Friday, April 8, 2011

Inexpensive Ideas for Sensory Enhancements in the Classroom

Some people feel the sound of birds can be relaxing and/or alerting.  When no one is around I listen to this CD while I toil away on non-writing tasks at work:
Birdies Singing CD
While the CD is playing on my computer, using Windows Media Player, I see 70's-ish graphics which greatly distract me and I have to minimize the window.  However...I bet you could project these graphics to a Smart Board or a regular pull-down projection screen and students would enjoy watching the ever-changing images.  Some of the students in the classes I serve seem drawn to quickly-changing images on computer screens and this idea might provide a similar "sensory oasis" for them. Kind of like a no-cost version of expensive sensory equipment from catalogs, although not interactive.
Be sure to display the image on "Full Mode" and play around with the "Enhancements" and "Visualizations" buttons in Windows Media Player. 
Caution:  Some of the designs are kind of strobe-y so choose safe ones for students who have seizures in response to optical stimuli.

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