Leah and I would like to take this time to wish each of you a
Merry Christmas
filled with
PEACE and LOVE.
PEACE and LOVE.
Friday, December 23, 2011
We Have A Winner!
A name was drawn and the winner is:
Elizabeth
She has won our FAME Articulation Workbook CD
I will be sending you an email immediately.
Congratulations!
Elizabeth
She has won our FAME Articulation Workbook CD
I will be sending you an email immediately.
Congratulations!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Christmas Give Away Week #4
Can you believe this weekend is CHRISTMAS? Where has the month of December gone?
It has been lots of fun to engage with you through our little give away :) I have to tell you that our winners have been very excited and appreciative of their prizes.
A special thank you to those of you have shared comments regarding your happiness with our other products. We appreciate your support more than you know.
REMEMBER: We will be discontinuing some of our products as they are currently sold. They will be available until at their current price until the items are changed on our website.
Now on to this weeks question: How many pages are in our FAME Articulation Workbook CD? Respond in the comments section below to be entered in this weeks giveaway. The winner will win the CD. The winner will be selected at 10 AM on Friday 12-23-2011
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
It has been lots of fun to engage with you through our little give away :) I have to tell you that our winners have been very excited and appreciative of their prizes.
A special thank you to those of you have shared comments regarding your happiness with our other products. We appreciate your support more than you know.
REMEMBER: We will be discontinuing some of our products as they are currently sold. They will be available until at their current price until the items are changed on our website.
Now on to this weeks question: How many pages are in our FAME Articulation Workbook CD? Respond in the comments section below to be entered in this weeks giveaway. The winner will win the CD. The winner will be selected at 10 AM on Friday 12-23-2011
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Friday, December 16, 2011
Winner for the 12/12/11 week
All entries are in and the winner is:
RACHEL
I will be sending you an email immediately! Congratulations to Rachel!
Thanks to all who played and be sure to enter next week!
Leah and Dean
RACHEL
I will be sending you an email immediately! Congratulations to Rachel!
Thanks to all who played and be sure to enter next week!
Leah and Dean
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Broken Links in Previous Posts
Hello Everyone!
As life goes, each day has it's own set of problems. But we can also look at it with a Good News/ Bad News mentality, which is what I'm going to do in this instance.
GOOD NEWS: Caroline Bowen has a new upgraded website!! It is clean, sleet, and easy to navigate. http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/
BAD NEWS: The new website means all links in our previous blog posts to her website are now broken or non functional.
As time goes on I will go through our posts and update the links, but I don't see that happening in the real near future. However, I can supply you with a new link to where you'll find many of the pages you found useful.
http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=108 This link is basically what used to be the "start page" from the old website.
The tabs at the top of the home page will help you locate the information you need most of which appear under "Links" and "Resources" tabs http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/
Sorry for the inconvenience, but we will update the links as soon as we can.
We'd like to personally thank Heidi at PediaStaff for letting us know our links were broken.
Leah and Dean
As life goes, each day has it's own set of problems. But we can also look at it with a Good News/ Bad News mentality, which is what I'm going to do in this instance.
GOOD NEWS: Caroline Bowen has a new upgraded website!! It is clean, sleet, and easy to navigate. http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/
BAD NEWS: The new website means all links in our previous blog posts to her website are now broken or non functional.
As time goes on I will go through our posts and update the links, but I don't see that happening in the real near future. However, I can supply you with a new link to where you'll find many of the pages you found useful.
http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=108 This link is basically what used to be the "start page" from the old website.
The tabs at the top of the home page will help you locate the information you need most of which appear under "Links" and "Resources" tabs http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/
Sorry for the inconvenience, but we will update the links as soon as we can.
We'd like to personally thank Heidi at PediaStaff for letting us know our links were broken.
Leah and Dean
Monday, December 12, 2011
Christmas Giveaway!!-Week 3
The days are quickly dwindling down to Christmas and I always feel a sense of urgency whether I'm behind in holiday activities or not. I suppose it is the "hustle and bustle" of the season that makes us feel that way.
With this new week comes a new give away! We are having great fun doing this and hope that you are too.
Let's recap the game rules:
1. I'll give you a question that can be answered by visiting our website.
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
2. You can respond with your answer in the comment section here in our blog post.
3. The winner will be selected from those who respond correctly.
4. The Question of the week will be posted each Monday.
5. The winner will be selected through a random draw from all entrants of that week the following Friday morning at 10AM(EST), at which time I'll post the winner's name in a separate little post.
6. Be sure to include an email address where you can be reached if you are the winner. (I'll need to know where to mail your gift.)
The question for the week of 12/12/2011 is-
What is the purpose of the FAME Artic Cards CD? (HINT: the green CD..why would someone buy it?)
Have a great week and get excited!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
With this new week comes a new give away! We are having great fun doing this and hope that you are too.
Let's recap the game rules:
1. I'll give you a question that can be answered by visiting our website.
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
2. You can respond with your answer in the comment section here in our blog post.
3. The winner will be selected from those who respond correctly.
4. The Question of the week will be posted each Monday.
5. The winner will be selected through a random draw from all entrants of that week the following Friday morning at 10AM(EST), at which time I'll post the winner's name in a separate little post.
6. Be sure to include an email address where you can be reached if you are the winner. (I'll need to know where to mail your gift.)
The question for the week of 12/12/2011 is-
What is the purpose of the FAME Artic Cards CD? (HINT: the green CD..why would someone buy it?)
Have a great week and get excited!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Friday, December 9, 2011
And the winner is....(wk of 12-5-11)
This week's game is now over and the drawing for a winner has been completed.
The winner is Lynda! I have sent an email to mrstinkymalinky at yahoo.co. Please contact me with a mailing address so I can send you the Preschool materials!!
Thanks to everyone who played and be sure to check our blog on Monday for next week's question and another give away!
Leah and Dean
The winner is Lynda! I have sent an email to mrstinkymalinky at yahoo.co. Please contact me with a mailing address so I can send you the Preschool materials!!
Thanks to everyone who played and be sure to check our blog on Monday for next week's question and another give away!
Leah and Dean
Monday, December 5, 2011
Christmas Giveaway!!-Week 2
Good Morning, Good Morning!
How is everyone today? Excited to play with us again this week? I hope so because Leah and I are very excited to give away more of our therapy materials. Hopefully this week's question won't be as confusing as last weeks.
Before I reveal the question and start the game, I want to tell you about a delightful e-book that our "twitter-pal" @maggiecary (Maggie Cary) has written. The title is "I Can't Said the Ant" The book teaches contractions while entertaining the kids with a very cute story line. You can read the story here: http://meegenius.com/challenge/i-cant-said-the-ant-by-maggie-cary Maggie has entered a contest for her school in Florida to win an e-library for them and for a chance to get her book published. You can help her out by going to the above mentioned web address and voting! It is a simple click on that page, that is all, no entering of name or address or anything...JUST VOTE!
Now to this week's giveaway question. Which two (2) of our products specifically targets pre-school speech sounds? List the two products in the comments section below along with your contact email information for a chance to win BOTH items! Drawing will be held on Friday, Dec. 9th at 10 AM EST.
Good Luck to everyone!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
How is everyone today? Excited to play with us again this week? I hope so because Leah and I are very excited to give away more of our therapy materials. Hopefully this week's question won't be as confusing as last weeks.
Before I reveal the question and start the game, I want to tell you about a delightful e-book that our "twitter-pal" @maggiecary (Maggie Cary) has written. The title is "I Can't Said the Ant" The book teaches contractions while entertaining the kids with a very cute story line. You can read the story here: http://meegenius.com/challenge/i-cant-said-the-ant-by-maggie-cary Maggie has entered a contest for her school in Florida to win an e-library for them and for a chance to get her book published. You can help her out by going to the above mentioned web address and voting! It is a simple click on that page, that is all, no entering of name or address or anything...JUST VOTE!
Now to this week's giveaway question. Which two (2) of our products specifically targets pre-school speech sounds? List the two products in the comments section below along with your contact email information for a chance to win BOTH items! Drawing will be held on Friday, Dec. 9th at 10 AM EST.
Good Luck to everyone!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Friday, December 2, 2011
Winner of the 11/28/11 Giveaway
It is 10:10AM EST and this weeks giveaway is closed. The winner is
Jenna Rayburn
Jenna will receive an email from me shortly!
Congratulations Jenna!
Thanks to all who played. Now don't feel sad for not winning because we have more games to give away next week.
See you Monday with a new question!
Leah and Dean
Jenna Rayburn
Jenna will receive an email from me shortly!
Congratulations Jenna!
Thanks to all who played. Now don't feel sad for not winning because we have more games to give away next week.
See you Monday with a new question!
Leah and Dean
Monday, November 28, 2011
Christmas Giveaway!!
The sky is gray and winds are gusting to 50 mph, I think I hear my porch decorations blowing over. This is not my favorite weather pattern. With my Seasonal Affective Disorder I need sunshine and cheerfulness. What does one do in these situations? They create their own cheerfulness, so today with the holidays rapidly approaching we begin a Christmas giveaway. Each Monday from now until the New Year we will be giving away our products!
How shall we do this? Let's see....
1. I'll give you a question that can be answered by visiting our website.
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
2. You can respond with your answer in the comment section here in our blog post.
3. The winner will be selected from those who respond correctly.
4. The Question of the week will be posted each Monday.
5. The winner will be selected through a random draw from all entrants of that week the following Friday morning at 10AM(EST), at which time I'll post the winner's name in a separate little post.
6. Be sure to include an email address where you can be reached if you are the winner. (I'll need to know where to mail your gift.)
I think this will be fun. It has me smiling already!
Here is the question for 11/28/2011--
How many generic board games do we offer on our website? List them.
The winner will receive the games!!
Good Luck!
Leah and Dean
How shall we do this? Let's see....
1. I'll give you a question that can be answered by visiting our website.
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
2. You can respond with your answer in the comment section here in our blog post.
3. The winner will be selected from those who respond correctly.
4. The Question of the week will be posted each Monday.
5. The winner will be selected through a random draw from all entrants of that week the following Friday morning at 10AM(EST), at which time I'll post the winner's name in a separate little post.
6. Be sure to include an email address where you can be reached if you are the winner. (I'll need to know where to mail your gift.)
I think this will be fun. It has me smiling already!
Here is the question for 11/28/2011--
How many generic board games do we offer on our website? List them.
The winner will receive the games!!
Good Luck!
Leah and Dean
Monday, November 21, 2011
COMING IN 2012
I imagine there are more than a few SLPs dragging into work this morning physically tired from the hectic pace of the ASHA convention, but also professionally rejuvenated. I loved having the ability to keep up with the #SLPeeps as they went to their sessions, met other SLPeeps at tweet-ups, and gathered for a group meal at the end of the day! It was almost like being there...almost. (#SLPeeps is a group of SLPs from around the world who have gotten together to collectively support one another via twitter. If you are on twitter you should jump in the #SLPeeps clan)
My blogging today will take a slightly different direction as I share with you 2 Gals plans for 2012. I would wait until the beginning of the new year to share but our news affects you today! Allow me to share this as "bad news-good news."
Our first big news to make you aware of is that MANY our products will increase in price on January 1, 2012. Why are we raising our prices you wonder? Basically because our cost to hand produce them has increased to the point that we lose money making them :/ That's the bad news. However, due to having to raise our prices we feel you should receive a better product. Therefore in 2012 you will see many product changes for the better. Our products will have a more polished and professional look to them. That's the good news.
The following items will be discontinued in the product form they currently exist: (bad news) They will be discontinued as of 1/1/12 or when current stock is gone.
1-Pick A Stick Original
2-Bee Happy Pick A Stick
3-YOU WIN bottle cap game
4-Pick A Stick Christmas
5-Pick A Stick Halloween
6-Pick a Stick Thanksgiving
7-Spinner Games Preschool (Early Development)
8-Spinner Games Set 1 (F-K-G)
9-Spinner Games Set 2 (R-S-L)
10-Board Games: Abe & George, Rainbows & Smiles, April Showers, and Snow Days.
If you want any of these original games ORDER now. You may order online or by calling 866-930-3098.
New Upgraded Items to replace those discontinued: (good news)
1-Concepts Caps will be the new replacement for our popular Pick A Stick Original
2-YOU WIN will take on a more polished look
3-Bee Happy bottle caps replaces the pick a stick version
4-Seasonal bottle caps for Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving replaces the stick games
5-ALL Spinner Games mentioned above will be sold as a download only
6-All board games mentioned above will be sold as a download only
Our last big news is that we have developed NEW language games for 2012! Our focus up to this point has been on speech but due to many requests from you we will begin offering some quick play language games in our ever popular Grab-N-Go Series.
1-Opposites- a quick play card game to specifically teach opposites receptively and expressively. There are two levels of instruction with this game.
2- WH? -This again is a two level game in which comprehension of the WH question format is learned at level one and then expression or learning how to answer WH questions appropriately is learned at level two.
3- Attributes-1 In this card game your students will learn attributes through prompts and a quick play game of slap matching!
4- Attributes 2 This game allows your students to verbally practice stating attributes. The game allow practice to be FUN while making them more proficient.
4-GOLD RUSH is our newest generic game that can be played with any speech language target. It is a fun quick play card game that our kids love. Be the player to accumulate the most gold to be the winner, but there are many dangers in diggin' for gold!
Our new games will be sold starting in January and for your convenience will be offered in two formats: 1-a premade game or 2-as a download for those who like to save $$ and make their own.
I hope this information has you as excited about the coming year as it has Leah and I! We love creating materials for your daily use in therapy and promise to hold true to our mission statement of offering products that are Fun, Affordable, Motivating, and Effective (FAME). We can promise you we don't sell any product that doesn't work with our kids!!
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be thankful for all you have! See you next week!
Lean and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
My blogging today will take a slightly different direction as I share with you 2 Gals plans for 2012. I would wait until the beginning of the new year to share but our news affects you today! Allow me to share this as "bad news-good news."
Our first big news to make you aware of is that MANY our products will increase in price on January 1, 2012. Why are we raising our prices you wonder? Basically because our cost to hand produce them has increased to the point that we lose money making them :/ That's the bad news. However, due to having to raise our prices we feel you should receive a better product. Therefore in 2012 you will see many product changes for the better. Our products will have a more polished and professional look to them. That's the good news.
The following items will be discontinued in the product form they currently exist: (bad news) They will be discontinued as of 1/1/12 or when current stock is gone.
1-Pick A Stick Original
2-Bee Happy Pick A Stick
3-YOU WIN bottle cap game
4-Pick A Stick Christmas
5-Pick A Stick Halloween
6-Pick a Stick Thanksgiving
7-Spinner Games Preschool (Early Development)
8-Spinner Games Set 1 (F-K-G)
9-Spinner Games Set 2 (R-S-L)
10-Board Games: Abe & George, Rainbows & Smiles, April Showers, and Snow Days.
If you want any of these original games ORDER now. You may order online or by calling 866-930-3098.
New Upgraded Items to replace those discontinued: (good news)
1-Concepts Caps will be the new replacement for our popular Pick A Stick Original
2-YOU WIN will take on a more polished look
3-Bee Happy bottle caps replaces the pick a stick version
4-Seasonal bottle caps for Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving replaces the stick games
5-ALL Spinner Games mentioned above will be sold as a download only
6-All board games mentioned above will be sold as a download only
Our last big news is that we have developed NEW language games for 2012! Our focus up to this point has been on speech but due to many requests from you we will begin offering some quick play language games in our ever popular Grab-N-Go Series.
1-Opposites- a quick play card game to specifically teach opposites receptively and expressively. There are two levels of instruction with this game.
2- WH? -This again is a two level game in which comprehension of the WH question format is learned at level one and then expression or learning how to answer WH questions appropriately is learned at level two.
3- Attributes-1 In this card game your students will learn attributes through prompts and a quick play game of slap matching!
4- Attributes 2 This game allows your students to verbally practice stating attributes. The game allow practice to be FUN while making them more proficient.
4-GOLD RUSH is our newest generic game that can be played with any speech language target. It is a fun quick play card game that our kids love. Be the player to accumulate the most gold to be the winner, but there are many dangers in diggin' for gold!
Our new games will be sold starting in January and for your convenience will be offered in two formats: 1-a premade game or 2-as a download for those who like to save $$ and make their own.
I hope this information has you as excited about the coming year as it has Leah and I! We love creating materials for your daily use in therapy and promise to hold true to our mission statement of offering products that are Fun, Affordable, Motivating, and Effective (FAME). We can promise you we don't sell any product that doesn't work with our kids!!
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be thankful for all you have! See you next week!
Lean and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, November 14, 2011
MISC. SLP Resources Online-Part 5
Good Morning! It's a pretty day! As I type that I am remembering how my son, as a toddler, would come into my bedroom and lift one of my eyelids as he cheerfully proclaimed it to be a great day. How could you not smile in the face of such enthusiasm? With that in mind, I hope you let the small things make big changes in your life this week!
Following up on my theme of the day (letting small things make a big difference) I want to introduce you to Jill Kuzma, a small blogger that will make a big difference in your therapy. http://jillkuzma.wordpress.com/ She may be new to many of us but her blogs are packed with delightful resources that you can readily use in therapy! She calls her Blog "Jill Kuzma's Social and Emotional Skill Sharing Site" offering "Ideas for Educators Supporting Social-Emotional Skills." Who couldn't use that?
Here is a list of the many things you will find there:
Great Websites and Resources
Perspective Taking Skills
Teaching Ideas for Perspective Taking Skills
Conversation Skills
Teaching Ideas for Conversation Skills
Emotion Awareness and Management
Teaching Ideas for Emotion Skills
Friendship & Interaction Skills
Teaching Ideas for Friendship & Interaction Skills
Receptive Language
Therapy Ideas
Expressive Language Ideas
Therapy Ideas
Interactive Website Game Descriptions
YouTube Video Links for Social Skills
Assessment of Pragmatics and Social Language
Cooperative Group Game Ideas
MN Educational Critieria & Related Service
IEP/Treatment Plan Objective Ideas
Jill’s Presentations
References
I hope you will go visit her blog and make use of some of these great ideas!
Enjoy your therapy this week and we'll see you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Following up on my theme of the day (letting small things make a big difference) I want to introduce you to Jill Kuzma, a small blogger that will make a big difference in your therapy. http://jillkuzma.wordpress.com/ She may be new to many of us but her blogs are packed with delightful resources that you can readily use in therapy! She calls her Blog "Jill Kuzma's Social and Emotional Skill Sharing Site" offering "Ideas for Educators Supporting Social-Emotional Skills." Who couldn't use that?
Here is a list of the many things you will find there:
Great Websites and Resources
Perspective Taking Skills
Teaching Ideas for Perspective Taking Skills
Conversation Skills
Teaching Ideas for Conversation Skills
Emotion Awareness and Management
Teaching Ideas for Emotion Skills
Friendship & Interaction Skills
Teaching Ideas for Friendship & Interaction Skills
Receptive Language
Therapy Ideas
Expressive Language Ideas
Therapy Ideas
Interactive Website Game Descriptions
YouTube Video Links for Social Skills
Assessment of Pragmatics and Social Language
Cooperative Group Game Ideas
MN Educational Critieria & Related Service
IEP/Treatment Plan Objective Ideas
Jill’s Presentations
References
I hope you will go visit her blog and make use of some of these great ideas!
Enjoy your therapy this week and we'll see you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, November 7, 2011
MISC. SLP Resources Online-Part 4
Oh what a beautiful morning this is! I so love living where I can experience all four seasons. I drove through Natural Bridge in VA over the weekend and it was stunning. Seems like the reds in the forest were the star performers....the beauty made your heart sing.
Unfortunately, none of those comments about the beauty of fall segways into today's featured site :( so forgive me for changing the topic so abruptly. Today we want to feature Read, Write, Think.org site (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/) This is a huge resource that I hope you'll take time to browse through because there are many, many useful materials on this one site.
The site has 4 main topics across the top of the page: classroom resources; professional development; about us; and parent & afterschool resources. The link I have included in this blog will take you directly to classroom resources. There you will see a blue menu board on the left side of the page. You can search by keyword from the entire site or refine your search by grade level, student interactive type, learning object, or theme. They offer activities for grades K-12.
There are literally hundreds of resources/activities on this site. I found 806 lesson plans. When I refined for Kindergarten I found 140. Say it with me, "Nice!" One of the impressive features of this site is that these lesson plans are also organized by type. You can select from standard, milestones, units, or recurring lessons. It should fit any school systems requirements.
Let me walk you through an example of how you could use this resource. (open the site in another tab/window) Let's click on grade level kindergarten and learning objective phonological awareness. At this point you should see this page (http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?grade=7&type=32&learning_objective=50) if not copy and paste this url to get there. Now you will see 5 activities. Let's do the Word Family Sort, which is #5. Click on it. It will take you to the screen where you can begin the activity. (http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/wordfamily/) After you do the activity you go back to this page and from there you can print the word family chart, choose another vowel, or exit. NOTE: You will probably have to tell the kids that they only need to drag the letter to the column and it will automatically go to the bottom of the list. They won't need to actually place the word on the bottom of the list in each column.
Bookmark this site because you know you'll want to start using it in your therapy! There is too much to write about this site to put it all in a blog so just go check it out for yourself.
Have fun in therapy with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Unfortunately, none of those comments about the beauty of fall segways into today's featured site :( so forgive me for changing the topic so abruptly. Today we want to feature Read, Write, Think.org site (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/) This is a huge resource that I hope you'll take time to browse through because there are many, many useful materials on this one site.
The site has 4 main topics across the top of the page: classroom resources; professional development; about us; and parent & afterschool resources. The link I have included in this blog will take you directly to classroom resources. There you will see a blue menu board on the left side of the page. You can search by keyword from the entire site or refine your search by grade level, student interactive type, learning object, or theme. They offer activities for grades K-12.
There are literally hundreds of resources/activities on this site. I found 806 lesson plans. When I refined for Kindergarten I found 140. Say it with me, "Nice!" One of the impressive features of this site is that these lesson plans are also organized by type. You can select from standard, milestones, units, or recurring lessons. It should fit any school systems requirements.
Let me walk you through an example of how you could use this resource. (open the site in another tab/window) Let's click on grade level kindergarten and learning objective phonological awareness. At this point you should see this page (http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?grade=7&type=32&learning_objective=50) if not copy and paste this url to get there. Now you will see 5 activities. Let's do the Word Family Sort, which is #5. Click on it. It will take you to the screen where you can begin the activity. (http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/wordfamily/) After you do the activity you go back to this page and from there you can print the word family chart, choose another vowel, or exit. NOTE: You will probably have to tell the kids that they only need to drag the letter to the column and it will automatically go to the bottom of the list. They won't need to actually place the word on the bottom of the list in each column.
Bookmark this site because you know you'll want to start using it in your therapy! There is too much to write about this site to put it all in a blog so just go check it out for yourself.
Have fun in therapy with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, October 31, 2011
Good Morning everyone! The frost is definitely on the pumpkin this morning here in East Tennessee.....brrrrr. I hope you northern gals up in PA, NJ, and NY regions are staying warm. If you have to be out, I hope it is to enjoy snow day activities with your family and friends.
This weekend's weather is a great segway into today's topic of Pinterest. If you are already using Pinterest you know it is a great way to "while away the day" as well as a great little therapy resource. I know I can lose several hours of time before I realize it on there! Please note: It is addictive, so consider yourself warned!
What is Pinterest you asked? Quoting their own description here:
I am one of these people who bookmark lots of things I discover on the web so this takes all my bookmarks and organizes it in a visual format for me. If you've been reading our blog since the beginning, you know Leah and I are very visual people.
All the detailed information you need to utilize this site can be found in their help section here: http://pinterest.com/about/help/ It is very simple to set up and use.
There are many SLPs, OTs, PTs, and teachers sharing activites on Pinterest that I know you could incorporate into your daily sessions. In fact, I want to highlight one company who has gone above and beyond in finding ideas to use in therapy, PediaStaff (www.pediastaff.com). They are a nationwide company specializing in staffing therapist of all kinds for the pediatric population. They have busted their collective tails searching out resources and building an impressive collections of boards for all of us to use. They have 66 boards on topics ranging from language, phonology, fluency and articulation to fine and gross motor skills, sensory handwriting and many more. There are also boards with therapy ideas for each holiday that therapists enjoy integrating into their therapy lessons. I LOVE these gals!
Pediastaff has a great newsletter you can sign up to receive and I strongly encourage you to do that. They provide interesting articles and blogs in all our collective disciplines. I want to make perfectly clear here that if you sign up for their newsletter or follow them on Pinterest they will not use your information for solicitation purposes. In other words they will not annoy you with recruitment offers! The gals there are great and this is a true gift to the profession with no strings attached.
Now go forth and pin!
Enjoy your therapy this week!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
This weekend's weather is a great segway into today's topic of Pinterest. If you are already using Pinterest you know it is a great way to "while away the day" as well as a great little therapy resource. I know I can lose several hours of time before I realize it on there! Please note: It is addictive, so consider yourself warned!
What is Pinterest you asked? Quoting their own description here:
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.
People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.
I am one of these people who bookmark lots of things I discover on the web so this takes all my bookmarks and organizes it in a visual format for me. If you've been reading our blog since the beginning, you know Leah and I are very visual people.
All the detailed information you need to utilize this site can be found in their help section here: http://pinterest.com/about/help/ It is very simple to set up and use.
There are many SLPs, OTs, PTs, and teachers sharing activites on Pinterest that I know you could incorporate into your daily sessions. In fact, I want to highlight one company who has gone above and beyond in finding ideas to use in therapy, PediaStaff (www.pediastaff.com). They are a nationwide company specializing in staffing therapist of all kinds for the pediatric population. They have busted their collective tails searching out resources and building an impressive collections of boards for all of us to use. They have 66 boards on topics ranging from language, phonology, fluency and articulation to fine and gross motor skills, sensory handwriting and many more. There are also boards with therapy ideas for each holiday that therapists enjoy integrating into their therapy lessons. I LOVE these gals!
Pediastaff has a great newsletter you can sign up to receive and I strongly encourage you to do that. They provide interesting articles and blogs in all our collective disciplines. I want to make perfectly clear here that if you sign up for their newsletter or follow them on Pinterest they will not use your information for solicitation purposes. In other words they will not annoy you with recruitment offers! The gals there are great and this is a true gift to the profession with no strings attached.
Now go forth and pin!
Enjoy your therapy this week!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
1000 Miles Later
You are not confused, today is actually Wednesday and not Monday, but I did want to write a blog for this week. I have logged about a 1000 miles seated behind the wheel of my car this week and still am not home. Hopefully I'll be there tomorrow and enjoying MY bed and MY pillow. I will not bore you with my full travel itinerary but will share with you some of the highlights of our delightful trip to OSSPEAC in Columbus, Ohio this week.
Leah and I have been attending OSSPEAC for 3 years now and have a wonderful visit each time we go. This year was no exception. I have to say that the Ohio SLPS may be "northern gals" in location, but they are pure "southern gals" when it comes to hospitality! As vendors (or speakers) we are treated (by the event staff) very graciously and as nicely as if we were actually staying in their actual homes. A most sincere THANK YOU to Chris and Robyn for your efforts!
Leah and I are always so thrilled to see all those friendly faces of the Ohio SLPS and humbled by the kind comments and remarks they share with us about our products or session presentations. THANK YOU Ohio SLPs for taking the time to come by and talk with us and for so enthusiastically encouraging us in our little business with your support! YOU are the reason we do this...seriously, it is.
I want to share with you an excellent example of how wonderful these Ohio gals are. One of the events at OSSPEAC is a vendor reception in which vendors donate gifts which are then given away as door prizes to lucky attendees. This year we gave away our FAME Articulation Workbook CD and one of our Grab and Go Games. The winner, Jane, already had our FAME CD so she paid it forward by giving the CD to a new 1st year SLP who was seated at her table. How fantastic was that? We thought that was great! Bless You, Jane! (I feel I have to insert here that she did not share the Grab and Go game because she had really wanted it ;-) LOL)
Every time we go to conferences SLPs who purchase our products come by and share with us, not only how much they love our things, but creative ways they are using it in their personal therapy. One particular SLP had purchased our FAME Articulation Cards CD last year and shared this idea. She said she had made the artic card decks as is the purpose of the CD, but then found she could increase her homework involvement by using the cards. (We all get bored with worksheets don't we?) She said she made homework envelopes 5x8 size for each student. She uses the different artic cards in a daily session, then she puts them in the homework envelope for the child to practice at home. The parent drills using the cards and then dates and initials the outside of the envelope and sends it back to school. If cards get lost or never returned she simply prints a replacement from the CD. She stated that the percentage of homework getting done has increased substantially! I am sure she has some kids that would never bring anything back (we all have them and we know who they are) so she would simply not send any home with them. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to share so you could try it for yourself! (FYI: The FAME Articulation Cards CD can be purchased from our website www.2galsspeechproducts.com)
This about covers a few of the major highlights about the OSSPEAC conference. Hopefully you will get to go one day if you live in a neighboring state.
See you next week from TN!
Leah and Dean
Leah and I have been attending OSSPEAC for 3 years now and have a wonderful visit each time we go. This year was no exception. I have to say that the Ohio SLPS may be "northern gals" in location, but they are pure "southern gals" when it comes to hospitality! As vendors (or speakers) we are treated (by the event staff) very graciously and as nicely as if we were actually staying in their actual homes. A most sincere THANK YOU to Chris and Robyn for your efforts!
Leah and I are always so thrilled to see all those friendly faces of the Ohio SLPS and humbled by the kind comments and remarks they share with us about our products or session presentations. THANK YOU Ohio SLPs for taking the time to come by and talk with us and for so enthusiastically encouraging us in our little business with your support! YOU are the reason we do this...seriously, it is.
I want to share with you an excellent example of how wonderful these Ohio gals are. One of the events at OSSPEAC is a vendor reception in which vendors donate gifts which are then given away as door prizes to lucky attendees. This year we gave away our FAME Articulation Workbook CD and one of our Grab and Go Games. The winner, Jane, already had our FAME CD so she paid it forward by giving the CD to a new 1st year SLP who was seated at her table. How fantastic was that? We thought that was great! Bless You, Jane! (I feel I have to insert here that she did not share the Grab and Go game because she had really wanted it ;-) LOL)
Every time we go to conferences SLPs who purchase our products come by and share with us, not only how much they love our things, but creative ways they are using it in their personal therapy. One particular SLP had purchased our FAME Articulation Cards CD last year and shared this idea. She said she had made the artic card decks as is the purpose of the CD, but then found she could increase her homework involvement by using the cards. (We all get bored with worksheets don't we?) She said she made homework envelopes 5x8 size for each student. She uses the different artic cards in a daily session, then she puts them in the homework envelope for the child to practice at home. The parent drills using the cards and then dates and initials the outside of the envelope and sends it back to school. If cards get lost or never returned she simply prints a replacement from the CD. She stated that the percentage of homework getting done has increased substantially! I am sure she has some kids that would never bring anything back (we all have them and we know who they are) so she would simply not send any home with them. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to share so you could try it for yourself! (FYI: The FAME Articulation Cards CD can be purchased from our website www.2galsspeechproducts.com)
This about covers a few of the major highlights about the OSSPEAC conference. Hopefully you will get to go one day if you live in a neighboring state.
See you next week from TN!
Leah and Dean
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Misc. SLP Resources Online -- Part 3
LITERACY RESOURCE ONLINE
Hello Everyone! I hope wherever you live you are getting to enjoy this beautiful Autumn. Of course, this is a blessed time of the year to be living in the mountains. We are in the peak of our season for fall foliage and it is a feast for our eyes! It has been a glorious weekend with the color highlighted by sunny warm days. You know I can never start a blog without first sharing personal comments about my world, but now that I have shared I will tell you about a great little website on literacy.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ is a small website hosted by the Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation. The site offers stories online, 24 of them to be exact. Each story is read by a different actor and pictures from the book are included along with some animation at appropriate times. You even have the option of turning the caption on/off. I suggest using caption since we want children to associate spoken words with the written word.
Just listening to the stories being read by a familiar voice is delightful, but they also provide related activities for each book. You can target many academic learner outcomes/objectives/standards using these activities such as:
• Retelling the story
• Prompts for discussion/explanation
• Recalling parts of the story/recalling details
• Problem identification
• Problem Solving
• Research and report prompts
The site is free although they will accept taxable donations.
Today’s blog is short but hopefully I’ve told you enough to tweak your curiosity and you’ll go see for yourself!
Have a great week with your kids!
Leah and Dean
http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Hello Everyone! I hope wherever you live you are getting to enjoy this beautiful Autumn. Of course, this is a blessed time of the year to be living in the mountains. We are in the peak of our season for fall foliage and it is a feast for our eyes! It has been a glorious weekend with the color highlighted by sunny warm days. You know I can never start a blog without first sharing personal comments about my world, but now that I have shared I will tell you about a great little website on literacy.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ is a small website hosted by the Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation. The site offers stories online, 24 of them to be exact. Each story is read by a different actor and pictures from the book are included along with some animation at appropriate times. You even have the option of turning the caption on/off. I suggest using caption since we want children to associate spoken words with the written word.
Just listening to the stories being read by a familiar voice is delightful, but they also provide related activities for each book. You can target many academic learner outcomes/objectives/standards using these activities such as:
• Retelling the story
• Prompts for discussion/explanation
• Recalling parts of the story/recalling details
• Problem identification
• Problem Solving
• Research and report prompts
The site is free although they will accept taxable donations.
Today’s blog is short but hopefully I’ve told you enough to tweak your curiosity and you’ll go see for yourself!
Have a great week with your kids!
Leah and Dean
http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, October 3, 2011
Misc. SLP Resources Online -- Part 2
Good Monday morning to you all. It is October and there is definitely a chill in the air. We have had our first frost and sweaters are emerging. This of course brings to mind HALLOWEEN and do I have a delightful resource to share with you today!
This is the perfect time to introduce you to http://www.123listening.com/freeaudio.php listening materials for language teachers. This site shares free English listening activities. To put it in their words:
Here are the categories they offer:
adjectives set 1; adjectives set 2
animals set 1; animals set 2
bedroom
body parts
Christmas
classroom
clothing
colors (new)
countries
daily routines
feelings and emotions
food
fruit
Halloween
house set 1
people/occupations 1; people 2
prepositions for place
sports with 'play'; sports with 'go'
transportation
vegetables
verbs set 1; verbs set 2; verbs set 3
weather
For my purpose in telling you about this website, I will be using the category of Halloween, since that would be relevant to this month. When you click on the topic Halloween it will take you to the page for Halloween listening activities and printable color worksheets. The audio files are
Halloween vocabulary
What's that?/Is that ~?
What are you going to do for Halloween?
What did you do last Halloween?
Along with those files are a selection of printable worksheets which you can mix and match with the audio files above to create varying levels of difficulty. They even give you the test answers ;-)
In addition to that, they provide their templates so that you may make your own themed listening tests. You can record your own script and audio and select your own pictures for your personalized worksheets! I noticed there is a choice of 42 visuals for Halloween vocabulary. They credit Tools for Educators.com for the materials they are sharing.
Now if that wasn't enough of a good thing, you will also find these additional resources:
Teaching Materials flash cards, game cards, bingo cards, power point files
Coloring Pages
Party Invitations and Thank You cards courtesy of MES Cards.com
Stickers Printable Halloween Stickers from StickersandCharts.com
Printable Certificates and Awards
Worksheets crosswords, wordsearch, writing exercises
Chants and Songs
Don't forget this is only for the topic of Halloween and there are many other topics that you will be able to utilize in your therapy.
I think this is a delightful website that you can use in many ways in addition to listening and hope you will take time to explore the possibilities here.
We will see you next week with another great resource to share. Until then have fun with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com/
This is the perfect time to introduce you to http://www.123listening.com/freeaudio.php listening materials for language teachers. This site shares free English listening activities. To put it in their words:
Printable English listening files with matching worksheet, custom worksheet makers and additional supporting materials from www.123 Listening.com
Many different audio downloads and many different worksheets that can be combined to be very simple for young learners or more difficult for older students.brought to you by MES-English.com and DreamEnglish.com
Here are the categories they offer:
adjectives set 1; adjectives set 2
animals set 1; animals set 2
bedroom
body parts
Christmas
classroom
clothing
colors (new)
countries
daily routines
feelings and emotions
food
fruit
Halloween
house set 1
people/occupations 1; people 2
prepositions for place
sports with 'play'; sports with 'go'
transportation
vegetables
verbs set 1; verbs set 2; verbs set 3
weather
For my purpose in telling you about this website, I will be using the category of Halloween, since that would be relevant to this month. When you click on the topic Halloween it will take you to the page for Halloween listening activities and printable color worksheets. The audio files are
Halloween vocabulary
What's that?/Is that ~?
What are you going to do for Halloween?
What did you do last Halloween?
Along with those files are a selection of printable worksheets which you can mix and match with the audio files above to create varying levels of difficulty. They even give you the test answers ;-)
In addition to that, they provide their templates so that you may make your own themed listening tests. You can record your own script and audio and select your own pictures for your personalized worksheets! I noticed there is a choice of 42 visuals for Halloween vocabulary. They credit Tools for Educators.com for the materials they are sharing.
Now if that wasn't enough of a good thing, you will also find these additional resources:
Teaching Materials flash cards, game cards, bingo cards, power point files
Coloring Pages
Party Invitations and Thank You cards courtesy of MES Cards.com
Stickers Printable Halloween Stickers from StickersandCharts.com
Printable Certificates and Awards
Worksheets crosswords, wordsearch, writing exercises
Chants and Songs
Don't forget this is only for the topic of Halloween and there are many other topics that you will be able to utilize in your therapy.
I think this is a delightful website that you can use in many ways in addition to listening and hope you will take time to explore the possibilities here.
We will see you next week with another great resource to share. Until then have fun with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com/
Monday, September 26, 2011
MISC. SLP RESOURCES ONLINE-part 1
Good Morning Everyone! It's Monday and a perfect time to start anew especially if last week was miserable. By now everyone working in public school is back into the swing of things, so we will do likewise and get back into the swing of sharing useful information to make your day just a little easier.
Last year we focused on specific topics like AAC and Autism, but today we are going to begin a series on general SLP resources that are available online. Some of the sites we will be highlighting you may be familiar with, while others you may not, and then some of them you may have just forgotten about.
Today our focus is on the magnificent Cindy Meester. http://meesterc.wordpress.com/ Her blog is simply wonderful (I'm trying to break myself from saying awesome all the time, although her site is AWESOME.) She has been writing and sharing for a few years now and as a way of introduction let me share her first blogged words because they explain better than I could what Cindy is all about:
Since that day Cindy has diligently added to her offerings and now has a website that is a staple in most of our lives. Thanks Cindy! You ROCK!
When you go to her site you will immediately notice a list a mile long, on the right side of the screen. You can click on those for some very useful links and such. She has so much information to share that it has been cataloged for you. In fact, I'm so impressed with all you can find there, that I'm going to list it here:
Links links & links!!!
3:1 Service Model
Articulation Ideas & Materials**
Articulation/Apraxia
ASHA & MSHA & more SLP Resources
Aug. Comm. & Assistive Technology
Autism
Autism Groups(MN)
Awards/Sticker charts
Better Speech & Hearing Month
Boardmaker-visuals & pictures
Book Units (& adapted)**
Breathing Exercises
Bulletin Board Ideas**
Continuing Education
Convert to PDF
Create your own… video social stories and cartooning
Create your own…board games & more
Cued Speech
Current Events Resources
Disability Awareness- videos, etc.
ELL- English Language Learners
Evidence Based
Forms**
Freebies & Lessons Plans
Games online – MATH
Games online – Stuttering
Games online -Language
Games online- 20 questions
Games online-Articulation
Games online-Bullying
Games online-Early Learning
Games online-Variety
Games to play online – Search by keyword
Games- cooperative & more**
Great online stories
Holidays-Celebrations
Idioms
IEP Goals
Intervention suggestions
iPod/iTouch/iPhone/iPad and therapy
Left-Right Games
Listening Skills
Movie inspired activities-
Music for Speech
My Games!**
NASCAR
Norms for neurological and developmental foundations of speech acquisition
On-line Speech Language Therapy
On-line use materials
Phonic/Sound Visual Methods
Phonological Awareness
Picture Recipes
Poetry Links for kids
Positive Behavior Intervention
Products to order
RTI- Response to Intervention
Selective Mutism
Sign Language
SLP & Special Ed Groups & Blog Pages
SLP Logo Items
SMART board
Social Jeopardy Games & S.O.D.A.
Social Stories
Social Thinking (1 of 4)- LINKS, etc.
Social Thinking (2 of 4) – MATERIALS**
Social Thinking (3 of 4)- SUPERFLEX
Social Thinking (4 of 4) – VIDEOS
Speech/Language Information for Parents- developmental norms
Stuttering
Teacher Tube
Theme Units
Therapy Resources- categories,vocab, syntax & more
Turning Point
Velcro & Laminating
Video Modeling
Voice
Word Retrieval
...and that is just the link topics....you click on that for more information on each of those topics! See why I'm highlighting Cindy and calling her magnificent, wonderful, and awesome? She is.
If you are currently making use of her site you'll understand why I highlighted her, if you've never heard of her you'll be just as impressed, and if you have forgotten about her then you'll thank me for the reminder.
As we close, we want to remind you that we 2 Gals do sell a few useful products that we have created and invite you to browse our website www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Have fun with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
Last year we focused on specific topics like AAC and Autism, but today we are going to begin a series on general SLP resources that are available online. Some of the sites we will be highlighting you may be familiar with, while others you may not, and then some of them you may have just forgotten about.
Today our focus is on the magnificent Cindy Meester. http://meesterc.wordpress.com/ Her blog is simply wonderful (I'm trying to break myself from saying awesome all the time, although her site is AWESOME.) She has been writing and sharing for a few years now and as a way of introduction let me share her first blogged words because they explain better than I could what Cindy is all about:
"10/09~Welcome! I started this site to share a variety of links I have found on the web. Hopefully these links will help students (along with their families) improve their speech and language skills. I also hope other speech language pathologists will find great ideas, materials and resources to use."
Since that day Cindy has diligently added to her offerings and now has a website that is a staple in most of our lives. Thanks Cindy! You ROCK!
When you go to her site you will immediately notice a list a mile long, on the right side of the screen. You can click on those for some very useful links and such. She has so much information to share that it has been cataloged for you. In fact, I'm so impressed with all you can find there, that I'm going to list it here:
Links links & links!!!
3:1 Service Model
Articulation Ideas & Materials**
Articulation/Apraxia
ASHA & MSHA & more SLP Resources
Aug. Comm. & Assistive Technology
Autism
Autism Groups(MN)
Awards/Sticker charts
Better Speech & Hearing Month
Boardmaker-visuals & pictures
Book Units (& adapted)**
Breathing Exercises
Bulletin Board Ideas**
Continuing Education
Convert to PDF
Create your own… video social stories and cartooning
Create your own…board games & more
Cued Speech
Current Events Resources
Disability Awareness- videos, etc.
ELL- English Language Learners
Evidence Based
Forms**
Freebies & Lessons Plans
Games online – MATH
Games online – Stuttering
Games online -Language
Games online- 20 questions
Games online-Articulation
Games online-Bullying
Games online-Early Learning
Games online-Variety
Games to play online – Search by keyword
Games- cooperative & more**
Great online stories
Holidays-Celebrations
Idioms
IEP Goals
Intervention suggestions
iPod/iTouch/iPhone/iPad and therapy
Left-Right Games
Listening Skills
Movie inspired activities-
Music for Speech
My Games!**
NASCAR
Norms for neurological and developmental foundations of speech acquisition
On-line Speech Language Therapy
On-line use materials
Phonic/Sound Visual Methods
Phonological Awareness
Picture Recipes
Poetry Links for kids
Positive Behavior Intervention
Products to order
RTI- Response to Intervention
Selective Mutism
Sign Language
SLP & Special Ed Groups & Blog Pages
SLP Logo Items
SMART board
Social Jeopardy Games & S.O.D.A.
Social Stories
Social Thinking (1 of 4)- LINKS, etc.
Social Thinking (2 of 4) – MATERIALS**
Social Thinking (3 of 4)- SUPERFLEX
Social Thinking (4 of 4) – VIDEOS
Speech/Language Information for Parents- developmental norms
Stuttering
Teacher Tube
Theme Units
Therapy Resources- categories,vocab, syntax & more
Turning Point
Velcro & Laminating
Video Modeling
Voice
Word Retrieval
...and that is just the link topics....you click on that for more information on each of those topics! See why I'm highlighting Cindy and calling her magnificent, wonderful, and awesome? She is.
If you are currently making use of her site you'll understand why I highlighted her, if you've never heard of her you'll be just as impressed, and if you have forgotten about her then you'll thank me for the reminder.
As we close, we want to remind you that we 2 Gals do sell a few useful products that we have created and invite you to browse our website www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Have fun with your kids this week.
Leah and Dean
Monday, September 19, 2011
"TEACHING ALL STUDENTS"
Hello, Hello, Hello! It feels like forever since I have gotten to sit down and share with you. I am back now and excited to write this blog today not only because of the content but also because I have truly missed writing these posts. In case you are wondering how the move has gone, I can say that I am about 85% completed. (Yes, a true SLP always specking in percentages.) Mostly the maze of boxes is gone but I still have bare walls and windows, but that is the part I love... the decorating of my house to make it my home! Enough of me, now on with some useful information for you.
Today I want to highlight a fellow I have discovered via Twitter, Jeremy Brown. He is a Special Education teacher who, in my opinion, is not just a Special Ed teacher but a "special teacher." Jeremy is that guy with whom you wished you could work as an SLP because he truly puts his students education first. He is also very tech savvy, which really endears him to my heart, since I am so lacking in that area. He writes a blog along with Patrick Black called "Teaching All Students" http://teachingall.blogspot.com/p/about-jeremy.html which I am highly recommending you add to your list of AAC resources. He is very involved in the podcast, "Edceptional" http://edreach.us/category/ed-casts/edceptional/ another great resource. If that wasn't enough, he also hosts #spedchat on twitter. You can contact Jeremy on twitter @teachieteacher.
Now that you have an idea of who this guy is let me tell you a little about his blog site and the podcast. The blogspot "Teaching All Students" focuses on technology, special education and learning for ALL. There are several tabs on the top of the page that will take you directly to specific topics. As a run of the mill SLP working with a myriad of exceptional kids, I think you will be especially interested in the topics of apps, IWB, Switch accessible activities, tools and resources. You will need to explore those on your own because they are too vast for me to elaborate upon. Trust me when I say that if you are working with kids who have communication devices or alternative communication needs this blog is your Go To site.
"Edceptional" is a podcast in which Jeremy is actively involved along with his cohorts Patrick Black and Deb Truskey. As you would expect it focuses on all things related to special education and technology. This is a great way to stay up to date with what's new and what's happening! If you enjoy listening to podcasts this is a very good one to work into your week.
It is great to be back and I look forward to seeing you next week. Until then have fun in therapy this week!
Lean and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Today I want to highlight a fellow I have discovered via Twitter, Jeremy Brown. He is a Special Education teacher who, in my opinion, is not just a Special Ed teacher but a "special teacher." Jeremy is that guy with whom you wished you could work as an SLP because he truly puts his students education first. He is also very tech savvy, which really endears him to my heart, since I am so lacking in that area. He writes a blog along with Patrick Black called "Teaching All Students" http://teachingall.blogspot.com/p/about-jeremy.html which I am highly recommending you add to your list of AAC resources. He is very involved in the podcast, "Edceptional" http://edreach.us/category/ed-casts/edceptional/ another great resource. If that wasn't enough, he also hosts #spedchat on twitter. You can contact Jeremy on twitter @teachieteacher.
Now that you have an idea of who this guy is let me tell you a little about his blog site and the podcast. The blogspot "Teaching All Students" focuses on technology, special education and learning for ALL. There are several tabs on the top of the page that will take you directly to specific topics. As a run of the mill SLP working with a myriad of exceptional kids, I think you will be especially interested in the topics of apps, IWB, Switch accessible activities, tools and resources. You will need to explore those on your own because they are too vast for me to elaborate upon. Trust me when I say that if you are working with kids who have communication devices or alternative communication needs this blog is your Go To site.
"Edceptional" is a podcast in which Jeremy is actively involved along with his cohorts Patrick Black and Deb Truskey. As you would expect it focuses on all things related to special education and technology. This is a great way to stay up to date with what's new and what's happening! If you enjoy listening to podcasts this is a very good one to work into your week.
It is great to be back and I look forward to seeing you next week. Until then have fun in therapy this week!
Lean and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, September 5, 2011
MOVING DAY IS HERE
Good Morning Everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful 3 day weekend enjoying the last of the summer holidays.
We have BIG NEWS: this morning. 2 Gals Speech Products is moving! Actually just one of the two gals is moving but it happens to be the one who has the office in her bedroom. Thus, we will be offline beginning tomorrow Tuesday, September 6, 2011 until Tuesday September 13, 2011. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I know you understand.
The only contact information that will be changing is our physical location and our fax number. Those are:
2 GALS SPEECH PRODUCTS, LLC
1725 W. LAKEVIEW DRIVE
UNIT 50
JOHNSON CITY, TN 37604
FAX: 423-202-7156
You can still find us on the web at www.2galsspeechproducts.com or toll free at 866-930-3098. Or you can email us at info@2galsspeechproducts.com
See you next week from Tennessee!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
We have BIG NEWS: this morning. 2 Gals Speech Products is moving! Actually just one of the two gals is moving but it happens to be the one who has the office in her bedroom. Thus, we will be offline beginning tomorrow Tuesday, September 6, 2011 until Tuesday September 13, 2011. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I know you understand.
The only contact information that will be changing is our physical location and our fax number. Those are:
2 GALS SPEECH PRODUCTS, LLC
1725 W. LAKEVIEW DRIVE
UNIT 50
JOHNSON CITY, TN 37604
FAX: 423-202-7156
You can still find us on the web at www.2galsspeechproducts.com or toll free at 866-930-3098. Or you can email us at info@2galsspeechproducts.com
See you next week from Tennessee!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, August 22, 2011
Review of our posts
Hello and welcome to our Monday blog! Today I'm going to summarize the series we did back in the winter on Interactive Resources Online. This was a 4 part series. Hopefully life will settle down in a few weeks and I can begin sharing new information and ideas expanding on that which we started last year. Sorry but you will have to cut and paste the links. I still haven't resolved my issue with getting the links to work in my blog after updating to the latest version of blogger....(rolling my eyes).
Part one featured Greta's Game Station from which you can access many fun links such as FunBrain, Fun School, Primary Games for Reading, Interactive Stories, Digby Mole's Word Activities, Free Kids Games at Scholastic, Game Goo, and Preschool. Each of those have numerous fun educational and therapy goal driven activities/games.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/01/interactive-resources-online-part-1.html
In part 2 we talked about a website where you will find numerous activities for use with whiteboards. It is very educationally driven.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-2.html
The third in our series featured a county school district here in KY. This district shares over 150 powerpoint presentations for the classroom. You can get on your teachers good side by sharing with them, too!
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-3.html
Our final post in this series we introduced you to a site for free interactive whiteboard resources.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-4.html
That's it for us this week. See you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Part one featured Greta's Game Station from which you can access many fun links such as FunBrain, Fun School, Primary Games for Reading, Interactive Stories, Digby Mole's Word Activities, Free Kids Games at Scholastic, Game Goo, and Preschool. Each of those have numerous fun educational and therapy goal driven activities/games.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/01/interactive-resources-online-part-1.html
In part 2 we talked about a website where you will find numerous activities for use with whiteboards. It is very educationally driven.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-2.html
The third in our series featured a county school district here in KY. This district shares over 150 powerpoint presentations for the classroom. You can get on your teachers good side by sharing with them, too!
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-3.html
Our final post in this series we introduced you to a site for free interactive whiteboard resources.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-resources-online-part-4.html
That's it for us this week. See you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, August 15, 2011
Othello-Guest Blog Post
Good Morning Everyone!
I am bound and determined to have a Monday morning blog ready to go for you today. Since I am on the road traveling and can't let go of the steering wheel to write something positively outstanding, I am going to share with you a great little FUN therapy idea from Kim Lewis, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Kim has a little website called Activity Tailor which is found at this address http://activitytailor.com/index.html So after you read this blog swing by her place and read more about her therapy ideas and her products. Thanks so much Kim for helping me out and keeping everyone safe on the road.
The following is a recent post of hers on how to use the game Othello in therapy.
I love board games and Othello is one of those classic, perfect two player games. Do you remember this one? The board consists of 64 green felted squares and each player has 32 thick black and white disks that clack snugly into a space on each turn. The tactile aspect is hugely satisfying, in addition to encouraging fine motor skills.
You begin with four disks in the middle of the board, two whites diagonal from one another and two black diagonal from one another. Decide which player is which color (black goes first).
On your turn, place a disk on the board trying to “capture” at least one disk of the other color between a previously placed disk and your newly placed one. Here’s the fun part! You turn over each disk to “your” color that falls between “your “ two ends, whether it be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. “A minute to learn, but a lifetime to master” is Mattel’s slogan, and it’s true. The game involves a great deal of strategy and is fun for both children and adults. Somewhere around 8 years old/3rd grade is where this game tends to gain popularity.
Now, let’s tailor it! I buy boxes of plain circle stickers at office supply stores. They fit perfectly inside the little squares and the felt allows them to stick but not fully adhere (so you can switch the stickers easily with no residue). On 64 circles, I write the child(s) target words and place one in each square. We then begin to play the game, saying the words we cover as well as those we uncover when we flip the disks. This is a very fun way to get a lot of trials!
I like to provide auditory stimulation, so I usually say my “own” words, but it would be easy enough to place all the production burden on the child. And the game easily adapts to carrier phrases “I cover (target word)”, “I see (target word)”, “I said (target word)”, depending on what sound you need to in/exclude from the phrase.
P.S. The rows of disks have a very Oreo cookie look to them. I think a cookie or two in conjunction with the game could be a very therapeutic experience.
I am bound and determined to have a Monday morning blog ready to go for you today. Since I am on the road traveling and can't let go of the steering wheel to write something positively outstanding, I am going to share with you a great little FUN therapy idea from Kim Lewis, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Kim has a little website called Activity Tailor which is found at this address http://activitytailor.com/index.html So after you read this blog swing by her place and read more about her therapy ideas and her products. Thanks so much Kim for helping me out and keeping everyone safe on the road.
The following is a recent post of hers on how to use the game Othello in therapy.
I love board games and Othello is one of those classic, perfect two player games. Do you remember this one? The board consists of 64 green felted squares and each player has 32 thick black and white disks that clack snugly into a space on each turn. The tactile aspect is hugely satisfying, in addition to encouraging fine motor skills.
You begin with four disks in the middle of the board, two whites diagonal from one another and two black diagonal from one another. Decide which player is which color (black goes first).
On your turn, place a disk on the board trying to “capture” at least one disk of the other color between a previously placed disk and your newly placed one. Here’s the fun part! You turn over each disk to “your” color that falls between “your “ two ends, whether it be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. “A minute to learn, but a lifetime to master” is Mattel’s slogan, and it’s true. The game involves a great deal of strategy and is fun for both children and adults. Somewhere around 8 years old/3rd grade is where this game tends to gain popularity.
Now, let’s tailor it! I buy boxes of plain circle stickers at office supply stores. They fit perfectly inside the little squares and the felt allows them to stick but not fully adhere (so you can switch the stickers easily with no residue). On 64 circles, I write the child(s) target words and place one in each square. We then begin to play the game, saying the words we cover as well as those we uncover when we flip the disks. This is a very fun way to get a lot of trials!
I like to provide auditory stimulation, so I usually say my “own” words, but it would be easy enough to place all the production burden on the child. And the game easily adapts to carrier phrases “I cover (target word)”, “I see (target word)”, “I said (target word)”, depending on what sound you need to in/exclude from the phrase.
P.S. The rows of disks have a very Oreo cookie look to them. I think a cookie or two in conjunction with the game could be a very therapeutic experience.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Menu Planning--Your Other Life
Hello, Hello! Ok, so this will not be a speech post but still it does fit the theme of “2 Gals talk…” Leah and I not only talk speech but we also talk about motherhood, our kids (and grandkids now), marriage, interior decorating, diets, exercise, shopping, travel, etc. I was reading a recipe today that lead to an idea that I knew Leah would like. As I started to email her I thought why not share it with everyone? After all we are more than SLPs, although there are many days in which there appears to be little time for anything else but work!
So let me share with you too! I offer this as another tip to make the SLP’s life easier.
I found this great recipe for homemade gluten free mayo! http://glutenfreegirl.com/making-mayonnaise/ whether you have Celiac’s Disease or not, we can all benefit from eating less gluten-just my opinion! As I was reading the comments someone had stated a simple idea for menu planning. I have always said it isn’t the cooking that I hate, it is deciding what to fix that I find to be so burdensome! Leah and I have spent many conversations on this subject and have even tried monthly menu planning. That, of course, usually never made it past the first month. However, I can see this idea working.
What’s the big idea? Select a food theme for each day of the work week! Example: Monday is Soup day; Tuesday is Salad day; Wednesday is Fish day; Thursday is Chicken day; Friday is Burger day. Let me quickly insert here that the themes for each day can be customized to fit your family’s tastes and lifestyle. You may wish to have a Mexican day or an Italian night or sandwich night. You have the freedom to choose. I’m not going to come smack your hands.
Another reader felt this was too confining but I would ask, how so? There are a great many soup recipes out there, so getting tired of Soup night should not be a problem. Same goes for all the other food themes you set up for yourself. Fish night doesn’t have to be Baked Tilapia every time. You can do many different recipes! (Salmon Cakes—Tuna Noodle Casserole—Fish Tacos, etc). I would go so far as to pull out your favorite recipes in your categories to have handy for these nights.
I’m all for simplifying my life and if this helps then I’m going to do it. I have long since found being organized helps keep me sane and happy. If I’m happy and sane then everyone around me is too! You may not like this idea and that’s fine. I’m just sharing a thought such as I would share with Leah.
I wish you many happy burden free dinners!
Dean
So let me share with you too! I offer this as another tip to make the SLP’s life easier.
I found this great recipe for homemade gluten free mayo! http://glutenfreegirl.com/making-mayonnaise/ whether you have Celiac’s Disease or not, we can all benefit from eating less gluten-just my opinion! As I was reading the comments someone had stated a simple idea for menu planning. I have always said it isn’t the cooking that I hate, it is deciding what to fix that I find to be so burdensome! Leah and I have spent many conversations on this subject and have even tried monthly menu planning. That, of course, usually never made it past the first month. However, I can see this idea working.
What’s the big idea? Select a food theme for each day of the work week! Example: Monday is Soup day; Tuesday is Salad day; Wednesday is Fish day; Thursday is Chicken day; Friday is Burger day. Let me quickly insert here that the themes for each day can be customized to fit your family’s tastes and lifestyle. You may wish to have a Mexican day or an Italian night or sandwich night. You have the freedom to choose. I’m not going to come smack your hands.
Another reader felt this was too confining but I would ask, how so? There are a great many soup recipes out there, so getting tired of Soup night should not be a problem. Same goes for all the other food themes you set up for yourself. Fish night doesn’t have to be Baked Tilapia every time. You can do many different recipes! (Salmon Cakes—Tuna Noodle Casserole—Fish Tacos, etc). I would go so far as to pull out your favorite recipes in your categories to have handy for these nights.
I’m all for simplifying my life and if this helps then I’m going to do it. I have long since found being organized helps keep me sane and happy. If I’m happy and sane then everyone around me is too! You may not like this idea and that’s fine. I’m just sharing a thought such as I would share with Leah.
I wish you many happy burden free dinners!
Dean
Monday, August 8, 2011
Quick Reference to Our Eliciting Sounds Posts
For your back to school pleasure and quick reference here is our series on Eliciting Sounds. Once again I will remind you that we are just 2 Gals, who are old SLPs, sharing tips and tricks for eliciting sounds with which we have had success. We are not purporting this to be your guide for Speech Correction, but maybe it will get you thinking about how else you might get the child to produce the sound when all else has failed.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliciting-sounds-j-w-h.html Our blog post for Y-W-H.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliciting-sounds-s.html Our entry for S.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/04/eliciting-sounds-s-lateral-lisp.html This entry was dedicated solely to the Lateral Lisp.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/04/eliciting-sounds-sh-and-ch.html Our tips and trick for SH and CH.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sound-k.html Ideas for getting the K.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sounds-f.html Our post about the F sound.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sounds-r.html The dreaded R.
Have a good week and we will see you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliciting-sounds-j-w-h.html Our blog post for Y-W-H.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliciting-sounds-s.html Our entry for S.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/04/eliciting-sounds-s-lateral-lisp.html This entry was dedicated solely to the Lateral Lisp.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/04/eliciting-sounds-sh-and-ch.html Our tips and trick for SH and CH.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sound-k.html Ideas for getting the K.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sounds-f.html Our post about the F sound.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/05/eliciting-sounds-r.html The dreaded R.
Have a good week and we will see you next Monday!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Thursday, August 4, 2011
AAC Series in review
School started back on Monday here in Eastern KY! August 1st seems early to be going back to school, but when I look out my window and see the morning fog I get the “feeling” that it’s time. My body still responds to a school schedule. For fifty five years I have either been a student, an employee, or a Mom tied to a school schedule. I suppose it is only natural that this is how I should respond.
As promised, today’s blog entry will summarize a series we did last year, so you will have easy access to its contents without having to search the archives. Here is the series we did on AAC:
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-1.html We highlighted Jefferson Parish Public School System In Louisiana. This site offers activities for Pre-K up through Middle/High School, as well as leisure and switch activities. GREAT site!
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-2.html Next we featured Polk County Public Schools in Florida. This site offers a wealth of ideas utilizing Boardmaker* but also many in a pdf format.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-3.html Priory Woods School and Arts College has wonderful resources. They share interactive talking books and delightful FREE downloadable interactive software.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-online-part-4.html We talked about the FREE things you can get from Slater Software.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-5.html In this blog we showcased Visual Aids for Learning. All their products are free downloadable visual aids that you can use at home or school.
Through Twitter I have hooked up with a guy who is totally dedicated to Assistive Technology and want to feature him and his Diigo resources in another entry. Stayed tuned it will be coming soon.
As you get mentally and physically prepared for this coming year remember to add some FUN into your therapy and YOUR day!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
As promised, today’s blog entry will summarize a series we did last year, so you will have easy access to its contents without having to search the archives. Here is the series we did on AAC:
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-1.html We highlighted Jefferson Parish Public School System In Louisiana. This site offers activities for Pre-K up through Middle/High School, as well as leisure and switch activities. GREAT site!
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-2.html Next we featured Polk County Public Schools in Florida. This site offers a wealth of ideas utilizing Boardmaker* but also many in a pdf format.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-3.html Priory Woods School and Arts College has wonderful resources. They share interactive talking books and delightful FREE downloadable interactive software.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-online-part-4.html We talked about the FREE things you can get from Slater Software.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/11/aac-resources-part-5.html In this blog we showcased Visual Aids for Learning. All their products are free downloadable visual aids that you can use at home or school.
Through Twitter I have hooked up with a guy who is totally dedicated to Assistive Technology and want to feature him and his Diigo resources in another entry. Stayed tuned it will be coming soon.
As you get mentally and physically prepared for this coming year remember to add some FUN into your therapy and YOUR day!
Leah and Dean
www.2galsspeechproducts.com
Monday, July 25, 2011
1 Year Anniversary
Wow! It amazes me that a year has elapsed since I began this blog. I never dreamed it would be so well received, and that so many of you would enjoy reading it and encourage us to share more with you. Thank you dear readers! Our hope (and goal) always has been and always will be to make your work life just a little bit easier by sharing a tip, a trick, or a new idea to an old problem.
I veered off my yearly outline a time or two so that means there are a few more blogs to come before I embark on developing a new outline for this year. For now, I want to spend a couple of weeks with a review of the various series from last year that will help you get this year off on the right foot. I'm going to talk about each series as a whole, that way if there is a topic you are interested in you'll have it all in one cohesive place.
Our first series was Back to School Screenings and Evaluations In this series we discussed:
1. The oral mechanism and why to take the time to do a thorough exam the first time around http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and.html
2. Tips for checking for nasality http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_15.html
3. 3 clinical signs of a submucous clefts http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_22.html
4. A refresher on S/Z ratios http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_30.html
5. General guidelines for sound mastery http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-school-mastery-guidelines-part.html
6. Scheduling software by Caselite http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-school-part-6-scheduling.html
Our second series was Organization It was a six part series focusing on how to organize yourself and your therapy room. This was basically for that first year therapist who is overwhelmed with all that is ahead of him/her.
1. Using milk crates for storage http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/organization-part-1-milk-crates.html
2. How we organize and use "working folders" http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/organization-part-2-working.html
3. Homework slips http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-3-homework-slips.html
4. Using craft baskets in your therapy room http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-4-craft-baskets.html
5. Using a clip board http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-5-clipboards.html
6. Utility Bins http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-6-utility-bins.html
I feel this succinctly summarizes those first two series and will help you organize your therapy space and refresh your memory before you begin your school year this year.
As always we hope you have fun with your kids and enjoy your days with them.
(And yes, we hope you'll visit our website http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com/v2/ to look at the products we have developed that will make your therapy day easier and more fun for your kids)
Leah and Dean
I veered off my yearly outline a time or two so that means there are a few more blogs to come before I embark on developing a new outline for this year. For now, I want to spend a couple of weeks with a review of the various series from last year that will help you get this year off on the right foot. I'm going to talk about each series as a whole, that way if there is a topic you are interested in you'll have it all in one cohesive place.
Our first series was Back to School Screenings and Evaluations In this series we discussed:
1. The oral mechanism and why to take the time to do a thorough exam the first time around http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and.html
2. Tips for checking for nasality http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_15.html
3. 3 clinical signs of a submucous clefts http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_22.html
4. A refresher on S/Z ratios http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-screenings-and_30.html
5. General guidelines for sound mastery http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-school-mastery-guidelines-part.html
6. Scheduling software by Caselite http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-school-part-6-scheduling.html
Our second series was Organization It was a six part series focusing on how to organize yourself and your therapy room. This was basically for that first year therapist who is overwhelmed with all that is ahead of him/her.
1. Using milk crates for storage http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/organization-part-1-milk-crates.html
2. How we organize and use "working folders" http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/09/organization-part-2-working.html
3. Homework slips http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-3-homework-slips.html
4. Using craft baskets in your therapy room http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-4-craft-baskets.html
5. Using a clip board http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-5-clipboards.html
6. Utility Bins http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2010/10/organization-part-6-utility-bins.html
I feel this succinctly summarizes those first two series and will help you organize your therapy space and refresh your memory before you begin your school year this year.
As always we hope you have fun with your kids and enjoy your days with them.
(And yes, we hope you'll visit our website http://www.2galsspeechproducts.com/v2/ to look at the products we have developed that will make your therapy day easier and more fun for your kids)
Leah and Dean
Monday, July 11, 2011
Guest Blog- 6 Using Social Networks to Increase Professional Learning Opportunities
Today marks the final entry from our lexical linguist, Tanya Coyle. We sincerely appreciate her generosity in allowing us to repost all her blog entries regarding social media. Leah and i hope you will continue to read Tanya's blog at http://lexicallinguist.wordpress.com/
This blog post is meant to list the resources we are citing at our CASLPA2011 presentation in order for people to reflect on them later (and ask questions in the comments). It is also so that people who couldd not be inn Montreal today, can participate – of sorts- and in some ways ‘watch’ the presentation live or after the fact.
Here is the prezi we are using during the presentation – it outlines the majority of the information and contains video clips. We STRONGLY SUGGEST you view it in full screen for the best effect – especially during video clips embedded in the presentation.
Here is the handout for our presentation with links to various sites we discussed during the presentation. I am unsure how long they will remain on the CASLPA website so here is the list of resources and links we provided in the handout.
Blogs for SLPs
Sean Sweeney has made a blog bundle with 25+ blogs by people who are S-LPs. You can see it here.
CASLPA members
Cree-zy, Crazy Speechie: ndnspeechmom.wordpress.com/@ndnspeechmom
Lexical Linguist: lexicallinguist.wordpress.com/ @SLPTanya
TiPS: Technology in Practice for SLPs:technologyinpracticeslp.wordpress.com/ @SLPrj
Dysphagia
Dysphagia Ramblings: apujo5.blogspot.com/ @apujo5
Tech Use in Therapy and Assessment
Therapyapp411: http://www.therapyapp411.com/ various contirbutors
Speech Gadget: www.speechgadget.com/ @SpeechGadgetDeb
Speech Language Pathology Sharing: slpsharing.com/ @esailers
Speech Techie: speechtechie.com/ @speechtechie
GeekSLP: geekSLP.wordpress.com/ @GeekSLP
General Therapy Tips/Ideas/Thoughts
2 Gals Talk…About Speech Therapy:2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/ @2gals
Artic Brain Blog: articbrain.com/blog/ @ArticBrain
Easy Speech and Language Ideas: easyspeakideas.blogspot.com/@speechreka
Pathologically Speaking: pathologicallyspeaking.blogspot.com/@speechbob
Speech Therapy Ideas: speechtherapyideas.com/@SpeechTXIdeas
The Speech Pathway: thespeechpathway.com/blog/@SpeechPathway
Professional Organizations
Express Yourself Speech and Language:blog.speechandlanguage.com/ Pearson Ed’s blog, @SpeechnLanguage
ASHAsphere: blog.asha.org/ @ASHAweb
Advance for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists:bit.ly/d6rKBX
Blogs for Audiologists
Cochlear Implant Online: cochlearimplantonline.com/site
Tucson Audiologists/TIA Inc:tucsonaudiology.wordpress.com/blog-posts
Deaf Village: www.deafvillage.com
Podcasts
S-LP
Teach me to talk: teachmetotalk.com/category/podcast/
Stuttering is cool: www.stutteringiscool.com
GeekSLP: www.geekSLP.com/category/videos
A.T. Tips: attipscast.wordpress.com/
ASHA podcast: podcast.asha.org/ (rarely updated)
Audiology
Audiology Talk: audiologytalk.com
Oticon Educational podcasts:www.oticonusa.com/Oticon/Professional_Resources/podcasts.html
Hearing Review: hearingreview.com
MUSC Health: bit.ly/fdmozlSources for webinars
SpeechGadget’s entire list: bit.ly/gnp4ie
CASLPA: on.fb.me/eRCSVS
GeekSLP: www.facebook.com/GeekSLP
Home-Speech-Home.com: www.facebook.com/HomeSpeechHome
Speech Techie: www.facebook.com/pages/SpeechTechie/334045799297
PediaStaff: www.facebook.com/pediastaff
2gals: on.fb.me/exAj14
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Guest Blog Series -5 Social Media
I intentionally put the cart before the horse when I started posting this series on social media because I wanted you to be sure to get to know all about Twitter and how to use it. However, Twitter is only one of the many faces of social media and today’s post by Tanya Coyle explains the various kinds that are available to us. This was Tanya’s initial post in her series which introduces social media as a whole. Again we sincerely thank our “Lexical Linguist” for allowing us to repost her wonderful blog post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many people have spoken in their blogs about why they love using Twitter and various other social media to share information professionally. Others have posted in their blogs about the specifics of how to use Twitter and so on. However, none of them have posted this information with respect to speech-language pathology. This post will begin a series on using social media to create a professional (personal) learning network (PLN). I wanted to start by introducing the various kinds of social media that I use to network with other SLPs and related professions as well as the context in which I use them. I will follow up with how-tos for the various resources and hopefully use a speech and language lens.
Twitter
I’m starting with Twitter, since this is where I ended up starting with social media (not including Facebook, which I only use for personal and barely at that). Twitter is a good example of Web 2.0, which is how the internet has evolved to be more interactive for users. I was first introduced to Twitter as a source of professional information last winter. I was skeptical at first, but then saw how teachers are using Twitter to interact with each other (and sometimes students) professionally. I began to see how Twitter could be used for learning purposes, rather than for inane information sharing about oneself. This intrigued me, but there weren’t very many speech pathologists to interact with online at the time and learning the Twitter system took some practice and figuring out. Once I found some SLPs worth ‘following’ and got the hang of Twitter, I was hooked on learning and sharing.
I use Twitter to find out about and share useful links, materials, and ideas with other professionals, as well as to ask questions in my day to day practice. For example, if a student provides a response on standardized assessment and I’m not sure if I should mark it correct or not, I might throw it out to the Twitter community to see what others would do and why. Or if I am looking for new materials or ideas to tackle a certain problem I will ask my colleagues on Twitter, who are usually more immediately accessible to me than my colleagues in real life.
One surprising relationship I developed was with my professional association, CASLPA ( @CASLPA). My relationship with CASLPA is a big deal, since I didn’t give them much thought before getting to know them better by following them and chatting online. ASHA (@ASHAWeb) and RCSLT (@RCSLT) are also on Twitter. I’ve developed relationships with some of the businesses involved with speech pathologists too, like Pearson Assessment (@SpeechnLanguage). I’ve found the immediate accessibility to companies like Pearson very helpful in asking them questions or presenting concerns I may have with materials they sell. Pearson was even able to quickly sort out an order problem that I had few months ago!
I’ve also struck up collegial friendships with people I’ve met on Twitter, which has enabled us to work together to develop and share resources, create a discussion group, and even design an app. We frequently help problem solve each others’ difficulties in therapy and assessment and provide advice for various situations.
DiigoThe only problem I developed with Twitter was getting so many resources from the professionals I followed that I couldn’t keep up with the information flow. I was being directed to too many webpages every day to remember and find them again. Then I learned about Diigo.com, a social bookmarking site that allows me to bookmark webpages from any computer and access them on any computer. I’m also able to ‘tag’ bookmarks with keywords and even create lists for others to see and use the bookmarks I’ve saved. As an added bonus, this allowed me to provide ONE website address for teachers or parents to find all the links I might recommend to them. These links may have games or information to help with home/classroom practice and carryover.
Google DocI use Google Docs to share resources (usually my own; always stay within copyright laws) and even to create meeting agendas at my place of work. Instead of everyone emailing one person who has to maintain a meeting agenda, people can add their own agenda items and check the agenda in their own time. I also used Google Docs to put together a proposal with a Twitter colleague of mine, Janelle Albrecht (@albrechtjn), with whom I’m presenting at a conference in April but whom I’ve never met in person (yet).
Several of us on Twitter began a Shared Resource Folder in Google Docs so that all SLPs on Twitter could share various resources with permission from the authors, if they are not themselves the author of the material. There are many great resources within it, some of it used with permission from important researchers in the field. In it there is also a Goal Bank (therapy goals that various people have contributed) and a Twitter Book of SLPs to find the SLPs who are using Twitter actively. You require permission to have access to this folder and the documents within it from one of 4-5 SLPs on Twitter such as @albrechtjn, @mtMarySLP, @speechreka, and me (@SLPTanya).
SLPChat
Recently, a new way for SLPs to interact on Twitter was introduced. SLPChat is an international discussion group that occurs roughly every six weeks. Regular ‘chats’ on Twitter is nothing new, but this is the first one directed specifically at SLPs. So far we have discussed using Cycles for phonology as well as intervention and assessment for Dysphagia/Feeding. You can find out more about SLPChat dates, topics and use on the SLPChat blog and you can follow them on Twitter.
LinkedInThis is a social networking site meant for professionals, but tends to be more formal and static than Twitter. It is set up in a bulletin board style of interaction. There is a lot of great information and interesting discussions for speech pathology happening there, however. I am currently signed up, and I get emails, but I don’t keep up with LinkedIn. That’s why I’ve invited a guest blogger to do an entry on how to use LinkedIn so stay tuned.
BlogsI’m guessing you already know about blogs, since you’re reading one presently. There are many SLP blogs – more than I can keep up with reading! I have a few on my blogroll to your right, but there are more listed in the Shared Docs folder under a file called “Shared Links”. Or, better yet, you could check out Sean Sweeney’s (@speechtechie) SLP Blog Bundle through Google Reader, a great way to keep up with multiple blogs.
FacebookI forgot to include Facebook when I first published this post. Oops. I think I forgot because it is so prolific in our culture, however I’d be remiss not to mention that you can use Facebook to access professional information. Many professional associations, groups and individuals have a Facebook page that you can ‘like’, which more or less subscribes you to the information they post in a similar way to Twitter. In fact, you can link your Twitter and Facebook accounts in order to post to both simultaneously. UPDATE: There is a new group on Facebook called SLPeeps. I don’t personally use Facebook very much, but many people do and love it. I’m not against Facebook, I’m just busy enough with the many other social media I’ve already listed. This is the same and only reason I don’t actively participate in LinkedIn at this time. The beauty of social media is that there’s bound to be something that will be a good fit for just about anyone.
In my next posts I will explain how to use Twitter; the lingo, functions, and social use ‘rules’. I will later explain how to use Google Docs if there is a demand for it and things like Diigo and Google Reader. Finally, I will have a guest blogger explain how to use LinkedIn and possibly Facebook.
Happy networking!
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