“Microsoft Assistive Tech Specialist Rachel Berger demonstrates free, accessible AT to support students who struggle with reading, and writing. This presentation showcases how tools can be used to support student engagement and accessibility for users with learning differences such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, ELL or a combination of any of the broad range of unique student abilities.”
News & Articles
Google Lens can now copy and paste handwritten notes to your computer
Seven Distance Learning Priorities to Consider Before Reopening Schools
Tech Thursday: Microsoft Accessibility Tools, Part 1
Literacy is a Constitutional Right, Let’s Now Treat is as Such
Based upon a United States Court of Appeals case out of Detroit, MI.
“We recognize that the Constitution provides a fundamental right to a basic minimum education.”
With COVID-19, The African-American Literacy Crisis Will Get Much Worse
How to Reduce the Stress of Homeschooling on Everyone
Children’s story book released to help children and young people cope with COVID-19
“A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children.”
WEBINAR 4/22: Learning for Students with Disabilities in the Time of COVID-19
“Our panel of experts will provide a brief overview of the law protecting students with disabilities during the crisis. They will then discuss the challenges and barriers homeschooling and other educational models raise for students with disabilities and educators, and recommend strategies for moving forward.”
8 Tips for Conducting Virtual IEP Meetings
Educators Get Creative To Serve Students With Disabilities
Rushing to Fill the Gaps Coronavirus Has Widened
More great resources for distance-learning! These resources are not specific to struggling readers; however, all parents might find helpful information in the links about working on reading at home, including reading passages to use at home – some even offer passages in Spanish.
Special Education Law Blog: COVID Requires Some Creativity from Schools
This article includes links to additional resources.
IDA Annual Conference: Reading, Literacy & Learning – November 2020
Reaching New Heights: Advancing Every Classroom Through the Science of Reading.
Located at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, just outside of Denver.
Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Conference – October 26
Hosted by PC READS in Park City, UT!
Rescheduled from April 23rd to October 26th.
Early Bird rates extended to September 14th.
Registration Link.
Reading in the City: October 3, 2020 (Denver, CO)
Postponed from Spring 2020.
Registration will re-open once all speakers are confirmed.
Wasatch Reading Summit – October 2020
Learning Ally: Spotlight on Dyslexia Virtual Conference – June 5
Conference Date: June 5th
Join us for a full day of professional learning featuring keynote speakers
Dr. Anita Archer and Emily Hanford plus 14 other speakers, and
earn up to 16 CE certificates.
June 5, 2020
9:00am – 4:00pm EST
Price: $99
Co-hosted by edWeb.net
Watch live or on-demand through September 30, 2020 to earn up to 16 CE Certificates.
DTI’s 4th Annual Virtual Dyslexia Conference – Spring 2020
Conference Dates: April 20th – May 8th
Early Bird : Jan 2 – Feb 29, 2020 – $175.00
Regular Registration – March 1 – April 19, 2020 – $249.00
Late Registration – After April 20, 2020 – $299.00
14 Tips for Fine-Tuning Your Virtual Reading Instruction
Distance Learning Despite the Broadband Gap
Teachers everywhere are adapting to distance learning and some areas are more challenging than others. Read about what one teacher in Appalachia is doing to keep in touch with his students.
Millions of students in rural communities like Appalachia are falling behind in school, simply because high-speed internet is unreliable or unavailable in their communities. Now, in the time of COVID-19, that broadband gap is growing even larger. With schools closed and federal guidelines advising A…
How to Handle IEPs During the Coronavirus Crisis? Some Expert Advice
EXCERPT: Education Week interviewed three experts—a special education attorney, an attorney who represents school districts in special education disputes, and a professor who studied special education law for decades—to find out what advice they have on handling IEPs during the global pandemic.
During the discussions, three common themes emerged. Schools should: provide services to students as soon as possible; worry more about making progress than following the letter of the law; and understand that much of federal law wasn’t written with online education in mind.
CEC Response CARES Act
7 Guiding Principles For Parents Teaching From Home
DeVos Weighs Waivers for Special Education. Parents Are Worried.
Coronavirus FAQs: Can IEP Meetings Be Postponed Until Schools Re-Open? Wrightslaw.com
Helpful information from Wrightslaw.
“Bottom line: Assume you will attend online IEP meetings. To help you prepare for an online IEP meeting, we are gathering tips from people who have attended these meetings and tips from experts in the video-conferencing field. You can expect an article about Online IEP Meetings soon.”
It Was Hard Being a Dyslexia Mom Before Coronavirus and Now It’s Even Harder
As parents become teachers at home, one of the most important questions to answer is, “Is my child learning to read, or reading to learn?” Then, you can make a better plan and gather necessary resources.
What parents need to know about the research on how kids learn to read
What should effective classroom reading instruction look like? This article reviews aspects of reading instruction including phonics, decodable readers, vocabulary and background knowledge.
“If children can’t master phonics, they are more likely to struggle to read. That’s why researchers say explicit, systematic instruction in phonics is important: Teachers must lead students step by step through a specific sequence of letters and sounds.”
New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn From Home
“I do believe that a lot of wonderful learning can take place for special education students at home,” said Shafer. “However, special education is a complex web of strategies and activities dependent upon student needs, and at home, students are not likely to get the academic learning they would receive in the classroom. Still, we have no choice but to try.”
