TREATS
Technology Resources for
Education's
Assistive Technology Solutions
Weekly Resources for the Assistive
Technology Service Provider Community
Compiled by David Grapka (mailto:David@Trecenter.org)
Technology Resources for Education (T.R.E.) Center
TRECenter.org
------------------------------------
Note:
Some links are time-sensitive. Access to some may require registration or
free subscriptions.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Life is made up
of little things. It is very rarely that an occasion is offered for doing a
great deal at once. True greatness consists in being great in the little
things."-
Charles Simmons
UNIVERSAL
DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:
·
http://nimas.cast.org/about/faq/index.html
For frequently asked questions on proposed National Instructional Materials
Access Center (NIMAC) and files the publishers will be providing in the NIMAS
format to the NIMAC and/or the states in future. Publishers are not required to provide files in the NIMAS
format now but will be in future.
Publishers would be operating now under existing Braille laws, contracts
with individual states, etc. as before. (from Julia Meyers at APH)
·
High
Schools Are "Obsolete": Bill Gates, the Chairman of Microsoft recently
gave an incredibly powerful speech about the shortcomings and challenges of
United States high schools. Here
are a few of his key points and worries:
o
"By obsolete, I don't just mean
that our high schools are broken, flawed and under-funded - though a case could
be made for everyone of those points.
By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they are working
as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today."
o
"Training the workforce of tomorrow
with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today's
computers on a 50 year old mainframe."
o
"Only 1/3 of our students graduate
from high school ready for college, work and citizenship."
o
Gates
suggests 3 new "R"'s for redesigned high schools: Rigor, Relevance and Relationships
(with mentoring adults).
o
Gates
is urging, and backing these perspectives with grants from his foundation of $1
Billion, focusing on smaller schools, different forms of measurement and greater
commitment to getting ALL students across the finish line in terms of readiness
for college, work and citizenship. It is worth reading the full text: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/MediaCenter/Speeches/BillgSpeeches/BGSpeechNGA-050226.htm
·
http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/viewpdf.asp?j=elea&vol=2&issue=1&year=2005&article=2_Gee_ELEA_2_1_web&id=24.149.59.70 PDF. James Paul Gee asks,
"How do good game designers manage to get new players to learn long,
complex, and difficult games?" Here are a few – and interestingly,
they align with principles of Universal Design for Learning:
o
Learners
feel like active agents (producers) not just passive recipients (consumers).
o
Different
styles of learning work better for different people.
o
They
can manipulate powerful tools in intricate ways that extend their area of
effectiveness.
o
Challenges
feel hard, but doable. Learners feel - and get evidence - that their effort is
paying off.
o
Create
simplified systems, stressing a few key variables and their interactions.
o
Risks
and dangers greatly mitigated (one of the worst problems with school: it's too
risky and punishing).
o
See
the skills first and foremost as a strategy for accomplishing a goal and only
secondarily as a set of discrete skills.
o
People
learn skills, strategies, and ideas best when they see how they fit into an
overall larger system to which they give meaning.
o
Make
the meanings of words and concepts clear through experiences the player has and
activities the player carries out.
·
Stephan Downs says that these principles
are definitive not merely of game-based learning but also of network learning.
By James Paul Gee, E-Learning, April, 2005
·
http://mindraider.sourceforge.net/index.html
“MindRaider is a Semantic Web outliner that aims to connect the tradition
of outline editors with emerging technologies. MindRaider mission is to
organize not only the content of your hard drive but also your cognitive base
and social relationships in a way that enables quick navigation, concise
representation and inferencing." By Martin Dvorak, April, 2005 (from
Stephan Downs)
ACCESS SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.fitaly.com/wince/pocketpcfitaly.htm
Fitaly’s alternative on-screen keyboard layouts for PDA's. Does anyone have experience with these
alternative layouts? Are they more efficient?
·
http://www.fishermarriott.com/UK
product called StarSpell.
·
http://gotestgo.com/ Go Tests Go is a service
that provides online testing to Java enabled mobile phones. GTG is a
subscription service, as everything connected to mobile phones seems to be. By
Various Authors, April, 2005 (from Stephan Downs)
BILINGUAL
SOLUTIONS: AT forms in Spanish (from karen baca)
BLIND
and VISUALLY IMPAIRED SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.infoeyes.org InfoEyes is a cooperative library project in
which Talking Book librarians and reference librarians from multiple states are
working together to answer questions over the Internet. The service can locate
resources and answer questions about absolutely anything. This service is great
for visually impaired students needing to find journal articles and websites
for homework. Questions can be emailed at any time, and will be answered during
service hours.
·
AccessWorld
has reviewed MP3 players which focus on accessibility for persons with visual
impairments: March ‘05: The iPod http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw060203
·
January
2005 issue: The MuVo http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw060203
·
July
2004 issue: The Book Port and the BookCourier http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw050407
from Tom McElroy
·
Another
article on MP3 players for persons with visual impairments from a site called http://www.voiceofthenationsblind.org
Audio Odyssey: Can the Blind Ride the Wave? by Mark Riccobono
·
http://www.setbc.org/projects/virg/default.html
and http://www.tsbvi.edu for info on
assessments for students with Visual Impairments. From Terry Maggiore TVI
COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.talkforme.com/products.html
only $50 and a 30 day download trial\
·
http://www.starfall.com This website is
free and focuses on beginning sounds and then ending sounds later on in the
higher levels.
CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.clusty.com Try using this search engine – it
groups your results into categories. Also, next to each result are icons to
open the item in a new window or open a preview pane so you can view the page
without having to leave your list of search results. From Doug and Amy Orwig
DEAF HARD OF HEARING SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.interpretype.com Interpretype is an
assistive technology that enables the hearing population to communicate with
the deaf and hard of hearing community. Their slogan is “the next
best thing to an interpreter.”
It is designed to fill the void when an interpreter is not available and
conversations are spontaneous or too short to require an interpreter. (from
Bruce Craig)
DISTANCE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.adlnet.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=DLGuid
What
Works in Distance Learning is a collection of findings in the effectiveness of design and
development strategies for Distance Learning (DL).
·
http://www.oatdlp.org/
Ohio's Assistive Technology Distance Learning Project (OATDLP) from Amanda
Inman <ainman@PAULDING.K12.GA.US>
·
http://www.newspress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050322/NEWS0104/503220454/107
Whole Class Technology Two South Florida middle
schools are using their share of a $3.3 million grant to infuse technology into
their students' daily classroom life. The schools are investing in technologies
(interactive whiteboards and PDAs) that they hope will change the way teachers
deliver instruction. Source: The News Press
INFORMATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES:
·
http://www.innovateonline.info The April/May
2005 issue of Innovate is now available.
Innovate is a peer-reviewed, bimonthly e-journal published as a public
service by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova
Southeastern University. It features creative practices and cutting-edge
research on the use of information technology to enhance education.
JUST FOR FUN:
·
http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/c2.swf, http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/c2.swf, http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/cable_clock.swf
http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/cable_clock.swf
http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/3dc2.swf http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/3dc2.swf http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/hand.swf
·
http://t2.technion.ac.il/~snoom/hand.swf
NEW DEVELOPMENTS:
·
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050406/ap_on_hi_te/japan_honda_robot
Honda Robot Helps Teach in Classrooms 2 hours, 47 minutes ago By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP
Business Writer. TOKYO - A walking childlike robot from Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co.
is entering classrooms to help teachers demonstrate the wonders of science.
·
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/Products.asp
Soon, you’ll be able to sell all of
your old keyboards on E-bay.
·
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0405/p01s02-ussc.html
Hunting by remote control draws fire from all quarters By
Kris Axtman
| Staff writer of The Christian
Science Monitor HOUSTON –It's
a new kind of hunting experience in which people anywhere in the world can sit
at home and target real game by controlling a gun in a remote location. USA Society & Culture from the April 05, 2005
edition
TEACHING
SOLUTIONS:
TECHIE
SOLUTIONS:
·
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/technology/circuits/07askk.html?8cir&emc=cir
Maximizing the Life of the G4's Battery. By J.D. BIERSDORFER Published: April 7, 2005
VENDOR PARTNER WEBSITES AND NEWS:
· Cambium
Learning to acquire Kurzweil Educational Systems From Cambium Learning
Inc., April 7--Cambium
Learning Inc., an education company serving the unique needs of the nation's at
risk, minority, and special student populations with learning tools, services,
and technologies, announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Kurzweil
Educational Systems, Inc., an industry leader in reading technology for
individuals with learning or visual disabilities. http://www.cambiumlearning.com
·
AlphaSmart joins study to evaluate handheld use for math
instruction
From AlphaSmart Inc., April 11--AlphaSmart
Inc. announced that it is
working collaboratively with the Education Technology Think Tank, a
non-profit group dedicated to addressing America's growing digital divide, to
extend a university study that evaluates the impact Valiant Technology's MathAmigo software used on
handhelds can have on improving
math skills.
·
http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/businessbriefs/
*
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/site-map#arms 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
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job notices, please write and let us know. We'll be happy to share it here or
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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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