The Family Center on Technology and Disability
Assistive Technology Works
UDL Implementation: A Tale of Four Districts
From the CAST UDL Center website, UDL Implementation: A Tale of Four Districts recounts the efforts of four school districts to implement Universal Design for Learning. Each school district had a one-year grant and the support of UDL facilitators and CAST, Inc. to create and deploy an effective district plan. To help other school districts in the UDL implementation process, the CAST UDL Center website presents each case, describes UDL ...
Published: 2013 by Ganley, P. & Ralabate, P. , Reviewed: June 12, 2013
Voice Dream Reader
The Voice Dream Reader app reads a range of formatted files including PDF, ePub, Text, Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Keynote, RTF, and HTML. The default voice for Voice Dream Reader is the Acapella Speech Engine installed with Heather. Additional voices can be added for $1.99 each from within Dream Reader. The app is very easy to use. To read text, simply click on the play button on the bottom of the ...
Published: 2013 by Voice Dream LLC , Reviewed: April 25, 2013
Switch Accessible Apps for iPhone
This resource is a list of switch-accessible apps for iPad and iPhone. The first section of the PDF file contains a list with the icon of each app, what device it is developed for (iPhone or iPad only), a brief description of the app, keystrokes that can be used to emulate a switch, and switch access description such as visual scanning, auditory scanning, 1-, 2- or 3-step scanning. In this ...
Published: 2013 by Jane Farrell & Alex Dunn , Reviewed: May 02, 2013
StudyBlue
The Study Blue website is designed to give high school and college students - and teachers - a place to study online or when mobile. Free access is provided via the website or through social media. Students can connect with other students and teachers can set up study tools. The site includes flashcards and online notes. Students can use the pre-made online flashcards or they can create their own, just ...
Published: 2013 by StudyBlue, Inc. , Reviewed: May 15, 2013
Mango Reader
Mango Reader is a free interactive reading platform from tech startup MangoSense. Mango Reader allows users to create books and read existing Mango Book content enhanced with video, audio and quizzes. Although the Reader platform is free, users need to buy Mango Books from the Mango Reader store. Most Mango Books are free or inexpensive ($0.99 to $3.99) and several children's classics are available (Rapunzel, Little Match Girl, ‘Twas The ...
Published: 2012 by Mango Reader , Reviewed: February 20, 2013
DIFability RAD
This blog was written by Catherine Burzio, a transition specialist, over a 7-month period in 2012. It has a lot of postings relevant to students with disabilities and the educators and others who work with them. The title of the blog is Differing Abilities, Resource a Day. Weekly postings contain links to a range of information, including legislation, technology, websites, and books. There is a post about the top ten ...
Published: 2012 by Catherine Burzio , Reviewed: April 26, 2013
Fun Educational Apps
Created by a parent, the Fun Educational Apps site reviews iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch applications. The range of listed software is enormous, with the reviews sorted by age (from 1 to 12+) and by specific categories (reading, math, science, etc.) to make searching simple. Free and low cost applications are featured, though costs vary widely across all the reviewed software. Giveaways are common as are sales from developers and ...
Published: 2012 by Fun Educational Apps , Reviewed: April 26, 2013
The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators
This 83-page ebook was created by eleven prominent bloggers, teachers, and school administrators to encourage the use of technology in the classroom. The book opens by talking about the fact that good teaching involves the creation of relationships among students and ideas, and highlights how technology can help teachers build those relationships. The first section of the book offers the perspective of a school administrator who discusses the control of ...
Published: 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo , Reviewed: January 30, 2013
Think College
ThinkCollege is a website designed for students moving from middle school to high school. Its purpose is to introduce the idea of attending college to students with cognitive and developmental disabilities. There are sections that discuss the importance of going to college, ways of finding an appropriate college program, means of paying for college, and techniques for being successful in transitioning to college. There are links for parents and for ...
Published: 2012 by Institute for Community Inclusion/University of Massachusetts Boston , Reviewed: January 17, 2013
Preparing for the Post-Secondary Environment: Strategies and Technology ...
Focusing on the reasons students need to be able to successfully organize their work and schedule their time effectively, Cheryl Lepard and Linda Petty (AccessAbility Services, University of Toronto Scarborough) draw the correlation between good time management and organization skills and greater postsecondary academic success. The article lists several reasons to further students’ self-determination skills by teaching time management and homework organization starting in high school. Lepard and Petty describe ...
Published: 2012 by Cheryl Lepard & Linda Petty , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Technology can help special-needs children to communicate, play
This article begins by introducing Caden, a 6 year old boy who has Down’s syndrome. While Caden was able to use some sign language to communicate with his parents and his aide at school, communication with peers, teachers and others was not possible until he got an iPad. The article includes a video that shows him using his iPad and the communication app Proloquo2go. When Caden’s family started to look ...
Published: 2012 by Nick Malawskey , Reviewed: April 01, 2013
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Providing Access to Common Core Language Arts Standards to Students Who Use ...
Written for the Connecticut State Education Resource Center, this report outlines the core curriculum standards for language arts, describes the significance of communication and access to a strong language arts curriculum for students with communication needs, and gives several examples to help educators apply these standards when teaching students who use AAC. The report is short, about 18 pages, and benefits from excellent charts and precise examples of common communication ...
Published: 2012 by Smita Worah, Ph.D. & Janet Zarchen , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Tips for College Success by Nigel the Fox
This booklet with tips on how to succeed in college is a fun, cartoon-like way to get some valuable tips for students transitioning to college. There are 12 tips from meeting the professor before class starts to using technology such as audiobooks, PDF's, iPad, iPhone,and MacBook. Each tip provides an explanation, strategies for use, and links to resources when appropriate. Each tip also has a link to a "student" who ...
Published: 2012 by Amir Bar and CAST , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Adapted Mind
Adapted Mind offers online skill-building for mathematics and reading concepts for grades 1-6. Several lessons in each grade level are available for free and the lessons can be viewed online at home or in a classroom. Clicking the "Start Math" or "Start Reading" buttons displays lessons sorted by grade level, with easy site navigation to focus on different skill sets for either subject. Alongside the free resources, Adapted Mind has ...
Published: 2012 by Adapted Mind , Reviewed: December 07, 2012
I Have Cerebral Palsy...so what, I'm still awesome!
Jack, the author of this blog, is a 13 year old boy who has Cerebral Palsy. He began writing his blog over the summer with hopes of helping people understand CP and become more supportive and willing to interact with people who have CP. Jack uses a wheelchair and a communication device but he is not willing to accept limits on what he can do. He writes about how it ...
Published: 2012 by Jack , Reviewed: November 28, 2012
Why Technology Truly Matters to Education
This Edudemic post from March 2012 includes an awareness/motivational video (sponsored by Google) featuring teacher Carol Oakes and a student named Morgan. It also provides a link to another Edudemic post “The End of Teaching as We Know It” (http://edudemic.com/2012/03/the-end-of-teaching-as-we-know-it/). The video in that post describes changes in education technology and the reluctance of some schools and universities to look forward and advance best practices in "edtech" instead of relying ...
Published: 2012 by Jeff Dunn , Reviewed: August 13, 2012
Brightstorm
Brightstorm is a website that offers tutoring for math, science, and English. It also offers test prep for SAT, ACT, and AP. The website is easy to navigate and there is a TON of information, including videos that address both basic and complex concepts. Videos offer help with homework and topics can be accessed through a wide selection of textbooks that are currently used in school classrooms. Transcripts of the ...
Published: 2012 by Brightstorm , Reviewed: December 03, 2012
Audio-Supported Reading for Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired
This research paper defines and describes the use of audio-supported reading (ASR) to access text for students who are visually impaired or blind. ASR is described as a tool for integrating multiple pedagogies and teaching the skill sets most blind or visually impaired students will need to gain literacy. The paper answers several questions related to the theories behind the use of ASR to improve students’ reading skills and notes ...
Published: 2012 by Richard M. Jackson, Ed.D. (Boston College and CAST) with support from Ike Presley, M.Ed. (AFB) , Reviewed: August 14, 2012
The Futures Channel
The Futures Channel connects learning to the real world through free documentary videos and lessons that make learning interesting and fun. The movies cover subjects including art, science, business, and more. These short video clips go behind the scenes with professionals from a wide range of careers, put the subject into context, and help answer the question, "Why do I need to learn this?" The movies run around five minutes ...
Published: 2012 by The Futures Channel , Reviewed: August 13, 2012
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