Note+taking+and+organizing

=Note Taking and Organizational tools=

[|Smartpen] This is a blog that discusses the benefits of using the Livescribe pens with students.

[|Assistive Technology For Learning Disabilities] is a discussion on the various tools for supporting students with learning disabilities.

[|Assistive Technology for Organization] below are a few tools we use in class to support our students. The blurbs were are from //Assessing Students’ Needs for Assistive Technology (2009) chapter 9.//

__**Tabs:**__ These textbooks may have key sections the student may need to reference frequently such as a map section, appendices, a dictionary or vocabulary definition section or the last page accessed. Removable book tabs can be put in the book to help students locate these sections quickly. The tabs can also be used to mark the questions at the end of the chapter, selections that contain pertinent information or any other place that needs to be referred to frequently.

__**Highlighters:**__ Highlighters offer another way for students to interact with the informational text they are reading. The student may use a highlighter that is erasable or use a regular highlighter to mark handouts or worksheets. Highlighting offers a visual reminder about the text having some importance for the student. Some students may use a range of colors to mark text by category, i.e., all items that address timeline issues during the Civil War are in blue and all items that talk about causes of the war are in pink. Steps for highlighting include: 1. Read the passage to obtain general idea of the material. 2. Reread and look for key words and concepts. 3. Highlight important information.

Students often do not follow all of these steps as they involve multiple reads of the information and they may have difficulty reading through it once or have issues with analyzing or synthesizing skills. This may be why they highlight too much information. Providing keywords to look for may help them start to learn how to identify important information. Highlighters come in several formats: erasable, some have built-in caps, which help keep all the pieces in one place, or highlighter tape.

__**Study Guide:**__ A study guide can help students navigate print and digital information and aid a student’s comprehension. It can provide a framework for learning tasks and classroom expectations. The study guide design can incorporate leading questions, to drive the process of information gathering, and shape the supports a struggling student may need. It can help students identify and organize important information and help the students learn to think about and ask questions to support their comprehension while they are reading text.