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Click on http://groups.msn.com/AdaptiveandAssistiveTechnology to visit an "active support group comprised of healthcare professionals, vendors and individuals who share a common interest in assistive technology. Offers a discussion forum where members can interact with each other, ask questions, get answers and share ideas. A valuable resource for finding and exchanging information on assistive technology. Free membership."
Recently Google has launched a new type of search engine that attempts to determine which web pages are most likely to work with screen readers and ranks the most suitable pages highest: http://labs.google.com/accessible. This search engine was written by the developer of emacspeak, who now works for Google.
When we talk about assistive technology, often people think about computers and the infusion of high technologies. However, as speakers Kelly Fonner and Bob Kellar pointed out last week at the AT and Reading conferences, simple strategies such as 
highlighting printed or digital texts can make such a difference for struggling readers. Lifting out important words or passages through color-coding can help bring the eyes to a targeted area of text or meaning.
Other low tech AT tools such as a finger writing aid
can provide stabilization for those who struggling with handwriting.
Last week my AT colleague Estela Landeros-Dugourd (VDOE Training and Technical Assistance Center at George Mason University) 
shared a plethora of e-book readers at the AT and reading conferences. I was impressed with how quickly technology innovations have created these portable and fully functioning tools. For example, the Kindle from Amazon.com provides an electronic book reader that can offer this on-the-go assistance with many of their online books. Other readers such as the Bookeen and the Iliad 
add additional features for reading electronic books, subscriptions to newspapers, and the ability to write with a stylus. For more information, potential users might consider reviewing information at:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA
http://www.bookeen.com/ebook/ebook-reading-device.aspx
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/irex-iliad-e-book-reader-gets-reviewed/
Out of British Columbia comes this great resource. The Special Education Technology-British Columbia (SET-BC) website has an area for free downloads of accessible books. The books are on Boardmaker files, Clicker or Powerpoint. Now all we have to do is find a way to organize all of these great books on our computers!!
This site has great examples of multimedia presentations that you can use to show your students. Some student examples are also included. Different ways that students might show their knowledge of a topic, might be demonstrated using some of these ideas. The authors ask that you give credit to them when sharing with others. Check them out!
On Tuesday, July 22 2008 and Thursday, July 24, 2008, assistive technology consultants/ trainers Kelly Fonner and Bob Kellar presented an array of tricks and techniques on AT for struggling readers. Participants throughout the state of Virginia took this opportunity to learn about best practices, low and high technology tools and devices, and instructional strategies to consider for low performing readers.
Kelly Fonner shared numerous tools and techniques such as highlighters, low tech strategies, electronic book readers and instructional guides. While she kept one group engaged, consultant Bob Kellar 
took participants on e-tours of several electronic text aloud readers and the newly debuted Virginia Accessible Instructional Materials website, AIM-VA, http://kihd.gmu.edu/aim
From the Rehab Tool website:
ENABLE: People with Disabilities and Computers is a new video that profiles the positive impact of technology on the lives of people with disabilities, including blindness, speech, hearing and mobility impairments, stroke, and cerebral palsy. The video, which examines technology in the lives of actual users, is recommended for educators, disability professionals, caregivers, employers, and for anyone with a disability. ENABLE: People with Disabilities and Computers is closed-captioned and includes narrative descriptions for the visually impaired. It is distributed on a nonprofit basis by RehabTool.com for $17.95 (U.S. shipping included) and is available in VHS, bundled with a digitized version which will play on most computers equipped with CD/DVD players.For more information click on www.rehabtool.com/video.
General Motors and the iCan! online community for people with disabilities now have
"an Internet-based tool that guides people with disabilities, seniors and caregivers through a process to identify new GM vehicles best suited to their needs. It can be accessed from home or at the dealer, upfitter or rehabilitation specialist.The GM Mobility Advisor also offers suggestions for adaptive equipment relevant to the specific vehicle and the your equipment and provides suggestions for loading and unloading different types of equipment into specific vehicles."Click on http://ican.gmmobilityadvisor.com for more information. (The site will initially ask you a question about web accessibility-so don't be concerned!)
The Assistive Technology Funding Manual by the Institute on Disability/UAP can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat format from http://iod.unh.edu/publications/pdf/manual-AT-Funding.pdf.
This is a detailed guide to Assistive Technology funding sources, from Medicaid and Medicare to private health insurances, and see your rights under IDEA.
This is a fun tool useful in a variety of areas. YackPack is an online audio messaging system that allows the user to give comments, messages and feedback to individuals or groups. Messages are stored and listeners can hear the message at their convenience. YackPack is being used by educators for foreign language learning, distance education, collaboration, and providing narrative feedback. You assign members to your Pack and then you can communicate with all members of your pack or select individuals.
Watch this short video that explains how YackPack works. Then give it a try!
ISAAC's organization’s mission is to inform everyone in the world about AAC. As we know there are many children and adults who are using AAC, but many who are not. ISAAC works with AAC users and those with speech difficulties to research ways to find new and improved AAC, as well as to make AAC recognized , valued and used everywhere in the world. They have a list of accomplishments on their website. Check it out!
Click on http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/magic/MAGic11-promo-dl.asp to access "the MAGic® 11.0 promotional release...a trial offer that lets you try the newest MAGic screen magnification release, which can run with or without the latest release of JAWS® 9.0. This promotional version operates without interruption until September 2008, so that you can try out the most recent product enhancements or take the opportunity to try MAGic in combination with JAWS."
Remember hearing about the KNFB reader?
"Combining a state-of-the-art digital camera with a powerful personal data assistant housed in a custom-designed, attractive case, the knfb Reader Classic puts the best available character recognition software together with text-to-speech conversion technology, all in the palm of your hand. Hold the Reader's camera over print - a restaurant menu, directions, or a memo from your boss - and snap a picture. In seconds you can hear the contents of the printed document in clear synthetic speech. Scan, read, and discard pages; store them for later reading; or transfer to a computer or Braille-aware PDA. The Reader even has a headphone jack so you won't disturb your neighbors...a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind."
Well, we all thought that the knfb reader is cool, but hearing the success stories is cooler:
http://www.knfbreader.com/stories.php.
Here are two websites that allow you to record PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, ,RSS news feeds, emails and web pages and convert them to speech automatically. These files can then be used to imbed into a powerpoint file, website, or placed on an mp3 player.
Check out Spokent Text or Read the Words
Are you coming to today's Tech Tuesday session on "Advanced Digital Video Projects"? If so, the link to the wiki for today is http://udl4literacy.pbwiki.com/Digital+Video+Projects. If not, poke around on the site, read some of the ideas generated from the last session, and try out our step-by-step instructions for creating movies for alternate/alternative assessment or just for fun learning with your students!
13th Biennial International Conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Designed for speech and language pathlogists, families, individuals who use AAC and/or who have speech challenges, teachers, occupational therapist and anyone else who who like to learn more about communication.
The conference will take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada, from August 2-7, 2008. In 2010 the conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain.
Click on http://www.microsoft.com/enable/news/newsletter/jul08.aspx to read "Accessibility in Action: Microsoft Lead Software Development Engineer Talks About His AT Solutions for Low Vision." In a video clip, a Microsoft software development engineer talks about his AT solutions for low vision including screen readers, multiple monitors, and screen settings.
Click on http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINN2934810420080630 to read about how A new device that uses a tiny magnet can help people with physical disabilities steer a wheelchair or operate a computer using only the tip of the tongue. From the report: The magnet, the size of a grain of rice, lets people direct the movement of a cursor across a computer screen or a powered wheelchair around a room. It is easily implanted under the tongue, the team at the Georgia Institute of Technology said. "We chose the tongue to operate the system because unlike hands and feet, which are controlled by the brain through the spinal cord, the tongue is directly connected to the brain by a cranial nerve that generally escapes damage in severe spinal cord injuries or neuromuscular diseases," said Maysam Ghovanloo, an assistant professor who helped direct the work. "Tongue movements are also fast, accurate and do not require much thinking, concentration or effort." A headset with magnetic field sensors detects the magnetic tracer on the tongue and transmits wireless signals to a portable computer, which can be carried on the user's clothing or wheelchair. "This device could revolutionize the field of assistive technologies by helping individuals with severe disabilities, such as those with high-level spinal cord injuries, return to rich, active, independent and productive lives," Ghovanloo said in a statement.
The Center for Applied Special Technology recently added a set of guidelines on UDL and a graphic organizer depicting how UDL approaches are considered across the three UDL areas providing:
multiple representations of representation
multiple means for expression
multiple means of learner engagement
To view both these new guidelines and the graphic organizer, visit: http://cast.org/publications/UDLguidelines/version1.html
This is so exciting and a wonderful resource. On the Tar Heel Reader you’ll find a collection of easy-to-read books on a wide variety of topics. Each book is switch accessible and speech enabled. You may download the books as a slide show in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format. The Tar Heel Reader is an experimental prototype that is a result of a collaboration between Center for Literacy and Disability Studies and the department of Computer Science on the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. The collaboration of Gary Bishop, Karen Erickson, David Koppenhaver, Gretchen Hanser, and more in UNC Chapel Hill's Computer Science Department and The Center for Literacy and Disability Studies is a powerful and amazing example to us all. The website also allows others to write and contribute books thus creating a great open source library for ALL readers. Be sure to visit often and bookmark this page. I see great things coming of this!!
Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) Training
What a great opportunity to learn from two of the leading AAC experts in the world! Gayle Porter, from Melborne, Australia, has over 25 years of experience working with people with complex communication needs. She has developed and published resources on the PODD communication books and pages sets for speech generating devices. Linda Burkhart, from Maryland, a former teacher and AT/AAC expert, has worked with many children and adults with significant disabilities and has developed adapted materials and innovative strategies for working with them. If you have a chance, and some money, go see these two in action!
Chicago, Il - July 21, 22, and 23, 2008
Sponsored by Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) has developed a new online Strategy Tutor tool that works in tandem with the Google Search Engine offering supports to students. Try this at
http://cst.cast.org/cst/auth-login
The appreciation of social media and related tools has been on the rise over the past several years. Often referred to as Web 2.0, these encompass those web tools such as blogs, wikis, social networking sites, and video-sharing sites. While these offer many opportunities for social collaboration and sharing of information, in some instances, individuals with disabilities may find the designs full of web-based barriers or limitations to their access. Social media tools are growing in popularity and use and educators need to understand how these can promote learning. To appreciate this situation, the National Center for Technology in Innovation published a brief discussing this topic entitled, The Power of Social Media to Promote Assistive and Learning Technologies: A Collaborative Issue Brief. To read more, visit: http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/documents/power_of_social_media.pdf
CAST has recently released a new online series entitled, UDL Editions, which provides online texts and embedded digital strategies to assist the reader. In combination with TextHELP tools, the user can add highlighting, activate speech, navigate from the text to the web to search for deeper meaning and listen to the text in another language. To take a tour, visit: http://udleditions.cast.org/
Wondering if your curriculum measures up to a UDL approach? Have you included a range of materials, options, and opportunities? Not sure? Well, try this new tool from CAST which allows users to check their curriculum and apply the important UDL principles that assure all learners are benefiting. To learn more, visit: http://udlselfcheck.cast.org/
Technology Tuesdays are back for the month of July with our series "Turning Up the Heat on Technology Tuesdays". These sessions will focus more on the "technology" part of instruction. We will be hosting sessions on creating digital media for instruction, creating content for iPod use, and creating mini tutorials for instruction. All of our sessions are full but you can obtain the handouts at our wiki site: ttactechtuesday.pbwiki.com. Look for more sessions starting again in the fall.