I attended the EdCamp conference to learn more about the tech community and new apps I could use with my students. One conference that I really liked was Mr. Balcom's seminar. He is a teacher in Kearney who used some really creative writing and reading tech ideas with students that allowed communication and correspondence with the global community.
The following link takes you to his website with many of the ideas about which he spoke. http://www.mrbalcom.com/global-read-aloud-project
The idea that I would like to incorporate next fall is the Global Read Aloud Project. You will see detailed information on his site. In essence, students from around the globe read the same books and blog or communicate with each other. I'm excited to try this but am thinking I may need to do it with my 5th grade group due to reading level. Typically, students in my speech groups are slightly below grade level in reading or comprehension.
Anyhow, check out his site- it's worth a look!

Collaborative Teaching:

I used the Jeopardy website to create a game for NeSA Science Review that could be used with our 4th grade Special Education students that I share with Mrs. Smith, the resource teacher. We used the game to review material that had been taught throughout the year. The students were very motivated to participate and answer questions. They were also very thoughtful about their responses because an incorrect answer deducted points from their score.
I have used the Jeopardy boards frequently this semester for vocabulary review and informal comprehension assessment. One tip I would give anyone using the boards is to create a Word document that has all of the web addresses so you can quickly access them after using them. This is the link to the Science NeSA board: https://jeopardylabs.com/play/nesa-science-review

Apps for parent communication:

I tried the Tellagami app, which is defined by the developers as: "By combining photos, voice, character customization and personality on a mobile platform, we help you communicate in a way that's never been possible".  Essentially, you can create a character and add voice to say a thirty second message. I utilized the app with students for weekly vocabulary and speech sounds. The student can create a 30 second recorded message that can be sent via email. I had the students record a message with sentences that they created with target vocabulary words. Then I was able to send the message to parents so they have an idea of the expectations in the classroom for "meaningful sentences" with the Wonders curriculum.
I also used the app to send parents updated progress regarding the speech sounds on which their child is working.
I think this app is good if the child is shy about having their face on the photo or the student has a "no photograph" clause in their file. However, I think you could use an app like Chatterpix and have the same effect without having to create a character and take the time to to pick clothes, pants, eyes, etc.. Chatterpix is an actual picture of the student which may appeal to parents. The two apps are essentially the same outcome.

ISTE Standards define creativity for students as:
- applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas and products
- creating original works as a means of personal or group expression
- using models or simulations to explore complex systems
- identify trends and forecast possibilities

My role as a speech language pathologist is different than a regular education classroom teacher in several ways: the time with students (typically limited to 25 minutes per session), the demand to know curriculum pre-K-5, typically re-teaching and/or pre-teaching information that is covered in the classroom, and specific information needs to be covered to meet IEP objectives while teaching and adapting the curriculum.
These responsibilities to put some constraints on the flexibility I can have during my short time with students. I do understand that classroom teachers have similar issues due to the speed at which the curriculum progresses, particularly in math. So, in no way, am I implying that this would be easier if I were a classroom teacher. It's just different.
Due to the time limits mentioned, I have not had my students complete a really technical and involved tech project but I will list some activities we have done that may qualify:

5th grade:
To meet IEP goals and enhance my student's learning with the reading curriculum, we use Google images to provide visuals for weekly vocabulary.
We have been working with the 5th grade for about 4 weeks on using Google as a search engine for information, specifically targeting 1) summarizing headings to locate appropriate information, 2) being able to locate an appropriate picture to match the vocabulary word, 3) determining if the word needs to be changed to meet the definition ("diversity" may need to be shortened to "diverse" when searching), 4) using the Google image paired with the app, Skitch, to write the definition in their own words/ creating a visual that can be shared with their parents, and 5) using good digital citizenship rules to ignore inappropriate information that may appear even with filters in place.
This has been enlightening to see which students can complete the aforementioned skills and the level of cuing they require to complete the project.
It has given us insight into the students' skills with grammatical structures, connectivity, reflection, and generalization of information.
Inviting the students' parents into their daily learning has been positive because it creates a dialogue between student/ parent and improves the relationship they have with me because it is one more connection made (rather than 3x a year during parent teacher conferences and IEP meetings).
The ways in which I think it fits the rubric include:
- applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas and products- Students use the Google images they found to represent each vocabulary word. They are required to use their background knowledge to produce meaningful sentences. We also take turns going around the table creating a sentence with each participant adding one word- this promotes flexibility and also opens their minds to new ways to state information.
- creating original works as a means of personal or group expression (picture paired with each child's or partner's original sentence with target vocabulary via Skitch/ Google)
- using models or simulations to explore complex systems- we don't create models but explore complex topics verbally and visually
- identify trends and forecast possibilities (it is interesting to see the trends of photos that come up during a Google search compared to the background knowledge I have). I do have the students make predictions regarding their vocabulary to push their knowledge base.

Writing assignment

I explored Piktochart this week. The site has graphics to create numerous types of presentations. Photos, videos, graphs, icons, and text can be incorporated. It took quite a bit of time to create one presentation because I was learning the system. It has a share button so you can email or publish your slides. I chose to use the slides to tell my 5th grade families about our 4th quarter plans to read "Hatchet"while incorporating their Wonders vocabulary words. The way in which I will tie this to writing is by having the students verbally recount the events in the story via photobooth on my computer. Then they will have to go back as a group and summarize the important events that they want to include when writing a script (that will be used to create an imovie recreation of the book). Writing is really difficult for my students for several reasons: they are all verified with a language disorder making reading, comprehension, summarizing, identifying the main idea, rereading text, using text evidence, sequencing, and recalling a challenge. I hope to see similar results as stated in the article, Combining Traditional and New Literacies in a 21st Century Writing Workshop, in that oral rehearsal reduces the demands of writing by freeing up their mental resources. I am predicting that they will be more willing to edit their oral representation than something that is already written and has to be erased and moved.
Included is the link: https://magic.piktochart.com/output/5078217-hatchet

I used Idea Sketch to create a writing diagram/ graphic organizer. I think this app is helpful because you can see the diagram as both a linear sequence and a more familiar graphic organizer. It looks like pictures can be added to personalize the information. Again, it took me a long time (30 minutes) to create a simple visual which is way too long in the scheme of lesson planning for 60+ students each week. I am hopeful that using the app more frequently would result in this process taking less time.

I  used a video about digital citizenship with a 5th grade group to begin learning about appropriate internet searches. The video featured an upper elementary student and gave great suggestions about beginning searches as well as summarizing and using heading to narrow your search/ find appropriate information for your needs. My students really liked it and it was only 2 minutes long so it didn't take too much of our 25 minute time slot.

2/9/15 Assignment:

Preparing Students for the 21st Century; Incorporating Technology into the Classroom:
The parallels between typical reading comprehension and internet specific reading comprehension were interesting. The comparisons are obvious when you think about it side by side but it was interesting to read about the necessity of the basic skills: decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension in addition to the higher level skills needed when doing an internet search (making inferences, predicting what a web link might contain, piecing together information from several sites, and evaluating the usefulness of the information.
When working with students that have a Speech Language Impairment in the area of Language, the skills of summarizing, finding important information, and asking important questions are very challenging. It makes me realize that I should be doing more with my 4th and 5th grade students to create a foundation for web searches so they aren't so overwhelmed in middle school when the demands for independence and higher level thinking are exponentially more stringent. 
I also liked the idea of having other students share their strategies of searching for information and deciding which information would be relevant.