Second Life: FLASH PLUTONIAN

My Second Life adventure began as a bit of a challenge. After I downloaded Second Life onto my computer my computer crashed. Ahhh, what's technology without a few little glitches, So... I trekked it over to the TC campus to use the computer lab to access Second Life's vitual campus. While there I met up with Jessica Birch and Micki Kaye and we checked out the Autism Support Group. There was also an Autism Museum that looked pretty cool. I think these features are positive for autism awareness and are beneficial for people with autism and their families to connect with other people. The top picture is of Jessica and I figuring out some dance moves and the bottom picture is of Jessica, Micki and I lounging in the Autism Support Group.

Technology for a Dollar!!!!!

As special education teachers we are blessed with the opportunities to work with many different types of students--we are also cursed with budget constraints. The lack of fiscal resources often leads to special education teachers' use of their ingenuity to adapt resources (perhaps that is why we special education teachers are labeled "creative").
Here is a scenario that has or will presented itself in your classroom...

A new student has enrolled in your school and is placed in your classroom. Although this student is at approximately the same academic level as the other students in the class, he has a visual impairment that inhibits his academic performance.
What is a way you as a special education teacher can adapt materials to allow this student to function at the same level as his classmates?
The answer... PUFFY PAINT!!!!
Growing up as a preteen in the early nineties two things were true. First, I loved New Kids on the Block, and secondly I loved puffy paint. Every article of clothing I owned was bedazzled with puffy paint. I declared my favorite bands and all of my crushes in large, embossed letters among my sneakers, pants and t-shirts. Like New Kids on the Block's recent reunion, puffy paint is making a comeback... in your classroom! Use puffy paint to outline worksheets and pictures. Students with visual impairments can feel the outline to help them see clearer. Using puffy paint with glitter will boost the students ability to perform to their fullest potential, because the sparkle in the glitter will enhance their vision. Using glitter glue can have the same effect. Also, putting pictures of objects against a contrasting background can help the student see more clearly. So, when you are modifying your curriculum to assist students with visual impairments, remember the good old days of your childhood, and your creative teeny bopper experiences, and bring out the puffy paint!