Stephen+Perkins


 * TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN EDUCATION**

For better and worse technology has transformed our lives in many different ways. The educational system has undergone its own changes. Today students don't just learn by reading books and memorizing facts. Instead, they watch DVD's which deliver compelling stories accompanied by powerful images in full motion video on platforms with high bandwidth. To engage these students, teachers must be prepared to expand their horizons and learn everything they can about technology.


 * ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY & THE CLASSROOM**

http://aimstar.knowbility.org/

ATSTAR is an online curriculum designed to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities by helping teachers learn to use assistive technology in the classroom. ATSTAR prepares instructional staff at the school level to conduct assessments, collect data, and integrate assistive technology into the educational process. Knowbility's programs and services are designed to provide universally-available, barrier-free information technology solutions that help the blind visualize the world around them, help the deaf communicate with the hearing world, and help those with mobility impairments “travel” via the Internet.

http://www.k12learn.com/cooltools.html

Podcasts are quickly becoming a great medium to communicate information to students. Imagine having the ability to broadcast a lesson to all of your students that they can listen to and watch over and over again.
 * Everyone of your students in a class gets the same information
 * Utilize class time for inquiry based learning, small group or other activities.
 * Recycle learning materials from year to year.
 * Enable student learning through technology most students already own.

http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/assistive_technology.html

Technology is bursting into the classroom at all levels, as a tool for teachers to develop, monitor, and provide instructions, and for students to access and engage in learning. P.L. 100-407, The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (Tech Act) was designed to enhance the availability and quality of assistive technology (AT) devices and services to all individuals and their families throughout the United States.

http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm

For years, different modes of technology have been used to improve the quality of life of people who have various developmental disabilities. However, the varied use of technology for children with autism continues to receive limited attention, despite the fact that technology tends to be a high interest area for many of these children.

This article discusses how **various** modes of technology (including technology designed as augmentative communication systems), can be used for children with autism.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech086.shtml


 * Thanks to technology, students with physical and mental challenges have access to thousands of devices to help make learning easier. In this Education World article, writer Sherril Steele-Carlin talks about assistive technology with parents and teachers who use the technology, and with those who provide it to schools. Includes links to online resources.**

[|http://assistivetek.blogspot.com]


 * CONTENT AREA & LITERACY WEBSITES FOR KIDS**

http://www.brainpopjr.com/

This site is animated, has videos to introduce each topic and is easy to follow. Your child will have fun while learning on brainpop. Not only does it have math and reading but it also has science, health, writing and social studies.

http://www.awesomestories.com/index.php

This educational learning tool also is designed to support state and national standards. Each story on the site links to online primary source materials which are selected and positioned in context to enhance reading comprehension, understanding and enjoyment.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works.


 * EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE

VIDEO MAGNIFIERS/CCTVS (CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION SYSTEMS)**

[|Aladdin Apex] [|Big Reader] [|ClearView+] [|Max] [|Merlin] [|Olympia] [|ONYX] [|The Investigator] [|The Traveller] [|Zoom-Twix]


 * SCREEN MAGNIFICATION**

Lunar MAGic PnC Net Supernova Pro ZoomText


 * BRAILLE TECHNOLOGY

Braille Displays**

[|ALVA BC640] [|Braillex EL 2D-80] [|Brailliant 24] [|Easy Braille] [|Focus 40 Braille Display] [|Focus 80 Braille Display] [|Modular Evolution] [|PAC Mate 40 Display] [|Sync Braille (20 Cell)] [|VarioPro 80]


 * Braille Printers**

[|4 Wave Professional] [|Braille BookMaker] [|Dot and Print] [|Gemini] [|Index 4x4] [|Juliet Pro] [|Marathon Brailler] [|Mountbatten Brailler] [|Paragon Braille Printer] [|Romeo Pro 50] [|Thomas] [|ViewPlus® Pro Embosser]


 * Electronic Braille Notetakers**

[|Braille Lite M20 and M40] [|Braille Sense] [|BrailleNote mPower QT 32] [|BrailleNote PK] [|Braillex EL Braille Assistant (ELba) (20-cell)] [|Braillino with Bluetooth] [|EasyLink 12] [|PAC Mate Omni BX400]


 * OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION SYSTEMS**

Cicero TextReader Kurzweil 3000 OpenBook Simon Reading Machine Text Cloner Pro


 * SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS**

DECtalk Express Double Talk Microsoft Speech Engine

Connect Outloud Dolphin Pen JAWS Orca VoiceOver
 * SCREEN READERS**


 * TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION ARTICLES**

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te600.htm

The article discusses the value of effective technology use in classrooms with specific references to mathematics and science instruction, programs, and curricula. It will attempt to answer the following three questions that are essential to making technology use more effective in instruction :
 * 1) What prevents educational researchers from giving us definitive answers about technology in the classroom that would satisfy both critics and advocates?
 * 2) What does the best quantitative and qualitative research tell us about educational technology's effectiveness and the conditions and factors necessary for maximum effectiveness?
 * 3) Why is educational technology important to the teaching and learning of mathematics and science and what are the important considerations and resources that make technology use more effective?

http://www.ncrel.org/tech/reading/pearson.pdf

Digital technologies affect the acquisition of advanced reading skills such as comprehension, metacognition, strategy use, motivation and engagement. This article examines the factors associated with effective interventions to improve reading acquisition.

There are multiple methods to improve my knowledge of assistive technology. I fully intend to explore the homepages of all my classmates to learn about the complete range of products and software available for students with disabilities. There are many web sites to become familiar with using google searches, about.com and k12instruction on wikispace. A hands-on approach to learning is the most effective approach to learning assistive technology for me. Many manufacturers offer free trial versions of their software. During my observations, I will have an opportunity to become more familiar with different types of assistive technology. NLU's library contains many subsciptions to databases, which includes evidence based research on assistive technology. Each of these approaches makes me feel confident that I will become a skilled professional capable of supporting the needs of a diversity of students.

Wikispace has a variety of different applications. Students can create their own web sites designed to explore their interests. Full motion video, audio clips, images and text can be integrated into the site.