Group items tagged

"With the proliferation of AAC apps, it seems that many people quickly get or want to get an AAC app for their child with an autism spectrum disorder. It is awesome and amazing to see so many people who need AAC begin to have access to AAC. But once there is accessibility, it is not always readily apparent what to do and it is like any technology or gadget, if you don't learn how to USE it, it could become like the 'proverbial treadmill clothes hanger' or abandoned musical instrument."

The A.T.TIPScast: Assistive Technology Tools In Public Schools is a podcast about using technology to help students meet their educational goals. Each episode features at least one "A.T.TIP" that can be used to differentiate and individualize the learning process.

"This paper explores how new digital technologies can be used to design curricula that are flexible enough to adapt readily to individual differences. The authors propose that universal design for learning-as the confluence of advances in the neuroscience of human variability and in multimedia technologies-can create an "ecology for learning" which provides rich, diverse, student-centered learning pathways for all students. "

A must-read, research-based article that supports the use of technology in math instruction for all students, but especially special needs students with learning disabilities.

Excellent article with supporting research for math instruction for students with disabilities and the importance of technology in the process.

Begin with ME! is a project that provides a rich environment full of resources and support that allows teachers and teacher consultants to work together, share ideas, and learn new ways to help all students, including those with special needs, become better writers. 1. When appropriate technology tools and strategies are integrated into instruction, all students, including those with special needs and those at risk for academic failure will become better writers.\n\n2. Given adequate training and support, teachers can comfortably integrate technology into their writing curriculum.\n\n3. Supporting struggling students in the general education classroom can be effective and easily replicated.

"Below is a list of webinars on a variety of AT and access topics. Click on the webinar title to read more and register. You can also browse over 30 archived ATC webinars or search all archived webinars by topic, age range, technology, etc."

Fantastic k-12 free online education conference involving technology

"Out of Print highlights the sea change underway in the multi-billion dollar U.S. K-12 instructional materials market enabled by recent technology and intellectual property rights innovations. With a focus on the ultimate impact on student learning, the report provides examples of lessons learned from recent digital and open (OER) content initiatives by leading states and school districts and offers comprehensive recommendations for government, industry, and educators to ensure that the inevitable shift to digital instructional materials improves student achievement and engagement and efficiently uses scarce resources."

Fabulous assistive technology resource page from Polk County Schools

MacSpeech develops the finest speech recognition applications for Macintosh and Mac OS X. MacSpeech products use our exclusive TalkAnywhere technology.

Learning How to Learn Assistive Technology (one of my presentations) "Toolbelt Theory" suggests that we must teach our students how to analyze tasks, the task-completion environment, their own skills and capabilities, an appropriate range of available tools… and let them begin to make their own decisions.

This is definitely a "must read" blog by Ira Socol. This post discusses the "Toolbelt Theory" but there are tons of other valuable resources and important ideas throughout the blog. It's something you should plan to subscribe to via RSS feed so you will get the latest updates. Includes many technology tips and information about Universal Design.

Amazing story of a school that uses technology to include a homebound student in everything going on in the classroom.

This is an incredible video that tells about how one school has found a way to include a long-term homebound student in everything going on in the classroom-instruction, interaction, friendships and much more. Very inspiring and a simple solution using an Activboard, iChat, iSight camera and Mac computer.

Excelent blog post by Cheryl Oakes on assistive technology with lots of great links in her post.

Cheryl Oakes is one of the regular bloggers on TechLearning and this is a great blog post she wrote right after NECC this year. Excellent ideas and resources. Peggy

This is another Ning network I am on that you might like to check out. Michelle DeCraene, Florida, created the network and she provides some interesting discussions. I was really interested in the discussion about virtual worlds and accessibility. It hasn't been too active lately so maybe we can contribute to the conversation. Check out her profile on MirandaNet-she's been involved in some amazing projects with special ed. and technology.

SC07 Learning & Physical Challenges Education (LPCE) Program for The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Network, Storage and Analysis. Ning Network created by Mechelle De Craene who is a middle school special ed/gifted ed teacher. She loves learning about new technology and how it can support the diverse needs of my students. She has added some great videos on the site. Detailed profile here: http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/fellowship/profile.php?prof=69

"special education, technology, videos, youtube, learning"