Free At And Technology For Higher Incidence Special Needs

For higher incidence learning disabilities.

Google Educators and More
Google Products can be your best friend (if they aren’t blocked)
Google search engine and advanced search
Google images
Google notebook
Google bookmarks
Google documents
Google blogspot
And more… all with one log in!
Alternatives – Zoho, Ajax13,

Social Bookmarking
Delicious
Tewksbury Teaching All Kids
Sign in: tewksteaching
Password: school!
Other Choices
Edutaggers
Digg

Universal Design for Learning
Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,
Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know,
Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.

Hear Your Writing
Word Talk is a free add on to Microsoft Word. It reads your writing aloud and highlights in the color of your choice as it does so.
Power Talk does the same for Power Point
www.wordtalk.org.uk and fullmeasure.co.uk/powertalk
Free slide show tutorial www.slideshare.net/paulhami/word-talk
Good for learners with reading, spelling and attention troubles.

Install a Screen Reader
A screen reader will read what is on the computer screen to your students. There are many free text to speech utilities out there.
One is built into Windows, look under accessibility in the control panel.
Firefox, the web browser, has one of my favorites, Click, Speak (go to “get extensions”) or www.clickspeak.clcworld.net .
Others you can download, such as:
www.naturalreaders.com/download.htm
http://www.yakitome.com/
http://www.readplease.com/

Online SlideShows
SlideShare http://www.slideshare.com
SlideBoom http://www.slideboom.com/

Use Visual Supports
Learn about visual supports:
www.usevisualstrategies.com
www.polyxo.com/visualsupport
www.card.ufl.edu/visual.htm
Use them by:
Using picture or text schedules and lists
Making the rules visual
Using visual cues for transitions
Use First/Then, Now/Later, and To Do Lists
Use the international “no” sign (red circle with line through it) when something is not an option
Providing “maps” so students can “find their way around” everything from inside their desks, to the building to their papers, to bibliographies
In the lower grades or with non-readers using photographs and picture symbols
Make step by step photographic or picture based instruction for things like science labs or art projects
Consider making The Visual Dictionary ( http://visual.merriam-webster.com/index.php ) your online dictionary
Consider using your computer monitor, power point and words or symbols to visualize transitions
This will help all visual learners, all multi-modal learners, those on the autism spectrum, those with dysphonetic dyslexia, those with non-verbal learning disabilities, those with Fragile X and Down Syndrome.

Free Photographs and Picture Symbols for Visual Supports
www.do2learn.com – mostly schedule and personal care related line drawings
www.imaginesymbols.com – 4,000 full color drawing for use in schedules, communication and education materials
www.sclera.be/English/index.htm - 14,000 pictograms for education, schedules and communication all are black on white in design
Literacy Support Pictures Search http://www.slatersoftware.com/PixLibrary.html
Don’t forget that you can use your digital camera, Google images and website like Flickr as well.

Create a Comic
Make Beliefs http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
Pixton http://www.pixton.com/home
Comic Creator http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/index.html
Piki Strips http://www.comeeko.com/
Piki Kids http://www.pikikids.com/ps/home
Comiqs http://comiqs.com/
ToonDoo http://www.toondoo.com/Home.toon

Turn Your Computer Screen into A Timer
This works especially well if your teacher computer links to the T.V. screen or a smart board.
Download a time from this site:
http://www.harmonyhollow.net/cool_timer.shtml
Or link to a live timer at this site:
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/javatimer/javatimer.html
Now your students have a visual measure of how much time is left to a task.

Change Your Font
Certain fonts may be more helpful to learners with the visual kind of dyslexia or those learners with low vision.
Here are some links to downloads of fonts:
www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/fyti/Typography+for+Children.htm
www.k-type.com/fontlexia.html

Use Mind Maps and Graphic Organizers
There are many website that offer free mind mapping tools here are a few:
www.Bubbl.us
www.Mindomo.com
www.Mind42.com
Other sites offer us various graphic organizers to try here are a few:
www.exploratree.org.uk
www.freeology.com/graphicorgs/
www.webenglishteacher.com/graphic.html
Good for learners on the autism spectrum and those with some kinds of reading disabilities

Visually Represent History
Timelines
CircaVie http://www.circavie.com/
Dipity http://www.dipity.com/
My timelines http://www.mytimelines.net/create-a-timeline/
Interactive Timelines http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/timeline/

Multi-Media Shows
Voice Thread (free for Education) http://voicethread.com/
Animoto (free for education) http://biz.animoto.com/education/overview.html

Use Your Camera Phone
Qipit and Scanr are free program that allow you to take photos with your camera phone and send them to their websites which will, in turn either publish them online or allow you to print what you shot.
www.qipit.com , www.scanr.com
Good for learners with handwriting and memory troubles.

Micro Blogs
Use micro blogs to post assignments or update your students on the any classroom news
Or if you are a real technophile have your students micro blog to turn in assignments, comment and keep in touch.
Some micro blogs to consider:
www.tumblr.com
www.jottit.com
Add a text to speech converter to
your micro blog so students can

Store it Online
We all know the student who will loss the work sheet between here and the locker, or will forget to bring it home.
Save a copy of worksheets online so that students only have to worry about the return trip using free online storage programs, this also means that students can do make up work immediately when they are out
Sites to use:
www.diino.com
www.dropboks.com
www.scribd.com
www.yudu.com
Google documents
Zoho documents

Note to self…
Encourage your students to figure out what how to best use technology combined with their learning style to get things done. (Let’s face it after high school very few of us stick with the assignment notebook system.)
At the end of every period insist that all students record the assignment in their assignment notebook but also in some other method which could include:
Jott – a free web program that allows you to call yourself on your cell phone and then e-mails you the right info at the right time www.jott.com
Sandy – a free web program that provides you with Sandy, a personal assistant, iwantsandy.com
Using a voice recorder or a voice recorder attachment to an iPod
E-mailing yourself on a Blackberry or iPhone
SMS (texting) yourself on your cellphone
Using calendar software on a Palmpilot, Blackberry or iPhone
Using calendar software online, such as Google’s iCal
Use free to do list programs like Remember the Milk (www.rememberthemilk.com) Toodledo (www.toodledo.com) or Ta Da List (www.tadalist.com)

Enable Your Web Browser
Firefox has many accessible add ons that can be installed together in the form of accessibar. (accessibar.mozdev.org/). It includes:
Web page fonts and background colors can be changed from a selection of 70 colors on current session
Full Page Zoom interface now available (for Firefox nightly builds only).
Icons with configurable shortcut keys to increase and decrease Font size.
Line spacing can be increased or decreased to five different spacing settings incrementally.
All images (including Flash) displayed on a web page can be selected as being hiden or shown.
All changes made to web page display can be restored to original page settings by pressing “Restore Page“.
Changes made to the currently displayed web page persist until “Restore Page“ is selected.
Integrated Text To Speech reader. Reads out strings hovered over as well as focused elements.
Reader settings can be configured allowing the selection of the voice, volume, speaking rate, pitch, and voice range.
Toolbar functions have configurable Hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts).

Other places to find links to free AT
Teaching Every Student Blog http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/2007/06/free-technology-toolkit-for-udl-in-all.html
Free Assistive Technology You Already Own
http://speaking.stanford.edu/Back_Issues/SOC68/highlights/Free_Assistive_Technology.html
One Stop for Free A.T.
http://www.onlineconferencingsystems.com/at.htm
Free Resources From the Net for (Special) Education Blog
http://paulhami.edublogs.org/
OATSoft
http://www.oatsoft.org/

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http://caiuassistivetech.wikispaces.com	31
http://www.slideshare.net	1
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1
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Free At And Technology For Higher Incidence Special Needs

by Kate Ahern

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