aren't making the NEO2s anymore!

https://www.renaissance.com/customer-center/neo-downloads

This is too bad, because many of our students have enjoyed and benefited from the low-tech, distraction-free features of this writing tool. For some students, physically handwriting written responses, stories or essays requires a heavy cognitive load. They have to concentrate more on letter and word formation; therefore their ideas do not become fully developed. Using a keyboard (or a dictation tool) can be very powerful for these students to reduce the cognitive load and allow their ideas to take precedent.
image found at http://images.cryhavok.org/v/Whambulance.jpg.html

Mental Note...

Am I Happy & Interested at School?

We have been hard at work with our project, in spite of dropping off the face of the blogging earth! It has been a busy time and I think I am also a little apprehensive about blogging in general. Book, book, book (Chicken noises)
Here's the update:
The surveys were administered the second week back after spring break, and we managed to get everyone! Here is it at the left in 2 jpeg files. I don't yet know how to upload a Word document or a PDF into a post using Blogspot- I'll put that on my Summer Learning To-Do list. The survey has 3 negatively-  and 17 positively-worded statements, a comment section, and a reflection on how the survey was completed. I spent a considerable amount of time researching and developing this survey, but I am not a statistician, so I am sure there are many imperfections. I won't be generalizing the findings, other than to use them for  discussion and to support future planning for instruction and assessment, with a technology twist, in our school.

The process -Students ranked the statements that best described them. Staff support was available if requested/required. Each rank (Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always, & Not Sure) was assigned a score (1,2,3,4,0 respectively).The 3 negative statements were scored in reverse. If students responded the same way to the negatively and positively- paired statements (example - I enjoy school and I do NOT like school), I had a conference with them to determine their thoughts. So, presumably the higher the score, the more happy and interested the student was a school. The maximum amount of points possible was 80. Anecdotes from the comment section were recorded and pie charts were made for using the reflection part - most of the students completed the survey independently - answer (a). Results were shared with the classroom teachers and the tech tools were embedded in the classrooms - so far the NEO2 seems to get the most use. The survey did take a good chunk of time to hand score, so I have plans to use SurveyMonkey for the June edition (along with some edits).  The results were then entered into an Excel Spreadsheet and shared with the teachers - stayed tuned for my next post!

Drum Roll, Please! Here are the Details!

We have made some changes to our original plan. With the support of our amazingly insightful school psychologist (Maxine M.), we have streamlined our data collection. An LVS Engagement and Satisfaction Survey has been created to administer pre- and post- project and Maplewood will provide us with attendance data. Originally, we were going to collect literacy and numeracy data too; however,  Maxine felt that because of the short duration (April to June), it would be impossible for children’s cognitive processes and achievement levels to show changes. Furthermore, if a child has a true Learning Disability, they will be even slower to show growth – three months is just not enough time! However, we still can access informal achievement data through our school-wide assessment tools, for interest sake. At LVS, we collect individual student information in October and May each year to informally assess literacy and numeracy levels.  

The Satisfaction and Engagement survey will be administered after Spring Break and then again in the last week of June. We hope to see a rise in happiness and interest in our students!

Makin' it Stick!

In our grade 6 classroom, we are talking about making our learning stick in ways that are meaningful to each individual.  We had a class meeting and decided to make anchor charts to help us "walk the walk" after we "talked the talk." This chart was completely conceptualized and created by one of our students who best reads with his ears. I am very proud of him, because he honoured his strengths and learning styles with this chart. There are pictures and colours for visual learners; movable and 3-D pieces for tactile learners; and words for the word smart! He was also able to identify 4 things that help him as a learner which demonstrates some self smarts!

Another Delivery! 

Changes to the project are being contemplated too. Our school psychologist has some suggestions for me! Stay tuned...

Look What Came Today!

The PLAN

It turns out that we get to start Makin' It Mainstream at LVS! Our school just received word that we have received a $900.00 school-based Seed Grant from ManACE! We are very excited and have already submitted purchase orders for 2 NEO2  units; 1 Mobile Scanner ; and 2 iPod Touches . We will also have access to some iPads already in service at our school. We are hoping provide tools to help deepen understanding and build self-esteem in students who have achieved minimal success in school.

To get things started, an LVS Engagement and Satisfaction Survey has been created. It has 14 questions to assess how interested and happy each student is at school. There is room at the bottom for anecdotal comments for students to list what they feel they need to be successful at school. It has a Likert-type scale, and we will assign each response a numerical value. The higher the total, the more interested and happy that student is in school. It's not scientific, but will generate some useful information for us to use with our students. 
Ten students have been formally identified for this project, but the benefits will reach others through role-modelling and conversations. Attendance will be tracked using Maplewood to see if there are any fluctuations. In a perfect world, attendance would improve, but the time span is rather short. Pre- and post-writing samples and a pre- and post-ear and eye reading samples will be collected. An Excel spreadsheet is ready to house this information. We are looking forward to carrying out this little bit of research in our school!
Hats off to Mr. Hordeski and the grade 6, 7 and 8 students who helped make the digital story! Thank you for promoting learning for all at LVS!