A Rousing Success!

In approximately 36 hours Ruth Morgan was successful in funding her Donors Choose project. 
This is astonishing to me, and a testimony to the power of asking for help! Any of us could replicate such a process.
Granted, Ruth has a strong network of folks who are interested in the work she does. She posted her Donors Choose project on her Facebook page as well as on her blog. She indicated to me that the majority of folks who donated were people she knows. Here is her "Thank you" letter she posted on her Donors Choose page this morning.

I can't fully express my joy, excitement, and gratitude for your donation to my project. It is great to see that you share my vision for using technology in teaching children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
The iPad that you have funded will enable students to develop functional communication skills as well as reinforce basic concepts and academics with innovative apps. The students are highly motivated by technology, and will put this to good use. Needless to say, I am thrilled by everyone's generosity.
I can't wait until this iPad arrives, and I can share with all the teacher some of the great ways to use it effectively! Thank you so much!
With gratitude, Ms. Morgan

Congratulations Ruth!

Innovative Funding Idea!

Often staff call or email me asking for technology for their classroom. If and when I can supply it we are both delighted. Sometimes though I am not able to provide the technology for various reasons. In such situations I often suggest that the teacher utilize their PTA funding (if they have any), write a grant or ask a parent to do so.

For many folks this feels like a daunting proposition. One of my colleagues, and fellow blogger, Ruth Morgan has experienced success in grant writing. Now she has stepped into another money making endeavor to provide an iPad for a classroom. Ruth is using donors choose in order to raise money to buy an iPad. One aspect about donors choose that I like is that unlike grants, there are very few if any rules that she has to follow.

Tek-Ninjas I encourage you to take a look at Ruth's page as a possible way for you to provide technology in your classroom, and while your at it, give some moolah to Ruth's project.

Ruth's project can be seen and supported here: donors choose site. Below is her write-up.

Ms. Morgan's technology project at Ephesus Road Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC | High Poverty

I am sure all of you have heard about the struggles of people with autism and developmental disabilities. I see these struggles daily. I am a speech pathologist and work closely with a teacher for a group of elementary students in a special education classroom. We co-teach groups and work with the kids throughout the day.

This classroom has seven fourth and fifth grade aged children, all of whom have autism or other severe disability. All of them struggle with a severe communication handicap. The classroom has some access to resources such as a Smartboard and low-tech augmentative communication systems. The classroom also has one iPad. We have discovered, though, that with these children, one iPad isn't enough. One child needs this to learn to use an augmentative communication app, while other children use apps to learn basic concepts. Another child uses the iPad as a calming device, using simple cause-effect apps, and listening to music. Other children use social story apps to help learn expected behaviors both in and out of the classroom.

An iPad 2 is a game changer for autistic children. With communication apps such as Proloquo2Go, nonverbal children can have a voice. With educational apps, the children can develop early literacy and math skills. With social stories apps such as Pictello, the children can see themselves in social stories and learn how to act appropriately. A library of photographs can be stored on the iPad 2 for easy reference, and since the camera feature is there, it would be easy to continually add pictures. It would be a portable picture dictionary!

The camera feature on the iPad 2 is incredible. Items the children need to learn to request can be photographed and then imported seamlessly into the communication software. Videos of the children using appropriate behavior can easily be taken, and then shown back to them. Children can practice speaking, and get instant feedback using the camera feature. There are myriad other uses for a camera, and this feature on the iPad 2 is wonderful!

Please help give this classroom a voice. An iPad 2 would be a wonderful tool to help these children learn to communicate, to read, to learn social skills, and develop functional skills for the future.

Happy tech-ing!

Posted with Blogsy

Thanks to the Public School Foundation!

Guest Blogger: Ashley Robinson

Hello again. Jim has been gracious enough to let me guest blog once again. Back in the fall, I appliedfor a grant on behalf of the Assistive Technology team. This grantwas awarded by the Public School Foundation of Chapel Hill CarrboroCity Schools (http://www.publicschoolfoundation.org/)

My amazing supervisor, Ruth Morgan(http://chapelhillsnippets.blogspot.com/), walked me through thegrant process and got me through my first grant application. Thegrant was titled, “It's Never Too Late: Targeting Literacy inMiddle and High School Students with Disabilities.”

Our aim in this grant is to providemiddle and high school students with disabilities easy access to ageappropriate material at their reading level. Jim found an app calledScribblePress, which allows students to write and illustrate theirown books. There are several ready made templates, so students whohave trouble generating novel text can have more structure. Authorshave the opportunity to share their material for others to read. Staytuned for more blog postings about ScribblePress and all of the coolthings it can do...

Today, I want to take the time to thankthe Public School Foundation for their generous funding towards thisgrant. With this funding, Jim and I hope to put one iPad loaded withthe ScribblePress app, and other apps to support literacydevelopment, in each middle and high school. Exceptional Educationteachers will be able to make use of this technology in theirclassrooms and with many different students. We have so many greateducators in this district, that it will be a real pleasure toprovide them with technology to support what they are already doingin their classrooms to target literacy.

On behalf of the secondary ExceptionalEducation teachers and the Assistive Technology team, we would liketo send a huge THANK YOU to the Public School Foundation!