Last C4T

For my last C4T I had Mrs. Julie Vincentsen. I am so happy I was introduced to her blog. She has such inspiring and touching post! I will continue to visit Mrs. Vincentsen's blog!

Mrs. Vincentsen's Post:

In a recent IEP meeting, a parent shared that her son was frustrated because he could not read the same books as his peers and he felt ‘out of it’ because he couldn’t engage in their conversations about the latest and greatest books they were reading. This led to an engaging conversation about audio books and I immediately emailed my sister as she struggled with the same thing with her two boys until they discovered audio books. She put the below together for me to share with parents. Thanks, Lisa :)
Audio books allow us to foster a love for literature separately from the mechanics of reading. This is essential in motivating struggling readers. Audio books also allow children to read independently and enjoy the same titles as their peers. With the availability and discrete size of iPods and mp3 players, a student can listen to a book in class without drawing the attention of peers.
Sources of audio books:
The public library is a great first place to check. Many libraries provide audio books that can be downloaded to your computer or mobile devise for free.
Audible.com •Availability: Audible.com is a commercial outlet and is available to all. It is owned by Amazon and works seamlessly with the Kindle as well as other devises. •Price: Membership is $15/mo. and includes one download per month. Additional books can be downloaded for a fee ($8-15 ea). Audible often offers membership deals and other specials. Call their customer service for the best current plan or to suspend membership. •Quality: Audio books are available for many titles and are read by professional actors. •Read-along: In order to read along with the audio, the book must be obtained separately. •Devices: Each book can be downloaded onto multiple devises including personal computer, mp3 player or iPods. •Textbooks: Textbooks are not available. •Other: Some schools are obtaining memberships from Audible at discounted prices.
BookShare (www.bookshare.org) •Availability: Bookshare is available only to people with print-based disabilities. •Price: It is free. •Quality: The audio is computer generated and can be sped up or slowed down. •Read-along: BookShare is unique because the download includes text and audio. The text is highlighted to assist reading along. •Devices: It is easy to use on a computer or iPod app. The app can download a book in less than a minute, even while on the go. •Textbooks: Textbooks are available, but only if the membership is obtained by the school and the child is on an IEP. •Other: This is a great tool for people with tracking issues and to assist in fluency rates by reading along with the highlights. However, readers can be frustrated by the computer-generated voice, which, for example, pronounces “Hermione” incorrectly.
Learning Ally (www.learningally.org) (formerly Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic) •Availability: LearningAlly is available only to people with print-based disabilities. •Price: An individual, unlimited, annual membership fee is $99. •Quality: Books are read by humans – volunteers, authors and professionals. Some readers make mistakes. Some books are read by multiple readers. •Read-along: In order to read along with the audio, the book must be obtained separately. •Devices: Audio books can be downloaded onto a computer or iPod app. •Textbooks: LearningAlly is unique because textbooks are available to all members and illustrations and graphs are also read and described. Textbooks are frequently read by experts in the field. •Other: If a book is not available, it can be requested and will be recorded, often within two weeks.
Thanks also to @KarenJan who shared via Twitter: “& don’t forget the Speak Selection and Reader features built into iOs devices.”


My First Comment:

Principal Vincentsen, I am a students in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I think audio books for a struggling reader is an excellent idea. I know a lot of children that don’t like to read because they struggle and this would really help children love reading again. It is also a great way to use technology in the classroom. Thank you for this helpful post.


Mrs. Vincentsen's Post:

I sent this email to the families at the school where I am Principal this afternoon and thought I would share here as well:
Good afternoon,
As we pause today to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I cannot help but be struck by how far we have come as a nation and as a people in the past 60 years. It is astonishing to me that it was only 58 years ago (1954) that the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Bd. of Education that the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place in the sphere of public education. Society takes time to catch up with legislation as is clear by the fact that nine years later, in 1963, Dr. King gave his seminal “I Have a Dream” speech. Visiting classrooms last week, I was able to participate in many lessons focused on Dr. King and his legacy. We are fortunate to be educators, parents and guardians in 2012 where we have the responsibility to teach our children the values of peace, equality and inclusion.
If you are interested in exploring Dr. King’s legacy further with your child(ren) I encourage you to visit Wonderopolis – a website sponsored by the National Center for Family Literacy. Today’s “Wonder of the Day” is “What is a civil right?” There is a powerful, short video and some extension activities in which you may be interested.

Michael Jackson’s lyrics in the background of the video are so fitting: “I’m starting with the man in the mirror…if you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make the change.” I think Dr. King would agree that this is a powerful message for us to share with our children who will be the leaders of tomorrow.
Have a safe and enjoyable week,
Julie A. Vincentsen
Principal
Helen Keller Elementary School
“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.” John Dewey

My Second Comment:

Hello, My name is Chelsea Hadley. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. Thank you for sharing this with everyone. This email is so touching and inspiring! I really enjoyed reading your post!