TREATS - Technology Resources for Education's

Assistive Technology Solutions

 

Weekly Resources for the Assistive Technology Service Provider Community

 

Volume 6, Issue #6 for Week of 2/07/05

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: “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.”  Robert Frost

 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

·             http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html "African-American Mosaic" is a guide for studying black history & culture.  Topics include colonization & Liberia, abolitionists & slavery, western migration & homesteading, Chicago & Nicodemus (Kansas), & ex-slave narratives. (LOC

·             http://www.nps.gov/malu/  "Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site" features Atlanta's Auburn Avenue, the neighborhood where King was raised & which became the center of African American life in Atlanta between 1910 & 1930. (NPS)

·             http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html here are the top 100 speeches of all time in digital format – so many lesson plans to be developed from this resource and not enough time!

·             http://cosn.org/resources/emerging_technologies/hot.cfm CoSN’s current report dealing with “Hot Technologies” for K-12 schools.

·             http://www.texasat.net/links.htm#digital Texas’s collection of links to resources for finding or creating your own digital text.

·             http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/teach/technology/emmanuel.asp home of the student acccess map and other practical resources developed by teachers who have already implemented UDL in their classrooms.

 

ACCESS SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_1241&d=0202 Read the complete GLEF article and watch an original video documentary on how assistive technology is enabling disabled students to participate more fully in school and extracurricular activities. (www.edutopia.org/1241)

·    http://www.ataccess.org/resources/atk12/default.html  Best Practice &  Stories about classroom success

 

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:

·             http://www.languagethroughliteracy.com/ Free Lesson Plans and resources

·             http://www.symbolworld.org/ Communication strategies and resources for symbol users.

·             http://www.technologyandlanguage.com/download/smalltalk_tips.pdfHere is a short 10 page activity for using computer lingo when emailing. It has a matching game, word to icon match and so forth. (Jeannette Van Houten)

 

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://onpointcoach.com A new information portal for work and relationships related research and resources.

·    http://customerservicezone.com/ The Customer Service Zone was created to provide practical information to help companies, organizations and employees provide more effective customer service. Regardless of type of business, or sector you'll find valuable, and often free information here.

 

CYBRARIAN SOLUTIONS:

·             http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=31 SLMSs and cybrarians will form the backbone of a two-tiered educational system that will change the way students consume and produce knowledge by 2015.

 

DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING SOLUTIONS:

·    Death of Deaf Culture? Throughout the nation, deaf clubs are on the decline. The younger deaf are eschewing the deaf clubs of their parents for the Internet, text messaging and e-mail.

 

DEPARTMENT SOLUTIONS;

·             http://nces.ed.gov/programs/stateprofiles/ Search for statewide information in elementary/secondary education, postsecondary education and selected demographics for all states in the U.S. based on data collected and maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics. Besides being able to get state data you will also get data on U.S. averages and the ability to graph the results.

 

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

·    http://www.lgiris.com/bbs/view.php?id=news&no=67   May  I Peek into Your Room? Boston  's deluxe Nine Zero Hotel has been trying out an alternative to  room keys. Guests who opt to try out the service have their irises  scanned when they check in and the collected images are stored in a  database. When the guest wants to enter his or her suite, a recognition device records their "iris print" and matches it to  the stored image, thereby unlocking the suite's door and allowing  access.  The  iris-recognition technology application, developed by LG  Electronics, is being used at border crossing points, airports, and  other places where balancing access and security is critical.  (Source:  "Your Iris is the Key," LG  Electronics/Iris Technology Division  as published by International Center for Leadership in Education)

·    http://www.purplemath.com/ Your Algebra Resource

 

PALM SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.smartcell.com/id20.htm TextPlus is a word prediction for the Palm OS. It cost $19.95 and WordComplete,another program, I think is free.  TextPlus is great and has much more versatility with Dictionaries and such.  (Jennifer Fritschi)

·     http://hi-ce.org/soft3.html  ELLiot Solway at the University of Michigan has research projects for handhelds in education. (Sharon Eilts)

 

 

READING SOLUTIONS:

·             http://www.rif.org/who/press/05_special_education.mspx Reading Is Fundamental Highlights Best Practices for Reaching Children with Special Educational Needs.

 

STAFF DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS:

 

TEACHING SOLUTIONS:

·  http://www.ese.ocps.net select Assistive Technology you will find many topic areas related to AT some great stuff.

 

TWICE EXCEPTIONAL SOLUTIONS:

·  http://uniquelygifted.org/ Twice-exceptional  children are gifted children who have special educational needs - AD/HD,  learning disabilities, Asperger Syndrome, etc. Because their giftedness  can mask their special needs and their special needs can hide their  giftedness, they are often labeled as "lazy" and "unmotivated.”

 

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.kurzweiledu.com/products_k3000win_demo.asp

 

*        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  

Toll free in NY: 1-800-248-9873.  URL: www.trecenter.org

 

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