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
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/
The Virginia Department of Education has recently announced the debut of the "Accessible Instructional Materials in Virginia" (AIM-VA) website at http://kihd.gmu.edu/aim. This resource helps educators find resources and solutions for creating accessible, digital materials for all students with print disabilities.
Here's a new resource for considering universal design in the workplace, http://www.onestops.info/. A great resource that offers a systems matrix for aligning approaches, links to relevant webcast, and links to important resources.
Wondering how to stay abreast of the latest trends in technology and learning? Wondering how to locate assistive technology resources on a national scale? Visit the Center for Technology Innovation at http://www.cited.org. Several new resources provide:
A virtual space for taking online courses from the American Institutes of Research.
Links to the Executive Brief, Moving Forward with Technology.
CITEd's Tech Matrix for searching technology/ assistive technology tools, http://www.TechMatrix.org
...and much more!
Take a peek, explore this summer!
Here's a neat new resource that offers information support differing ways of learning and knowing. Visit http://allkindsofminds.org
Our friends at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) have recently shared some new resources they have on UDL. Note below and visit http://www.cast.org/:
* The release of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines - Version 1 aimed at helping teachers, curriculum developers, and publishers develop more inclusive curriculum.
* The release of five new free tools to help teachers to meet the challenge of individualizing instruction to meet the diverse needs of students in their classrooms.
The UDL Guidelines will assist teachers, publishers, and others in designing flexible curricula that are more accessible, effective and engaging for ALL learners. They will also help educators evaluate both new and existing curricula goals, media and materials, methods and assessments. Read the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines - Version 1.
Check out the UDL Guidelines Blog -- a forum for educators and other education stakeholders (parents, policy makers, etc.) to offer comments on how to improve the guidelines; share stories about applying the guidelines; and identify new examples and resources that support application of the UDL Guideline options.
Five Free Teacher Resources
Language Arts
UDL Editions by CAST (Ages 10 and up)
UDL Editions by CAST are classic texts from world literature presented in a flexible online interface that provides just-in-time, individualized supports for struggling readers, and added-value features that engage novice and expert readers alike.
Learning features include leveled supports to build reading strategies and help readers understand the elements of the author’s craft; a Texthelp Toolbar for accessibility and language features; context-specific multimedia glossaries and enrichment activities; and multimedia background resources. Developed with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Introduced in partnership with the Google Literacy Project for World Book Day, 2008.
CAST UDL Book BuilderTM (Ages 3 and up)
Free online tool enables educators to develop their own digital books to support reading instruction for children aged 3 and up. Teachers create, edit, and save resource-rich texts. Terry, an animated character, guides educators as they write text, choose images, and develop scripts for the prompts, hints, and models that will help build young readers' skills. Developed with support from the Massachusetts Department of Special Education, NEC Foundation of America, The John W. Alden Trust, and The Pinkerton Foundation. Please send comments or suggestions to bookbuilder@cast.org.
Internet Research and Digital Literacy
CAST Strategy Tutor (Ages 10-and up)
Free online tool to support students and teachers doing reading and research on the Internet. Strategy Tutor helps students read, research, collect and understand information better and more efficiently. For teachers, Strategy Tutor provides a way to easily create web-based lessons embedded with research-based, highly effective learning strategy and vocabulary supports. Developed with generous support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Improving Teacher Practice
CAST UDL Curriculum Self-CheckTM
Free online tool that helps educators build options and flexibility into each element of the curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) in order to reach and engage all students. Developed with support from the Massachusetts Department of Special Education. Please send comments or suggestions to UDLSelfCheck@cast.org.
CAST UDL Lesson BuilderTM
Free online tool that teaches educators to customize standards-based curriculum to meet individual learning needs. Developed in cooperation with the Access Center (American Institutes for Research). Please send comments or suggestions to lessonbuilder@cast.org.
If you missed the national Council for Exceptional Children conference in Boston, MA last week (like several of us), here's a link to the presentations that were provided on universal design for learning by our friends at CAST, http://www.cast.org/publications/conferences/
Looking for a web-based tool to convert text or other files to an audio format? Something that could be an Mp3 file that you could download to an Mp3 player (such as an iPod)? Something that could offer flexibility to a range of users styles and approaches? Consider Spoken Text!
Spoken Text offers that functionality and allows users to easily convert the following into Mp3 formats:
Convert pdf to mp3
Convert doc to mp3
Convert ppt to mp3
Convert txt to mp3
Convert html to mp3
Enter text directly to convert to mp3
Convert RSS feeds to mp3
Convert emails to mp3
Convert web pages to mp3
For more information, visit http://www.spokentext.net
The folks at EASI have shared some of their previous webinars on the growing explosion around digital text. These include both the Powerpoint with audio files and transcription (a great example of accessibility in action). To review these, note below:
Bookshare audio: http://easi.cc/archive/bshare/bshare.htm
Bookshare Web: http://www.bookshare.org
NLS audio: http://easi.cc/archive/nls/lib.mp3
NLS Web: http://loc.gov/nls
Wondering, "how can I keep that video from YouTube on my computer...so that I can play that again or use it in my presentation". Try http://keepvid.com/, a web site that provides some of that functionality. Also, on the YouTube screen, there is a line of text that can be embedded into most web pages and/or blog pages...to automatically open the video. Happy viewing!
I found a nice resource for those of you who may be looking for furniture that is ergonomically designed. AD-AS has furniture for education & libraries, healthcare, kitchen & bath, as well as the workplace. And for those of you who would like to learn how much you really know about ergonomic design, the website also has a “Ergonomic Quiz”. Consider checking their very stylish selection of items on their website http://www.ad-as.com/index_f.htm
Here's a cool new tool....an online resource that let's you communicate to others, 'live", while attending an event. CoveritLive provides this technology and then offers that archived information to share with all. For more, visit http://www.coveritlive.com/
Trying to stay abreast of the latest on social networking? Wondering what this entails and why it is important? Visit a wiki that was created and recently shared at the Virginia 2008 Transition Forum on "Social Networking Tools and Techniques: What Every Transition Practitioner Needs to Know". VCU TTAC Technology Coordinator Fran Smith chose this medium to share her handouts and resources while modeling the technology and sharing multiple web-based examples.
http://socialweb20.pbwiki.com
Trying to make your websites accessible? Wondering how to stay abreast of the latest information on web accessibility? For more information, visit http://www.webaim.org/blog/wave-toolbar-and-blog-available/
A new resource from CAST on checking your curriculum to ensure that it includes best practices that represent a UDL approach. For more information visit, http://www.cast.org/about/news/press/2008-03-19.html
Here's a trick for printing on your Post-It Notes. The possibilities are endless for using this trick. Use it for making quick data checklists, create proofreading checklists for your students, enter information for the student to create a timeline, etc.
Here's the trick: Open power point. Select file. Select Page Set Up. Change width and height to 7.5. Select OK. Create your layout for the Post-It note. If you want to make the same Post It note then select duplicate slide from the Insert menu. Create 4 slides. Then from File menu, select print. Print handouts, 4 to a page. Print. Then take post it notes and lay over each image on the sheet. (See how great it fits). Run that page back though your printer again by selecting Print, handouts, 4 to a page. The trick will be orienting the page correctly in your printer.
The CAST National Consortium for UDL E-Newsletter for March, 2008 can be accessed at http://www.cast.org/pd/consortium
Here's a new cool tool for reading the text online. Readthewords provides the ability to enter text and have audio reading for the user's listening pleasure. To read more, visit http://readthewords.com
Recently I heard Hall Davidson from Discovery Education speak on the uses of an iPod for education. He was a fantastic speaker that kept the audience engaged. I always like hearing about innovative uses for the iPod. Here is one he suggested. How about making use of the contact section of the iPod. Instead of storing your contact information, make individual "Contacts" for each of the Presidents listing facts such as term in office, birth date, etc. The possibilities are endless: elements on the periodic table, states and capitals, even math equations. Use your imagination!!
Use the conditional formatting tool in excel to create a self checking activity for your students. The possibilities are endless. A definition can be entered into one cell and the student will be asked to type in the corresponding vocabulary word into the blank cell. By selecting conditional formatting from the format menu you can format the cell to turn green if the correct word is entered. Then format the cell to turn red if the word is not correct. The same procedures can apply for entering algebra or other math equations. Thanks to Tammy Worcester from ESSDACK in Kansas for this wonderful tip.
Don Johnston will be partnering with Benetech/ Bookshare.org to provide their Read:Outloud reader as the text reader for providing access to reading materials. This is in conjunction with the recent $32 million U.S. Department of Education OSEP award to Bookshare.org and providing access to reading materials for students with print disabilities. For more information read the link below:
http://www.donjohnston.com/products/rol_bookshare/index.html
Lately I have found excellent YouTube videos that demonstrate a variety of topics from teachers demonstrating math solutions to children using AAC devices. These videos are valuable when providing training or supporting struggling students in the classroom. But how can you store these videos for ease of access? Try converting these videos and storing them on an iPod. Here is a free program which you can download that will do the work for you.
Want to take advantage of the power of Kurzweil Scan and Read from a portable USB device? Click here to learn more....http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000USB.aspx
Looking for a way to convert video files to be used in power point presentations or stored and play on your iPod or other portable video player? Here is a free conversion tool called Any Video Coverter. This is what they have to say about it on their website:
There is open source software to perform almost every task for video conversion. But if you are one of these windows users who are looking for an All-in-One video converting tool with easy-to-use graphical interface, Any Video Converter provides just that, allowing you to effortlessly convert video files between every format, for FREE!
Here's a cool site. Audio guides are digital audio walking guides to popular neighborhoods. These can be downloaded to your iPod or favorite mp3 player. For more information visit, http://audiosteps.com/ or http://podguides.net/
Discovery Education speaker Hall Davidson recently reminded us at the VSTE conference of the true power in those iPods. Did you realize that a full size iPod can hold over 40,000 clips and the entire Discovery education library? That an iPod is truly a small computer -- the video iPod has 80GB and more of storage space and can carry most of the same files as your laptop. To learn more, visit the following link for detailed information on how you might use this tool in a classroom to support student learning, http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/node/87
At the recent VSTE
state conference, presenters from Fairfax County Public Schools shared a thought provoking presentation on "FREEdome of Speech: Vocabulary 2.0". Their point, the emerging world of Web 2.0 brings a new vocabulary-- and often an unfamiliar one to many students. Considering how the creative use of technology to strengthen background knowledge and enhance visual literacy can be important strategies for students. To learn more, visit http://conferenceconnection2008.edublogs.org
Wondering where those keyboard shortcuts are in Word 2007? Hold down the ALT key on your keyboard to view all these shortcuts on the screen/ menu
Speakers at the recent VSTE state conference in Roanoke reinforced the importance of infusing technology into the classroom -- strengthening the learning process and complementing today's learners approach. Mr. Hall Davidson of Discovery Education and a member of the Discovery Education Speaker's Bureau, reinforced this message in his many engaging presentations. He reminded us of the power in customizing iPods into curriculum specific instructional devices and using freely available software tools such as Photo Story and Movie Maker. To read more from this engaging expert visit, http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/davidson/concurrent
Noted researcher Dr. Ted Hasselbring recently shared his message at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) conference. As Dr. Hasselbring noted, helping students to build mental models through supporting their background knowledge and anchoring instruction can enhance their fluency and understanding. Technology can play a central role in this process. To read more on his contributions, visit http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/The_Peabody_Difference/Reflections/Ted_Hasselbring.xml
Many of us know and love the review activity "I have, who has" but hesitate to use it with our students who require some visual as well as auditory support. We were pleased to find an example of an overhead one group uses with students to help them understand and follow the activity! Click on http://www.texascollaborative.org/FordHodgeModule/sub3_2.php to see it.
Here's ten U.S. documents you can download to your iPod, all FREE!
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Constitution of the United States (1787)
• Bill of Rights (1791)
• Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
• Gettysburg Address (1863)
• Civil Rights Act (1964)
• Social Security Act (1935)
• Monroe Doctrine (1823)
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Just click on http://www.ipreppress.com/Pages/studyguides.htm and look on the lower right-hand side!
We're presenting on Monday at VSTE about this topic, and since not all of you will be there, we wanted to share our digital materials (including yesterday's cartoon!). Click on http://udl4literacy.pbwiki.com/UDL+and+Web+2-Point-0 and you can experience a tiny bit of the exciting session you will miss!
Of course you do! (Who wouldn't?) Click on http://udl4literacy.pbwiki.com/UDL+Principle+1 because you know you want to!
Once you're there, you can click on the SideBar on the right-hand side to hear the cartoon character talk about the other two principles of UDL.
Come and see us! We'd love to see you...
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the Age of Web 2.0 (M107)
New media such as podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, and wikis are powerful social networking tools in theWeb 2.0 age. See how these motivating tools can be used to support the Universally Designed classroom—and, therefore, all students. Participants will become familiar with popular free and low-cost technology tools, strategies, and Web sites.
Presenter: Susanne Croasdaile (sscroasdaile@vcu.edu), Virginia Commonwealth University
Copresenter: Fran Smith, Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC), VCU
Monday: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. in Shenandoah A
At the annual EDUCAUSE ELI conference in San Antonio, TX last week, several presentation shared ideas, innovations, and new products using Web 2.0 technologies. Many shared experiences on how these are being explored in college classrooms, with instruction, and how they impact student learning. To learn more, visit http://hosted.mediasite.com/hosted4/Catalog/?cid=cd40888eed5940f2bbd8daa8c09b4ecc
At the annual EDUCAUSE ELI meeting, Professor George Siemens - University of Manitoba shared several new web spaces that are offering ways to visually represent data. As he notes, "data visualizations help make meaning and communicate the trends hiding in data. While visualizations have existed for years as graphs and figures, open access to data and the ability to create mashups is allowing a resurgence in visualizations". To review a few of these web spaces, visit:
http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/home
Did you know that the new Windows VISTA operating system includes speech recognition? This added functionality adds a new dimension to the Windows operating system and allows a user to train their voice in less that a few paragraphs. Once trained, they can then use that speech engine behind any open program. Try it in Word for a voice activated word-processing experience. To explore and customize,
Open the Control Panel in VISTA
Open Speech Recognition Options
Start speech training!!
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University recently shared their web portal and how they are "pushing the limits" of Web 2.0 technologies for digital expression. To take a virtual tour, visit http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/
In the recent issue of the EDUCAUSE EQ Review, author John Seely Brown's addresses the growing use of Web 2.0 technologies and the impact on today's learner in his article, "Minds on Fire". To review, visit http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/MindsonFireOpenEducationt/45823?time=1202243256
Interested in creating an accessible PDF document in Word 2007? Something that a user who is blind can access? Visit http://abilitynet.org/uk/webarticle87 for more information.
Although we're usually frustrated because our teaching travels faster than and beyond the reaches of technology, sometimes our teaching does not keep up with the tech we have!
With free, easy-to-use computer-based test-to-speech programs increasingly available (Reading Bar and Read Please from www.readplease.com; Natural Reader from www.naturalreaders.com, the Apple/Mac text-to-speech enabled operating system, etc.), we just need to have interesting, frequently changing digital text for our students to read!
Classroom blogs are ideal for this: http://epencil.edublogs.org is an example of a "living" blog from a 6th grade teacher and students. Text-to-speech programs help students access the vocab of the week on this site as well as their peers' own writing; other materials on the blog are visual in nature.
Interested in following the latest trends in social networking? You might want to visit the website of Danah Boyd, http://www.danah.org. Ms. Boyd, a PhD candidate at Berkeley, has focused her research on this topic and shares this through her blog.
From Teacher Tube: "Since most of today's students can appropriately be labeled as 'Digital Learners', why do so many teachers refuse to enter the digital age with their teaching practices? This presentation was created in an effort to motivate teachers to more effectively use technology in their teaching. Please see http://t4.jordandistrict.org/payattention."