More on Web 2.0 tools

I am just getting my feet wet in this new world (for me) of Web 2.0 tools. I checked my blogs and look what I found: This fantastic article on Solution Watch titled Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 1 . It contains a list of tools that I can't wait to explore. What a great resource! It is written by Brian Benzinger who is 19 years old and is a web designer/programmer.

Assistive Technology - A Changing Concept

In October I will be teaching an introductory workshop on Assistive Technology and pulled out an old PowerPoint presentation to edit. I began by updating software versions. Intellitalk II is now part of Intellitools Classroom Suite, etc. I had pages for switches, alternative keyboards, talking word processors, portable word processors, slant boards, communication devices, and a number of other items that have changed little over the last 10-20 years.

Then I realized that there are so many more tools at our disposal than even 3 years ago. And many of them are FREE!! We have really entered a new paradigm in delivery of assistive technology to our students. We have new fonts to help our dyslexic students differentiate between b and d, p and q. Take a look at this image from Crick Software's ClozePro .

You can also download a free Dyslexia font.

We have new tools to provide text-to-speech for our print-impaired students. It is built into Office products and even operating systems, while more voice-recognition will soon be here in both products on multiple platforms. Computer voices have become far more human-like with AT&T Natural Voices , NeoSpeech Voices , and many others available. We can use programs like TextAloud MP3 to read our text out loud or convert it to MP3 files to play on our iPods. We can use high-quality, noise-cancelling, wireless headsets while dictating to the computer.

As I was searching for some good organizational tools for a student today, I gave up my search for traditional software and began to browse through the many choices of free, online, Web 2.0 tools. This blog is one example, but there are wikis, to-do lists, calendars, start pages with sticky notes, and so many more applications to choose from. With different looks and feels, different bells & whistles, we can now organize our lives, our careers, and interests with online tools and make them accessible to our friends, family, and colleagues. We can save and categorize all of our links on del.icio.us and share them on our blogs. Have a peek at my del.icio.us list for pages related to Assistive Technology: Jane's del.icio.us list . Another free application, PocketMod lets you make a free organizer that you can print on a single page of paper -- perfect for high school students.

Check out this article:25 To Do Lists to Stay Productive . There is a wealth of information icluding links to cusomizable start pages (see my Protopage example ,) online calendars, and planners.

The great beauty from the viewpoint of Assistive Technology is that all of this is digital information, accessible to everyone. Some of my friends are making an effort to talk about Education Technology instead of Assistive Technology. UDL or Universal Design for Learning is becoming less of an acronym and more of a reality. I am just scratching the surface in this short discussion, but there is a world of possibility out there.

WordBar by Crick Software

Another application that worked very well for my grandson was WordBar. It gives a student grids with appropriate vocabulary for a writing assignment. It comes with many grids or you can create your own. Anthony really liked the High Frequency Word Bank. It has 30 cells for each letter on tabbed pages. Clicking on a word enters the text into the document.
Many students that I work with do very well with word prection software, but Anthony was far more comfortable with a static list of choices. Here's a screen shot of the program. Check it out at WordBar.

CueCard 1.5

My grandson is 9 and in 4th grade. He has been struggling in school. A lot of testing has been done questioning ADHD, Aspberger's, anxiety disorder. He is very bright but clearly has some sort of communication disorder. His comprehension is good, but he has to work very hard to communicate his thoughts effectively. There are ongoing consults, his school principal and staff are very interested in helping him, and I wanted to try some Assistive Technology supports in the meantime. He has not been able to recall his multiplication tables this year, so I tried a free program, CueCard 1.5.

I typed in the entire multiplication table, 1-12. You enter each question and answer and the question pops up just like a flash card. He comes up with his best answer, then checks to see if he was correct. He clicks a button for correct or incorrect, then goes to the next question. He can study as many facts at a time as he feels comfortable with. The program tracks his success and only adds new cards when he has mastered the current facts.

His reaction was astounding. Like many children in this age, he is drawn to electronic forms of stimulation. Once he got the hang of it, we couldn't stop him & he was remembering those math facts!

CueCard can be used for any subject. Check this excellent freebie out for your students.



CueCard 1.5 Download Site

Using PowerPoint to Create Presentations

PowerPoint has got to be one of the most versatile programs for creativity out there & almost everyone has it! Last night I taught the first workshop in my serries this year at FLLAC on using it to create presentations. Only 2 people actually attended, but they learned a lot, go to experiment with many features, and generally had a good time. For those of you who could not attend, but would really like to learn how to use PowerPoint, I have placed my handout online. It is full of screen shots guiding you through each step. You will learn how to select styles and color schemes for your slides, insert charts, tables, clipart & media of all types, use research tools within the program, edit and combine clipart, create animations, and find royalty-free digital images or animations online.

PowerPoint Training Handouts

Another great resource for learning to use PowerPoint are the free trainings on all Office applications at the Microsoft web site.

Microsoft Office Online Training

Workshops

I will be teaching a series of workshops atn FLLAC this school year on technology for the classroom and on Assistive Technology. They will all take place on Thursday afternoons and run from 3:30PM to 5:30PM. The cost is $40 per class for out-of-district teachers and $30 for those who work in FLLAC member districts.

Take a look at the offerings.

FLLAC Technology Workshops

The Big Deal Book -- A Great Resource

I received a wonderful booklet from CDW-G full of informaiton for Educators. It includes goodies like free stuff, grants you can apply for, Hot Web Sites, and more. You can find the digital version online. I hope you find something you like and will use here.

The Big Deal Book of Technology for K-12 Educators

Getting there slowly

As I learn more about Web 2.0 tools, I want to make more content available, especially to the staff members of the FLLAC Educational Collaborative. In my links section, I have now placed instructions for using FLLAC email in Outlook Express or in your web browser.

FLLAC Email

Greetings as I Explore a New World

This is my initial post. I am an Instructional/Assistive Technology Specialist working for the FLLAC Educational Collaborative. We cover school districts in North Central Massachusetts. I would like to share ideas and activities that I have created for teaching children with cognitive,emotional, and physical disabilities. I tend to see a lot of younger children on the autisitc spectrum and children of all ages with a combination of fairly severe cognitive and physical disabilities. I love to create activities in Intellitools Classroom Suite, Clicker 5, and PowerPoint to provide access to the curriculum for these children.