TREATS - Technology Resources for Education's

TREATS - Technology Resources for Education's

Assistive Technology Solutions

Weekly Resources for the Assistive Technology Service Provider Community

Volume 6, Issue #4 for Week of 1/24/05

Compiled by David Grapka (mailto:David@Trecenter.org)

Technology Resources for Education (T.R.E.) Center TRECenter.org

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Note: Some links are time-sensitive. Access to some may require registration or free subscriptions.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "People who start behind in the race of life must either run faster or forever remain behind." Benjamine E. Mays

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/storycircle/ and http://www.starfall.com/ If you are looking for free sites for computerized read aloud books. Janet Hopkins
psychologists' point of view Schools don't teach the way kids learn. Author and psychology professor Alison Gopnik says children learn through two entirely different processes: adult-guided discovery of their environment and skill mastery through repetition. Schools need to ensure both modes of learning are kept in balance so that what she terms children's "native brilliance" is not lost. The New York Times (free registration)
http://www.innovateonline.info/ Journal on Technology Integration - Innovate is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed online periodical (ISSN 1552-3233) published by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University. The journal focuses on the creative use of information technology (IT) to enhance educational processes in academic, commercial, and government settings. From ASCD Newsbriefs

ACCESS SOLUTIONS:

· http://www.judylynn.com/prog_win.htm#P302 Judy Lynn software has a switch access for painting called Scan and Paint. You can draw in paint with a graphite tablet and then drop it into scan and paint. You can download a Trial of at http://www.judylynn.com/downloads.htm.

· http://www.assistiveware.com/switchaccess.php: SwitchXS provides full access to Mac OS X for a switch user and allows the user to use any application running on Mac OS X. It includes a number of predefined scan panels but you can also design custom panels. You can adjust the panels to any size and also enlarge the text. In addition, it provides speech cueing which can help for student with visual impairments. It offers a variety of scanning methods and works with almost any USB input device. (from nancy hogan nancyhogan@INAME.COM)

ADMINISTRATIVE SOLUTIONS:

http://techatlas.org/tools/ TechAtlas is a free suite of online planning tools that can help you integrate technology more effectively into your organization. It walks you through a technology planning process by following some key steps. This tool is for use by nonprofit staff or with the support of a technical assistance provider or consultant.

AUDITORY SCANNING SOLUTIONS FROM NANCY HOGAN

· http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2004/proceedings/64.htm CSUN's 2004 proceedings and a nice description of the work in this area by Linda Burkhart and Gayle Porter.

· http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2000/proceedings/0255Kovach.htm Here is a link to Susan Kovach's summary of her 2000 CSUN proceedings.

· http://www.augcominc.com/articles.html Type in auditory scanning for good hits.

SOLUTIONS FOR THE BLIND:

· http://www.talktab.org A major benefit of the T3 is that it makes accessibility easier for the visually impaired student, automatically putting them in control of their own learning. This builds confidence in the learner and ensures that teaching is meaningful and fun.

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:

http://teachers.santee.k12.ca.us/carl/sort%20City.htm Here is the only site you'll ever need for sorting activities!

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

http://schoolnotes.com/edgate/about.php Educators - if you are interested in a simple and effective means to communicate school information to your education community, you've come to the right place. SchoolNotes.com complements school websites by allowing teachers to post school information on the world-wide-web without worrying about HTML or FTP because there is no programming required! And best of all, SchoolNotes.com is a free community service!
http://www.albany.edu/cpr/gf/resources/Vision.html standards for vision statements

DEAF SOLUTIONS:

· http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm Simplified Sign. From Myra Jessie Flint, M.S. Ed., CCC-SLP

· http://www.Vcom3D.com/ASL.htm V-Com makes some nice software supports with signing clips to support students who are deaf, including ASL Animations--for $99. CD consists of ~200 sign video clips for you to use to author books. They go nicely into Intellitools Suite or any other authoring software. (From Gretchen.)

DEPARTMENT SOLUTIONS:

· There is a new informational memo relating to IDEA 2004 available on the IDEA website at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/idea/home.html or directly at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/idea/120memo.htm.

· http://www.regents.nysed.gov/2005Meetings/January2005/0105emscvesidd2.htm This report provides a summary of the key changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as reauthorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 enacted on December 3, 2004.

FUNDING SOLUTIONS:

http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_education.jhtml A collection of Current Requests for Proposals (RFP’s).
http://opgd.dc.gov/opgd/lib/opgd/services/grant/funding_alerts/currentnewsletter.pdf The Washington DC Mayor's Office of Partnerships & Grant Development's Funding Alert

MATH SOLUTIONS:

· http://www.webmath.com Shows all of the operational steps to answering a specific problem (eg. long division). No visuals, however. From Rick Osterhaus, Ablenet Inc.

· math strategies from Chuck Hitchcock chitchcock@CAST.ORG There are also a number of interesting math resources listed on the K8 AccessCenter site.

· http://www.keypress.com/ The Keys Series is available from Key Curriculum Press, PO Box 2304 Berkekey CA 94702

· S.L.A.M. Math Series is available from Penichet Publishing Co 2514 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90007 213) 749-6213 from Sharon Eilts

· http://www.shodor.org/master/interactivate/ Check out the resources under Tools at Project Interactivate. From Linnie Lee

· I typically make an index card (3x5) in MS Word and create the smart card. I then laminate the paper and place tabs for faster reference. Each student is unique so I customize the smart cards for where they need the help. (Jeannette Van Houten)

· http://coe.jmu.edu/mathvidsr/metacognitive.htm

· http://mathforum.org/~sarah/hamilton/

· http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwrld/Resources/strategiesmath.htm

· http://www.sbsl.org/acadmathd.htm

· http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/math_index.htm

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5468 The nonprofit Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has launched a three-year initiative intended to demonstrate how greater collaboration and increased communication between school technology leaders and special-education departments can deliver the benefits of a technology-rich education to all students, including those with disabilities.

PALM SOLUTIONS:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/spotlight/ Palm One calls on school leaders to get organized with its latest smartphone

RESEARCH SOLUTIONS:

http://www.connsensebulletin.com/compse.html A bibliography on "Computers and Special Education."

TEACHING SOLUTIONS:

* http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/indian-ocean-disaster.html A select Guide to Information about this disaster.

VENDOR PARTNER WEBSITES AND NEWS:

* http://www.accessiblebookcollection.org Accessible Books

* http://www.aacconnections.com AAC connections

* http://www.ablenetinc.com Ablenet

* http://www.alphasmart.com Alphasmart

* http://www.closingthegap.com Closing The Gap

* http://www.colligo.us/ Reading: Access and Comprehension

* http://www.cricksoft.com Crick Software

* http://www.ea-software.com Educational Activities Software

* http://www.enkidu.net/ Enkidu joins Dynavox

* http://www.greatleaps.com/ Great Leaps Reading

* http://www.infogrip.com Home of the “BIGtrack”

* http://www.inspiration.com/ Inspiration

* http://www.intellitools.com IntelliTools, Inc.

* http://www.judylynn.com/prog_win.htm#P219 Judy Lynn Software

* http://www.kurzweiledu.com/products_k3000win_demo.asp Free copies of the Kurzweil 3000 trial CD are available through our web site.

* http://www.laureatelearning.com Laureate Learning Systems

* http://www.magictouch.com The Leader in Touchscreen Technology.

* http://www.madentec.com Madentec

* http://www.nasdse.com RIATT at NASDSE

* http://www.rjcooper.com/2+2 R. J. Cooper

* http://www.sunburst-store.com Sunburst Software

* http://www.texthelp.com Makers of Read and Write Gold

* http://words-plus.com Words Plus

Please forward T.R.E.A.T.S. to your friends and colleagues who want to learn Assistive Technology Issues and Solutions. Thanks!

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

This weekly email newsletter is free and provides information useful to the community of people interested in the use of technology as a tool to help all students. If you have information to share that would be of value to members of our learning community, including job notices, please write and let us know. We'll be happy to share it here or at our web site. Contact, reprint, and subscription information is at the end of this document.

As always, thank you for your interest in the TRE Center and our work. We look forward to having you share your wisdom with the people on this list and with those you serve.

Sincerely,

David Grapka, ATP, ATS,

Project Coordinator, T.R.E. Center

NASDSE Certified Assistive Technology Specialist,

RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Practitioner

Maywood School, 1979 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12205

Phone: 518-464-6346

Fax: 518-464-6353

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