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Welcome to Virtual ExCEL Academy
APH Virtual ExCEL Academy
As our nation continues to adjust with some schools and students remaining in virtual instruction and others returning to brick and mortar buildings, APH will continue to provide the APH Virtual ExCEL Academy for students. Based on feedback from attendees during the spring and summer we will be offering FREE engaging lessons for students with a variety of abilities. We also hope to model ways that online learning may be used to supplement services. We understand that children’s needs are unique and that lessons may not apply to all kids, but we are dedicated to working out a plan to provide as much as we can.
Beginning January 12, 2021, the APH Virtual ExCEL Academy will be held at 3:00 ET, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. To help with organization, our attendees suggested organizing the days grouped by age; therefore, we will work hard to provide classes as follows:
- Tuesday: Focus from Birth to 6th grade
- Wednesday: Focus from 7th to 12th grade
- Thursday: Focus on students with multiple impairments
Once a student is registered, the link remains active from October 13 until May 27, 2021. Because we know students are not always able to attend during the scheduled hour, we will be recording these sessions so all have the opportunity to learn.
We also know that many educational professionals as well as college students preparing to enter the field will be participating in the webinars to watch teachers at work. Remember, you are able to observe but please stay in the background just as if you were in a physical classroom. We will not be able to provide you with ACVREP credit for this type of activity.
Upcoming Virtual ExCEL Academy Webinars
All times listed in Eastern Time. This world clock can help provide local equivalents.
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- Academy Audience
- K-6th grade
- Title of Webinar
- Multitasking with Music
- Date
- 01/19/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- Music uses a lot of our senses at once, including hearing, sight, and touch. In this lesson, we’ll learn about each sense individually and how they can work together.
- Instructor
- Amelia Welsh
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Leisure activities and hobbies, music!
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- N/A
- Learning Objectives
- Students will learn how to use hearing, sight, and touch individually, and together in music.
- Material Needed
- none
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- Title of Webinar
- Up, Up, and Away!
- Date
- 01/20/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- A guide to every stage of air travel
- Instructor
- Kaelen Penrod
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Independent Living
- Recreation and Leisure
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- Computer and website navigation
- Money handling and performing transactions
- Planning ahead and following through
- Learning Objectives
- Familiarization with the process of air travel, including purchasing fare, packing luggage, navigating the airport and aircraft, and interacting with airport personnel.
- Self-advocacy if you get lost/stuck/confused
- Material Needed
- Supplies for taking notes, if desired
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- Academy Audience
- Pre Symbolic
- Title of Webinar
- Let’s explore coins!
- Date
- 01/21/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- We will be exploring the properties of coins today! What do our coins feel like? What do our coins sound like? What do they look like? Do they have a smell?! Let’s sort our coins together.
- Instructor
- Jessica Chamblin
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Concept Development
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- None required
- Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to notice a difference between the sizes of coins.
- Students will explore the sounds of metal coins in various containers.
- Materials Needed
- Variety of coins (at least 10 of each if possible): Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters
- Variety of containers: Cardboard tube, plastic bag, cardboard box, metal pot/jar/box/tin, plastic cup/tub/box, Glass jar or bowl
- Paper “worksheets” for sorting coins if you are/will be a “print reader” or half of an egg carton (three and three to make a braille cell), or the printed braille cell worksheet if you are/will be a braille reader.
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- Academy Audience
- K-2nd grade
- Title of Webinar
- Money Masters
- Date
- 01/26/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- We will explore the world of money, where we find it, how to identify it, how to use it, and begin learning how to count it.
- Instructor
- Kathy Bingham
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Independent Living
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- Students will need to be able to identify rough vs smooth. Students will need to be able to identify the long and short sides of a rectangle.
- Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to identify penny, nickel, dime, and quarter by touch/sight.
- Students will be able to distinguish the difference between a $1 bill and a $5 by folding it.
- Material Needed
- 5 pennies
- 5 nickels
- 5 dimes
- 4 quarters
- $1 bill
- $5
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- Academy Audience
- 7-12
- Title of Webinar
- Using Public Transportation as a blind person – 101
- Date
- 01/27/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- In this webinar, we will be discussing “tips and tricks” about how you can use public transportation as a blind person. We will be discussing the 7 major components of bus riding: 1) Planning for your tip. 2) Locating the bus stop. 3) Boarding the Bus. 4) Riding the bus (communicate with the driver, appropriate seating, maintaining orientation), 5) Signaling to stop 6) Deboarding the bus. 7) Finding your final destination. You will hear from a COMS instructor as well as a blind high-school 12th grader who uses public transportation regularly.
- Instructor
- Michael Deolloz
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Orientation and Mobility
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- In order to use and apply the information in this webinar, students should have some knowledge of: Time/Distance, address systems, cardinal directions, street crossings, light business travel environments, and GPS technology.
- Learning Objectives
- How to research a bus trip to a preferred destination
- How to pay the fare on the farebox
- Material Needed
- Optional: Smart Phone, Tablet, Computer, Cell Phone
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- Academy Audience
- Middle School or High School Students with Multiple Disabilities
- Title of Webinar
- Taking Responsibility for our Environment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Date
- 01/21/2021
- Time
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
- Description
- Learning the three R’s is a way of becoming a contributing member of the community and a valuable independent living skill. We all have a responsibility to take care of our environment. Our environment is our home, our community, and our Earth. We can help keep our environment clean and healthy by reducing the amount of trash we create, by reusing items that are still good, and by recycling old items to make something new.
- Instructor
- Jay Humphreys
- Primary Core or ECC Area
- Independent Living and Career Education
- Pre-requisite knowledge
- Receptive language necessary to learn the concepts.
- Learning Objectives
- To identify our responsibility to the environment and our home
- To identify and demonstrate ways we can improve our home and environment
- Material Needed
- Computer, paper, empty can, plastic bottle, bucket
Virtual ExCEL Academy and Summer Camp Archives
Missed a chance to attend one of our webinars or just looking for more resources? Check out our ExCEL Academy and ExCEL Camp webinars on our YouTube Channel.