Technology @ High Point, vol. 5

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:

LED Light Box

The new High Point building will have new light boxes for students to use. A light box has a translucent top with light underneath to help illuminate anything set on top. These boxes are great for drawing a student's attention to an activity. They are commonly used for students with low vision. You may also find it useful for tracing materials for the classroom. The use of LED lights inside this light box has several benefits:

The light box can be much smaller (1/4" thick) than those we currently have
The light disperses evenly across the surface
The light can be set at one of 3 brightness levels
The box will not get hot to the touch

Light Box from Enabling Devices

Who is it for?

Light boxes are commonly used for students with CVI or low vision to help draw their eyes to an item of interest. They can also be helpful for students who are distracted to help them focus on an activity. Some activities are just more fun with a backlight and will be enjoyed by many students when presented on a light box... light shining through a glob of transparent slime could be enjoyed by many students!

See the "Guide to Using Light Panels" booklet that comes with your light box for lots of ideas for using this device in your classroom. Also, this document has many ideas for using a light box. This video will give you a quick look at the light box:

Setup Instructions

The light box is 18 inches long and 13.5 inches wide and 0.25 inched tall.

Set it on a desk or other flat surface.
Plug the power cord into an outlet and in the magnetic power jack on the left side of the box. The magnets force the cord to be inserted with the cord coming towards you.
Touch the flat power button circle on the left side of the device. Each press will increase the brightness by one step, up to three steps.
To turn off, press and hold the power button until the device turns off.

For students who have troubles seeing the tabletop due to the angle, you can set the light box on an easel or iPad stand to create an angle that is easier for the student to see and access.

The light box does need to be plugged in to operate. The laptop cart in your room will have a power supply so you can plug in there if you need to use the light box away from an outlet.

Maintenance

You can wipe these light boxes with Clorox wipes as needed. The LED bulbs should not burn out for a very long time.

Ideas for Using This Tech in the Classroom

The alphabet in translucent, plastic letters is shown on a light box.

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Alternative Pencil

Allow students to complete writing tasks by manipulating translucent letters on the light box. You can help by transferring their writing to paper or computer to document their composition.

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Coloring

Use the light box to help student with low vision see the coloring page. You can print it on a transparency so the light shines through brightly or print on paper for a more subdued light transmission. Use dry erase markers if you want to be able to erase the transparency and color again. If you are worried about getting marker/paint/crayon on the light box, you can cover it in plastic wrap which can easily be removed during clean up.

Toy frogs are lined up like a graph to count one, two or three frogs.

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Counting

Use simple manipulatives on the light box to count items. Plastic numbers can help students connect the quantity with the symbol. Arranging them in vertical columns leads to understanding of graphs and the concept of "more" or "less".

Event Information

Tech Demo

Stop by the Media Center this week to check out the technology, see how it's setup, allow students to try it, collect your questions to send to Jamie (jmayo@washtenawisd.org) and improve your confidence in using it in your classroom.

When?