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Writing with Symbols by Widget Software has been replaced with Communicate: Symwriter. Can be used for teachers and students! For those of you who own Writing with Symbols 2000 can upgrade at a reduced rate, if you order by March 31, 2008. Go to the website quickly! http://www.mayer-johnson.com/widgit/symwriter/index.htm
The CAST National Consortium for UDL E-Newsletter for March, 2008 can be accessed at http://www.cast.org/pd/consortium
Here's a new cool tool for reading the text online. Readthewords provides the ability to enter text and have audio reading for the user's listening pleasure. To read more, visit http://readthewords.com
Recently I heard Hall Davidson from Discovery Education speak on the uses of an iPod for education. He was a fantastic speaker that kept the audience engaged. I always like hearing about innovative uses for the iPod. Here is one he suggested. How about making use of the contact section of the iPod. Instead of storing your contact information, make individual "Contacts" for each of the Presidents listing facts such as term in office, birth date, etc. The possibilities are endless: elements on the periodic table, states and capitals, even math equations. Use your imagination!!
Use the conditional formatting tool in excel to create a self checking activity for your students. The possibilities are endless. A definition can be entered into one cell and the student will be asked to type in the corresponding vocabulary word into the blank cell. By selecting conditional formatting from the format menu you can format the cell to turn green if the correct word is entered. Then format the cell to turn red if the word is not correct. The same procedures can apply for entering algebra or other math equations. Thanks to Tammy Worcester from ESSDACK in Kansas for this wonderful tip.
JAN is a great site to explore various resources, definitions, laws the address accommodations in the workplace. There is information for federal, private and small business employers, as well as information about what to expect as an employee and exploring other opportunities. JAN provides free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities. Go to the website and explore: http://www.jan.wvu.edu
The "IT Director" ( http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=10317) recently posted an article about the Epoc Headset from Emotive Systems.
"The headset is a lightweight ‘hat’ which uses electroencephalography (EEG), to measure brainwaves, and a gyroscope, to detect head movements. The signals are sent wirelessly to a processor. Analysis of the signals enables the system to recognise such things as Facial expressions...Desired force (lift an object or push it way)."
This is why he says it is cool:
"The market for this device is for serious gamers so their avatar can replicate facial expressions, or if boredom sets in, the game could be made more compelling. The thing that really excited me about this device is the price; it is being suggested that when it becomes publicly available later this year it will retail for around 300 US dollars. I assume it is this inexpensive because it is aimed at a very large potential market...the headset could be used for more mundane computing tasks such as moving a mouse pointer on a screen, drag and drop (focus on an object, close one eye to indicate drag, move the head and then open the eye to drop) etc."Click on the link above to read more!
Don Johnston will be partnering with Benetech/ Bookshare.org to provide their Read:Outloud reader as the text reader for providing access to reading materials. This is in conjunction with the recent $32 million U.S. Department of Education OSEP award to Bookshare.org and providing access to reading materials for students with print disabilities. For more information read the link below:
http://www.donjohnston.com/products/rol_bookshare/index.html
Click on http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=10365 to read a commentary on avatars (such as those in the virtual world Second Life) with signing capability.
Lately I have found excellent YouTube videos that demonstrate a variety of topics from teachers demonstrating math solutions to children using AAC devices. These videos are valuable when providing training or supporting struggling students in the classroom. But how can you store these videos for ease of access? Try converting these videos and storing them on an iPod. Here is a free program which you can download that will do the work for you.
The National Assistive Technology in Education Network site: http://natenetwork.buffalo.edu/ has some great information for Assistive Technology team members that represents all disciplines and it is presented in a collaborative manner. Lots of great resources are available including mentorship!
I think it’s a must site to bookmark and check regularly!
Don Johnston Partners with Benetech/Bookshare.org
To Provide FREE Technology Access to Thousands of Online Educational
Materials for Students With Print Disabilities
As part of their $32 million U.S. Department of Education OSEP award, Bookshare.org chose Read:OutLoud by Don Johnston Incorporated as the text reader that would best achieve the goal of providing access to reading materials and enabling students to read texts with comprehension.
Beginning at the start of the 2008-09 school year, students who qualify under Chafee will use Don Johnston’s Read:OutLoud® Bookshare.org Edition text reader to access thousands of electronic books, educational materials and resources in NIMAS and DAISY from the Bookshare.org website. The program’s goal is to eliminate barriers for students with reading disabilities and to provide the necessary tools to ensure access to the general curriculum, materials and textbooks.
For more information about this partnership follow the link below:
http://www.donjohnston.com/products/rol_bookshare/index.html
Want to take advantage of the power of Kurzweil Scan and Read from a portable USB device? Click here to learn more.... http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000USB.aspx
Just in from the FCTD folks,
"We've long understood that individualization of instruction makes for better education. Teachers only have so much time, however, and when a range of technology tools are added to the mix of their regular curriculum materials, customization of those tools may be too much to expect. Where to look for help? Perhaps to the students themselves. In the Family Center on Technology and Disability*s March online discussion, we will explore methods for promoting student self-customization of technology tools. We'll discuss a range of important questions, including the sometimes conflicting technology standards set for students by adults and peers. Please join our expert moderator, David Davies, Director of the Florida Instructional Technology Training & Resource Unit, for another interesting and informative FCTD forum. The discussion will begin on Monday, March 3rd and continue throughout the month. To participate, please visit http://www.fctd.info/webboard/index.php."
The VSTE Conference had so many fun and interactive sites for teachers and students, here are a few to enjoy:
http://www.primarysourcelearning.org/ (Discover, Learn and Teach with Historical Documents)
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi (history from the Library of Congress)
http://www.wm.edu/hsi/ (Historical Scene Investigates)
http://www.edc.org/CCT/PMA/image_detective/method.html (exercise to build students' skills in analyzing historical documents)
http://yacapaca.com/ (users can create quizzes, surveys, tests and more)
Looking for a way to convert video files to be used in power point presentations or stored and play on your iPod or other portable video player? Here is a free conversion tool called Any Video Coverter. This is what they have to say about it on their website:
There is open source software to perform almost every task for video conversion. But if you are one of these windows users who are looking for an All-in-One video converting tool with easy-to-use graphical interface, Any Video Converter provides just that, allowing you to effortlessly convert video files between every format, for FREE!
Many of you VAAP folks are working with students on recognizing signs; this site seems like a nice place from which to pull images. (Added bonus- we learn more about India--some of their signs are very different from ours..!) Click on http://www.hscripts.com/freeimages/icons/traffic/regulatory-signs/index.php
Assistive Technology, Inc. has published a new software bundled to assess and teach early numeracy skills, including number sense. Stages Math: Number Sense was created using the principles of Universal Design, allowing for multiple modes of access and response. The programs can be customized to provide prompting, graphical support, help buttons etc. to support students as they are learning. The software not only assesses, but can be used for instruction. “Use the software every day--the questions are never the same!” Check it out on the web http://www.assistivetch.com
Here's a cool site. Audio guides are digital audio walking guides to popular neighborhoods. These can be downloaded to your iPod or favorite mp3 player. For more information visit, http://audiosteps.com/ or http://podguides.net/
Discovery Education speaker Hall Davidson recently reminded us at the VSTE conference of the true power in those iPods. Did you realize that a full size iPod can hold over 40,000 clips and the entire Discovery education library? That an iPod is truly a small computer -- the video iPod has 80GB and more of storage space and can carry most of the same files as your laptop. To learn more, visit the following link for detailed information on how you might use this tool in a classroom to support student learning, http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/node/87
At the recent VSTE
state conference, presenters from Fairfax County Public Schools shared a thought provoking presentation on "FREEdome of Speech: Vocabulary 2.0". Their point, the emerging world of Web 2.0 brings a new vocabulary-- and often an unfamiliar one to many students. Considering how the creative use of technology to strengthen background knowledge and enhance visual literacy can be important strategies for students. To learn more, visit http://conferenceconnection2008.edublogs.org
Wondering where those keyboard shortcuts are in Word 2007? Hold down the ALT key on your keyboard to view all these shortcuts on the screen/ menu
Hey, who isn't? Well, at least some of us who attended VSTE last week are still feeling Web 2.0 overload...and now is a good time to click on http://atwiki.assistivetech.net/index.php/ATWiki_Home and play around with someone else's wiki! It's a national public forum that is in wiki format and talks about something we all know and love: assistive technology. Go ahead-wiki away!
I heard an interesting presentation from a company who prints books in a format that is individualized for each reader. It’s made to order reading material, available in five days! Their website http://www.readhowyouwant.com provides various different print formats and samples are available. Do you need large print, easy read print, specialized print or print to help with English language learning? All of these options are available! Check out their website for more information!
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