A community of practice provides a forum for professionals to exchange ideas and discuss concerns related to the profession. Within this forum, technology can eliminate many of the constraints face-to-face communities of practice encounter by providing a convenient and highly interactive environment. A description of how to set up an online community of practice using blogs is described. Blogging can support professional learning by giving teachers a platform for interacting and collaborating with other professionals. The steps for creating a blog are given.
Learn how a content-specific prop jump-started preschoolers' vocabulary, oral language, and emergent writing development during a unit on insects and spiders.
Empowering Families During the Early Intervention Planning Process J acob is turning 3 years old. He loves trains, books about trains, videos of real trains, and movies with trains in them. Jacob has severe diabetes, has a seizure disorder, and is nonverbal. He has trouble controlling his food intake. When Jacob sees food or candy in his surroundings, he takes the item and eats it. If allowed, he would eat other children's snacks and lunches. If candy is stored in unlocked cabinets, he attempts to obtain and eat the candy. He harms himself and others when frustrated. He is very close to his brother and carries a picture of his brother with him. When Jacob is stressed, he looks at a picture of his brother to calm himself. Jacob is unable to express his needs verbally. It is vital that everyone providing him support understand the subtleties of his functional communication system and the specifics of his calming strategies. Jacob uses pictures to communicate. He carries his communication book with him in all environments. When Jacob needs to communicate, he opens his book and points to a picture to request items or respond to simple "yes" or "no" questions. A strategy developed by Jacob's parents and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team to help calm him consisted of first directing Jacob to the calming area, second giving
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