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A recently published blog is offering a national community on vocational assessment for vocational evaluation and assessment practitioners around the country. Sponsored by the Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals Association, VECAP, this new blog provides a space for dialogue and discussion across a range of topics. To learn more, visit http://voceval.blogspot.com
The Center for Implementing Technology in Education offers several interesting discussions on current research around emerging technology practices. Several topics that are currently discussed include K-12 Calculator Technology, K-8 Screen Based Technology to Support Mathematics, Technology to Support Writing and to Support Differentiated Instruction. To learn much more, visit http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=13
As a follow up to our VSTE presentation in February, try some of these ideas for using student friendly technology for students with autism.
Think about the possiblities of turning your photo or video mp3 player into an effective tool for students with autism. With the use of a few lost cost to no cost software programs the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few of the ideas that I have had:
Import photos to make a picture schedule
Create a power point social script using digital photos of the student. The student can also add narration. Convert the power point using Camtasia software available at:
http://www.techsmith.com or using videora software available at: http://www.videora.com
Also consider using Photo Story software, free from Microsoft, and converting using one of the above software tools.
Lastly, use the video player for video modeling of desired behaviors by convering your videos using HandBrake software or Videora software.
The exciting thing about using the portable photo and video players for these tools is it allows the students with autism to use a strategy without standing out in a crowd. How more acceptable is wearing headphones and watching your iPod to leafing through a teacher created book or being separated from your peers.
Don Johnston, from Don Johnston Inc., has written a book detailing his personal struggle with reading. The book is called Building Wings. He would like to know how you would use this book to build self-advocacy skills in your students. Your story will be entered into a drawing and the winner will receive a visit from Don Johnston to your school and he will talk with you students. The contest ends Sept. 3, 2007. So check out the website and start writing!
http://www.donjohnston.com/building_wings/index.html
Take a look at: http://www.atnet.org/news to see the Assistive Technology Journal back issues. In the past, it has been published twice a month by the AT Network and California Assistive Technology Systems. Lots of good stuff here!
Also check out: http://www.ataccess.org/resources/
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#10: "Text on paper" is a fairly common teaching and learning tool in your classroom.
#9: You assign students reading during classtime.
#8: You assign students reading outside of classtime.
#7: You have ever lost your place in the text when looking away.
#6: Your students have ever lost their place in the text when looking away.
#5: You have a student who cannot easily scan to find a portion of text.
#4: You assign tasks that require students to move back and forth between a text and a worksheet or other source (perhaps a dictionary or speller).
#3: Your students share textual materials (directions sheets, books, etc.) during group work.
#2: It's written into a student's IEP, 504 plan, or student assistance plan.
#1: You haven't tried using reading frames before--and you'd like to have another tool in your bag of tricks!
We have several classroom sets of Reading Helpers and Heads Up Frames available in VCU T/TAC AT lab-email or call us and we would be happy to lend them to you for 3 weeks! (We can also show you how to make your own, home-made versions!)
Check out the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) homepage: http://www.resna.org/
From the website: We are an interdisciplinary association of people with a common interest in technology and disability. Our purpose is to improve the potential of people with disabilities to achieve their goals through the use of technology. We serve that purpose by promoting research, development, education, advocacy and provision of technology; and by supporting the people engaged in these activities.
RESNA has an email Listserve that subscribers-to-be may subscribe by sending an e-mail to
LISTSERV@list.resna.org. The following command should be in the body of the e-mail: "SUBSCRIBE AT-FORUM firstname lastname" (for example...SUBSCRIBE AT-FORUM Rosina Romano). (The subject line should be blank. Please note if your e-mail client inserts a signature line it needs to be removed) You will then receive an e-mail requesting that you confirm your subscription. Follow the instructions in the e-mail to confirm your request.
As a follow up to our VSTE presentation in February, try some of these ideas for using student friendly technology to encourage good study habits.
Last week I talked about voice recording on the mp3 player. This week I'd like to share ideas for studying notes or reviewing lectures. Study guides that have been created as a word file can be converted to speech files using Text Aloud Software. This software is availabe as a 30 day trial or for purchase at the following link: http://www.nextup.com/
It is an easy conversion that is completed in a matter of a few mouse clicks. Students can make use of the bus ride home or car rides to various after school activities to review daily lessons or review for an upcoming test.
Also, for video iPod users, powerpoint slides without narration can be converted using a variety of software tools. Several to choose from include: QuickTime Pro (29.95) or SnagIt Software (29.95).
Universally designed curriculum is the hot topic in education these days so that we can to reach all learners and improve educational outcomes. Learning Magic, Inc. has several books available for free to download including a player that will read the book aloud. Several topics are covered and may meet some of the areas your students are currently studying.
Check it out on the website under “Goodies”.
Many great ideas for ways to reduce cognitive overload in online classes are available at
http://wind.uwyo.edu/onlinecourseaccessibility/DATO.asp. Some of the ideas include:
- Users may become confused at complex layouts or inconsistent navigational schemes, so simplify the layout as much as possible and keep the navigational schemes as consistent as possible.
- Users may have difficulty focusing on or comprehending lengthy sections of text so group textual information under logical headings, organize information in manageable "chunks", and supplement text with illustrations or other media, and vice versa.
Information related to Visual Impairments, Color Blindness, Hearing Impairments, and Motor Impairments is also available at this site. Great site for people hoping to start using the school website to supplement their classes and/or act as a homework directions and resource page.
Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing month? Help yourself enjoy the sounds of life for many years to come by turning down the volume on your iPod, your mp3 player or any other portable listening devices. Keep the dial at the halfway mark. Protect your ears—turn down the volume! For more information, go to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website at www.asha.org.
Some of the resources found and referenced by the good folks at the South Carolina Assistive Technology Program website: http://www.sc.edu/scatp/recreation.htm (visit this site! It's clear and easy for those of us on dial-up connections!)
NEW! We Can Play has many ideas for families with kids with disabilities. It can be accessed at www.ataccess.org/resources/fpic/default.html. Toy adaptation instructions can be found at http://www.ataccess.org/resources/fpic/accesstoys/.NEW! Levelgames has a website devoted to accessible computer games. There are some inexpensive computer games that can be downloaded for free. Their web site is at http://www.arcess.com/
NEW! Deaf Gamers reviews computer games for accessibility from the standpoint of people with deafness. www.deafgamers.com
NEW! Guide to Low-Cost/No-Cost Online Tools for People with Disabilities 2005. Developed by The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) with the Northern Illinois Center for Adaptive Technology. Online resources are organized by category, free game and recreation downloads are provided. http://www.ataccess.org/resources/lowcostnocost.html
North Carolina's Recreation Access Project has detailed fact sheets on adaptations in specific sports, arts and theatre http://www.pat.org/RAP/activity.html
Kudos to The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program (SCATP)! It's a federally funded project concerned with getting technology into the hands of people with disabilities so that they might live, work, learn and be a more independent part of the community, and has a nice website with some good information for beginners in the land of assistive technology. Click here to visit the site: http://www.sc.edu/scatp/index.htm.
Description from topshareware.com:
IM Speak! is a tool that adds speech and personality to incoming messages from your favorite Instant Message program. By using the program, you can assign 'voices' to each one of your buddies allowing them to speak to you in any voice you choose along with many other features.
Click on Topshareware.com's website http://www.topshareware.com/IMSpeak!-download-2781.htm for the free download (if you like it, it's kind of pricey--$24 at last check...).
Closing The Gap 2007: Set the stage for success! by Madalaine PuglieseThis article, published in the Feb/Mar 2007 issue of Closing The Gap, describes how 8 Stages users in various settings--private practice, local school, district collaborative, residential school, regional center, and statewide agency--implement the Stages framework for assistive technology assessment, alternate assessment, and access to curriculum. Read how Stages gives professionals "Wow" moments, when they discover how much more their students knew and understood than anyone thought.
Click on this link to open and read the article: http://www.assistivetech.com/p-stages-articles.htm
CoolInfo 1.10 Voice Recognition, is a new and free download that now makes speech recognition available to everyone using Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Users can get information from the Internet by speech, and also search Google, Yahoo, eBay and MSN entirely by voice.
For more details visit: http://www.prwebdirect.com/releases/2007/4/prweb521279.htm
As a follow up to our VSTE presentation in February, try some of these ideas for using student friendly technology to encourage good study habits.
The easiest to employ is using the voice memo feature. By attaching a microphone to the iPod you can record lectures, reminders, or assignments quickly. Voice memos are automatically saved in the "extras" file. When the iPod is attached to your computer the audio file can even be played on the computer. Two models that appear to have good quality reception for taping about 3-5 feet away are the Griffin iTalk Pro (49.95) and the MicroMemo Digital Voice Recorder (59.95).
Free photos available in the photo gallery. Great pictures to download and use in your projects and lessons. Check out the website to get great ideas and free stuff! http://www.learningmagicinc.com/
From http://www.axistive.com/18746/robobraille-eases-web-use.html: Read about a "site [that] now processes 400 requests a day-a free service that provides automatic Braille conversion is proving popular despite still being in test phase."
According to the article: "Anyone wanting to use the service, which is partly funded by the EU, can send plain text, rich text, html or Word documents by e-mail. Within a few minutes they receive their document either as an MP3 audio file or as electronic Braille. Electronic Braille can be read by a tactile display - a device connected to the computer with a series of pins that are raised or lowered to represent the Braille characters - or sent to a Braille printer."
Visit RoboBraille at http://www1.robobraille.org/websites/acj/robobraille.nsf.
A week-long institute on universal design for learning, sponsored by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) will be held July 23-26, 2007. In addition, a week long seminar on universal design for learning will be held at Harvard University on July 9-13, 2007. Dr. David Rose, founder of CAST and author of many publications on the topic of UDL will guide this discussion. For more information visit, http://www.cast.org/pd/institute/index.html
Have you always wanted to figure out how to get your students to share what they’ve learned with others? Are you tired of the typical, hum-drum projects? Tool Factory Inc. has just launched a new Podcasting Grant for education. Winners will be awarded over $3,000 in podcasting resources. Let us know if you win! We want to hear about it!
You can apply online at
http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus
Interested in trying a few new free screen reading software tools for blind users? Check out a couple of open source screen reader projects such as:
Thunder
http://www.screenreader.net/
Firevox (not a full-blown screen reader, but a talking browser extension)
http://firevox.clcworld.net/about.html
A FREE webinar will be broadcast on Universal Design for Learning, Thursday, May 10, 2007. Dr. Dave Edyburn will share his insights on this topic and others including:
recognizing and responding to academic diversity
technology as assistive technology, instructional technology and UDL at the same time
locating resources, strategies, and tools
For more information and details:
Space is limited, reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/721678318
Giggles Baby locks out the system and lets babies touch any key at all for fun onscreen feedback. Great for fine and gross motor skills, cause-and-effect, low cognitive function, speech-language pathology, visual learners, music appreciation, etc. Every button push results in something captivating happening onscreen. Each title includes 14 activities and over 50 great songs.
Do you work with little ones? Check out this program!
Enabling Devices (enablingdevices.com) has a newly redesigned website, and to get you to visit, they offer this: Place an order for $150 or more on the website and receive a Red Pancake Switch for free if you enter the code "EM0507" before May 31, 2007. Might be nice if you are rushing to spend money by the end of the year!
If you've ever traveled overseas and wrestled with a new language, more than likely, you've turned to electronic means to offer quick tutorials and aids. Several companies market these electronic translators and CD's that can provide tutorial guides. Language translation by any electronic conversion is a delicate process as often the cultural/ language nuances are not captured in these conversions. However, Google offers a language translator that can help a user "begin" to decipher a message and possibly aid in the understanding. For additional information, visit http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en
The Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) has launched a new series of audio broadcasts. An array of topics that span disabilities, universal design, and access are offered over the next few months. To learn more visit, http://ahead.org/training/audioconference/index.htm
I've been thinking a lot lately about computer games, social networks like Second Life, and access for all people. I went out on the web looking for who else is thinking about it and ran across this great 2005 account of one person's desire to have fun while working on his AT use.
http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2005/proceedings/2233.htm is the link for "FUNCTION FOLLOWS FUN: HOW GAMES HELPED ME TO DEVELOP MY SWITCH SKILLS."
Click on http://techdirt.com/articles/20050214/0927236_F.shtml to read about a researcher with a visual impairment who needed to be able to view atmospheric maps so he built a system that would turn colors into musical notes.
Check out this Universal Design for eLearning: Making Learning Accessible to ALL Learners article with "webliography" by Pananea Rue: http://synergy.elearn2lead.com (about halfway down the page). The links include some courseware comparisons and links to things you might not have look at yet. Take a gander--eLearning is a significant part of our present and future and we need to be ready for it!
Open the original version of this page.
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