Technology @ High Point, vol. 9

Tech for teaching and learning in our new space

Fill Your Toolbox!

Well-implemented technology gives classroom staff loads of tools for teaching students with a broad range of learning styles. The time investment in learning new technology will make teaching easier and assist students in advocating for their life-long learning. This newsletter PD is intended to help you learn new technologies at High Point a little bit at a time, slowly filling up your teaching toolbox throughout this chaotic school year.

This Week's Tech Feature:

photo of Block Jam and Sensory Bin lit up in the High Point sensory room

LED Light Illuminators

In the Sensory Room at the front of the High Point building there are 2 LED Light Illuminator blocks. One is a cube with a built-in Bluetooth speaker. The other is also a cube and has a removable, cushioned lid with a sensory bin underneath. Both blocks are translucent and light up in many colors. They can be set at a particular color or to flash or fade to many colors. They also have adjustable brightness. All of these settings can be changed with the remote control for each block. The Block Jam uses Bluetooth to connect to a phone or tablet to project music or any sound that is being emitted by that device, just like if Bluetooth headphones were being used. The Sensory Bin can hold any materials, including liquids, and the light will shine through.

LED Light Illuminators from Enabling Devices

Who is it for?

The bright, glowing, colorful Light Illuminators are great for students with CVI to view. The light helps with maintaining visual attention. The sensory bin is easy to view with the light showing through the material in the bin. The sound vibrations of the Block Jam can be helpful for students who are motivated by vibrations. The slow color changing LED can be calming for some students.

Setup Instructions

The sensory bin Light Illuminator has a waterproof bin under the top. Fill with any sensory bin materials, turn on the light with the power button on the bottom, rear of the cube or on the remote control. You can change the light color, brightness and control how lights change colors using the remote control, shown below.

Light Illuminator Sensory Bin remote control with 24 buttons.

The Block Jam Light Illuminator can also be controlled with the remote control (shown below) which gives access to the color of the cube, brightness, flashing mode and control of the audio.

To connect to Bluetooth, turn on the Block Jam and look in the Bluetooth connections menu on your device and select the Light Illuminator. Keep the device within 10 feet to maintain the connection.

Block Jam remote control with 24 buttons

Maintenance

Charging these blocks for 6 hours will give 5-15 hours of use.

The blocks are water resistant, but the charging cords and remotes are not. Everything can be wiped down with disinfecting wipes to clean.

Ideas for Using This Tech in the Classroom

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Good Vibrations

For students who are motivated by vibrations, the Block Jam can be connected to a phone. Music with low tones can be played so the student can sit on the cube and feel the vibrations. For students with AAC devices, they may enjoy feeling the vibration of their AAC device talking when it is connected to the Block.

Young girl looks at backlit shapes on a lightbox

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Backlight Images

Put translucent shapes on the block for CVI students to see and increase visual attention while learning shapes.

white ping pong balls with bold numbers written on them

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Sensory Bin Math

Put ping pong balls with numbers written on them in the Light Illuminator Sensory bin. The light of the bin will make the ping pong balls glow. Students can use a spoon to select one. Put the spoon in a Universal Cuff if they have difficulty holding the spoon. Students can identify the numbers or add them together or choose which of two are the largest number.

Past "Tech @ HP" Newsletters