Hello Fellow Bloggers and Blog readers:
It's a new school year and we're off to a wonderful start. Seeing new bloggers start to appear on our list is terrific. I think this is a great way to extend our sense of community at Simmons! Don't you?
Everyone jump into the pool. It's easy and really fun.
Have a great school year!
Madalaine
Posted: September 25, 2008 11:43 am | 0 comments
Tags: blog Simmons community technology
Greetings One and All:
CEC's Annual International Conference has come and gone from our beautiful Boston. What a successful conference! We understand that this was the highest registration in several years, approximating 8,000 participants. From the Pre-conference sessions, to the Keynote from Henry Winkler to the professional sessions, every single moment was absolutely wonderful.
Last Fall we were thrilled with the invitation to design an Assistive Technology Showcase to enhance the conference offerings. Thanks to Simmons' own Chris Evans, Jane Hardin and Allan Blume for facilitating this invitation through your tireless work with the Local Arrangements Committee. We saw this as a great opportunity to model our innovative ideas for technology integration in the PreK-12 classroom as a tool for designing interventions to include all learners in the curriculum. We were so excited about the opportunity to share our best practice models and "strut our stuff"!
We estimate that we worked wi ... more »
Posted: April 8, 2008 3:08 pm | 0 comments
Tags: AssistiveTech, conference, SpecialEducation
Simmons moved to the new version of eLearning tools during the holiday break. At first it was a pretty confusing migration. Course tools have new names and icons. Authoring tools are moved around to where they didn't seem that they should be. However, after plugging away for a while and attending a quick one-hour PTRC workshop, I find I really love the new version.
Tool actually are where they should be and they work better! I find the more I work with the new version, the better I like it.
Keep on!
Mads
Posted: January 22, 2008 6:13 pm | 1 comment
Tags: blended, eLearning, graduate
This semester I've been working on a s-l-o-w implementation of the skills learned during last summer's Institute on Blended Learning sponsored by the PTRC. What a whirlwind 3 days! I knew that the Institute was designed to "practice what we preach" because the face-to-face meetings were paired (blended) with online activities. This was all crafted to lead participants toward understanding about instructional design in a blended format. What was exciting about the Institute is that it wasn't about blended learning tools. Instead it was about how to design instruction for blended learning interactions. In other words, how to ensure the integrity of a course; how to build a course in a blended format so that it is stronger - a better learning experience for students.
I must admit that I came through the door on the first day a bit skeptical. The course that I selected to "blend" was an assistive techology course. How could such a hands-on course be blended and still preserve the healthy, ... more »
Posted: December 3, 2007 5:19 pm | 0 comments
Tags: blended, eLearning, hybrid, online, WebCT
Thanks so much to the Simmons "techies" who are blogging. As a frequent early adopter of many classroom learning technologies, sometimes I'm not sure where to look for support. In browsing through the Simmons blogs, and reviewing some of the blogs being posted by Simmons "techies"in particular, it's a great way to feel validated. Some of your same technical journeys are similar to my own! In reviewing others' blogs I learned that Leopard really does have some quirks and Vista is still a bit over the horizon right now. Geeze... it's great to know these quirky things are happening to others too! Not only are there blogs about technical challenges, there are also blogs about some next steps thinking.
Great professional development while sipping on my tea!
So.... thanks Simmons "techies" for thinking out loud and sharing your ideas!
Mads
Posted: November 12, 2007 6:04 pm | 1 comment
Tags: blog, Simmons, technology
OK, I'll confess. I have been lurking on other educational blogs for a couple of years now. I love seeing other perspectives and opinions about what’s working in K-12 classrooms. It is inspiring to hear about the creative ways educators and therapists are using technology to reach and teach all learners. Regardless of learning challenge, technology can level the playing field, providing scaffolds and tools so that everyone can access curriculum. Were it not for the emergence of blogging, I don’t think these compelling ideas could be shared in as meaningful a manner. Hearing the excitement in the voice of an educator who makes a difference is always an astonishing experience if you ask me.
Here are my two favorite blogs for educators. For those working with low incidence populations, such as students with autism, or learners with the most intensive special needs, try following this one.
Teaching Learners with Multiple Needs
For those working with high incidence populations, such ... more »
Posted: November 8, 2007 5:48 pm | 2 comments
Tags: access, alumna, classroom, curriculum, education, K-12, Simmons, technology
Madalaine Pugliese is the Graduate Program Director in Assistive Special Education Technology for the Education Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at Simmons College. She coordinates the Program Faculty, serves as liason to the rehabilita...
