TREATS - Technology Resources for Education's

Assistive Technology Solutions

 

Weekly Resources for the Assistive Technology Service Provider Community

 

Volume 6, Issue #7 for Week of 2/14/05

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://cosn.org/resources/emerging_technologies/hot.cfmIn this guide, the Emerging Technologies Committee (ETC) of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) looks at the most promising technologies in store for schools.
  • http://www.elon.edu/predictions What will the future be? Predictions are being added to a growing online database called Imagining the Internet, developed jointly by the Pew Project and Elon University in North Carolina. The database includes over 4,000 predictive statements made by hundreds of technology specialists during the dawn of the Internet.
  • http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/ The Children’s Literature Web Guide is an attempt to gather together and categorize the growing number of Internet resources related to books for Children and Young Adults.
  • http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/mitest.html Use this inventory to identify your students’ learning styles based on the theory of multiple intelligences. (from Anne Marie Jenkins, Utica City Schools)
  • http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/caine.htm Mind/Brain Learning Principles by Geoffrey Caine, LL.M., is the national director of the MindBrain Network of the American Society for Training and Development and Renate Nummela Caine, Ph.D., professor of education at California State University, San Bernardino, CA.
  • http://www.siia.net/govt/docs/pub/SIIAAdoptionLtrBrf.pdf "Archaic" Textbooks Into Digital Age,” is an interesting report available at The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) who are urging governmental and school officials to take a new look at the process of approving and purchasing textbooks as we move into the digital age.:
  • http://www.voicerecognition.com/icommunicator/ The iCommunicator™ V.4.0 software program is a leading edge communication access technology. This powerful tool provides a multisensory, interactive communication solution for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and other persons who experience unique communication access challenge
  • http://www.landmark-project.com/index.php This Web site is dedicated to the idea that the very nature of information is changing, practically before our eyes. It is changing in what it looks like, where we find it, what we look at to view it, what we can do with it, and how we communicate it. Here you will find information and tools designed to help us redefine literacy for the 21st Century.

 

ACCESS SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.intellitools.com/icsaex/home.php Assistive-tech community promotes sharing, learning

 

ADMINISTRATIVE SOLUTIONS:

·    http://edpsyccentral.org/ This site has HUNDREDS of links to everything imaginable related to education, both general and special

 

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:

* http://www.aacinstitute.org/Resources/Press/AACRoadTrip/AACRoadTripPaper.html Here is a link to a paper by Katya Hill and Barry Romich that discusses the use of single meaning icons, vs. words/spelling, vs. semantic compaction.  Another article (also by them, I believe) is on the PRC website at: http://www.prentrom.com/printed/AACPRIN.PDF (from Beth Poss via QIAT)

 

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.exedes.com/workshop-descriptions.htm#_Toc88811034 or a workshop outline, "Stories at Work: How to Create, Tell, and Use Stories with Groups and Organizations.”

 

DEPARTMENT SOLUTIONS;

BUSH BUDGET HARMFUL TO SPECIAL ED Dear Friends and Colleagues: This overview of the President's proposed budget for special education is important.  Please have a look and be sure to scroll down to the line item for assistive technology.  If you have concerns it would be well-advised to make them known to your members of Congress. (From Joy Smiley Zabala via QIAT)

 

FUNDING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.digitalschoolhouse.org/ The Digital Schoolhouse, an initiative of the non-profit Computer Associates Digital Schoolhouse Foundation, and funded in large part by Computer Associates, provides children with a technology-based learning environment and allows students to participate in lessons using the Internet and the latest hardware and software.

·    http://www.kurzweiledu.com/k3000awards.asp Applications from Kurzweil are available here and must be postmarked by June 1, 2005. Several different awards, including the School Excellence Award Given to a U.S. K-12 public/private school (or district) which has demonstrated a commitment to integrating technology, especially for students with learning disabilities, into the general classroom.

 

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

·    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/10/technology/circuits/10info.html?th  By KATIE HAFNER Potential distractions at the computer are ever present and enticing. So research is aiming at ways to keep you focused.

·    http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews/Article12949.phtml Augmented Reality: Another (Virtual) Brick In The Wall Source: Technology Review Georgia Tech University researchers are working to meld virtual and physical reality together, which will enhance the ways people interact with and perceive the world around them.

 

PARENT SOLUTIONS:

·    http://usny.nysed.gov/parents/ The Parent Web Page will be featured in the Resources for Parents section of the SED website and will provide answers to common questions parents have about the State assessments, Regents examinations, and the standards.

 

READING SOLUTIONS:

·             http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=0373&r=sb050121 Check out this new resource guide, “Growing Readers Units of Study in the Primary Classroom.”  Here is what Lucy Caulkins had to say about it.  Growing Readers can become the seed to wrap your teaching around, nurturing your own experiences in the light of an author whose fresh and original teaching reflects her deep, deep understanding of young children and reading.

 

TESTING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://pencilsdown.org/pencilsdown1.html PencilsDown.org is the meeting place for parents, educators and citizens concerned with the miseducation of children in the name of higher standardized test scores. We plan to use grassroots organization, public education, civic participation and humor to stem the destructive tide of the standardized testing craze .

·    http://cybertrain.info/# Cybertrain is a site dedicated to Innovations in the Creation of Learning Resources. Cybertrain provides teachers and trainers an easy means of creating engaging Learning resources such as Interactive Games and online Books.

 

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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