With all the hype about the iPAD in the classroom, I thought I would give you some comparable ways to use the Kindle Fire.  After comparing apps, the Kindle Fire has just about the same type of apps available.  The good news for you is that the Kindle Fire is much less expensive, too.    I compiled a list of 4 apps available on the Kindle Fire that you can use for educational purposes.  There are tons more but wanted to keep this list to a minimun.The apps are listed in no particular order. 

Remote Mouse – Take control of your presentations from anywhere in a room with wireless network access. With mouse-click control, scrolling, keyboard, and touchpad, you can control and display anything from your computer screen onto a presentation screen.  This is great for teachers who are walking around the classroom while presenting on whiteboards or using a smartboard.  Moms — what about reviewing flash cards or study notes with your child as you are multi-tasking?  Now, you don't need to be tied to your computer in the family room.  AWESOME!!

Little Piano – Little Piano allows you to tinkle a few ivories and pass a little musical time while on the go. With this app, you'll always have a piano right in your pocket. Play a tune or two while you're waiting for an appointment, standing in line, or sitting through a long flight.

Kid Mode – Fun, educational games for kids 8 and under. All your child's favorite Android apps in one place. With our Child Lock feature, kids stay safely in Kid Mode!

TaptoTalk - TapToTalk turns an Android device into an affordable augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. Tap a picture – TapToTalk speaks. Kids think it's fun.  The TapToTalk App comes with a sample AAC album that you can use to see of it is appropriate for your child. You can get additional free albums by following the instructions in the App. If you want to create albums that are individualized to meet the specific needs of your child, you can buy TapToTalk Designer at http://www.taptotalk.com.

BONUS #5 App Just for You!!   Office Suite 5 - Create, view, edit and share Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and attachments and view PDF files

Again, there are tons more that you can look for that will help your child learn and experience learning from a more digital perspective.  The point I'm trying to make here is that you don't necessarily have to invest $900 plus for a iPAD.  $199.00 for a Kindle Fire will give your child a comparable digital learning experience.    

Related Posts:

• Search for Related Posts

Introduction

Establishing good study skills early on is essential to educational success, especially for kids who are having trouble achieving in school.  Effective study habits save time, reduce stress, foster self confidence and increase the odds of acing that test or turning in that book report on time.  As parents, we can help our kids tremendously by helping them form and maintain good study habits.

 When scheduling a time for studying and doing homework, it’s important to assess what time of day your child is most alert. Set aside a designated time for homework and stick to it.  Set up a study location that’s quiet and free of clutter. For kids who have problems focusing and staying on task, doing homework at the kitchen table while you’re cooking dinner and the younger kids are running around probably isn’t going to work.  Whether the study spot is a desk or a table, make sure it’s a quiet place that’s stocked with materials (pens, pencils, paper, ruler, etc.) and a calendar for writing down assignments.

If your child has an attention deficit, they might need to break up study time into small sections interrupted with breaks to walk around or jump on a trampoline. The breaks help them stay energized and focused.

Time Management

One of the most important factors in good study skills is effective time management.  An accurate assessment of the amount of time it takes to complete a task is essential to getting school work turned in on time.  How many times have you heard your child say, “Don’t worry Mom, my math homework will only take me ten minutes”? They may genuinely think it will only take ten minutes, when it actually takes much longer.  For that reason, a specific amount of time for homework should be set aside each day.  If they finish early, great, they have more free time.  If not, they won’t be up late trying to finish that homework that was only supposed to take them ten minutes.

For long-term projects, set up a schedule listing all of the steps necessary to complete the assignment.  Assign an amount of time for each step to be completed.  Help them be realistic about time assessment — it’s better to schedule too much time than too little.  Working backwards from the completion date on the calendar, schedule time for each stage of the project to be worked on and completed.  Make sure they note any materials that will need to be gathered in order to complete the task.  If necessary, check in with the teacher to make sure the assignment is clearly understood.

Taking the time to get organized and establish a regular study routine will save time, stress and frustration in the long run. By encouraging good study habits early on, you’re helping your child embark on the path to success in both school and the workplace.

Good study habits combined with my Student Transformation System can make all of the difference when it comes to turning your child into an enthusiastic and successful learner.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Related Posts:

• Search for Related Posts

Introduction

If you’re the parent of a child who’s struggling in school, you may have heard the term ‘processing speed’ and wondered what it means.  Processing speed refers to how quickly information travels throughout the brain.  A processing speed deficit can affect learning dramatically.  Compare it to riding a train that travels at 30 miles an hour versus one traveling at 60 MPH.  Obviously, you’re going to get to your destination much faster on the 60 MPH train.

What is happening?

When a child has a slow processing speed, it takes their brain longer to sort through the information coming in through the senses. For instance, if your child’s train (processing speed) is traveling at 30 MPH when they look at a page of writing in a book, it takes the train longer to carry the visual image into the brain and make the proper connections to translate the symbols on the page into words.  So they read slower and with more difficulty than a child whose train is traveling at 60 MPH.

What does it impact?

Processing speed affects long and short term memory, reading, writing, speaking, attention and reasoning.  Children with processing speed deficits feel as if they’re always one step behind the rest of the group.  Time pressures can cause them embarrassment and stress because they aren’t able to finish a test or assignment with the rest of the class. Because of the time it takes to process information, they have trouble maintaining attention on tasks like reading, writing and math.  When speaking, they may have difficulty finding the right words to express themselves.

Because a brain processing deficit can have be either sensory or cognitive, it’s important to have your child tested to understand exactly what’s going on. Sensory deficits involve the way the information enters the brain and can be visual, auditory or any of the other senses.  For instance, if someone has an auditory processing disorder, it doesn’t mean they can’t hear.  What it refers to is the way the brain processes information taken in through hearing. 

What can you do to help your child?

The good news is that through my Student Transformation System, we can strengthen the neurological connections and build new pathways in the brain to improve processing speed. In that way, your child can make tremendous progress in their cognitive function and show dramatic improvements in their ability to learn.

A Strategy to Use While Training the Brain

A common strategy used by teachers is to allow more time for answering questions.  Also, provide a copy of the notes in class to the student.  When working with your child who is processing slowly, you need to be patient.  Ask your child information in smaller bits instead of the usual "whole page" of data.  Slow processing is quite common amongst children with Dyslexia, too.  This means you need to accommodate to lessen the stress and avoid a complete shutdown.  While you are brain training with your child, provide a few different ways for your child to respond.  Meaning, offer up images to accompany the written request to lessen the double duty processing required to understand your request and find a correct answer.  Simply pointing to the picture is a lot easier.  This works great for home.  While in school, be sure the teacher is able to accommodate by using a task analysis approach.  You do not need to lessen expectations for your child, rather, have the teacher allow more time for finishing assignments and tests. 

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Watch a replay of one my latest interviews:  Gerry Hughes, Cognitive Strategies Expert and get even more tips and understanding.  You need to register to the site (registration is free until March 2012).

Related Posts:

• Search for Related Posts

Introduction

Organization is a key ingredient in good study habits, but for students who are struggling in school, it’s especially important.  Lost notebooks, forgotten assignments and misplaced materials all have a negative impact on their ability to be successful in school. These things also cause frustration that can leave a student feeling overwhelmed and pessimistic about learning.

If your child has trouble keeping track of projects, assignments and materials, you can help them design a system that will take the frustration out of school work and enhance their study habits enormously.

Tips and Strategies

Here are some things you can do to help them get organized and stay that way:

Set up a large, sturdy three-hole binder with dividers.  The notebook should be zippered so that any loose work won’t get lost before it’s punched and put in the appropriate section. This is called a master notebook and it will hold all of the current material pertaining to their schoolwork. Each school subject should have its own divided space within the notebook.  Divide each subject into sections for handouts, homework, notes and assignments.  The notebook should also have a calendar large enough to write down assignments and test dates.

Loose leaf paper should be placed in each file section so that it’s readily accessible for note taking, assignments and other work. Attach a zippered pouch to hold school supplies like a 3-hole punch, pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters and other items.

The master notebook accompanies the student from class to home and back again.  Each day’s work can easily be hole-punched (if necessary) and placed in the appropriate section.  This can be done throughout the day or at home.

If the student is in high school, they might need two binders to hold all of their materials.  One binder can be set up for their morning classes and one for the afternoon classes.  They can also set up a separate smaller binder for each individual class.  Make sure each binder is a different color and clearly labeled on the outside to avoid confusion.

At the end of each week or the end of each subject unit, transfer the material into an accordion file that’s been set up for that subject. For instance, if the subject is History and the unit is on the Civil War, the materials pertaining to this unit would be placed in the History accordion file, under the section marked Civil War. Make sure that each unit of work is clipped together and labeled with a brief summary.  When it’s time to study for a test on that unit, the materials are easily at hand and ready to be reviewed.

Making It a Habit

Especially at first, your child will probably need help keeping up with the master notebook.  All that’s needed is a few minutes each day to put everything in the proper section.  The important thing is to be consistent in keeping the notebook organized so that everything ends up in the right place. 

Use positive reinforcement to stress the benefits of maintaining an organizational system that helps them save time and be more successful in school. Not only will these tools aid them in becoming better students, they will help them later in life in a myriad of ways.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Related Posts:

• Search for Related Posts

Executive function is the cognitive process we use to focus on certain tasks. Planning, organizing, prioritizing, managing time and strategizing are some of the things that require executive function. Working memory, which is the ability to hold information in the mind in order to carry out a task, is also a part of executive function.

Executive function begins to develop in infancy when a baby is learning to gauge the results of their actions. The most basic example would be when a baby realizes that if he throws his Teddy bear out of the crib, he can’t play with it anymore. As his executive functioning develops, he learns to control his impulse to toss the bear so that he can play with it longer.

Children with learning disorders and ADD often have difficulty with executive function. As with other cognitive impairments, a problem with executive function often shows up in school when they’re expected to perform tasks in the classroom.

Some of the indicators that show up in kids with executive function impairments are:

• Inability to prioritize tasks in order to achieve the desired result
• Not finishing their assignments within an allotted period of time
• Trouble keeping quiet in the classroom unless called upon
• Inability to retain instructions
• Not being able to gauge the results of their actions, even if it means getting punished
• Lack of interest in motivational rewards

When executive function is impaired, learning suffers, as does a child’s self esteem. The good news is that there are ways to strengthen this important cognitive tool.

One of the ways you can help your child with executive function is to use visual tools and detailed checklists for time and task management. Help them gather and organize materials and tools for assignments and projects. Use calendars to break down projects into manageable chunks of time. Use alarms to help them keep track of time.

The great news about working with executive function deficits is that the brain is elastic, which means that it’s constantly changing and growing. Using the above tools, as well as strengthening neurological connection using my brain training system, can greatly enhance your child’s performance in this area.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Related Posts:

• Movement and ADD
• Long-Term Memory
• Memory and ADD
• What Is Brain Training?
• The Language Tune-Up Kit at Home

Hi. I know most families are returning back-to-school this week in NJ.  Many families across the country have already returned to school.  I wish you and your family great success in your journey back to school routines. We have our back-to-school night tonight for my son in middle school. This week has been a bit crazy and I suspect the same is for you.

One great idea that I implement every year around this time is a clipboard with a morning routine/list attached. For example, my children each have their own checklist with all their essential "to do’s" before walking out the door for school. The list may contain items such as:  brush teeth, pack lunch, pack cell phone, remember wallet, got a house key?, remember some water, jacket with hood, etc. Both my kids checks off as they progress through their lists which helps alleviate the morning chaos.   I literally hang up the checklists on the clipboards – right in my kitchen!  To get your own copy in word format, just click here and then choose to save the document to your computer.   

Related Posts:

• Morning Routine and Checklist
• Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention
• ELS4KIDS Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention (REI) Provider
• P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them
• P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

We all know the general definition of memory. While our ability to remember things isn’t always perfect, if our memory works well, we pretty much take it for granted. But when our child’s memory is impacted by ADD or learning disabilities, then we need to explore and learn more about the subject and what we can do to improve it.

The two primary categories of memory are short-term (also called working memory) and long-term. There are sub-categories of memory, but I’m not going to get into those in this article.

Short-term memory is the ability to remember things that happened recently. In the instance of your child with ADD, it might be their ability to remember to take home their math book so they could do their homework. Long term memory would be their ability to recall a family vacation. You might wonder why little Joshua can remember the smallest details of the vacation you took three years ago, including what everyone had for breakfast at Howard Johnson’s, but he can’t remember to bring home his homework or take his backpack to school. That’s the difference between long and short-term memory.

Both types of memory play a part in learning, but the primary one that’s at work when your child is in the classroom is short-term. If your child is having trouble in school and can’t remember the information that’s being taught in the classroom, they’re going to be frustrated and fall behind. Their teacher might say that they’re not remembering their lessons because they aren’t paying attention. But in reality, if your child has ADD, the problem isn’t that they aren’t paying attention, it’s that they’re paying too much attention. This results in an information overload, which causes them to shut down. That’s when they’ll start fidgeting, talking, or jumping out of their seat in order to self-stimulate so they can start paying attention again.

Another way I like to illustrate this is through the example of a full cup. If our cognitive ability, of which memory is an important part, is functioning properly, we have a full measuring cup capacity to process information. Children with ADD might only have a half-cup capacity. In the classroom, let’s say the teacher is giving a full cup’s worth of information in a spelling lesson which lasts for half a hour, which is what most students can take in. In your child, when their half-cup is full after fifteen minutes, their ability to absorb any more of the lesson is expended. That’s when the lesson is effectively over for them.

Now the question is; do they remember the portion of the lesson that they were able to absorb? In this instance, we’re talking about their short-term memory, which is also called working memory. With a child who’s dealing with the cognitive disorders associated with ADD, they might not be able to remember the lesson that they were able to pay attention to. This happens for a variety of reasons, having to do with the different subcategories of memory that I mentioned earlier.

The good news is that using my Brain Training System we can strengthen your child’s memory, so that they can function much better both at school and at home. In addition to working with your child, I’ll show you exercises you can do at home to increase their ability to remember. These exercises can be fun to do and can be done in short amounts of time so that they don’t become a dreaded chore. You’ll find that life improves significantly for both you and your child when their memory begins to gain strength.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit  How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Related Posts:

• Long-Term Memory
• The Role of Executive Function in Learning
• Movement and ADD
• Memory and Learning
• What Is Brain Training?

Brain training as it applies to ADHD and ADD (which are both categorized under the umbrella of ADHD) involves using exercises that have been developed to strengthen certain neurological functions. By strengthening the parts of the brain that are impacted by ADHD I see tremendous improvements in the cognitive skills of the children I work with.

The miraculous thing about the brain is that it’s dynamic and has an incredible capacity to rebuild and change. That’s foundation of my Student Transformation System, which rebuilds blocked neurons and improves the cognitive impairments that are associated with ADHD.

The initial step in my program is a cognitive assessment which allows me to identify the areas that your child needs help with. I test for attention, memory and other cognitive functions, as well as things like visual and auditory learning disorders that might be factoring into your child’s diagnosis. Because ADHD is often associated with learning disorders like Auditory Processing Disorder and dyslexia, it’s important to get the total picture of what’s going on with your child, so I can most effectively tailor my program to them.

I also empower you, the parent, with important tools for helping your child at home and at school, so my training program doesn’t just stop at my door. Another thing I’ll provide is a simple parenting contract to help you deal with some of the behaviors that occur with ADHD, like rebellion and argumentativeness. You’ll be surprised at how well these simple contracts can work towards changing your child’s behavior and reducing conflicts.

I’m also available for coaching if you need additional help over the phone. And I can provide tons of resources to help you get the highest value and success out of my program.

As the parent of a child with ADHD, as well as a licensed special educator and certified brain trainer, I know how important it is to you to do everything possible to improve your child’s cognitive abilities so they can learn and function more effectively. I’m totally committed to making that happen through my Student Transformation System.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit  How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child!

Related Posts:

• The Basics about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
• How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child
• Homework Tips and Strategies: Step 8 – Initiating Homework Assignments
• Homework Tips and Strategies: Step 7 – Completing Homework Assignments
• Homework Tips and Strategies: Timing Homework Assignments

In order to strengthen the cognitive skills of ADHD using my brain training program, it’s important to understand the different types of attention necessary for learning. For cognitive purposes, the definition of attention is the ability to focus on one thing to the exclusion of others.

First of all, there’s sustained attention. Sustained attention is the ability to focus on one thing for an extended period of time. For instance, if Molly is asked to complete a page of math exercises in school, she’ll have to keep her attention on the exercises until they’re finished, whether it takes her five minutes or half an hour. If Molly has ADHD, you know that this can be a problem for her, because her cognitive functions have impaired her ability to maintain sustained attention.

Another type of attention is selective. Selective attention is the ability to filter out environmental factors and focus on just one thing. An example would be a Sam, a boy with ADHD, who’s doing homework at the kitchen table after school. Sam isn’t able to selectively apply his attention to the homework because he can’t filter out what’s going on around him. It doesn’t matter if he’s sitting alone in the kitchen; he can get distracted by anything; the salt and pepper shakers on the table; the clock ticking on the wall; a bird flying past the window. He just can’t maintain selective attention because of the cognitive impairment of ADHD. Divided attention is another type.

Divided attention means the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time. If your child has a cognitive impairment from ADHD, they’re often unable to divide their attention between tasks. Divided attention allows you to perform more than one task at a time. An example of this would be following instructions to make a batch of cookies where you have to divide your attention between reading the recipe and doing other things like measuring and stirring. The cognitive impairments of ADHD can make this type of activity extremely problematic for a child.

In order to find out what types of attention are affected in a child with ADHD, I always perform cognitive testing as the first part of my program. In that way, I can see what areas of the brain need to be strengthened and tailor my program to those areas. Using my Student Transformation System, we see tremendous increases in the areas of attention that are critical to a child’s ability to perform important cognitive functions.

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit http://www.els4kids.com

Related Posts:

• What Is Brain Training?
• Hyperactivity and ADHD
• Basics about Learning Disorders
• Neurons and How They Communicate
• The Basics about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

Hyperactivity is one of the most common indicators of ADHD, particularly in school situations where kids are expected to sit still and process information for long periods of time.

We all want our kids to do well, whether in school or in social situations, and if you’ve been getting negative feedback from a teacher or other adult I know how upsetting it can be.

Here’s a brief explanation of what’s going on with your ADHD child and how you can work with it:

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, you may already know one cause is an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. The neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that carry information from one neuron to another. These neurotransmitters are either agonists or antagonists. The agonists stimulate and the antagonists calm things down. Essentially, they’re two opposing forces, like the positive and negative electric charges in a battery that work to keep the whole system in balance. What’s happening with your ADHD child is that these forces are out of balance, creating blockages in the information that’s getting through.

These blockages create a state of low arousal in a child with ADHD, which requires that they have external stimulation to stay attentive. Essentially, when there’s a not stimulus coming in from the outside, they become extremely sluggish. That’s why, when little Johnny or Sarah with ADHD is supposed to quietly in school at their desk, they start to act out. The behavior they’re manifesting, such as fidgeting, talking, or getting out of their seat is their way of creating the stimulation they need in order to stay awake. It’s called self-stimulation.

Kids with ADHD will also exhibit these behaviors when they get tired or hungry. I notice it with my daughter at the end of the day when her medication is wearing off. What often happens is that she becomes extremely irritable and will try to start an argument with me or my husband. She’s trying to create stimulation in order to stave off the sluggishness that she feels. Because I know what’s going on in her brain, I’ll tell her to go get on the treadmill or take the dogs for a long walk, instead of picking a fight to get herself back in balance. Another good thing is to have a mini-trampoline for your child to jump on. Let them take a ten minute break to get things in balance so they can wake themselves up.

You can also help to create the balance in neurotransmitters by strengthening your child’s brain with my Student Transformation System, which can help tremendously with many of the hyperactive manifestations of ADHD.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? I would be honored, and just ask that you include the following with the article:

Colleen Bain is the best-selling author of Overcomers Inc. She writes, trains and consults in advanced brain training for children and their parents, teachers and professionals.  Professionals also look to Colleen for her expert coaching relative to starting and expanding a brain training business.  To find out how Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids can help you – visit http://www.els4kids.com

Related Posts:

• What Is Brain Training?
• The Different Types of Attention Associated With Learning
• Basics about Learning Disorders
• Neurons and How They Communicate
• The Basics about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)