| February 11th, 2005 | |
The Special Needs Opportunity Windows (SNOW) ProjectOnline Resources and Professional Development Opportunities for Educators and Parents of Students with Special NeedsThe Special Needs Opportunity Windows (SNOW) project offers online resources and professional development opportunities for educators and parents of students with special needs. Our online workshops, best practices and research information, curriculum ideas, discussion forums and other resources are designed to encourage educators to use new technologies to benefit all learners. The SNOW [Special Needs Opportunity Windows] Project is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Our In-service Development for Educational Assistants (IDEA) program is a certificate program series providing 3-week, online workshops designed for educational assistants and support personnel working with children with special needs. Our Spring 2002 workshops are fast approaching so register now! Available workshops include: Supporting the Student with Seizure Disorder in the Classroom Supporting the Student with Autism in the Classroom Supporting the Student with Cerebral Palsy in the Classroom Supporting the Student with Acquired Brain Injury in the Classroom Supporting the Student with Behavioural Disorder in the Classroom Upcoming in our Fall 2002 workshop series! Check it out at http://snow.utoronto.ca/prof_dev/eaworkshops/ SNOW's Professional Development (PD) Workshop Series are free, self-paced and have been developed by experts in the field of special education. The workshops cover a broad range of topics and, because they are conducted via the Internet, eliminate barriers such as transportation and travel time allowing individuals to gather information or participate in discussion boards when it is most convenient for them. Moderators will respond to all messages posted on discussion boards relevant to their area of expertise. Participants are expected to invest one to two hours per week for the duration of the workshop and must have access to a computer with Internet service. Here are a few current online PD workshops being offered: For more information and PD workshops, visit the SNOW Professional Development Web page at http://snow.utoronto.ca/prof_dev/ Our SNOWboard E-Journal has articles focusing on the current technologies and research initiatives being developed around accessibility in the fields of education and technology. http://snow.utoronto.ca/snowboard/ February's feature article is "Web-4-All: Ontario's Accessible Public Computer Terminals" People with special needs who require adaptive technologies in order to access computers may soon be able to access public computer terminals in Ontario. Web-4-All, now close to completion, is a joint project from Industry Canada, the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University of Toronto, and other technology firms aiming to develop tools for public access to computers and the internet. Please feel free to share this newsletter with your friends, family and coworkers.
Visit http://snow.utoronto.ca/ to check out what's new with SNOW! While you're there,
take a moment to get involved by sharing your experiences, questions and ideas with
others on the SNOW discussion forum. | |

