TREATS

Technology Resources for Education's Assistive Technology Solutions

 

Weekly Resources for the Assistive Technology Service Provider Community

 

Volume 6, Issue #14 for Week of 4/4/05

Compiled by David Grapka (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: "The greatest non-technical issue is the mindset. We have to view information as a flow rather than as a thing. Online learning is a flow. It’s like electricity or water. It’s there, it’s available and it flows. It’s not stuff you collect. I don’t see myself sitting in my home collecting jars of water. I use the water as it comes. If you think the internet as an environment that is moving and shaping all around you, then you will have a better attitude to be able to handle the flood of information that is coming at you.” Stephan Downs from: http://flosse.dicole.org/?item=future-of-flosse-interview-with-stephen-downes-part-2

 

SAD NEWS Department:

 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

·    http://techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60401514  Appropriate Use of Technology in a Third Grade Classroom By Johnny Hansell

·    http://ncam.wgbh.org/salt/guidelines/sec6.html Guidelines for Developing Accessible Asynchronous Communication and Collaboration Tools

·    http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews/Article13247.phtml The keynote address at eBooks in Education Conference, Thursday, April 14, 2005 in New York City will be presented by Craig D. Swenson, Ph.D., VP for Academic Affairs at the University of Phoenix. Conference info is available at www.openebook.org/education. Dr. Swenson will present "How Professionals Learn Today: Intentional Learning and the Irrelevance of Textbooks.”

·    International Children's Digital Library This is an online collection of some of world's best children's literature with more than 600 titles in 30 languages, books that reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, lifestyles, and priorities of peoples around the world.

·    http://members.nationaltechcenter.org/matrixtest.aspx Go here to compare Kurzweil, WYNN, and Read and Write Gold. (from Lee, Linnie - Curriculum Development)

ACCESS SOLUTIONS:

·    http://atri.misericordia.edu/Papers/protocol.php This paper investigated the efficacy of simultaneous presentation visual and verbal stimuli for reading. (Denis Anson, MS, OTR)

·    http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Products/literacy.html From Gallaudet regarding literacy for the deaf.  Perhaps some of this could be useful for autistic individuals. (Jeanne D. Beckman, Ph.D.)

 

ADMINISTRATIVE “SYSTEMS CHANGE” SOLUTIONS:

·    http://epaa.asu.edu The Education Policy Analysis Archives is an open access peer-reviewed scholarly journal published on the internet. See: “No Child Left Behind Act and the Legacy of Federal Aid to Education” by Lee W. Anderson

·    http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/tech_suite/ The Forum Unified Education Technology Suite  was developed through the National Cooperative Education Statistics System and funded by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

·    http://www.schoolmatters.com/ This site is offering a free, web-based data service that provides comparative information and analysis on public schools, districts, and state education systems.

·    Laptops & Learning: Wireless Classrooms for the 21st Century Anytime, anywhere learning is making a difference. Read T&L's new eBook to find out what the research says on the impact of laptops on teaching and learning and to get practical advice for making your laptop initiative successful. You'll also find tech tips, case studies, and links to resources.

 

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://admin.worldpages.com/business_update.htm Update your business listing.

·    http://www.theworldcafe.com Consulting Resources.

 

DEAF HARD OF HEARING SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.PhonicEar.com for some amazing tools such as “The Easy Listener” which may be good for students with Learning Disabilities or ADHD. (Irene Stewart)

 

DISTANCE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS:

·    http://www.thegateway.org/ The Gateway to Educational Materials is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites.

 

FUNDING

·    http://www.eschoolnews.com/tsc/index.php?sid=709167229&t=faq This powerful new solutions portal allows you the ability to find companies, products, white papers and funding resources through “Yahoo-style” searches on over 4,000 school technology product and service providers.

·    Tech Museum Awards. Sponsored by the Tech Museum of Innovation, these awards to teachers are made in five categories. One award recognizes an educator who uses technology in a creative way to enhance learning for students of all ages. The deadline for nominations is April 4, 2005. For more information on these and other grants and contests, visit TechLEARNING's Grants column or check out TechLEARNING's Grants database.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

·    http://www.masie.com/masie/default.cfm?trends=331&page=trendsdisplay Geo-Location and Learning. Where You Are Determines Content You Access

·    http://birat.net/br/ Internet Research and Analysis Toolkit This site provides tools to create and analyze online survey instruments. Most item types are supported and the data is organized so that you can export it for further analysis with tools like Excel and SPSS. The code is public domain under the GNU public license.

PARENT SOLUTIONS:

 

TEACHING

·    Digital Media in the Classroom: The Art of Digital Storytelling Log in for a rich tour of hundreds of examples of digital storytelling projects-from personal turning point stories to more traditional historical documentaries and persuasive narratives. We also bring you experts' perspectives on how digital storytelling reinforces key 21st century skills.

 

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://rjcooper.com/                                                 RJ 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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