Infuse Choice and Engagement with Choice Boards

Giving students choices allows for individual differences in learning, encourages autonomy, and provides the learner the power to choose “how” to learn. It’s an effective instructional practice whether you’re in-person or virtual. It gives students opportunities to practice and master concepts taught in class. Choice Boards is an engaging strategy to help simplify lesson planning and addresses learning variability.

Choice boards are graphic organizers that comprise of different amounts of squares. Each square is an activity. The activities help students learn or practice a primary concept, while allowing them a choice. Students can be instructed to choose one or more of these activities to complete. They can progress from one activity to another either in an organized or random order.

 Click here to get a google doc template

  The following are tips to using Choice Boards to design for variability:

 

1.    When creating the boards be sure to have activities that cater to every learning style such as visual, auditory, read-write and kinesthetic.

2.    Boards can be created for weekly tasks, homework, projects and even assessments. Detailed instructions and requirements can be given for each task. An extra credit slot can be included to encourage students to better their learning.

3.    Tic-Tac-Toe: Encourage students to perform a set of three activities so that it forms a Tic-Tac-Toe. Students can choose these activities horizontally, vertically or diagonally. In this method the “FREE CHOICE” square can be in the middle.

Use of Choice Boards help to improve student motivation, engagement and learning by empowering them to learn to the best of their ability.

 Credit: ShakeUpLearning.com

Autism Goes to College

 Join us for a webinar on Aug 11, 2020 at 10:00 AM CDT.

Register now!

Meet Guillermo, Jasmine, Caroline, Jonathan and Aniella – five students on the spectrum take us on campus and into their lives to see how they’re doing college. Every fall, more and more students on the spectrum who are capable of academic work at the college level go off to college.
Getting in is often easy enough, but navigating college on the spectrum can be challenging in many ways. Students are figuring it out by doing it. From deciding which school will be the best fit, to interactions with professors and peers, facing roommate situations, handling money, homesickness, finding work, overcoming setbacks, staying on track to graduate– these students come up against aspects of college life students typically encounter.
Autism Goes to College is a first of it’s kind film, packed with honest insights for student, parents and educators offering an eye-opening look at what a growing number of neurodiverse students are bringing to campus.
Watch trailer here: https://youtu.be/7k2KLl0IL_k

The Intersection of COVID-19 & Trauma 

I attended this webinar earlier this week and highly recommend it! I'm planning to share some of the information with you, but if you have the time, be sure to register.

Frontline Focus will partner with the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) to facilitate the 2-hour COVID-19 & Trauma webinar for approximately 100 participants on  August 20 from 1-3PM. This webinar is geared towards front line service providers and utilize reflective practice to deepen the learning.

The COVID-19 & Trauma webinar will explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals and communities. Participants will learn ways to discuss the psychological and emotional impact of this crisis as it relates to our daily lives. In recognizing the ongoing traumatic impact of COVID-19, facilitators will share resources that support healthy individual coping mechanisms and self-care.

Click here to register

Using Google Microphone in Google Docs

Try out the microphone feature in Google Docs with your students. 

Start voice typing in a document

1. Check that your microphone works.
2. Open a document in Google Docs with a Chrome browser.
3. Click Tools  Voice typing. A microphone box appears.
4. When you're ready to speak, click the microphone.
5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).
6. When you're done, click the microphone again.

Correct mistakes while voice typing

• If you make a mistake while you're typing with your voice, you can move your cursor to the mistake and fix it without turning off the microphone.
• After you correct the mistake, move the cursor back to where you want to continue.
• To see a list of suggestions, right-click words underlined in gray.

This works with MANY LANGUAGES! Try it out today! 

For support, click here 

Free Clear Face Shields for Illinois Residents

The Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission is distributing a free pack of 5 clear face shields to anyone who is a resident of Illinois.  The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) provided the face shields to IDHHC for distribution. IDHHC requested IEMA to assist with providing Illinois residents personal protective equipment which would help reduce communication barriers this COVID-19 pandemic.

This opportunity is not limited to Deaf, DeafBlind or Hard of Hearing individuals but also teachers, students, parents, sign language interpreters or anyone that is an Illinois resident. Registration for the free clear face shields will be available on IDHHC’s website by next week. Per IDHHC request, we are helping them spread the word. Stay tuned for more information. 

Stress Shuts Down Neural Plasticity

Check out this video from i-Pathways on Brain Science and the Adult Learner. So much valuable information in less than 10 minutes! Thanks to Nance Heuer-Evans for sharing. Of course we see the effects in our adult ed students. Her final point, stress shuts down neural plasticity hit me as I thought about the stress for all of us in the last few months. I know I have seen this in my own brain. Recognizing the results of stress as we see it in ourselves will hopefully help us consider how to alter offerings to best meet the needs of our students. Nance shares key takeaways in her video. Check out Brain Science and the Adult Learner here.

Differentiated Assessment:
Learner-Centered Options to Maximize Understanding and Success

Thursday, June 18th, 2:00-3:00 pm

Presenter: Sarah Goldammer

Are you giving your students authentic opportunities to demonstrate what they know? Are you using real world and real work options to assess your students understanding? You’re differentiating instruction, but are you also differentiating your assessments? Experience some proven learner-centered approaches, gather ideas to use next class period, learn more virtual options, and have some fun with your fellow educators!

Click here to access archived webinar