Live Blogging From a Remote Location

One of the things I learned how to do last year was to live blog, from a remote location. First, I just love the sound of it! It's live, but I'm not there! Last year I would log into a webcast every quarter, and watch a live Interagency Coordinating Council meeting and blog about what was happening. I would type up quick notes, add links to relevant regulations or articles, explain abbreviations or add any other tidbits I knew from over 2 decades of following the policy making. 


Today, I put those same skills to work while awaiting the Supreme Court Decision on the Affordable Care Act. I logged into the SCOTUS Blog, opened up a new page in my blog site, got my hootsuite account all ready to go and started tweeting, posting and writing. It was fun to be both "there" and not "there". I was still in my pj's, since the anticipatory discussions started at 5:00am my time. I knew that CNN had called it wrong initially--more on that later--because I was monitoring the SCOTUS blog and I know that those folks spend more time with the Court and understand the nuances of these types of decisions.

Is it stealing?

One of the things that I love about Web 2.0 is how free many folks are with their information and expertise. I've been researching how to assist people when researching on the internet. For me that has lead me down many other paths--I was the type of student who could spend hours looking up one word in the dictionary, because I found so many other interesting words on my way to the one I wanted/needed.  But I digress. 


Researching on the Internet
I've been tooling around today over on the NICHCY website. I've always turned to NICHCY for information on early intervention and special education. They've also got some great information on sharing or disseminating information and how to research.
Steal This!
The section I love the most, is their page called steal these dissemination strategies. They have model language for social media policies, Facebook posts and tweets and they encourage sharing, re-purposing and linking like this.
So I don't think it's stealing if it is encouraged, but I love that it is encouraged! What do you steal--or shall I say repurpose?  And do you make sure to mention where you originally found your material?

Family-Directed Assessments

The new Part C regulations have been revised to place additional importance on the voluntary family-directed assessment. For some this is new information, for others it is simply a confirmation of the how to perform initial and ongoing assessments. To create an IFSP that truly serves a child and their family, it is important that families decide if they want to participate in a family-directed assessment, who is involved (parents, grandparents, siblings, caregivers, even a neighbor), and how much to share (everything, something, nothing--though this won't really lead to an effective IFSP). The regulations require that qualified personnel use an assessment tool and an interview when performing a voluntary family-assessment.

Preparation

But how can families prepare? Families report that the initial assessment can be a whilrwind of new information and terms. One way is to provide families with a form that they can fill out before meeting with the assessment team.That form can help families to organize their thoughts, and begin the process of thinking about their concerns, priorities and resources. 

Training

Providing training to families on outcomes, what they are, and how families enrolled in early intervention can develop both child-focused and family-focused outcomes can be beneficial. Families and professionals also need to learn the difference between Part C outcomes and Part B goals. It can also be helpful to inform families and professionals about how goals in Part B can be developed that are student-focused or teacher-focused.

Sharing

We've talked about sharing information by reusing and repurposing content that you have found some where else.  Another way to share information is to revise a blog post and submit it for publication somewhere else.


For example, I wrote about my concerns about the effects on a child's brain due anesthesia exposure before age 3 on my personal blog, on this blog and then submitted it for publication on the Special Education Advisor blog, which has a much larger audience than my own. .  

Expanding your Reach

In my last post I wrote about developing a communications plan as part of a membership drive. I took the time to look at my Facebook friends (612) and then I made a list of the Facebook friends of each of the board members who are administrators for the fanpage for the board I sit on. I subtracted our mutual friends, and then added up all of the potential followers we could pick up.

Potential Facebook Followers
Our potential number of followers was 2500!  2500! Wow! Even if we added only 10% of that number to our membership rolls, we could significantly up the number of members. But knowing that we had a potential universe of 2500 new members that isn't enough.

Maximizing Our Reach
We needed specific strategies. After some thought, I came up with a template for all future blog posts. As part of the development of a blogpost, I would also develop a few sample Facebook status updates and a few sample tweets. Each Board member could then be emailed a link to the latest blog post, a copy of the sample status updates and tweets and asked to post to their own pages, other pages they administer and to the timelines of their friends.

Will it Work?
Well, only time will tell. As of this writing I have one-third of the board following the plan, and we've already seen visits to our blog jump exponentially. We clearly need to stick to our plan, and remember that the outcome isn't visits to the blog, it is membership in our organization. 

Sharing federal news

The Office of Civil Rights recently sent letters out to districts across the country regarding how schools define which children have disabilities and how they provide support and assistance to those students.
Guidance Memos
In the not so distant past, a letter such as this guidance letter from OCR one would be sent to districts, who would copy it and send it on to their Directors of Special Education and Principals. Who might add it to their monthly staff meeting discussions. Copies would also be sent out to Parent Training and Information Centers, who would add a blurb in their monthly or quarterly newsletter. And finally, it would be linked to on the US Dept of Education website.

Social Media
Today, however, that same letter has been blogged, tweeted, and Facebooked multiple times.  And this is the second go around for this particular letter! That means that not only is the letter reaching those who are in administration and teaching, and those who are funded to help families with children with disabilities, but also, one can only hope the message is reaching regular folk!

Is there a down-side?
Well, as the article points out the National Association of School Boards is concerned that parent organizations will disseminate the letter, leading to increased parents requesting accommodations. But, perhaps, what it will mean is a move to create a real continuum that includes fully implement RTI (response to intervention), 504 plans and IEPs? Perhaps the move by the University of Florida to merge it's special education and general education programs into one program, that insures that all teachers graduate with a foundation in both disciplines will be implemented elsewhere. In the meantime, I don't see a downside to districts being reminded that just  a child who has a prosthetic limb is still a child with a disability who may need a 504 or IEP plan.  

Part C Regulations

In my last post, I discussed how one might use social media to inform families and the field about potential policy changes.  Today, I'll talk about real policy changes that will have impacts on early intervention.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, was reauthorized in 2004, and the final regulations were just released in September of 2011.


Reviewing the Regulations
Many groups reviewed the proposed regulations.  In 2009, the IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinator's Association (ITCA), Part C Coordinators for many states, worked with the Division of Early Childhood of the Council of Exceptional Children (DEC) to produce joint comments.    The Early Intervention Family Alliance,  (EIFA), a group of family leaders (disclaimer--I am a Founding Board Member and Past President), submitted comments on the proposed regulations.  More information can also be found at the OSEP-funded National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center website.

Using Social Media to Affect Change

Potential Policy Changes for Part C
Social media can be used to help individuals and organizations to affect change, to influence policies and to stay informed.

Staying Informed  
It is important to be aware of current policies.  Many federal and state programs maintain websites.  These websites can keep you informed about the current policies and proposed policy changes.  For instance, the US Department of Education hosts a website about Part C of IDEA.  The US Department of Education also funds technical assistance centers that share information, like NECTAC.   It is a good idea to subscribe to email lists run by your state programs.  The New York State Department of Health has a subscriber list, some localities, like the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, has an RSS feed.  You can also create your own google alert to let you know when something new is added to the internet.

Web 2.0 Can Help Provide Families with Basic Information

Families Need Basic Information
When families first discover that their child has a diagnosed disability or they suspect that s/he has a delay, they need basic information about how early intervention works.  Let's think about how Web 2.0 can help families think about: