The Assistive Technology Blog

Most students (and people) balk at reading literary analysis--in high school and in life! Rocketbooks are a highly stylized and interactive companion to reading for students with and without disabilities...from our AT lab, you can check out a Rocketbook for Frankenstein, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo & Juliet. You get an interactive DVD that discusses plot, summary, and applies the componenents of literary analysis on a late MS/HS/early college level. And, they're fun to watch!

More info at: http://rocketbook.net/index.html

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new Dragon Naturally Speaking ver. 9.0 has truly come of age. This latest version of a speech activation program lives up to it's marketing language....99% accuracy! In less than 10-15 minutes, a user can train their voice to read and type by voice dictation. Developing skill and accuracy with the full range of commands takes a little longer but the results are very impressive. This program also adds a transcription tool that provides the ability to open a previously recorded sound .wav file and convert that file to text. Definitely worth watching. Stop by our VCU TTAC AT Tech lab for a demonstration sometime!

Posted by Fran Smith at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interested in developing a web-based encyclopedia of resources, a list of your favorite web resources that anyone can visit, or a community of web resources that all can use? Try a delicious account at http://www.delicious.com. Delicious is part of the growing community of social computing tools and provides the user the ability to tag (or bookmark) a website from any computer and store that in their web-based delicious account. Sharing this account with other users allow them to stay abreast of what you're reviewing and finding important. Delicious accounts also provide statistics for users to view what other users are also viewing. A truly collaborative web-based community that has many options for sharing assistive technology resources.

Posted by Fran Smith at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speech outloud functionality can be added to the Microsoft PowerPoint program! Simply download the free open source plug-in program, PowerTalk. This can be obtained at http://fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk/http://fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk/. Providing speech to a PowerPoint presentation can be invaluable assistance to someone who is blind, partially sighted, struggling with a learning problem, or is not an English speaking native.

Posted by Fran Smith at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Graph Club software is available for checkout from our AT lab. Here's what Graph Club is, according to the publisher's website (http://www.tomsnyder.com/products/product.asp?SKU=GRPV20):

! The Graph Club is an innovative, easy-to-use software tool for creating, exploring, interpreting, and printing graphs. The program's friendly, hands-on environment helps young students make the transition from graphing with manipulatives to graphing in the abstract. As students create and compare up to five different graph types, they develop essential graphing and math skills.

MEETS STATE AND NATIONAL STANDARDS
Your students will: Formulate questions that can be addressed with data
Collect,organize,and display data to answer questions
Represent data using five different graph types: picture, bar, circle, and line graphs, plus tables
Compare different representations of the same data
Describe parts of the data and the set of data as a whole

Product Features Easily create picture, bar, circle, and line graphs, plus tables
Over 100 standards-aligned,ready-made activities in math, science,social studies, and language arts
Reproducible assessment tools including rubrics, checklists, and sample graphs
450 built-in symbols - or import and save your own
On-screen notebook with audio recorder lets students describe their graphs orally or in writing
Graph up to 12 categories with a scale of up to 1,000
A built-in, animated tutorial guides teachers and students step-by-step through the program's features

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The regional ED Tech conference, sponsored by the PBS Community IDEA Stations will be held at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA on Feb. 7 and 8, 2007. For more information visit http://www.ideastations.org/teachers/conferences.html
For a quick peek click on the following link: http://www.ideastations.org/teachers/edtech_promo.html

Posted by Fran Smith at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the website (http://www.tomsnyder.com):

Thinking Reader is an innovative, research-validated program that systematically builds reading comprehension skills for students reading below grade level. The program presents core, authentic literature—the books your whole class reads—in a highly motivating and supportive environment. It embeds prompts, hints, model answers, and instant feedback into the text to provide individualized instruction. Students practice and master 7 scientifically proven reading comprehension strategies while they read. Thinking Reader also includes comprehensive support materials that make it easy for educators—including classroom teachers, reading specialists, and special education teachers—to integrate the program into a variety of instructional settings.

Research-based and validated
The only software program to use the unabridged text of award-winning core literature
Provides instruction on 7 proven reading comprehension strategies:
Summarizing Questioning
Clarifying Predicting
Visualizing Feeling
Reflecting
5 levels of embedded reading comprehension support for individualized instruction
Quizzes within the literature test recall, inference, and vocabulary skills
Tracks specific student performance and general class progress; view, print, or export 6 reports to monitor improvement
A contextual glossary aids vocabulary development and includes Spanish translations for ELL students
Human voice narration feature with synchronized highlighting helps build fluency

Meets the latest guidelines on universal accessibility
- Adjustable font size
- Keyboard navigation
- Text captioning
- Screen reader compatibility

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone else seems to know about this except me, so I'm adding this to the blog for others who are also in the dark about it:

http://www.workshopsolutions.com/ has cool environmental accessibility solutions that are (apparently) not copyrighted and anyone can look at and duplicate. Examples:

1. ASHMOBILE (skier) to get people who do not walk without the aid of crutches or a walker to downhill ski.
2. BEACH WHEELCHAIR to allow a wheelchair to travel in sand
3. BOCCIA BALL RAMP to allow a person with very limited movement to compete in boccia ball
4. BOCCIA BALL RAMP 2 to allow a person with very limited movement to compete in boccia ball
5. BOCCIA BALL RAMP 3 to allow a person with very limited movement to compete in boccia ball
6. CAMERA HOLDER to operate a camera with limited use of hands.
7. CAMERA HOLDER 2 to operate a camera with one hand
8. CAMERA HOLDER to allow photos to be taken from a wheelchail without having to be held
9. CAMERA HOLDER 4 to operate a digital camera with one hand
10. CANOPY,WHEELCHAIR to provide protection for those that are light sensitive
11. DRINK HOLDER a wheelchair attachment to hold a variety of glasses, cups and mugs
12. FISHING RIG to allow fishing from a wheelchair without the use of hands
13. FLOATBOARD COMMUNICATOR to communicate by symbols when in the pool.
14. SKEASY (skier) to get people who do not walk without the aid of crutches or a walker to downhill ski.
15. ADAPTED SKIPOLE to accommodate a hand without grip
16. HOCKEY (WHEELCHAIR) to provide a means for a quadraplegic to play hockey.
17. SANDBOX TABLE a raised sandbox for use by a wheelchair bound child
18. SIGNAL GLOVE to indicate directions for those with very little mobility
19. SKIING WHEELCHAIR to allow a wheelchair to be taken along on a cross country ski trip.
20. TOILET - PORTABLE; folds neatly into a carrying case
21. TRICYCLE BACK SUPPORT to give support while in the sitting position.
22. OUTDOOR STANDER a portable unit to assist standing outdoors
23. MODIFIED JOGGING STROLLER to accommodate a growing youngster
24. RACING WHEELCHAIR STABILIZER for to assist in transfer to a racing wheelchair

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, you've known for years that graphic organizers are a great tool for teaching kids just about anything. But isn't it nice to have some research to back you up? Here it is: http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/GraphicOrganizersHTML.asp is the Graphic Organizers and Implications for Universal Design for Learning: Curriculum Enhancement Report.

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, once I started to look around the site that was featured in yesterday's blog entry for picture recipes, I was hooked: I just adored these rule reminders that can be cut and taped to the desk:
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/backtoschool/mini_rules.pdf.
Print a couple of pages and the whole class has personal reminders! Just put your finger on the applicable step as you walk around the room...

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looking for Boardmaker or picture recipes for your students to follow during measurement and cooking units? Look no further, as Cindy Glew, Autistic Support Teacher, Karen Conard, Paraprofessional, Lorie Schwartz, Paraprofessional, and Katy Bruno, Speech Language Pathologist, have highlighted their classroom's recipes on their class website. (Don't go here if you're teaching nutrition and healthy eating right now, though!) Their classroom is "a highly structured setting dedicated to supporting students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders" and has students in grades 3-5.

Click on http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/cooking.html to see the following recipes (and a lot more):

Cookie Snowman (Made with Boardmaker, PDF file)

Microwave Fudge (Made with Boardmaker, PDF file)

Valentine's Day Oreo Cookie Dessert (PDF file - Made with Boardmaker)Will be uploaded during the month of February!

Valentine's Day Parfait Dessert (PDF file - Made with Boardmaker)Will be uploaded during the month of February!

Monster Crisp Snacks (PDF file) You will need butter (witch fat), mini marshmallows (ghost toes), Rice Krispies (werewolf toenails), candy corn (infected vampire teeth), mini chocolate chips (frog warts), red food coloring (vampire blood), and yellow food coloring (yellow spider blood).Will be uploaded during the month of October!

November Pumpkin Pie (Made with Boardmaker)

December Cookie Wreaths (Made with Boardmaker)

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) serves as a special public school in the continuum of statewide placements for students who have a visual impairment and has some really nice materials available on the website. Click on http://www.tsbvi.edu/math/teaching.htm for the best list of math strategies for students with VI that I have seen! Topics include:

Collaborative/Inclusive Strategies
Challenges in Teaching Mathematics to the Visually Impaired
Arithmetic Calculation Using the Braillewriter
Solving Quadratic Equations
Solving Systems of Equations in Three Variables
Linear Measure, Perimeter, and Area
Transformations, Line Symmetry, and Tessellations
Geometric Constructions
Teaching a blind student how to graph on a coordinate plane: No tech, low tech, and high tech tools

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gardening in Raised Beds and Containers for Individuals with Disabilities is a resource from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service at Virginia Tech. It offers guidelines for setting up garden areas for people with restricted movement, and with the popularity of gardening these days, may give you ideas for planning leisure activities for students (or yourself!). Click on http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/landsnurs/aug93pr5.html.

Also available is "The Unlimited Garden" which has suggestions for working with people with limited vision and mobility: http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/articles2/unlimit.html

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most recent journal from the Association of Disability in Higher Education (AHEAD) is a special issue dedicated to the conversation on universal design and universal design for learning in higher education. Several nationally recognized authors share their perspectives on this topic including Dr. Joan McGuire - University of Conneticutt, Dr. Sally Scott - Longwood University, and Dr. David Rose - Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). As one author notes (Harrison, 2006), "in this new understanding of disability, society creates the negative sense of disability as deficit". More information on this publication can be found at http://www.ahead.org/publications/jped.htm http://www.ahead.org/publications/jped.htm. Unfortunately, subscription to the organization is required to access the journal but this may be searchable through your institution's online library system.

Posted by Fran Smith at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an interesting information resource.....an assistive and educational technology blog. Learn about a few new areas that we are missing and address some emerging web based tools, http://www.assistivetek.blogspot.com/ http://www.assistivetek.blogspot.com/

Posted by Fran Smith at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For years, the Windows operating system has included a number of accessibility tools to help various users deal with functional problems using this software. These might address hearing, vision, or mobility. Tools such as a voice narrator, magnifier, mouse control, key lock or sticky keys, and a variety of mouse pointer schemes are examples. For a review of these visit: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/chartwindows.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/chartwindows.aspx. The new Windows VISTA also includes an Ease of Access Center, centralizing many of the typical functions one might need to adjust for a user with functional needs. To learn more visit: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/eoa.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/eoa.aspx

Posted by Fran Smith at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The national Consortium for School Networking (COSN), http://cosn.org/http://cosn.org/ has embarked on a new project to encourage accessible technology for all students. Through this project, efforts are directed towards " increased achievement and success for all students through the unlimited and effective use of accessible technologies". Their focus is on increased collaboration between assistive and instructional technology departments to enhance service for all students. To learn more, visit http://www.accessibletech4all.org/http://www.accessibletech4all.org/

Posted by Fran Smith at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Firefox, the open source browser from Mozilla, allows users to both create accessible web pages and integrate many assistive technologies. To access these tools, a user must have Firefox as their browser and then add extensions for tools such as a web developer toolbar, a screen reading emulator, and a color contraster. To learn more read, http://webaim.org/articles/firefox/http://webaim.org/articles/firefox/

Posted by Fran Smith at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My new favorite timer...flashes, vibrates, and switches between stopwatch and countdown (as well as HH:MM and MM:SS). But the best part is the elegant design of the back of the timer...it has a clip--with a magnet attached--and when you open the clip, a little metal bar can be used to prop the clip open like a picture frame stand! 3-in-1--an elegant solution! Best design I have ever seen, and only $6-10 if you buy it at a kitchen or electronics store (instead of an AT vendor). Do a web search for "Vibrating Digital Timer by Polder" to find it.

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 5:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seen the Porta-Book from Page Up?
From http://www.headsupnow.com/modules.php?name=Catalog&op=viewcategory&catid=8:

This hard plastic product allows user to maintain a correct posture during daily activities: writing and reading (erect trunk and forward slightly inclined head) Will hold up to a 600 page book, or a single page. Also functions as a clipboard, a portfolio and a pencil-box.

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 4:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click on http://www.mypageup.com/english/tribeseng.htm to see the cool new Page-Ups...who doesn't want a Page-Up AT device that features the band "KISS"?

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 4:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yep, organization is probably only second to exercise on the list of resolutions...

Click on http://www.onionmountaintech.com/item.php?id=766 to see the Pen Grip, a sweet little organizer that can grip to the side of a desk or a nearby wall...more help for our desk swamp kids and less redirection and direct assistance!

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 4:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You know a few kids with swampy desks. Maybe you have one, too.

Mess B Gone is a cool organizer for desks with lids that helps kids stay organized. Check out the pics at Onion Mountain (http://www.onionmountaintech.com/item.php?id=846) and the nice Student Desk Check Data Collection sheet that comes with the product--nice way to check on IEP goal progress! Click here to see it: View image

Note: Mona, our OT specialist here, pointed out that for kids who have front-entry desks, you can just use the lid of the big carton that copy paper comes in--slides in and out of front-entry desks like a dream!

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 4:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)