The Access Center improves students' access to the general education curriculum. The Access Center assists students with disabilities as well as students with other needs. There are links to videos about UDL and many great resources on this site.
This is a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. (1000 and growing) Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices). The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format.\n\nYou may write your own books using pictures from the huge collection at Flickr or pictures you upload. Some of the books may be inappropriate, so have students select from your favourites.
Bookshare - Accessible Books for Individuals with Print Disabilities is finally available in Canada. There is a fee for this service ($75 US for the first year and $50 afterwards) and you must fill out a form to declare the user as having a visual impairment, physical impairment or learning disability.
Maureen LaFleche spotted this great resource and here's what she has to say about it "Check out CK-12.org. It is a website that provides open-source content and technology tools to help teachers provide learning opportunities for students globally. Free access to high-quality, customizable educational content in multiple modalities suited to multiple student learning styles and levels, will allow teachers, students and others to innovate and experiment with new models of learning. CK-12 helps students and teachers alike by enabling rapid customization and experimentation of teaching and learning styles. Text can be read at two different levels - grade level and basic. You can download books and activities as pdf, epub or mobi." I have checked out several of the units and they look excellent for middle and high school.
Online resources to match pages in BC Science 8 Text. The teacher's section and home version sections are password-protected but if your school owns 30 copies of the print text you can have access to the home version. Home version includes downloadable chapters, pre-reading, worksheets, note-taking organizers, self-quizzes.
Outstanding interactive online book describes many aspects of the forest and plants and animals that live there. Additional forest facts can be accessed that explore the topics even further. The list of resources is also excellent. Suitable for upper intermediate.
This is a great reading app. It can import text in many formats ( great with Dropbox) and even read PPT and Keynote presentations. You can change the size of text. Hold on a word to see its definition (doesn't read the definition). Hold on a word then select text to create highlights, bookmarks, and notes. These appear in a separate list which, when accessed, takes you back to the original spot in the text and begins reading from that point. Great voices. This is one of the better reading apps I've found...just wish the definitions would read and the highlighted text would actually highlight instead of ending up in a different location. $9.99
In this section, teachers can access digital literacy classroom resources aligned with curriculum outcomes set out by their province or territory. Also included is a comprehensive study of the current state of digital literacy education in Canada.
One very quick way to look up words on Google is simply to type define:anyword in the Google search field. However, their actual dictionary is far and away my favourite of all the dictionaries I've reviewed, mainly because of its clean, ad-free format. When you click on a sound icon to hear a word pronounced, it doesn't open in another annoying window. The definitions are not too complicated for use by school kids and there are examples used in context and links to other definitions found on the web. At any time, at the top of the page, you can also access web-links, images, videos, etc. that are part of a regular Google search. The site also works with NaturalReader.
Zilladog.com is a web site created by parents for kids. They can stay connected with friends and family with our FREE ZillaMail email service. Kids can play free online games that are parent approved. They can play games from their favorite web sites such as Club Penguin, Neopets, Cartoon Network, Pokemon, Nickelodeon, and play Sonic games with Sonic the Hedgehog. They can also log on to and access their Webkinz pet.
These free tools remove the obstacles to learning for all students and offer opportunities for struggling learners that promote academic success. When material is digital or electronic, it is flexible and accessible. It is our responsibility as educators to provide materials that promote success. Please encourage all educators to consider using these free tools.
Excellent engaging and educationally sound instructional videos. This science site for grades 1-6 also has great accessibility options including visual, auditory and keyboard shortcuts. I learned about this from Paul Hamilton's October 20, 2008 post. According to Paul, Many of the activities include captioned video where the "captions" can be read aloud. Other activities use diagrams and interactive images to present material. All text can be read aloud, and can be repeated upon request.
This Northwest Education Technology Consortium site features three strong examples of classroom integration of technology, one each from elementary, middle, and high school level.s. To provide valuable context, each example features background information about the school and teacher, how the projects was planned and organized, how students accessed technology, and how teachers assessed students work. Examples of student work are included. The format used is very engaging and provides a good model of how to present a unit.
This is the wiki from the iPad apps session I just attended at CSUN 2011. Great info about good apps for accessibility and great hands-on workshop. They have videos and .pdfs on their site.