The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy

©2008 C. Kottmeyer & K. Kearney
The Gifted Parent Online:
Totally Free Internet Tools for
Parent Support & Advocacy
By Carolyn Kottmeyer
and Kathi Kearney

You are not alone!
• 2.5% of the population
• Identification limited by state and district
mandates
• Privacy prevents contact
• Internet allows world-wide interaction…
• We are not alone!

Online Support
• Gifted discussion communities
 Homeschooling
 Twice Exceptional
 Exceptionally / Profoundly Gifted
• Gifted Blogs
 2e: Twice Exceptional Newsletter
 Eide Neurolearning Blog
 Gifted Exchange – Laura Vanderkam
 Unwrapping the Gifted – Tamara Fisher

Support Communities
• TAGFAM
 TAGFAM –Talented And Gifted FAMilies
 TAGPDQ – more than plain gifted
 TAGMAX – homeschooling gifted
• GT-Families
 GT-Families – general support
 GT-Special – twice exceptional gifted
 GT-Adult – adult gifted
• Gifted Online Conferences (NING)
 Variety of discussion topics plus conferences

Support Lists
• Specialized support groups…
 Homeschooling Gifted Children
 Homeschooling 2 College Life
 Michael Clay Thompson’s Language Arts
 Gifted-NLD-Aspergers
 2e Young Adults
 Auditory Processing
 Bright Kids (American Mensa)
 State and local gifted organizations…

Netiquette
• Keep your tone positive
 Use “I language…”
 No “flaming”
 Consider your audience (international)
 The “7%-38%-55% Rule”
• 7% words, 38% tone of voice, 55% body language
– Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of Psychology,
UCLA
• (Print and) Keep your welcome letter
 Unsubscribe, nomail, digest
 Don’t send list commands to the list

Online Parenting Resources
• Parents
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm
 Research
 Resources
• Books
• Products
• Games & Toys
 Success Stories
 Frequently Answered Questions
 A Lighter Note

• Parents
 Characteristics & Identification
 Testing & Tests
 Highly / Exceptionally / Profoundly Gifted
 Traditional School
 Advocacy
 Homeschooling
 Summer & Saturday / Academic Programs
 Parenting
 Social-Emotional
 Twice Exceptional
 Special Topics

• Special Topics
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/special_topics.htm
 At-Risk Gifted Children
 ELL (ESL)
 Gender Issues
 Gifted Adults
 Creative / Math / Science / Humanities /
Musical / Technologically gifted students
 Philosophy

• Twice Exceptional
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/twice_exceptional.htm
 AD/HD
 Aspergers (AS)
 Auditory Processing (APD)
 Dyslexia / Dysgraphia / Dyscalculia
 Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD / NVLD)
 Sensory Integration Disorder (SI)
 Visual Processing
 2e Role Models
 2e Books & Products
 Technology
 IEPs

Advocacy Resources
• Gifted Advocacy
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/advocacy.htm
• Competing with myths about the social and emotional
development of gifted students
 Myth 1. Gifted students should be with students their
own age
 Myth 3. Being perfectly well rounded should be the
primary goal
• Distinguishing Myths From Realities: NRC/GT Research
 Useful quiz for self-discovery and professional
development…
• Arguments and Red Herrings
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/arguments.htm

Advocacy Resources
• ERIC EC Clearinghouse for Exceptional
Children
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric
• Davidson Institute Guidebooks
 www.gt-cybersource.org
 Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young
People: A Guidebook
 Considering the Options: A Guidebook for
Investigating Early College Entrance (Parents &
Students versions)
 Mentorship: A Guidebook

Online Curriculum
• Enrichment
 Interactive
 Reading lists
• Curriculum Units
 Every topic, grade level
 Many include educational objectives met
• Complete Classes
 Middle & High school

Online Enrichment
• Hoagies’ Kids & Teens Links
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm
 Art, Theater, Music
 Books & Authors
 Brain Teasers, Logic Puzzles & Optical Illusions
 Interactive Challenges
 For the Love of Words
 Math & Multiplication
 Science & Natural Science
 Social Studies, Economics, Geography
 Space
 Young Kids

Curriculum Units
• Internet Investigations
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/investigations.htm
 Lesson Plan Collections K-12+
• Illuminations (math)
• JetStream (weather)
• Kennedy Center ArtsEdge (art)
• NASA Educational Materials Finder
• NOVA (PBS programs)
• Smithsonian
• Xpeditions (geography)
 Individual Lesson Plans, too

Complete Online Courses
• (Free) Online High School Courses
 www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm
 Ready-made curriculum
• Content, Evaluations, Text
 Some kids respond better than others to online
learning
• Run trial lessons
• Determine if course suits child
 Include discussion time…
• Parent, teacher, mentor, older student
 Download the course website
• WebWhacker**

Convincing Your School…
• Review the materials thoroughly
• Learn school policy on independent study for
credit
 State policy / accepted course list
 Find advocate within the system
• Get necessary approval
• Excellent option for…
 Lower-SES schools
 Block / 6-day scheduled schools
 High-level acceleration at any grade level

Middle & High School Options
• Assorted
 MIT OpenCourseWare Video Courses
 National Repository of Online Courses, Monterey
Institute
 UCBerkeley on YouTube
• English / Literature
 SCORE Literature Cyberguides
 Principals of Composition
 Debate Central: Critical Advocacy
• Science
 Forensics Illustrated: Step Under the Tape
 General Biology, Chemistry
 AP Physics, Biology, Environmental Science

Middle & High School Options
• Math
 Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Statistics
 AP Calculus, Statistics
• History
 Digital History
 AP U.S. History, U.S. Government
 My Own Business
• Languages
 Ancient or Modern Greek, French, German, Italian,
Icelandic, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese
• Electives
 Astronomy, Music Theory & Appreciation, History of
Religion, Computers

Online Professional
Development
• Support our teachers!
• Online Communities, Blogs, Support Lists
 Gifted Online Conferences (NING)
 2eEducator
 Unwrapping the Gifted
 Davidson Institute Educators Guild
 CGEP Network (APA)
 Belin Blank Gifted Teachers Listserv
• Professional development curriculum…

Gifted Education Professional
Development Package
• Early childhood, primary & secondary
• Core, extension and specialisation
 Understanding Giftedness
 Identification of Gifted Students
 Social and Emotional Development
 Underachievement
 Curriculum Differentiation
 Developing Programmes and Provisions
• www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publicat

Online Social-Emotional
Support
• SENG
 www.sengifted.org
 Articles and research
 Annual Conference
• Davidson Young Scholars
 www.davidsonyoungscholars.org
 Exceptionally / profoundly gifted ages 5-18
 Wide variety of support available…

Online Access to…
Conferences
• Local, State, National, International…
 NAGC
 NAGC State Affiliates
 Local school district groups
 SENG
 SENG Parenting Groups
 Beyond IQ
 CTY / CTD / TIP Family Conferences

Internet Safety
• PC Security
 It’s not just your mother’s antivirus program any
more!
• Privacy
 You may be surprised what’s known about you
 And your home
 And…

PC Security
• Anti-Virus
 Current definitions!
• Anti-Spyware
 One scan, one memory resident
• Windows critical and security updates
• Phishing!
 Don’t click anywhere on an unexpected pop-up
• Google Toolbar
• www.hoagiesgifted.org/pc_security.htm

Privacy
• Learn all about yourself…
 www.Naymz.com
 www.ZoomInfo.com
 www.ZabaSearch.com
• Learn about your house!
 www.zillow.com
• Set up Google Alerts on yourself and family
 www.google.com/alert
• Register for Do Not Call; renew every 5 years
 www.donotcall.gov

Privacy Loss is Forever…
• Wayback Machine
 www.archive.org
 Historical snapshots of websites back to 1996
• Boards and Mailing Lists
 Archives

Special Note…
• The internet is free, but Internet websites are
not…
• Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page is supported by
your affiliate program purchases
 Shop through Hoagies’ Page links
 No cost to you; small percentage goes to
Hoagies

The Gifted Parent Online:
Totally Free Internet Tools for
Parent Support & Advocacy
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The Gifted Parent Online: Totally Free Internet Tools for Parent Support & Advocacy

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