The blog, “Educational Technology and Mobile Learning” posted a recent blog post on June 11th called “Great Educational Resources for Teaching Autistic Students”. This is an informational post that consists of the author’s top seven resources for learning more about teaching strategies that are effective for autistic students. The first resource is called “Cindy Autistic Support” and it is a website that provides learning resources to help student with autism spectrum disorder. The primary goal of the website is to promote “the development of languages and communication skills, social skills, self-help, & academic skills”. The next option is “Autism Support Network”, which is a website that provides guides and coping strategies. “Autism Teaching Tools” is a website that connects you to parent blogs, book lists, toys and games, and curriculum management. “Do2Learn” supplies teachers with thousands of free pages of activities to develop social skills and behavioral regulation activities. The author also suggests watching TED Talks on Autism to develop a deeper understanding of how autistic students learn and grow. He also recommends a specific blog post from “Squidalicious” that discusses iPad apps for autistic students. Lastly, the author suggests using “Autism Speaks, the learning autism science and advocacy organization to find research backed treatments and to better understand the condition. I have previously stated how important it is for teachers to be constantly growing and reflecting how they can become a more effectively reach students. This blog post provides a wide variety of resources to use in order to successfully reach students with autism. Agricultural educators must ensure that they are creating a learning atmosphere where all students can learn in a modality that is suited to their needs. Therefore as educators we can never have too many resources and we must never stop learning.

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Matt Miller is a high school Spanish teacher in West Central Indiana who has written the book Ditch That Textbook. Miller’s goal when he set out was to revolutionize his classroom by launching “a textbook-less path where learning activities were often custom-produced for his students as well as infused with technology” (Ditch That a Textbook website). Miller is also a blogger and reports about the ways to create an engaging classroom. In his blog post “9 Free Ways to Grow as an Educator This Summer” he discusses the need for teachers to utilize summer as an opportunity to take advantage of profession development training on any budget. The first resource that he recommends is GAFE Summit resource pages. Google Apps for Education summits are hosted all over the world, but you can watch previous summits for free from the GAFE Summit homepage. Miller also notes the opportunities presented by ISTE Conferences. If you can’t attend the conference you can search the twitter hashtag #ISTE2015 to view tweets regarding new ideas, links, and photos. Follow the hashtag during the conference this summer from June 28th through July 1st to see all the action. Miller’s third choice is the use of podcasts. You can stream podcasts wherever you are this summer to learn about a wide variety of topics. Check out his list of podcast favorites. Next up is Education on Air, which is a free online conference by Google for Education. Miller also suggests joining a Twitter book study this summer with Paul Solarz, author of Learn Like a PIRATE, on Mondays from 7-8 p.m. CDT starting June 8, 2015. The book study will be on the #LearnLAP hashtag. Personally, I believe that all educators must utilize summer breaks to reflect and decide what needs to be changed in their classroom to constantly evolve their classroom for the better. Professional development training is a great way to see new and innovative ideas in the classroom. Whether it is learning about new apps one can use or different teaching strategies, professional development has become affordable and at the touch of a button thanks to social media and technology.

In Wesley Fryer’s blog “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2015/05/17/clear-signs-of-digitally-connected-school-leaders/ he discusses the need to connect with our students via social media and other forms of technology in his post “Clear Signs of Digitally Connected School Leaders”. Fryer shows schools like Clinton Public School District that are actively promoting teachers networking with both students and families. Schools like Clinton PS are doing so by linking each faculty’s twitter page directly to the school website. 

Fryer talks about the potential for educators to use the internet as a platform for “our ideas and the ideas of our students”. Within agriculture education, the internet can be used for community members and families as well as students. Due to the fact that agriculture education is a three- component model that includes classroom/ laboratory instruction, SAE, and FFA , students are often traveling, competing, or taking part in hands on and contextual learning. Digitally connected educators can keep donors up to date on how their contributions are being utilized to mold the next generations of leaders and parents can stay in the loop of what their student is learning. By connecting to families and students, agriculture instructors can foster a partnership between schools and families to increase readiness to learn. Fryer said it best when he reported, “technology can be a powerful amplifier, and we need to find ways to harness its potential to help us became smarter and more connected with each other”. As educators, we need to constantly be working towards creating the best learning environment for our students and connecting with them is one of the key components, so never overlook the power of becoming digitally connected.

The OSMO game starter kit is a “unique gaming accessory for iPad”, which consists of four games, reflector, iPad stand, tangram pieces, and word tiles. The masterpiece app allows students to improve their hand-eye coordination through the use of a traceable picture of your choice. The Words game provides pictorial hints while you race your competition to spell out the on-screen word. The Tangram game tests students’ abilities to arrange the provided puzzle pieces to match the on-screen shape. The Newton game allows students to use common house-hold items to steer balls into targeted zones. The OSMO game starter kit retails for $79.99 on https://www.playosmo.com/en/. This revolutionary technology can be used in any content area and age group. As an agriculture education major, I see it’s potential to help students trace and learn more about animal digestive, skeletal, respiratory, endocrine, reproductive, nervous, cardiovascular, immune, and muscular systems. However, the benefits that it instills in students goes beyond the topic of animal science. The development of better hand-eye coordination can help welding students hone their skills as well. During my test of the OSMO system, I was constantly engaged by the fun and educational programs, but mortified at my lack of hand-eye coordination as you can see by my drawing of a pony.  I was surprised by both the immense potential that it could offer a classroom. In conclusion, if your school has the resources to purchase multiple OSMO systems for your classroom then don’t be afraid to allow your creativity to find ways to implement it into your lesson and OSMO will be sure to keep your kids engaged. Rating for the OSMO starter kit: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️