Richard D. Solomon's Blog on Mentoring Jewish Students and Teachers: Web-based games and activities for special education students

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Web-based games and activities for special education students

When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical) and virtual (i.e. online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training. The combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post we will discuss web-based games and activities for special education students.

Note: In no case should this blog be construed as a major or primary resource on special education.

Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has a interactive white board (i.e. SMART Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access to their own laptop computers or Ipads. Given parental and school approval, and the development of specific guidelines, smartphones can be used to enhance instruction as well.

Note: Although the web tools and resources described below can be applied in the Judaic Studies blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of instruction and training of Jewish educators. For example, here is a CoP you might want to join.

Note: The web tools and resources listed below can be used in both a physical and virtual Judaic Studies classroom.

Web-based games and activities for special education students from http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2009/09/07/100-useful-tools-for-special-needs-students-educators/

Do2Learn: Special needs kids and their parents will find songs, games and other activities to help them learn how to use the phone, stay safe on the bus, and more.
Google Earth: Google Earth is a fun, interactive web tool for studying the Earth, maps and more.
Parent Pals Special Education Games: This collection of games includes four levels of activities and over 200 different games.
Virtual Reality Special Needs Software: These video games and virtual reality games teach life skills and more to special needs students.