Group items tagged

"For children and young people with reading difficulties, text-to-speech (TTS) software offers some of the benefits of a personal reader. The article provides an overview of the technology and its application, and then summarizes the research on benefits of TTS for struggling readers. The different kinds of TTS software available are described in three categories, according to sophistication, and information is given concerning how teachers can obtain electronic text materials for use with TTS. Finally, suggestions are provided for implementing TTS in the classroom. Related Postings from the Archives * Teachers' Use of Technology in a Reading Clinic by Ernest Balajthy et al. * Wait for Me! by Ofer Bergman * Jumping off the Page by Bart Pisha and Peggy Coyne What Is TTS? | Impact of TTS | Available Software | Available Texts | Practical Considerations | Suggestions for Use | References "

Premier Literacy -- a division of Premier Assistive, is a leader in the field of literacy technology, offering complete and affordable reading and writing solutions. With programs that recognize, validate and accommodate, Premier is providing valuable tools for life. Innovation, affordability and portability are the defining elements of Premier products that are revolutionizing the world of literacy technology.

Text-to-Speech Technology Reaches an Inflection Point

NATE -- the National Assistive Technology in Education Network -- brings together information from the many fields and disciplines that are involved in assistive technology services in educational settings. We provide that information in a cohesive, integrated manner, so that people from all disciplines can access it. We promote and encourage increased collaboration between people from different disciplines at the local team level and at the larger regional and national levels.

The Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP) provides training, information, technical assistance and resources regarding the uses of technology for children with disabilities. OTAP services are available to anyone concerned with the needs of Oregon's children with disabilities from birth to age twenty-one. The program is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

HelpKidzLearn is a collection of free software for young children and those with learning difficulties to play online. The software is split into five sections: * Early Years * Games and Quizzes * Stories and Songs * Creative Play * Find Out About You will get the most out of these activities if you play them together with your child. Use them as a focus for chatting. Speaking and listening is very important for young children's educational development, particularly reading and writing. HelpKidzLearn has been created by Inclusive Technology Ltd., a commercial organisation providing assistive technology and educational software. Many of the activities at HelpKidzLearn are free samples taken from our own software titles

"With all of the new trends and tools in education technology, there's no reason for special needs students and their teachers and parents to be left behind. This list of 100 useful tools can help anyone with a learning disability like ADHD, dyslexia or test anxiety, as well as students with visual or hearing impairments, use the Internet and other technology systems to help them with reading, math, organization, social skills, and more."

"NATE -- the National Assistive Technology in Education Network -- brings together information from the many fields and disciplines that are involved in assistive technology services in educational settings. We provide that information in a cohesive, integrated manner, so that people from all disciplines can access it. We promote and encourage increased collaboration between people from different disciplines at the local team level and at the larger regional and national levels."

Assistive technology can be tremendously beneficial to all educators, not just those in special ed environments. Atomic Learning is committed to integrating assistive technology into the classroom, and we offer this guide in the spirit of that mission. Click here to view this ebook.

"This Issue Brief harnesses the thinking of NCTI stakeholders and the literature in the educational and AT field to provide insight for current and future investment, development, and research. The Issue Brief discusses five themes that define state-of-the-art assistive technology: 1. Convergence 2. Customizability and universal design for learning (UDL) 3. Research or evidence-based 4. Portability to promote independence 5. Interoperability Underlying these themes is a design imperative: devices should be simple - simple to learn, to use, to integrate, and to support."

What if ? Technology in the 21st Century Classroom This paper asks the question: "How can schools continue to be connected and relevant in the world of the 21st century?" It explores the relationship between the use of technology and the scope for increasing the quality of teaching and learning.

"Mission of assistivetech.net Assistive technology (AT) is "devices and aids which can help a person with a disability perform activities that might otherwise be difficult or not be possible." Our mission is to provide access to information on AT devices and services as well as other community resources for people with disabilities and the general public. This site is created and maintained through the collaboration of our Sponsors: Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA)."

"CTD is a source for assistive/instructional technology resources of interest to families of children with disabilities. "

"Welcome to the wiki for the Assistive Technology Networking Group in Cuyahoga County! This network is sponsored by State Support Team Region 3 at the Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County. We will be using this wiki to share some of our resources and encourage collaboration between the school districts and agencies providing assistive technology services in our region. "

"Welcome to Tech Training Wheels, the one-stop place to train you in a variety of technology needs. We offer clear and concise tutorial videos about many different applications. Our goal is to simplify technology using step-by-step videos and screencasts to guide users of all levels. From the most advanced user to the beginner, we have trainings for everyone. "

"Welcome to the "Universal Design for Learning" excerpt of the National Educational Technology Panel Report. The excerpt uses pages 14 through 18 of the report to demonstrate some UDL supports. The UDL icons provide descriptions of UDL features and how they support learning. These are just a few examples of ways that technology can be used to support learning in a UDL environment. For more information about UDL and the UDL Guidelines, go to The National Center on UDL."

"I am a special education technology integration teacher at a school for students with disabilities. I created this blog as a resource for educators and parents. The blog will review apps and tools for the IPod Touch, Interactive whiteboard, laptops, and more. I will review different technology that is tried and true, that I have utilized in the classroom. I will also give examples of how I utilize this tool in the classroom."

"Session One: Assistive Technology in an Inclusive Classroom Presented by Ian Bean Please register for this meeting. Meeting Description: REGISTER for this exciting 5 part Assisitve Technology Webinar Series!"

"To help address this challenge, we've combined Google's automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology with the YouTube caption system to offer automatic captions, or auto-caps for short. Auto-caps use the same voice recognition algorithms in Google Voice to automatically generate captions for video. The captions will not always be perfect (check out the video below for an amusing example), but even when they're off, they can still be helpful-and the technology will continue to improve with time."

Integration of 21st century goals into teacher education programs requires attention to diversity, technology, and instructional supports in terms of how content material is presented, students are engaged, and learning is documented. Faced with barriers such as disparities in access to curriculum and technology, as well as differences in background experiences and prior knowledge, teachers in today's classrooms face unique challenges as they struggle to meet the diversity of needs within a single classroom setting. As a result, educators need innovative approaches to address the diversity of available resources, student characteristics, and other environmental challenges. One approach is the integration of Universal Design for Learning principles with instructional planning. By using a wide lens approach to initial instructional planning and then narrowing the focus through the integration of Universal Design for Learning principles to meet individual needs within lessons from facilitation through assessment, teachers are able to address individual needs while also facilitating planning for the entire class.