On 08/14/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, education technology, elearning, interactivity, K-12 related, neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, presentations,
by Daniel Christian
Learnetic, a Polish-based eLearning publisher and developer, has just released Lorepo — an online authoring tool dedicated to the creation of interactive digital content compatible with desktop computers, tablet devices and smart phones. Thanks to HTML5 technology and the development of specific design guidelines, the new tool enables authors to create interactive learning objects that are compatible with the wide variety of operating systems, screen resolutions and mouse/touch interfaces in today’s marketplace. Read the rest of the press release here >>
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Lorepo is provided to you by Learnetic, an eLearning industry leader offering a wide range of products and services for modern education. Lorepo is our key solution for everyone interested in learning, creating and sharing interactive content.
Either you are an individual person willing to share some knowledge with your friends or the whole world, a teacher eager to provide your students with personalized learning resources or a publishing company aiming at preparing professional, multiplatform interactive content, Lorepo is the best choice for you.
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Also see:
.Learnetic S.A. is a world-leading educational software publisher and e-learning technology provider, based in Poland. Its content, publishing tools and eLearning platforms are widely used by publishers, teachers and students in over 30 countries, including Poland, United States, United Kingdom, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, and Australia. The company’s talented team of software engineers specializes in designing applications for education markets and is dedicated to satisfying the diverse needs of contemporary educators and learners.
On 08/07/2012,
in accessibility / UDL,
by Daniel Christian
Back to School Info on Your Child
As you prepare to meet new teachers and professionals for the new school year IMDSA has a great resource to help you make the transition smoother. On our website IMDSA has a booklet called “All About Me”. The booklet can easily be printed and filled out with information about your child. You can give the booklet to the various professionals and teachers to easily acquaint them with your child and their diagnosis of mosaic Down syndrome. To view and print the booklet go to http://imdsa.org/Resources/Documents/Information/All_About_Me_Booklet_IMDSA.pdf. We hope this is a helpful resource for you to prepare for the coming school year!
From DSC:
I especially like the parts about the truths and myths of Mosaic Down Syndrome here — which can be very helpful to teachers. Perhaps others will appreciate this section as well.
Also, the older I get, the less I believe there is a “normal” anymore. Along those lines, you might be interested in the following book:
or this
Kindle edition from 2010.
EnableTalk turns sign language into speech, wins Imagine Cup prize — from fastcompany.com by Christina Chaey
A trio of Ukrainian students built a $50 device that could help hundreds of millions of hearing-impaired people.
Excerpt:
More than 275 million hearing-impaired people are unable to use speech to communicate. Sign language is one solution, but it’s only as helpful as the number of people who know the language. That problem is what drove three Ukrainian students to develop EnableTalk, a pair of sensory gloves that help bridge that communication gap by turning sign language into speech.
On 07/11/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, digital audio, human-computer interaction (HCI), user experience (UX),
by Daniel Christian
Talking to machines and being heard : Getting started with speech recognition — from uxmag.com by Dave Rich
Excerpt:
Speech recognition presents an exciting and dynamic set of challenges and opportunities for UX designers. With the mass-market reception of consumer technologies such as Apple’s Siri and the near-omnipresence of speech in telephone applications, speech recognition is a computer–human interface many people interact with daily. Speech applications range from self-service telephone systems such as banking applications, to mobile applications that allow users to speak commands and compose messages with their voice. In the future, we can expect to see many different applications integrate speech recognition in some form. The time is near when speech will be the most universal user interface.
Addendum on 7/12/12:
- Speech recognition anyone? AT&T opens up Watson API — from by Kevin Fitchard
On 06/25/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs,
by Daniel Christian
Autism Expressed helps autistic children learn about the Internet — from techcrunch.com by Jordan Crook
Excerpt:
The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool, but it’s also a very dangerous place. Because of this, children with autism and other disabilities often can’t leverage the power of the web, which is a place where you should be able to learn anything.
But Autism Expressed, a startup we discovered on our TC Philly Mini Meetup, is looking to educate autistic children about the Internet so they can have a safe surfing experience and enjoy social media like the rest of us.
Dozens of iPad Apps for young students on the Spectrum, at your fingertips — from emergingedtech.com by K. Walsh and Gemma Jones
Apple’s popular tablet can be a great tool for students, parents, and teachers dealing with PDD and Autism Spectrum Disorders, or with other learning disabilities or special needs.
As used by Khan Academy…
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Also see:
Addendum on 6/20/12:
- Why and how to caption? — from Luis Perez
The Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning has created an excellent video showing how real people are impacted by the lack of captioning. The title of the video says it all: “Don’t Leave Me Out”.
Addendums on 6/21/12:
- YouTube Adds Auto Captions in Spanish — from Mashable.com bySamantha Murphy
- Captions for all: more options for your viewing and reading pleasure (from YouTube)
- YouTube Improves its Automatic Captions [VIDEO] — from Mashable.com by Alissa Skelton
Addendum on 7/2/12:
- Transcribe videos and make them searchable with Koemei — from singularityhub.com by David J. Hill
On 05/07/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, neurodivergent/special needs,
by Daniel Christian
How the blind are reinventing the iPhone — from TheAtlantic.com by Liat Kornowski
At first many blind people thought that the iPhone would never be accessible to them, with its flat glass screen. But the opposite has proved true.
Students benefit using iPads for speech therapy — from keloland.com by Nicole Winters
We’ve seen how iPads can be used in traditional classrooms for learning. They’re also proving to be beneficial for Special Education students. One Sioux Falls Speech Therapist says she’s seeing the benefits with her students.
On 04/23/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, communications, neurodivergent/special needs, telepresence, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
Our mission is to make telepractice practical and affordable while providing an extraordinary therapy experience. The PresenceLearning solution includes the latest video-conferencing tools, engaging games and evidence-based activities, and time-saving collaboration and practice management tools. See videos of how it works
Also:
- PresenceLearning Wins 2012 BESSIE Award
Live online speech therapy service recognized in Special Education Website category
SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2012 – PresenceLearning (www.presencelearning.com), the leading provider of live online speech therapy services to K-12 students, was recently named a winner in the Multi-Level: Special Education Website category of The ComputED Gazette’s 18th Annual Best Educational Software Awards (BESSIE Awards). The awards program targets innovative and content-rich programs and websites that provide parents and teachers with the technology to foster educational excellence.
On 04/19/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, neurodivergent/special needs,
by Daniel Christian
Description of app:
AutisMate is an autism communication, therapy, and learning tool that promotes communication, functional skills, generalization, task analysis, independence, and social skills in people with Autism. AutisMate allows those with autism to communicate through familiar scenes, large images of their environment that can include video, symbols, and social stories as well. Parents and therapists can easily add their own videos and images, symbols (over 12,000 included), custom voice recordings, and synthesized voices to fully and easily customize the app for its user’s current and future needs. The app was designed specifically for the language, speech, generalization, and categorization challenges that individuals with autism often face. GPS reduces navigation by presenting users with scenes from their current location. Making custom word boards for different categories with symbols or your own images is made very simple, and users can get to them with just a click. There’s no difficult navigation, which children with autism often struggle with, as found in many other speech apps out there today.
I originally saw this at:
- Labor of love: Developer creates iPad app to help his autistic brother — from techcrunch.com by Chris Velazco
When Jonathan Izak graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, he decided to put his new degree in Computer Science to very good use. In an effort to help his 10-year old autistic brother Oriel communicate and learn new tasks, he developed a new iPad app called Autismate to try and simplify the process.
On 03/19/2012,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, accessibility / UDL, analytics, blended learning, change, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, elearning, future, global / globalization, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, personalized/customized learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, trends, virtual tutoring,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Arguably, Sal Kahn has become the most famous, influential educator on the planet today — his videos are watched millions of times a day now. The question — which Eric Schmidt answers in the piece — I couldn’t help but ask was, “Why didn’t this type of innovation come from someone who was working in education at the time of their innovation?”
My thanks to Dr. Kate Byerwalter and her colleagues for passing along this resource.
The tags/associated categories for this posting point out the relevant areas covered.
Also see:
- Khan Academy: The future of education?
(CBS News) Sal Khan is a math, science, and history teacher to millions of students, yet none have ever seen his face. Khan is the voice and brains behind Khan Academy, a free online tutoring site that may have gotten your kid out of an algebra bind with its educational how-to videos. Now Khan Academy is going global. Backed by Google, Gates, and other Internet powerhouses, Sal Khan wants to change education worldwide, and his approach is already being tested in some American schools. Sanjay Gupta reports.
From DSC:
A relevant graphic comes to mind with what Sal is trying to achieve with analytics:
i.e. Highly-effective diagnostic tools for the educators and trainers out there!
On 03/06/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, Asia, creativity, digital storytelling, music,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
My dad forwarded this link to me recently…and though I don’t know the words that this beautiful lady is singing, her joy is contagious and she seems beautiful both on the inside and the outside. Enjoy and give thanks!
On 02/03/2012,
in accessibility / UDL, tools,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Ofer Chermesh alerted me to a product of his company called Ghotit. I don’t know much about it, but I wanted to post it here in case folks are looking for a tool such as this.
Multimedia lectures: Tools for improving accessibility and learning –– from Faculty Focus by Mary Bart
Excerpt:
College course work is meant to be challenging. The content and the vocabulary used are often unfamiliar to many students. For at-risk learners, the challenges are even greater. In some cases, these students have physical or learning disabilities that create accessibility issues, other times the challenges may be the result of the fact that they’re an international student, have anxiety issues, or a strong learning style preference that runs counter to the instructor’s style.
For all of these reasons and more, today’s student body is a highly diverse group with many different learning challenges, often manifesting in problems with notetaking and listening comprehension. All of this creates what Keith Bain calls an “accessibility imperative.” And although there are many legal obligations that institutions must satisfy with regards to accessibility, Bain says recording and transcribing lectures can improve retention and success for all types of students.