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My favorite piece of technology in my house is my Amazon Echo. It offers me so many great features with quick voice activated access to the time, music, weather, the news, traffic, local stores, and much more. It even pairs with other devices to turn on my lights, adjust the thermostat, put shopping items on my iPhone and more. When I explored this device, I purchased a second Echo for my office, at Learning to Learn , when I realized all the great ways that it could benefit my students!   What is the Amazon Echo? The Amazon Echo is a wireless speaker and voice command device from Amazon. It is a 9.25 inch tall, cylindrical black microphone/speaker that allows voice commands. It responds to the name "Alexa," but this can be changed to "Echo" or "Amazon." There are a number of things you will need for the Echo to work. You will need an Amazon Prime account. You will want to pair the Echo to a Smartphone. You will need to have a wireless system in your home....

I’m so excited to tell you about the Google Docs tool, Voice typing!   This voice-to-text technology can be a wonderful, free assistive technology device for students with dyslexia and other types of learning disabilities. What is Voice to Text Technology? Voice-to-text or dictation technology is a type of speech recognition software or program that converts the spoken word to typed text.  Although there are many companies that charge for this technology, Google docs and Apple products offer this option for free.  In this blog we will focus on the free tool, Voice typing, in Google docs. How Can Voice Typing Help Individuals with Learning Disabilities? Voice to Text can help individuals with learning disabilities in a number of ways, because it: resolves spelling problems. Individuals no longer have to self-generate the spelling of words. Instead, they just need to clearly pronounce the word and voice-to-text will do it for them. allows individuals to focus on t...

I'm so excited to announce the release of my new Publication: Executive Functioning Game: Memory Master! It is the second of a series of four executive functioning games that I have been working on over the past six months. I’ve played it with my students, and it is ridiculously fun! Memory Master is a fabulously fun game for everyone, but it can also serve as a tool that exercises working memory, attention to detail, management of distractions, stamina, response inhibition, as well as mental shifting and sustained attention. This game can be used to integrate the two hemispheres of the brain, provide a fun brain break, and it can benefit individuals with ADHD, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, executive functioning disorder as well as the head injured and the elderly. Card Descriptions: Sample Memory Master card All 30 cards include six memory challenge actions, three activities and a distractor. For 1 to 4 Players/Teams: A parent, therapist or teacher can challenge a single...

Although many educators and parents know about the correlation between learning and movement, many disregard the connection once children get beyond kindergarten. But did you know that encourging students to sit still while learning and even completing homework could do more damage than good?   Sitting is Bad for the Body and the Brain The human body was not designed to sit for long periods of time, and research is now suggesting that a sedentary life is as detrimental to one’s health as smoking cigarettes.  Sadly, many school age children are now sitting in excess of 8 to 12 hours a day, and this has a negative impact on their bodies as well as their brains.   Three Common Misconceptions: Sitting still improves learning. Students should stay in from recess when they don’t finish their classwork. Classrooms become unruly when students are allowed to move around. Bringing Movement into the Classroom: Educators who insist that their students remain seated during the entire...

I'm so excited to offer my newest publication in 2016 - Reversing Reversals Beginners. This digital workbook is the fourth publication in my popular Reversing Reversals Series. Why Did I Create Reversing Reversals Beginners? Upon request, I have created more fun activities that bridge the gap between Reversing Reversals Primary and the original Reversing Reversals. I have included more simplistic activities that strengthen visual processing, tracking, directionality, discrimination, pattern recognition and more. What Population of Learners are Served by this Workbook? I created the Reversing Reversals Series to help students with dyslexia to develop the core skills needed for reading and math. These products are often used and recommended by vision therapists, educational therapists and teachers as the activities serve as brain training exercises that strengthen areas of weak cognition. How Does Each Product in the Reversing Reversals Series Differ? Image Purpose Activities Fun act...

Many teachers are aware of the four basic learning styles: visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic.  But did you know that there are eight more common ways that the brain processes information?  Accommodating these 12 ways of processing is a must these days and offering instruction as well as assignments that honor all these modalities helps to prepare our students for a future of life-long learning success. Let’s Review the Four Basic Learning Styles: Visual Learning: incorporates pictures, drawings and even personal visualizations into lessons.  This helps students learn through visual observation. Auditory Learning: involves learning through listening.  This helps students to learn how to focus on and determine the salient information from what they are hearing. Tactile Learning: consists of touching or feeling objects or artifacts.  It also involves the encoding of information when taking notes or drawing things out. Kinesthetic Learning: encompasses learn...

Are you a parent that is trying to get the best support for your child outside of school? Perhaps you are a teacher that wants to consider starting their own private practice. There are a number of professional titles floating out there and understanding the difference between them can be vital in finding the right fit. To help you with the process, this blog defines the commonalities and differences between a tutor, a learning specialist, and an educational therapist. Tutor:  A tutor is a teacher who instructs a child outside of school, especially to provide extra support and review concepts with difficult subject matter or classes. They often help with homework completion and may offer some strategies on study skills or time management. A tutor often holds a degree in the subject(s) tutored, and many have an undergraduate degree or higher. Learning Specialist: A learning specialist is an educator who is skilled and experienced in providing learning strategies to student...