Interactive Sites for Education

This blog began with many examinations of web resources (in the 9-years-ago pre-iPad era) and how their interactive, visual, and educationally relevant content also was very language-based (Speechie, forming the basis of the FIVES criteria). Simple web activities remain a great way to elicit language around a curriculum topic; when analyzing sites we can look for those that foster descriptive/defining, sequential, cause-effect or conditional language. Karen Ogen's Interactive Sites For Education is currently undergoing many updates but remains the best compendium of sites that can be used on laptops, desktops or Chromebooks (not iPad, as many are Flash-Based). Look to the site along with your creativity to find resources useful for targeting many concepts and language underpinnings within curriculum topics. For example, under Social Studies, and the subtopic of Calendar, this very useful resource from Starfall is linked:

The interactive allows you to use a functional calendar and identify key dates and decorate the month with seasonal images--time concepts are critical as concepts, connect to categories, and also relate to executive function.

Explore- be aware that as websites are jumping from Flash to other resources, some of the links may not work. I found the Flash resources worked in my Safari Browser on Mac, but Chrome presented some problems and so I installed the extension Flash Embed.

As another compendium of interactive websites (archive and "mine" the above if involved in telepractice as well) I also recommend the UEN Interactives collection.

Social Media is Filled With Stories

Exploring situations related to social media is right up our alley as social communication specialists. A client of mine recently started using some supervised group chatting and was making a few minor mistakes. Discussing social media is prime territory for understanding:
-metalinguistics: how text and photo-based communication may not carry the intended message due to lack of inflection, etc
-narrative language: what is the story of this communication? Could it comprise an initiating event that changes someone's thoughts/feelings
-hidden rules/curriculum: what are the overall unwritten guidelines about engaging in texting and other forms of social media?

I found the great visual resource from the Excuse My Speech Teacher's Pay Teachers' Store "To Text Or Not To Text" to be very useful and engaging for my student. The packet contains screen-looking visuals and interactions to determine "expected vs unexpected" (based on the acknowledged work of Social Thinking®) and how to respond, among other visuals. I actually reviewed these with groups onscreen/AppleTV.

The CyberSmart Curriculum (now updated, still FREE, and associated with Common Sense Education) provides great lesson plans for different grade levels and topics, including videos and interactive activities.