Technology in the Inclusive Environment
July 31
In the News
Facing Facts: http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=12681
In a commentary, Ray Schmitt says he dropped the idea of suing his Henrico County,
Va., district to cover the costs of sending his teen daughter, who has autism
and moderate retardation, to private school, because he lacked both the resources
and the will to buck reality. Sometimes, he writes, parents have to reach the
painful conclusion that a child with special needs is unable to learn.
Girl overcomes obstacles to learn about life: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15141058.htm
Lori Hertel, the parent of a Kansas 13-year-old with a rare muscle disease,
says the desire to help her daughter forced her to overcome an initial reluctance
to ask others for aid. Young Ana notes that even though she seems fragile, she
enjoys the same activities that all teens do.
Gotta catch 'em all! - Pokemon courts schools with educational
game:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6458
"The creators of the popular Japanese children's game and cartoon series
Pokemon have designed a new educational video game designed to supplement classroom
instruction in a variety of subject areas, from language arts to math and science.
Its supporters say the game--which is currently working its way into U.S. classrooms--represents
yet another way for schools to integrate technology to engage and encourage
young learners."
Helping Older Folks Stay:
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plccase0730.artjul30,0,4620020.story?coll=hc-headlines-commentary
"Bibisi and Botts tout the concept of universal design, which means building
housing that can be used by anyone including seniors or people with disabilities
from the outset. This has been a tough sell with some developers, but as boomers
age, the demand will almost assuredly increase."
Officials revising special-ed guidelines: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060727specialed.shtml
The most controversial of the proposed rules being considered by a Maine education
task force could require potential students in special education to show academic
problems before they could receive services. One advocate says the "wait
and fail" approach ignores the benefits of early intervention.
Informational Sites
assistivetech.net: http://www.assistivetech.net/
Assistive Technology Training Online Project (ATTO): http://atto.buffalo.edu/
HyperStudio Tutorials: http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy202/tutorial/hstudio/hstudio.htm
LDAdvocates.com: http://www.ldadvocates.com/
Think you know what learning differences look like? Think again.
LDadvocates is a group of experts in the field of education who are equipped
to provide advocacy, research, and organizational support for your child.
National Disabilities Network - Assistive Technology: http://www.napas.org/policy/at/
Kurzweil Educational Systems: http://www.kurzweiledu.com/products.asp
TEXT-TO-SPEECH IN OFFICE 2003
In WORD – To get to the Language Toolbar, go to Tools>Speech. If you
haven’t already trained speech recognition, you may be prompted to train
it. Just choose Cancel for now. You may notice a message box that says, “Dictation,”
or “Voice Command” or “Listening.” Click the Microphone
icon to turn off speech recognition.
By default, the option to speak text does not appear on the Language Toolbar.
Click on the down arrow on the right side of the toolbar to see Speak Text and
Pause Speaking. When you choose each of these, they will be added to the Language
Toolbar.
Click Speak (Text) so that Word will start speaking the text starting where
you have placed your cursor. It will continue to read the text unless you select
Stop Speaking or Pause Speaking. If you select Pause, it will Resume where you
left off if you select Resume. If you highlight the text, it will only read
what you have highlighted. Students can be taught to select one sentence or
one paragraph at a time to help them when editing their work.
Options – It is possible to adjust the Voice and Reading Speed. To do this,
choose (Speech) Tools>Options from the Language Toolbar, then Advanced Speech>Text-to-Speech.
Click the down arrow next to Voice Selection to see the other voice choices.
Click Preview to determine which voice you prefer. (I haven't done this, but
you may want to install other voices such as NeoSpeech Kate or Paul which are
higher quality voices available for about $30 from nextup.com) Move the arrow
to change the Voice Speed as well.
In EXCEL- Click Tools>Speech>Show Text-to-Speech Toolbar. The Speak on
Enter button is on the far right. If you select this button, Excel will read
back everything you have typed in a cell when you hit Enter. Remember to click
the button again when you’re done if you want to turn off this feature.
Assignment for August 2
Read Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning:
http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/
Go to "Tools & Activities."
Complete at least two activities on this page. Look around the site. Create
a presentation using Inspiration to describe what you found of interest in the
book and at the site. Be prepared to discuss your ideas in class.
This site began in March 1998 and was created by Janet Luch.
It was last updated on
August 1, 2006
Email to studyplans@yahoo.com.