The Family Center on Technology and Disability

Welcome to the FCTD resource review database. Hundreds of assistive and instructional technology resources have been identified, reviewed, and annotated for your reference. Direct links to each resource have been provided in most cases. You can target your search by entering a key word or phrase in the search box on the right side of the page, or you can scan through the resources below. The filters beneath the search box allow you to further customize your research by topic, disability, and material type. We are constantly adding new resources to our database, so we hope you’ll return regularly. If you have suggestions for additional resources, please contact us at fctd@aed.org.

Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (PAR)

"PAR provides you with all you need to systematize your procedures for making data-based reading accommodation recommendations for students who are not reading at grade level or have physical disabilities that keep them from utilizing printed texts." PAR is a free, downloadable manual that includes a protocol for collecting data to compare independent reading, reading with a human reader, and reading with a text-to-speech reader to determine what works best ...

Published: 2012 by Denise DeCoste and Linda Bastiani Wilson , Reviewed: 7 days ago

Math Village

Math Village, "It takes a village to raise a mathematician..." is a collection of resources to provide mathematics support and practice for middle school students. It covers a wide range of math topics from expressions to fractions to equations. Each topic has numerous subtopics or concepts, each with a video tutorial describing the concept, example problems, and an interactive applet that helps the student step through the process of solving ...

Published: 2012 by Duane Habecker , Reviewed: May 09, 2012

Learning Independence with Google Search

Posted on the Google blog at the end of March 2012, by Glen Shires, this video highlights Google search features that can eliminate the need for typing in the search box (Voice Search) and will filter search results using reading levels (Search by Reading Level). Made to help users find relevant results that are easier for them to understand and incorporate into their studies, the video demonstrates Voice Search and ...

Published: 2012 by Greg Shires , Reviewed: May 09, 2012

Your Therapy Source

This blog for pediatric occupational and physical therapists has been in existence since 2009. It is one of several resources provided by “Your Therapy Source Inc., an online resource for special needs and pediatric therapy professionals.” There are an incredible amount of resources available from this site including new information and free handout resources obtainable when you click http://www.yourtherapysource.com/freestuff. You can also sign up for a free enewsletter. Some of ...

Published: 2012 by Your Therapy Source , Reviewed: 7 days ago

Edudemic

"What's the best way to improve education using social media?" That's the big question that Edudemic hopes to answer. Edudemic is a site dedicated to providing insights and advice on technology and teaching. Articles are updated daily. On the day of this review, the site's home page included such features as: 25 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom, The Teacher's Guide to Polling in the Classroom, The Powerful Role ...

Published: 2012 by Edudemic , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

myHomework

myHomework is an iPhone, Android and iPad app specifically designed to record and track homework assignments through to completion. It is very easy to use and provides a justification for students to have access to their iPhones both at school and at home. Students can organize their schedules either by time or block (i.e., Days A through F). They can add classes and locations, record assignments and track their progress ...

Published: 2012 by Rodrigo Neri , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

Squidalicious

Squidalicious is a blog by Shannon Des Roches Rosa AKA Squid Rosenberg. She is the mother of three - two girls and a son, Leo, with autism. She has written prolifically about her experiences with her children and what she has learned from them that she hopes others might benefit from and build on. In addition to these original posts, the blog has information on the two books she has ...

Published: 2012 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

AT Network

The AT Network is a California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) and the California AT System (CATS) venture to provide a hub for AT resources and related information. AT Network offers site visitors everything from basic definitions of common assistive technology terms to complex assistance with legal issues and AT access in California, AT funding sources, links to the thirteen AT lending libraries in California, and the AT Exchange ...

Published: 2012 by California AT System (CATS) , Reviewed: April 05, 2012

The Electric Company: Feel Electric!

This is a Parent’s Choice 2012 recommended app designed for the Iphone and Ipad. This Sesame workshop app is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad and requires iOS 3.2 or later. The opening character invites you to express your feelings. There are great live instructions on how to engage with the different elements of the app. In the ...

Published: 2012 by Sesame Street , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

Unus Tactus

Unus Tactus is an app available from the Itunes store that is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. It requires iOS 4.2 or later to work. It was developed to help people with cognitive and motor problems to be able to use a cell phone. It allows users to dial the phone by touching a picture from the ...

Published: 2012 by Ashley Alliano , Reviewed: April 05, 2012

HuffPost Teen

The Huff Post Teen is an online newspaper that is geared toward teenagers. The Huffington Post is its "parent" organization. Access to the Huffington Post is onscreen at all times. The Teen version has a variety of resources. There is news about social issues and events of interest to teens. There is a section in which teens can post poetry and share fiction with others. There are sections that talk ...

Published: 2012 by Huffington Post , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

Emerging Ed Tech: Engaging students and enhancing learner outcomes with ...

EmergingEdTech is a blog started by Kelly Walsh, currently Chief Information Officer at The College of Westchester in White Plains, NY. He began by committing to research and write about a new relevant topic each week, and invites contributions from others. The result is a wealth of diverse resources to support innovative and successful integration of emerging educational technologies and strategies, accessible through category browsing or searching. Of note is ...

Published: 2012 by Kelly Walsh , Reviewed: April 17, 2012

Spotlight on Twilight

Often children with and without disabilities are reluctant readers. The popularity of some book series that have eventually become movies can be successfully used to motivate children to read. Sometimes students with disabilities are not able to read at the reading levels of the published books. Some may have difficulty accessing and understanding text-to-speech books without some simplification and preparation of storyline and characters. This is a PBWorks website that ...

Published: 2012 by Lisa Mann and Teresa Pena , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

Paperport Notes

PaperPort Notes is an iPhone App recently purchased by Nuance. It is a note taking utility that allows the user to create, edit and annotate notes by typing, writing, recording, dictating, drawing, importing PDF, Powerpoint or photo files, as well as cutting and pasting information and graphics from the Internet. There is a bit of a learning curve with some features to be learned through trial and error. This is ...

Published: 2012 by Nuance , Reviewed: April 04, 2012

"All Children Can Read" Literacy for Children with Combined Vision and Hearing ...

The "All Children Can Read" website is devoted to increasing literacy development for children with deaf-blindness. As a project of the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB), the principles of the project are based on four assertions: * All children can become and are becoming literate. * Literacy development is founded on experiences and concepts beginning very early in life. * Literacy instruction must include a strong emphasis on communication and ...

Published: 2012 by Barbara Purvis, Nancy Steele , Reviewed: April 19, 2012

The Badass Project

This website, and associated blog, Facebook page and Twitter presence, profiles individuals with disabilities who refuse to make excuses. The premise is that, regardless of ability or disability, we are all living the life we choose to live. We can all come up with excuses to say "I can't," but we are completely responsible for deciding that "We can" and to live based on accomplishment rather than limitation. While the ...

Published: 2012 by Johnny B. Truant , Reviewed: March 06, 2012

Storybird

The idea of Storybird is to create a publishable illustrated story by one or more people whether the authors are sitting together or in different parts of the world. The original purpose of Storybird was ” to connect families and friends.” The artwork that is used to create the pictures in the Storybird is one of the most exciting things about this site. The illustrations are gorgeous and inspire storytelling. ...

Published: 2012 by Storybird , Reviewed: March 06, 2012

AAC Intervention

This website is authored by Carolyn Musselwhite who has been practicing in the field of AAC intervention for many years. The site is rich in information about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), including strategies to incorporate it into effective daily communication. The 'Tip of the Month' section contains valuable tips and worksheets that can be downloaded and used as long as the author is given credit. The information and tips ...

Published: 2012 by Caroline Musselwhite , Reviewed: March 14, 2012

Raising and Educating a Deaf Child

Raising and Educating a Deaf Child was the name of a book aimed at parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This website with the same name is a resource for parents, much as the book was. The author of the book is a major presence on the website. This site offers information that is evidence-based and peer-reviewed. The website offers a place for parents, educators, and ...

Published: 2012 by RIT/NTID , Reviewed: March 16, 2012

Night Light Stories

Chris Bugaj, an Assistive Technology Specialist and SLP, and his wife Melissa, a classroom teacher, have created this blog and set of podcasts featuring original stories "that light up the imagination of kids of all ages." Each story relates to children's lives and begins with a question that promotes "making connections." In addition to the stories (which can be heard on the blog itself, downloaded for free from iTunes or ...

Published: 2012 by Christopher and Melissa Bugaj , Reviewed: March 06, 2012