Volume 5, Issue #52 for Week of 12/27/04

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: “The love you take is equal to the love you make.” John Lennon

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:

http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/matrix/ A searchable database that presents evidence and products for the use of technologies that support the instruction of reading for students with reading disabilities (from NCTI Quick Clicks)
http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=8913&r=sb041217 FREE Online Textbook: Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods That Matter, K–12. By Harvey Daniels and Marilyn Bizar. Read the review – then decide: you can buy it for $24 or you can download it to your computer at no cost.

ACCESSS SOLUTIONS:

http://www.nosleep.net Here, download “Due Yesterday” freeware for organization and time management. It lets students keep track of assignments and classes. It's runs on a Dana and the standard Palm applications may help with organization as well. (From Pat Delaney)
http://www.cantoraccess.com/keyaccess/keyaccessfaq.htm#introduction Welcome to the Keyboard Access FAQ. This resource is for people who want to operate Windows® more efficiently by using the keyboard more effectively. (from Alan Cantor)
http://www.ngtvoice.com/ NGT is a leading consultancy providing technology services to the professional community, including customized assistive technology (AT) solutions.
http://www.bridgethedigitaldivide.com/index.htm?src=uk013 In the developing world, less than 1 in every 1,000 people havee access to a computer compared to nearly 600 in every 1,000 in the developed world. How can we bridge THIS gap? Read on . . .

ADMINISTRATIVE SOLUTIONS AND CONCERNS:

http://3d2know.cosn.org/assessment/survey.cfm The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has launched its Data-driven Decision Making Self Assessment to help school district leaders use data effectively in decision-making.
http://www.nrcld.org Special Education Institute: Visit the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) website for information on Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI). (from Larry Gloeckler)

ADVOCACY SOLUTIONS:

http://www.digitaldivide.net The Digital Divide Network has just launched its new website.

BiLINGUAL SOLUTIONS:

http://babel.uoregon.edu/YLC/selfstudy.html A resource-rich website for teachers and learners of English as a Second Language.

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS:

http://WWW.SPEECHES.COM/ All you need for a speech – build your own unique speech in a few easy steps!
http://www.baltimorecityschools.org This is how to find the Baltimore City Schools boardmaker library: teachers --top tabs; teacher resources -- on left; assistive technology -- on bottom: adapted library -- on left. Very hard to find! (from Tobey Fields)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/technology/circuits/02POGUE- The NY Times had a review of Dragon 8 and accompanying funny video. (From David Pogue)

CONSULTING SOLUTIONS:

http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=53200357 How to deal with resistant teachers.
http://www.anysonglyrics.com In case you use song lyrics in your presentations and don't know all the words, you can search for song lyrics here! From David Zach

DEPARTMENT SOLUTIONS:

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ The new (ERIC) Web site has streamlined retrieval methods to access the existing ERIC bibliographic database (1966-2004). A “My Eric” personalization feature provides the capability to save and rerun searches.
http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/ The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. Somewhat debatable, but give it a shot.

ENTREPENEUR SOLUTIONS:

http://members.nationaltechcenter.org/ The NCTI Networking Service allows you to input data about yourself and to search for potential partners who best complement your needs. As a registered user you can specify your needs and save multiple searches. Return regularly to find new results for your predefined criteria and increase the potential for collaboration among and between others interested in fostering technology innovation.
By the Numbers: As you finish your holiday shopping, consider how the nation's top retailers, like the nation's top schools, use data to drive improvement-focused decision making. Number of Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. : 3,600

Number of weekly Wal-Mart customers: 100,000,000
Estimated product and customer data stored in Wal-Mart's database: 460 terabytes
Estimated amount of data available on the Internet: less than 230 terabytes.
1 terabyte = about 1 trillion bytes or 2 to the 40th power

FUNDING SOLUTIONS:

http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/fundingupdate.asp The latest funding news from the National Center for Technology Innovation.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

http://www.Colligo.us Convert Printed Books into Accessible Books for people who are blind or who have print or learning disabilities with “BookCrafter Publishing Suite™. BookCrafter provides the tools to schools, libraries and agencies serving the disabled population allowing them to convert printed books to Accessible Digital Books (aBook™), that comply with the many disability laws and the several states mandating accessible text books.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1253666.htm Brain Scientists Able to Follow the Pathway of Thought. Scientists have developed a real-time scanning technique to track the path of a thought as it travels through the brain. The discovery has far reaching implications for both the medical and education fields. For example, it has potential to extend into education as well by showing how students are processing and retaining new concepts. (from Bill Daggett)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/11/02/brain.dish/index.html Engineered Brain Simulates Flight. Scientists are hoping to learn more about how brain cells function (and dysfunction) and how to design human-like computing systems. Source: "Brain in a Dish Flies Flight Simulator," CNN.com, November 4, 2004. from Bill Daggett

PARENT SOLUTIONS:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/idea/ieps.rbi.htm How Will IEP’s Change Under IDEA 2004?
http://www.fetaweb.com/02/10_reasons.no.htm 10 Reasons Why Schools Say “no.”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS:

http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/online.asp#Webcast Lists all conferences and webcasts coming up nationwide in January.

READING SOLUTIONS:

http://members.nationaltechcenter.org/matrixtest.aspx The Reading Matrix provides information on products and practices that support literacy instruction for students with reading disabilities. This product features a comprehensive paper as well as an interactive and fully searchable database of a wide variety of reading products and tools. from Linnie Lee.
http://www.resourceroom.net/older/hilow_sources.asp “Where can you find books that will hold the interest of older readers who are still learning to read? This site has lists of books which librarians & publishers have gathered 'for reluctant readers,' and sites with books specifically written with "hi-low" readers in mind.

RESEARCH SOLUTIONS:

http://www.google.com/lochp This new beta search engine has two fields - one for what you are looking for, and one for WHERE you are looking for it. It pops up with the found items on a map with name, phone # etc. Really cool. Check it out. (from Jeff Dorr)

TEACHING SOLUTIONS:

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/TeacherHut/Teachley/index.html A unique website that answers the perplexing questions we have about motivation, teaching, resource acquisition and more.
http://www.disabilitystudiesforteachers.org The Center for Human Policy at Syracuse University has developed Social Studies curricula that uses disability policy and law in a historical context. The curricula addresses nationally approved learning standards. (from Robert Gumson)
http://cybil.tafe.tas.edu.au/~capsticm/quizman/qmhome.html Here, you can create interactive web-based learning games for your students

VENDOR PARTNER WEBSITES AND NEWS:

* http://www.accessiblebookcollection.org Accessible Books

* http://www.aacconnections.com AAC connections

* http://www.ablenetinc.com Ablenet