Past+Tips+of+the+Week

= TIP OF THE WEEK: =

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 * ==== Do you or your kids ever get that "black talking box" on their computer? Its called VoiceOver and is a very helpful tool that allows people with visually impairments to access a Mac computer. It can be super annoying for you and your students though. Check out [|this blog post] about VoiceOver and how to turn it off. ====
 * ==== Have you been using your school's LoTTIE kit?!? Complete this survey to let us know how the project is going: [] . ====
 * Check out this new online tool for creating digital graphic organizers: [|Mindomo]! You can sign up for free, but have to pay for a premium account with additional features. The free version works just fine for quickly creating a really nice graphic organizer. Perfect for kids to use at home!
 * Check out this new online tool for creating digital graphic organizers: [|Mindomo]! You can sign up for free, but have to pay for a premium account with additional features. The free version works just fine for quickly creating a really nice graphic organizer. Perfect for kids to use at home!
 * Want to use the Mac's built-in text to speech, but think its too confusing? Well go at it a different way... You can quickly and effortlessly access this tool through the "Speech" toolbar in Microsoft Word. To open the toolbar, click on the "View" menu, then go to "Toolbars" and select "Speech". Next, highlight the text that you want to hear read aloud and click the button on the toolbar. Viola! You're done!
 * Have questions about who does what, regarding technology? Want to know how to get Boardmaker installed or how to make a digital graphic organizer using Inspiration? Check out the "Technology - Who to Ask?" handout. You can download the full handout here: [[file:Technology- who to ask.doc]]

This saves time and energy when looking for a file you lost or searching through files with similar names! > > > media type="youtube" key="2a7MkMrBAyI?hl=en" height="412" width="509" align="center"
 * Did you know that you can preview documents, folders, etc... within the Finder window //before// you open the file?? Simply find the file/folder within the Finder and click once on that file to highlight it. Now press spacebar. You'll see a preview of the document (including the real text if its done in Word 2008) without actually opening the corresponding software:
 * Remember your school's LoTTIE kit? Have questions about how to use it and what's included in the kit? You can find information in the FirstClass conference "Student Services Resources". In that conference, there is a folder called "LoTTIE Kit Forms". In that folder, you will find pictures and names of the pencils and grips, user manuals, and more.
 * Do you have a student who is a phonetic speller? Are you looking for a better spell checker than what's included in Microsoft Word? Check out [|Ghotit]! On the main website for this product is a free demo you can copy/paste sentences into or just type words. Its a phonetic spell checker so it will pick up those difficult spelling errors much better than Word.
 * Learn how to make digital graph paper for completing math problems on the computer. Watch this video:


 * Do you need to quickly look up the definition of a word? Here are some quick tips for accessing a digital dictionary:
 * Type the word in to spotlight in the top right-hand corner of your screen:
 * Highlight the word within your document/website and drag it down to the Dictionary icon on your dock. The Dictionary application will automatically open and define the word.
 * (Note- if the dictionary icon is not already in your dock, you can find the dictionary application within the application folder, and drag/drop it in to your dock)
 * In Microsoft Word, you can right-click (or control-click) on a word then click on "Look up" and then "Definition". This will open the Microsoft Word dictionary.
 * In Safari, you can right-click (or control-click) on a word then click on "Look up in Dictionary". This will also open the Dictionary application directly to the word you searched.

> > Well, did you know that when this happens, you can just press "enter/return" and it will insert that text into your document. That saves precious keystrokes for a student who has difficulty typing or poor fine motor skills.
 * You know when you're typing in MS Word and it starts to guess what you're typing? This happens a lot with the date:

> = = > Once in the Advanced Search window, you can simply choose the "reading level" that you're looking for.
 * Did you know that you do a Google Search by reading level? Its not aligned to specific reading levels, but instead broken down by "basic", "intermediate", and "advanced". The find these options, you just need to do an "advanced search":


 * How fast should my students be writing? How fast should they be typing? When is it better to type versus hand write? Here's a summary of the research: [[file:hwriting_kybding rate info.pdf]]

> []
 * Check out this interesting article on iPads and Autism... Different perspective than most articles, but oh so true:


 * The new version of Safari has a great "Reader" feature. This feature allows you to read articles online, but minimize distractions such as adds and links to other articles. Watch this video to see it in action:

media type="custom" key="8794502" align="center"


 * Need to quickly calculate something? Just type the equation in to the Spotlight and it will calculate it for you!




 * Did you know that Mac's have a built-in talking calculator? To use it, just open the Calculator application. You'll find the options for the "talking" under the Speech menu. You can set it to speak the numbers you type, the answers, or both. Pretty cool, eh?


 * Interested in recording your voice in Inspiration (to give student direction) or allowing students to record their voice in Inspiration? Watch this video to learn how: media type="file" key="Inspiration - recording voice.mov" width="543" height="543"


 * This is my new favorite website: [|www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com]. It has a dictionary of many math terms, organized alphabetically and easy to search. It provides examples of the terms and visuals. Some terms are interactive too. So fun!! Check it out!!


 * Want more ideas on how to incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into your classroom?? Check out the UDL Tech Toolkit wiki . This wiki provides all sorts of FREE web-based ideas for UDL in the classroom, including cool spell checkers, web-based graphic organizers, and more!


 * If your students are having trouble finding and tracking the small mouse cursor, enlarge it for them! You can find this option within system preferences. Here's how to do it: media type="custom" key="8212282"

> media type="custom" key="7962430" >
 * Create a custom toolbar for your students. This can minimize distractions, as they know exactly where to find their tools. Additionally, it can give students a visual reminder to use the tools:
 * Do your students have difficulty with //Reading Comprehension//? Try the website [|Into the Book]. This website teaches eight different reading comprehension strategies (including visualizing, summarizing, synthesizing, making connections, and more). Students also get to practice these strategies with the included digital text (with the choice to use listen to human voice recordings that highlight the text as it reads). Great resource, and its free!!

> > Options for voice recorders in your classroom include: low-tech voice recorder from the LoTTIE kit, Voice recording within Inspiration, Audio Notes within Microsoft Word, and GarageBand.
 * If a student has high oral expression, but struggles with written expression, encourage them to record their voice //saying// their story before they start writing. This way they can listen and re-listen to their voice while they type/write at a slower pace. While they are typing/writing, they can focus solely on that physical task as the intellectual task of creating the content of the work has already be done!


 * Have students use the built-in text to speech to listen to their written work read aloud. Students will often hear mistakes in their writing that they did not see when they proofread. The easiest way to access the built-in text to speech is to use the "Speech" toolbar within Microsoft Word. This toolbar is found under "View" - "Toolbars" - "Speech".


 * For applications that you and/or your students frequently use, add the application to your dock and then set it to automatically open at login. To add the application to your dock, find it within the applications folder and drag it to the dock. To set it to automatically open, right-click (or control-click) on the icon within the dock and choose "Open at Login". This is particularly useful for apps that you/your students are supposed to use, by may forget to use it or have difficulty finding it within the applications folder.


 * For students that struggle with spelling... Use the "Stickies" application! This application automatically saves and allows you to post multiple stickies of different colors. When students misspell or look up a word, they can type the correct spelling on to the stickie to reference later. You can then move the stickie so that the student can see it while they type.


 * When typing in Microsoft Word (or any other word processor, email provider, blog, wiki, etc...), when you misspell a word simply right-click (or control-click) on the word to bring up a right-click menu with correctly spelled words. Chose a word from the list and it immediately replaces your misspelled word!


 * When reading something on the computer, if your students encounter a word that they don't know... highlight the word (easily highlight by double-clicking on the word) and drag it down to the Dictionary application in the dock. The Dictionary will automatically open right to the definition of your word.


 * For a student that struggles with writing, check out [|Google Scribe]. This is a free google product that acts as a basic word prediction tool. You can type directly on to the web page and then copy/paste into your document.


 * When looking for digital text, try [|iTunesU] for free audiobooks read by a human voice! Lit2Go by USF has great free downloads of many works of Shakespeare. You'll find iTunesU within your iTunes software on your computer.