Technology Resources for Education's Assistive Technology Solutions

Weekly Resources for the Assistive Technology Service Provider Community

Volume 5, Issue #33 for Week of 8/16/04

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

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

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

 

QUOTES OF THE WEEK: 

  • “Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts.”  (Albert Einstein)
  • “Personal ownership of content creation is critical: in our work with school children, parents, members of the local community, University students, corporate sponsors, and research colleagues, we find over and over again that empowering users to create their own content is the key to fostering engagement, creativity, and problem solving skills. (emphasis added)” Marc Eisenstadt, speaker at London Symposium on Social Tools for the Enterprise

 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

  • http://www.artsor.org  ARTstor Announces Availability Of Digital Image Resource Library.  ARTstor hopes to work with institutions to build a digital collection capable of both system-wide growth and expansion at individual institutions, so that participants will have significantly more material for educational and scholarly uses." Pantomime
  • http://texts.cdlib.org/escholarship/titles_public.html 437 books, released for free public online access, by University of California Press. The site also provides linking assistance and a spreadsheet. Other sites hosting free online books include E-Editions - University of Nebraska Press, Baen Books, Hoover Institution, and, of course, Project Gutenberg. By Various Authors, University of California Press, July, 2004.  From Stephen Downs
  • http://www.ngf.org.uk/map/map.html). The Map of Creativity is a user-friendly, interactive database of innovative educational projects throughout the world. Want to see some of the world's most interesting educational projects? Browse to your heart's content. The Map of Creativity is supported by the Next Generation Foundation an initiative that explores the idea that children are a largely undiscovered human resource in modern society, that their potential must be set free, and new opportunities for children's learning, creativity and play must be developed and encouraged in the 21st century.
  • http://halldavidson.net/downloads.html Check out “The Guru of Copyright.”

 

BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED SOLUTIONS:

  • Three New Brochures Available:  APH has issued three new brochures describing the Accessible Tests Dept. and the Accessible Textbook Initiative and Collaboration Dept. If you would like free copies of these or other APH brochures, please call 800-223-1839 and choose "Catalogs" or send an email to catalogs@aph.org

 

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:

  • http://www.aacinstitute.org/ The AAC Institute is a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to the most effective communication for people who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
  • http://www.aacintervention.com/ Augmentative/Alternative Communication Intervention Products & Presentations

 

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

  • http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/dril/ New website on the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement launched.  Nearly 100 in-depth oral histories and a collection of unique archival materials documenting the disability rights and independent living movement are now available online through a new website hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. The Bancroft Librarys Regional Oral History Office.

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SOLUTIONS:

  • http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/parentamend.htm On July 20, 2004, the Governor signed A9206 (S7366) as Chapter 194 of the Laws of 2004. The purpose of this law, which amends section 4402 of the Education Law, is to expand the pool of parents eligible to serve as the additional parent member on a Committee on Special Education (CSE) by authorizing persons whose disabled child is no longer eligible to receive special education services to serve on a CSE for a period of five years subsequent to the declassification of their child, or the graduation of the child. This law, which is effective immediately, does not apply to the parent member on the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE).

 

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

  • http://pervasive.semanticweb.org/soupa-2004-06.html If you wondered what the universe looks like, check out this page. OK, well, not exactly, but this is that kind of high level stuff. By Harry Chen, July 15, 2004.  From Stephan Downs.
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/16/technology/16combo.html Raj Reddy was fed up debating the problem of the digital divide between the rich and the poor and decided to do something about it. Mr. Reddy, a pioneering researcher in artificial intelligence and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, plans to unveil at the end of this year his new project, called the PCtvt, a $250 wirelessly networked personal computer intended for the four billion people around the world who live  on less than $2,000 a year.
  • http://query.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?tntget=2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19teac.html&tntemail1 When Gadgets Get in the Way By LISA GUERNSEY (NYT)  With cellphones and laptops vying for students' attention in schools across the country, teachers have started to fight back.
  • http://www.simeda.com/pocketster-ipod.html Turn Your iPod Into a Wireless Jukebox With Pocketster Pro. Wireless file sharing - this article described how to share files wirelessly from your iPod. By Various Authors, Simeda, July, 2004[Refer][Research][Reflect]  from Stephen downs

 

PARENT AND ADVOCACY SOLUTIONS:

 

RESEARCH SOLUTIONS:

 

TEACHING SOLUTIONS:

 

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               Announces the Neo.”

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

*        http://www.colligo.us/                        Where your handwriting is read back to you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*        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 "level the playing field" for students with disabilities. 

 

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: 518-456-9290.

Fax: 518-456-9289.  

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

 

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DISCLAIMER: T.R.E.A.T.S is published by the T.R.E. Center, Capital Region BOCES.  At times we may list dot. Com companies in "T. R. E. A. T.  Resources.  Mention of dot. Com companies and resources in this newsletter is not an endorsement by the TRE Center or the New York State Education Department.  We take no responsibility for the accuracy of the postings except our own. All contents of the postings are the responsibility of the posting party.

 

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