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8 Helpful Assistive Technology Tools for you classroom

Librivox might be my favorite of all open source, copyright free resources for the Language Arts classroom. Started as a non-profit to benefit the blind, Vibrivox has created an amazing database that allows readers to record individual chapters of a novel or story that is in the public domain. These files are then made available to the visually impaired or anyone in need of an audio version of a written work. I use this resource extensively for students who are reading below grade level or have significant processing difficulty. I have also had several students "donate" their readings to the database as a community service project to benefit the overall community. If you are looking for public domain eBooks for your classroom, Project Gutenberg is another great resource.

This is free educational blogging site. It could be used for any subject and grade level, but it is probably best for students ranging from 3-12 and higher education. It contains images, videos, audio, and visuals. This online resource allows students and teachers to collaborate, share thoughts and ideas, and so much more! There are tools within this site that allow you to upload quizzes, set due dates, and post assignments or required readings from the web. This website can be used to facilitate discussions about lessons you teach in class. For example, after reading a story or book with your students, the teacher can pose an open-ending discussion question on the blog. Students would then be asked to answer the question during center time or even for homework. Other students in the class will be able to read and respond to each other's posts to create a rich discussion. Teachers can also use the blog to post upcoming events, tests, or quizzes in the classroom and parents can use it to stay informed. Teachers can also use the website to post videos, podcasts, and documents they create. Students are able to view these things at home. This is especially helpful when parents are unsure how to help their child with homework because they do not understand the concept you taught that day. For example, if you introduce a new concept in math and assign homework that night, parents and students can watch a lesson you recorded to get a better understanding of the material. Using Edublogs is a safe and easy way to integrate technology in the classroom! As I reflect, I think about the possible difficulties this resource could possess. Being that it is not a program you can purchase and install on your computer, problems could occur with the being able to connect. Since it is a resource that anyone could use, a lot of people can be on the website at one time and cause it to "crash" or free up. Also, I think about routine maintenance or updates that must be d

Originally shared by Julia Hollins on 15 Jul 13. The original post was removed and this one shared instead, due to technical issue with the original post. Thumb creator is source for royal free clip art. The first criterion used in selecting this website is that it had open access. The term "open access" is a new technology used with digital repositories. Most universities and libraries use repositories for educational purposes in hopes of becoming more engaged in developing scholarly communication. Second, open access is defined as free availability of scholarly literature on the public Internet, permitting anyone to read, download, copy, distribute, or print in full the text without restrictions (other than to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited Scherlen & Robinson,2008, p. 58 (as cited in Shields, Rangarajan, & Stewart, 2012). The clip art is royalty free and is apart of the open access. I thought it was a good resource for this class assignment.

FROM OLD BOOKS: The images here are mostly scanned at 1200dpi or higher, often up to 2400dpi; if you would like a high-resolution scan, just ask, either with email or using the Comment link on the page for the image you need. For non-commercial or educational use they are generally free, although a donation would be appreciated; you'd probably pay $100 or more per image if I put the images on a microstock site. For commercial use, give the author an idea of how you will use the image; they are not expensive, but they are also not free. This is a great resource for literature or reading teachers to use in class. History and Social Studies of all grade levels may find this a useful resource as well. The author provides a list of his books and offers about 3400 images. These images may be specific to one book, however they can be used for storyboards or posters for the classroom. They may also be used in powerpoint presentations, prezis, and video when the students are required to descibe their literature. One challenge that I found was in the website's design. It seems a bit wordy, but it is loaded with many images. The owner of the sites seems interested in making the resources available to educators while still asking for some limitations. Post 2 for UWG Photographers

This site has a large pool of materials in multiple types: image (photos and illustrations), video, audio, etc. The stocked materials range from simple illustrations to more academic items. Teachers can use this site for newsletter handouts to lesson supplements. I chose a photo of a kachina doll for my lesson example. This may be inconvenient if the teacher needs to explain the details of the object of the photo. The site does not provide the details of the object of the photo. If this is the case, teachers may need to search the details in different venues and provide sufficient information. Example of 10th Language Arts lesson Direction: Teachers can show the photo (kachina doll) to class as they read Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. This resource is to provide assistance and add interests for readers. A group of students searches and finds two materials (either copyright free or copyrighted materials in multiple formats) that would add interests and help readers understand Blue Highways better. Each group shares two items with source information. Standard: ELACCL9-10SL (Speaking and Listening)5: make strategic use of digital media in presentation to enhance understanding of findings, and evidence and to ass interest. Image citation. Kachina doll. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-7810014-kachina-doll.php?st=170aa44

Hiroko - the URL you used initially gave me a warning, which suggests the link you used needs to be "cleaned" - I suggest you correct it with this (by copying and pasting it using the diigo editor you used to create the item): http://www.istockphoto.com/

Photogen offers free images for commercial and personal use. There is no sign up or registration to download images. The images can be found through the direct search option or under the categories section on the homepage. It offers a wide range of categories of images. This site could be used for upper elementary, middle, and high school students in any content area. This site is easy to navigate and the images download in seconds. The only concern is that the homepage contains ads for other free image repositories that could confuse students and take them to another site. This issue could be fixed with having a 'teachable moment' students about internet advertising.

Users of resources found on this site are advised to read the terms of use page - there are some use restrictions. See here: http://www.photogen.com/terms-of-use/

This a great website for students of all ages to use is it holds a wide variety of photos. It is functions just like wikipedia users can add their own content to the directory. The best feature about this site is the images are seperated into categories, for example a search on fire seperates the images into additional categories, fire, fire making, fire fighter etc. If an image is not in the directory then the site provides a definition of the word. The wiki media commons also has a selection of audio and video footage available for users to download. The only negative about the site will be making sure the students are not distracted by the language tabs on the page. Users of this resource are advised to read the terms of use details, which can be found on this page: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia

BusSongs is that one location (site) where you can go to find many childhood songs for your classroom. The songs can teach students about behavior, holidays, cultures, and many life skills. FCCLA students could use a song in a PowerPoint presentation to keep the students' attention or add them to a cd to use during instructional time. Some songs can be used for PTA meetings or graduation ceremonies.

The owners of this site acknowledge that some of the songs available on this site may be under a copyright protection (ie, these would be for the newer songs, not the older). Therefore, users are advised to communicate with the site to determine what rights protection there may be for music you intend to use. Read here for specific details: http://bussongs.com/about.php.

Soundbible.com is an audio source that provides copyright free sound effects and clips. It also provides royalty free sounds at only .10 per sound. This site would be great to explore if teaching a 10th grade world history or 11th grade U.S. history class. (It has sounds from specific war weapons/planes, etc.) However, it can be used with many other grades and students of varying abilities. It offers nature sounds, animal sounds, etc. These sounds can be used in a PowerPoint or other presentation and the sounds offered are great quality. Be sure to read the following before using their photos: http://soundbible.com/about.php .

The images (photos and graphics) are available for FREE use within this site which is a teacher-designed resource for by teachers and their students; however, other use must gain permission. A slight risk (especially for minors) is the button that reads "Become an EduPic Host click here for more details" is a potential risk, because physical communication is sought by the web creator. This is an opportunity to have someone come stay in your home and possibly a camera man in order to come capture the scenery and have it posted on Edupic (the host receives a blurb/mentioning on the site). There is a section that allows you to quick search using hotlinks in order to quickly access related lists of images. Once you find a desired image, functions allow you to view a larger image, copy/save the image, copy the image URL, or find the image on Google (so you can find primary source information). There are cartoon-like images and real-life images, which can be used over a wide range of grade levels (K-12). The site also offers information on the Contributor's and provides access to the EduPic Blog.

This is a free web-based resource which includes images, audio, and visuals. This resource can be used for all grades. This resource allows anyone to create a free slide show very quickly. You can use your own images and music, or you may use music they have provided. This resource also allows you to add text to the slide show you create, you are able to embed different things, and you even have some control of transitions. This resource can be used to introduce a topic to your students. You could create a slide show with texts and sounds to introduce a social studies lesson. For example, let's say you wanted to teach students about Athens, Greece. You could use this resource to upload pictures of Ancient Greece to display its architecture and add text to label what the picture is displaying. You could also use it in reading as a storytelling slide slow. You could even allow your students to create an "All About Me" project. They would be able to upload pictures of themselves, family, pets, and anything else that allows people to get to know them. This resource can be used in ways. It is a fun, free, and almost effortless resource that allows teachers to easily integrate technology in their classrooms. As I reflect, there could be some difficulties or problems that arise with using this resource. Since this resource is easily accessible to anyone, students may upload inappropriate content into their slide show or add inappropriate music. To avoid misuse, I recommend teachers require students to get their slide show approved by a teacher before showing it to the class or sharing it with anyone else. Also, there is only a limited amount of music available that is provided by the website. Due to this issue, teachers or students may struggle finding and uploading their own music. Teachers should also monitor what content is being uploaded to make sure the slide shows meet the fair use laws. As with any form of media, teachers have to be sma

PHOTO EVERYWHERE: You're asking how can these guys give their photos away for free? Are they ripped off from some else? WHATS THE CATCH??? Yes, they are FREE! - No, they are not ripped off! - This site is funded through the advertising on each page but we can only support our bandwidth fees while you help us by giving due credit (with a weblink or text attribution) where you use our images. For details please read the full terms. If you don't want or can't credit the site when you use the images (and we understand you don't really want a credit to photoeverywhere.co.uk on your business cards!) then there is an alternative: This site is also supported by our images being sold with a commercial license at valuestockphoto.com. If you need to use the images without a credit (attribution/web link) then you can buy a commercial licence and download any of the images found on this site from our travel stock image library at valuestockphoto.com; These images would be a great resource for science teachers of all grade levels. They offer photos from all over the world and could be used in such units like Biomes and Habits. Geography or Social Studies teachers would find this site useful when needing photos of regions around the world. For example: 6th grade studies Europe therefore the user could search photos from European regions to use in the classroom. One challenge for this site is there are so many images it does take some time to locate what you will need to use in the classroom. The website is visually pleasing and relatively easy to use. Post 3 for UWG Photographers

Freeplay Music is a wonderful site for downloading copyright-free music. It allows people to search by CD title, style of music, or feel/mood. Users can preview either a short snippet of the song (usually 30 seconds) or the song in its entire length. If the user doesn't like that particular song, s/he can continue scrolling through the suggested titles or click on other search options offered under the songs themselves. Once the person finds the song s/he wants to use, s/he has numerous options for download. All songs are downloaded as an MP3, but it is up to the individual to determine how much of the song s/he might want. The benefit of this site is its vast library. There are thousands of songs to choose from. The site states that all songs, with the exception of the Indie Artist section and the Sound Effects library, are available for educational use. The downside for the students is that it is mainly instrumental music. Students will try to search for contemporary "radio hits" and will come up short. I usually explain that those songs, while popular, often can be distracting to the video, slideshow, or website the student is creating. Freeplay Music offers a great selection of "background" music for educational projects. This site is perfect for middle school or high school. It could used by all subject areas as a supplemental component to almost any technology- based or Web 2.0 project. I can see Freeplay Music providing songs for Glogster, Prezi, Weebly, PhotoStory 3 for Windows, MovieMaker, or several other possible programs/sites.

Resources on this site do have restrictions for use. Please read the details in the terms of use page: http://freeplaymusic.com/licensing/termsofuse.php.

Edupics offers free downloadable coloring pages, pictures, and photographs.  The website images are clearly classified and easy to navigate.  There are word search and crossword puzzle image downloads, which would benefit primary and middle grades. There is even a collection of school appropriate animated videos. The color online tools available appear to target the primary age group, however, there is a variety of content appropriate for making any subject interactive. The only limitation I see to this site, in comparison to others is the limited content available.

Free coloring pages, crafts, drawings and photographs. Children can use these images to learn about many different subjects. Pictures for educational use. This site is loaded with pictures, ways to create coloring pages, already created coloring pages, puzzle maker, games, and crafting ideas. This site is geared to the k-5 education setting. You can do a multitude of activities with this site and the resources available. The pictures can be used for any activity. There is no fee listed, and you do have to create a login.

This website is loaded with opportunities for teachers. It is a very well organized, searchable website that contains pictures that may be colored, photos, black and white printables, crafts. This site is Great for all grade levels pre-K through high school. For social studies teachers, it has religious categories, history, famous people... Science- animals, energy, environment and more... Language arts- emotions, fairy tales, film and television...

This website contains collections of images from many different government agencies. For example, the National Parks Service, NASA, the U.S. Mint, branches of the Military, and many, many more. The photos could be very useful in Science, Social Studies, and probably other classes as well. From just some quick research, it looks like the collections of images might best be suited for middle and high school students. The website states that some of the images may be used without permission or fee but the user should read the disclaimers to make sure of the copyright status.

Project Gutenburg is one of the oldest communities for the spread of the written word on the internet. For its inception, PG has been in the process of digitizing literature in the public domain and continues to update its library of over 45,000 free ebooks daily. This is an amazing resource for the majority of ELA courses, distance learning, and online classroom management systems. It has been truly invaluable in British Literature because almost the entire curriculum has been converted to digital form. It is also amazing for distance learning like Plato and Odysseyware that do not always provide the text with the learning software. If you would like these books in audio form, check out Librivox.

Project Gutenburg is one of the oldest communities for the spread of the written word on the internet. For its inception, PG has been in the process of digitizing literature in the public domain and continues to update its library of over 45,000 free ebooks daily. This is an amazing resource for the majority of ELA courses, distance learning, and online classroom management systems. It has been truly invaluable in British Literature because almost the entire curriculum has been converted to digital form. It is also amazing for distance learning like Plato and Odysseyware that do not always provide the text with the learning software. If you would like these books in audio form, check out Librivox.