The Assistive Technology Blog http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/ The Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) at VCU's Assistive Technology Blog is for Assistive Technology providers across Superintendent's Regions 1 & 8. Do you have a question you would like to see answered in the assistive technology blog? EMAIL US and someone on the Assistive Technology team here will post an answer as quickly as we can! en Copyright 2009 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:11:47 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.25 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss TechKnowledgy 2009 conversation.JPG

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_1.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_1.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:11:47 -0500 TechKnowledgy 2009... session 2.JPG

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:03:00 -0500 More TechKnowledgy 2009... session.JPG

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/more_techknowledgy_2009.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/more_techknowledgy_2009.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:53:41 -0500 Our 1000th post! A grand, 1 K, however...
When we began the Assistive Technology Blog in the summer of 2006, our intention was to reach AT practitioners across our region who wanted to keep up-to-date with best practices in the field. To our amazement and satisfaction, our blog has reached people around the state as well as across the country. We even hear from folks from overseas! When we visit national conferences, we see others reference the Assistive Technology Blog; consumers who use assistive technology have responded with questions and good information, and we have been identified as one of the 200 educational blogs to watch by American Educational Research Association members! Stick with us for the next thousand--we'd love to hear from you!

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/our_1000th_post.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/our_1000th_post.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:14:44 -0500 TechKnowledgy 2009 has begun... Thumbnail image for vendors.JPG

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_has_begun.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_has_begun.html Assistive Technologies Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:55:50 -0500 Follow the feeds... Wish you could have attended the recent National Center on Technology Innovation's annual conference? Wonder what the presenters were sharing? Interested in reviewing the content? You have some options!

Follow the twitter feed that was collected during the conference at, http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/2009/10/29/conf09-twitter-feed/

Check the conference page for uploads of conference sessions and materials at,
http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/2009/09/01/conf09-conference-agenda/

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/follow_the_feeds.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/follow_the_feeds.html Assistive Technologies Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:17:31 -0500 A cool web site about digital access for students At the National Technology Innovators Conference this week, quite a bit of discussion focused on the importance of recognizing the influence digital technology plays in the lives of today's students. From the importance of portables, mobile access, social media, ereaders and universal design for learning, each of these were highlighted as forces shaping the future. One of the websites shared was Taking it Global at http://www.tigweb.org/. This site offers an example of a social network designed to push some of these directions and provide information to students in a digital and collaborative form. Worth perusing!

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/a_cool_web_site_about_digital.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/a_cool_web_site_about_digital.html Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:11:08 -0500 What is your personal learning network? One of the buzz words I heard at the recent NCTI conference this past week was the reference to personal learning networks or PLN. In this digital age of so much information that crosses our desk and air waves, it is often overwhelming to find ways to keep up. Some of us try to maintain multiple connections through social media tools such as various blogs, wikis, twitter feeds and social networks. Others attend conferences. The reality of our current economic situation, limits on resources and travel, and difficulty trying to keep abreast of the changes perhaps begs the issue of how to digitally design a personal learning network to stay informed. One of my AT colleagues from Loudoun County schools recently shared how he subscribes through RSS feeds into his personal blog (http://thetechflash.com) or web portal to keep abreast of all this information. We try to build such a PLN for all of you through our AT blog, Something to consider-- something to build?!

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/what_is_your_personal_learning.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/what_is_your_personal_learning.html Assistive Technologies Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:45:45 -0500 Comments, stories and reasons why we need innovation and change.. While attending the National Center on Technology Innovation Annual Conference in Washington, DC, I've had the opportunity to hear more about the upcoming National Education Technology Plan. As the new Director of the Office of Education Technology, Karen Cator and others requested, we all need to share our comments, stories and reasons why assistive technology works, education technology is important, and accessibility needs to happen for enabling all students to learn. Comments are requested from the field and needed soon, by 11/30/09. Please take the time to share at http://www.edtechfuture.org

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/comments_stories_and_reasons_w.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/comments_stories_and_reasons_w.html Assistive Technologies Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:51:40 -0500 The preferences of those digital natives... This past week, Mr. Lee Raine with the Pew Internet & Life Project shared some percentages on the use of technology of those digital natives (those born after 1990)...

97% play computer games 35% find songs online
75% have cellphones 55% use wikipedia
93% use the Internet 74% have mp3 players
90% use browsers for cloud computing activities 73% use social networking sites
60% use instant messaging 40--50% tag content
14% use blogs 40% have digital cameras

That net generation!
59% read blogs

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/the_preferences_of_those_digit.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/the_preferences_of_those_digit.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:48:44 -0500 TechKnowledgy 2009 starts tomorrow! Hope to see you all at the Richmond Convention Center on Thursday and Friday! It should be a great conference...if you were not able to register, stay tuned and we'll post what we learn.

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_starts_tomo.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/techknowledgy_2009_starts_tomo.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:59:39 -0500 Talking watches are more chic now! I opened a catalog at home today and saw a nice-looking $40 watch with a round face and luminescent hands. You press the button on the side and a man's voice announces the time, date and settings. Since it's an "atomic watch," the time is corrected automatically by radio waves...it even adjusts automatically for Daylight Saving Time (anyone could benefit from this, not just individuals with visual impairments!). Universal design is coming into its own!

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/talking_watches_are_more_chic.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/talking_watches_are_more_chic.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:05:11 -0500 The future of ebooks and the future of access I always enjoy presenting information about technology trends and how these involve accessible technologies. In this digital age, this is more exciting than ever before. On October 28, 2009, I joined a colleague for such a presentation at our state education technology conference. We shared our wares - iPod Touch devices, netbooks with free screen readers, compact OCR scanners, and the Livescribe. The audience of IT administrators seemed impressed, especially when we shared the Proloque2Go app for the iTouch and that evolving industry.

As we moved through the day, I was again impressed with a feature speaker who shared some of the emerging technology trends for education. Among them again, netbooks, mobile devices, flexible paper and the future of ebooks. Apparently, next year we may see a new series of ebook readers designed for the K-12 classrooms complete with touch sensitivity and color browsing.

As I returned to my computer and email the following day, there again was a new announcement about ebooks and ereaders, http://followthereader.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/the-day-it-all-changed/. Exciting developments for the future and the opportunities for learning!

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/the_future_of_ebooks_and_the_f.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/the_future_of_ebooks_and_the_f.html Assistive Technologies Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:26:05 -0500 Follow a leader in UDL through a social media connection: CAST on Facebook Want to keep abreast of the latest developments in UDL? Want to have daily updates in your Facebook profile to follow this information? Then, become a Fan of CAST on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CenterforAppliedSpecialTechnology

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/follow_a_leader_in_udl_through.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/follow_a_leader_in_udl_through.html Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:37:33 -0500 Kurzweil partners for new e-reading software Kurzweil Technologies will supply digital content for K-NFB Reading Technology, a newly developed e-book reading software created by Kurzweil in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The software will be offered to consumers for free. Consumers can purchase books directly through the software. The software will be available for laptops (both PC and MAC) as well as net books, and mobile phones. It's scheduled to be released at the end of November. Keep up with what's happening by logging onto

]]> http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/kurzweil_partners_for_new_e-re.html http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/2009/11/kurzweil_partners_for_new_e-re.html AT for Reading Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:39:37 -0500