accessibility / UDL

Trends in Ed: High-Tech Help [from Columbia Univ]

On 01/20/2011, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, education technology, by Daniel Christian

Trends in Ed: 01.19.2011 – High-Tech Help — from EdLab at Teachers College, Columbia University by Angela Lee

Do you think you can survive completing an email, report, or business letter without the help of spell check?

This New York Times article sums up some of the most popular assistive technologies on the market. These tools are not limited to users with learning disabilities, but also extremely popular among general learners.

However, Michael L. Kamil, a consulting professor at the Stanford University School of Education and an expert on adolescent literacy and technology, warns that not every product is going to be useful, so before you spend $100 for a smart pen or $300 for an electronic learner, you should consult with the professional who has evaluated your learning ability.

Below is some of the most popular assistive technology we use today…

From the NYT article, for more information, see:

“Assistive Technology: A Parent’s Guide,” by Marshall H. Raskind and Kristin Stanberry. A downloadable PDF with worksheet helps parents match technologies.
CALL Scotland, a unit within the University of Edinburgh’s education school. (CALL stands for Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning.) A Web site with studies and books on assistive technologies: callscotland.org.uk/
National Center on Universal Design for Learning. A group advocating for products and services useful to all people, including those with disabilities: udlcenter.org
Digital Text Notes. A blog from Landmark College with regular updates on news about how technology can help people with learning disabilities: digitaltext.wordpress.com /

Tagged with: accessibility • assistive technologies • educational technology

Using Microsoft’s speech recognition: helping my stepfather manage Parkinson’s

On 01/11/2011, in accessibility / UDL, digital audio, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, by Daniel Christian

Using Microsoft’s speech recognition: helping my stepfather manage Parkinson’s — from DavidWees.com

Tagged with: accessibility • digital audio • Microsoft • productivity • tips and tricks

How can words describe this?

On 01/04/2011, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, psychology, relationships, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Again, my thanks to Mr. Joseph Byerwalter for this amazing item.

How can words describe this? I’m not sure they can…but the words/feeble attempts that come to my mind are:

Perseverance
Patience
Hope
Love
Success
Pain can reach to the heavy depths of human existence
Joy can rise up to the highest heavens
Look for the invisible, not the visible
The human body and mind is amazingly complex
The love of a father and mother can be enormously strong and powerful
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

I stand in awe of families and people like this; they humble me, yet again.

The article behind the above video can be found at:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/MindMoodNews/story?id=8258204&page=1

Tagged with: accessibility • assistive technologies • cognitive psychology / computing • psychology • relationships

The iPad—Breaking new ground in Special Education

On 12/01/2010, in accessibility / UDL, Apple, education technology, human-computer interaction (HCI), student-related, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

The iPad—Breaking new ground in Special Education — from District Administration.com by Marion Herbert
Apple’s iPad has received an unanticipated reaction from the autistic community.

Tagged with: accessibility • Apple • educational technology • human-computer interaction (HCI) • iPad • student-related • tools

iPad opens world to a disabled boy

On 11/01/2010, in accessibility / UDL, Apple, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: accessibility • Apple • iPad

Special Education area of iTunes Apps Store (from Assistive Technology blog)

On 10/25/2010, in accessibility / UDL, Apple, assistive technologies, by Daniel Christian

Originally saw this at:
Assistive Technology by Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D

Tagged with: accessibility • Apple • assistive technologies

Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)

On 10/11/2010, in accessibility / UDL, instructional design, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: accessibility • instructional design

What is user experience design? Overview, tools and resources

On 10/05/2010, in accessibility / UDL, tools, user interface design, by Daniel Christian

What is user experience design? Overview, tools and resources — from SmashingMagazine.com

Websites and Web applications have become progressively more complex as our industry’s technologies and methodologies advance. What used to be a one-way static medium has evolved into a very rich and interactive experience.

But regardless of how much has changed in the production process, a website’s success still hinges on just one thing: how users perceive it. “Does this website give me value? Is it easy to use? Is it pleasant to use?” These are the questions that run through the minds of visitors as they interact with our products, and they form the basis of their decisions on whether to become regular users.

User experience design is all about striving to make them answer “Yes” to all of those questions. This guide aims to familiarize you with the professional discipline of UX design in the context of Web-based systems such as websites and applications.

Tagged with: accessibility • human-computer interaction (HCI) • tools • user interface design • UX

Lynda.com — well worth the investment!

On 10/01/2010, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, accessibility / UDL, Adobe, adult learning, animation, Apple, art, assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Google, graphics, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, interactivity, interface design, learning ecosystem, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, music, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, RSS, simulations, storytelling, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, training / L&D, user experience (UX), user interface design, visualizing information, web design and production, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

We use Lynda.com and the feedback has been excellent. Back in 1997, I took a 1-day seminar from Lynda Weinman out at SFSU’s Multimedia Studies Program. I learned more from her in a few hours then I have in many courses. She knows how to make things very understandable…and she’s a great teacher. If she doesn’t know the topic, she selects people who know how to explain that topic in easy-to-understand terms.

So when I saw this item — Connect@NMC: Panel Discussion Led By Laurie Burruss of Lynda.com – Implementing Lynda.com Campus-Wide — I felt that I should pass it along.

Tagged with: Apple • corporate training / universities • digital audio • digital learning • digital storytelling • digital textbooks • digital video • educational technology • instructional design • learning ecosystem • Mobile learning • mobile technology • multimedia • student-related • teaching & learning • web design

New book on role of technologies in assisting disabled students

On 09/02/2010, in accessibility / UDL, computer science, by Daniel Christian

New book on role of technologies in assisting disabled students — from Computing Education Blog

I’ve always thought that computing educators should be at the cutting edge of the use of technology for all forms of education, including adaptations for students with disabled. We have the most flexible medium for teaching and for teaching about — we teach about computation using computation. Richard Ladner is a world-leader in making CS accessible to disabled students, and his NSF BPC Alliance on AccessComputing provides resources to help with that adaptation. I’d love to see more computer scientists building technologies to help us teach computing to more people and better.

Tagged with: accessibility • computer science

An iPad book for the deaf

On 08/23/2010, in accessibility / UDL, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, by Daniel Christian

With its color screen and ability to run multiple applications, Apple’s iPad holds great promise for creating multimedia work that can redefine the nature of a book.

One new attempt to do so is “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy,” an iPad version of the well-received children’s book that brings to it what the publisher, iStoryTime, says is a first: an iPad book complete with sign language for deaf children.

The $3 app offers three versions of this charmingly illustrated work: one that children can read themselves, one that would be read to them and one signed by a woman who stands off to the side of the screen, with the reduced-size book running next to her.

Tagged with: accessibility • digital learning • digital textbooks • educational technology • innovation • iPad

Accessibility: A Guide for Educators — from Microsoft

On 08/23/2010, in accessibility / UDL, education technology, Microsoft, personalized/customized learning, teachers, tools, by Daniel Christian

— resource from Luca Lorenzini’s blog

Tagged with: accessibility • educational technology • Microsoft • personalized learning • teachers • tools

Using the Livescribe Smartpen with students

On 08/18/2010, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, education technology, student-related, tools, by Daniel Christian

Using the Livescribe Smartpen with students — from Assistive Technology

In the past couple of weeks I have worked with a number of students with learning disabilities who all have difficulty taking notes and I have introduced them to the Livescribe Smartpens. It was truly amazing to watch them use this device and the potential it has to open up all kinds of opportunities for them. For students with dyspgraphia, learning disabilities, auditory processing difficulties the Livescribe Smartpen is a godsend. Once I demonstrate the technique of just writing keywords on the dotted paper the student get the “aha” moment when I showed them the Paper Replay feature. For students who have difficulty listening and recording notes in real time this is truly a powerful tool and one I would put on my Back to School list of gadgets.

Tagged with: accessibility • assistive technologies • educational technology • student-related • tools

Assistive technologies for online learning

On 08/12/2010, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Assistive technologies for online learning — from E-Learning Queen

For many — not just those with special needs — participating in an online course is very difficult without assistive technologies. Augmentive and alternative communication products can help students with disabilities. It is useful, however, to look at some assistive technologies as effective for learners who have specific learning preferences and who may benefit from being able to access content in more than one format.

Take a look at the different assistive technologies that are available. You may be surprised how affordable they are, and how helpful they might be for you, especially with respect to keyboards, touchscreens, screen-readers (and “talking books”), and speech recognition.

Tagged with: accessibility • assistive technologies • online learning

Tagged with: accessibility • higher education • student-related

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