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8 Helpful Assistive Technology Tools for you classroom

University of Iowa might move to Unizin, a data management and learning software that allows professors to share technology more fluidly. Unizin is also university owned and recreates the idea of educational software by skipping the large corporations

In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. The Orange Grove Digital Repository is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a repository of instructional resources. It can be integrated with a Learning Management System and educators can import resources directly from a teacher's LMS. The collection of resources consists of open textbooks and open courseware. There are resources for higher education and K -12, both of which contain categories that are easy to navigate. Among the available content: videos, presentations, audio, spreadsheets, syllabi, assessments, and images.

In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. Merlot is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a community of resources designed to focus on providing learning materials for faculty members in higher education. As a member of Merlot, you not only have access to the free online resources, but you can contribute material as well. There are also opportunities to become a peer reviewer of the posted content. I think this is an excellent way for an educator to be assured that the learning materials obtained from Merlot has a stamp of approval from others in the discipline.

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.

This is a great study tool. You can use for many ways to study. The site allows you to use it as traditional flashcards or you can create a quiz or games. Students can choose what tool they would like to use. A difficulty of this site is that it may be blocked by the school district technology department. Best flashcards for your computer or smartphone. Study online or with an app. This is a great tool to use and post key vocabulary to study for a unit.

Convert files like images, video, documents, audio and more to other formats with this free and fast online converter. This resource is a great tool that can be used by teachers or students. It can be used to create multimedia projects that help teachers to delivery content information. In addition students can use it to create various types of projects that they can embed into power point presentations or if they are trying to make a movie project. A problem that could possibly arise may be that the school district has put a block on the website. To get mitigate this issue the teacher should contact the technology support team and ask for them to take the block off of this particular website. Also students will need to be explicitly taught copyright laws and citing procedures.

Timetoast is a place to create timelines that you can add to your blog or website. You can create historical timelines of important events, or build a timeline of your vacation. Time toast is a website that allows a person to create an interactive timeline. I would use this to show information as an interactive study guide. Or I would use it to post on my blog so that students can review the information that was presented during the course of a particular unit of study. A difficulty of this site is that it may be blocked by the school district technology department.

You are free to use these images for non-profit educational purposes, but we ask that you give credit to the copyright holders who retain rights to the images. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 License. World images has recently added over 3000 images in a variety of areas including art and architecture, politics, exploration, and technology. This site would be an awesome site for history. There are cities from which to choose, art techniques, connecting art and science, and cultures.

Cepolina offers free photos from Europe, America, India and China. The site offers over 1400 categories to choose from. The photos available can be used for any grade level in any subject. The site is very easy to navigate and offers very detailed descriptions of photo categories.  I think any educator would enjoy the international collection of photos and finding ways to incorporate them into class lessons.  

This is one of the best as a "copyright free" site for image files I found. The only restriction is that these items can not be contributed to other photo libraries (online or off line). The site is originally from England. There are several topics: animals, buildings, nature, places, technology, etc. All items are clear and appealing. (EX. Nature category has 92 pictures of mountains, rivers, flowers, plants, etc.) The file format is jpg with high resolution. A problem might occur when the image is linked to the URL or embedded because the website owner may delete or change the image at any time without notice. I recommend saving the image before using it. Lesson example: Science for 5th grade: 1. Direction: Examine the photo carefully and state how these stones were formed. What history do you see behind these stones? You need to observe the colors, shapes, and sizes of the stone. A group needs to gather knowledge learned in class and use it as evidence to support a group's decision. Resources are to be cited at the end of your paper. 2. Rubric: Final conclusion (2 points), Explanations and reasons well supporting the conclusion (5 points), Resources (texts or images used as evidence) (3 points) 3. Standard: S5CS6: Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively. (GPS Scientific habits of the mind for 5th grade) A citation of the image I used for a science lesson is as follows. Stones. (n.d.). Coloured stones on a sandy beach. Retrieved from http://www.copyrightfreephotos.com/gallery/nature/3/104852203/

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free-music-program/ Royalty free music is a paid website that allows educational institutions free access to their website through their Free Music for Education Program. The major obstacle in using this website would be getting over the hurdle or having technology services approve the website and have a link placed on the school's website for students to obtain access. Teachers can use the website to teach students about the copyright rules and laws Once approved students of all ages would have a huge catalogue of sound effects and downloadable music and from a variety of genres at their fingertips. .

Educators who wish to use resources from this site need to visit this page: http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free-music-resources.html

This repository offers free images in the forms of: photos, backgrounds, and textures. The only request is that users give credit for the image used. The images are organized in galleries by topics such as, food or technology. This website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. There is sign up request to download images. This repository would be best used by middle and high school students for any content area. The only issue I encountered with this site is the advanced search option. I tried using specific key words (i.e sports) and only one image was found. I found that it was easier to browse through the galleries for more results. I could see this being a problem for those students who do not like taking the time to browse through the galleries.

Animation Factory is one of my most favorite animation related websites. It contains a variety of .jpg, and .gif. Users can set up an account for free however, they will have to pay for a membership. Once they have access to the objects, the user is able to use graphics at will for their needed purpose. It is royalty free as the author is not expected, other than their membership fees, to make additional payments if in fact they make money from their website, project, etc. that they produce. The intended audience are professionals in a plethora of fields. There are graphics displayed that are related to business, technology, education, healthcare and a number of other fields. There are three levels of membership. A gold membership is 59.95 and you have access to Animated Clipart, Media Elements, and Tiled Backgrounds. A platinum membership is 99.95 and users have access to all tools on the Gold level and Power Clipart, PowerPoint Backgrounds, PowerPoint Templates, and Video Backgrounds. Lastly, the pro membership is 199.95. The user has access to all tools on the gold and platinum level, and access to Flash, HD Video Backgrounds, Sound Effects, Sound and Music, and Video Elements. Each membership payment is good for one year from the start date. The quality of the graphics is phenomenal and can be used continuously on website, reports and etc. due to the high resolution provided by the website's download tools.

Users of resources on this site are advised to refer to the policy, web site terms, and licensing pages: http://www.animationfactory.com/en/company/policies.html, http://www.animationfactory.com/en/company/terms.html, http://www.animationfactory.com/en/company/licensing.html

This online database contains very high-quality "Public Domain," "Copyright-Free" photographs that are easily accessible from 10 different category divisions on the "Gallery Index" page; Abstract, Architecture & Cityscapes, Food & Drinks, Industrial & Machinery, Miscellaneous, Nature, Sports & Recreation, Technology, Textures & Backgrounds, and Travel. In the "Terms of Use" statements, the creators state that "Picdrome.com is a growing Public Domain digital photography collection, free of copyright and licensed under Creative Commons…all images are free to download for personal, educational and commercial use, without restriction." They also advise users to check the "Disclaimer" statement link regarding any additional licenses; however, in the disclaimer statement there didn't appear to be any other restrictions listed. Students in upper Elementary school through High school would be able to easily navigate and download these photographs that were relevant to project work they were completing. For example, my Middle School students would greatly benefit from the close-up photos of food from all of the food groups in this repository, when they complete "Family & Consumer Science" class projects that present visual examples of nutritionally balanced menus. The only problematic portion of the website is the banner advertisement located directly below the title/search box and right above the category links…it often advertises products and sites that require purchasing but, the banner looks so much like the website heading that it is easily clicked on by "mistake." Educators would need to forewarn students of this obstacle before giving them free reign of the site's valuable images.

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

Vicfirth.com is a site that is beneficial for educating percussionists of all age and skill levels. Vicfirth.com is host to a variety of media teaching aids such as how-to videos, image clips, and audio files. There is also a large collection of demonstration videos. This site is most beneficial as a technology based tutor for the student percussionist/drummer. the student can learn or supplement their learning while moving at their own pace. This site is copyright-free for use thought they do advertise and give descriptions of Vic Firth products. I see no difficulties involved with the use of this site.