Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner

Supporting Universal Access and Universal Design for Learning

Monthly Archives: January 2009

January 28, 2009
by Paul Hamilton
7 Comments

Equation Editor (built-in resource)

After a rather lengthy absence from my blog that’s been caused by a nasty virus of a human variety, I’m writing today about a resource that, strictly speaking, isn’t really free.  If you already have Microsoft Word, however, it’s completely free.  That’s because you already have it, even if you don’t know you’ve got it.  This one is for anyone who needs an alternative to doing math with pencil and paper.

 

Equation Editor is a feature of Microsoft Word that enables the user to insert mathematical notation into MS Word documents in a reasonably convenient fashion.  This means that someone like me who finds it difficult, and extremely frustrating, to try and do math with a pencil and paper has the option of doing math with a keyboard and a word processor.  Equation Editor makes math symbols available via a set of toolbars.  Unfortuately, there are no keyboard shortcuts for the symbols, so they must be accessed with a mouse.

Equation Editor is one of many features of Microsoft Office that is anything but obvious.  In order to use it, you have to know about it, and you need to know how to access it.  There is an obscure process by which an icon for Equation Editor can be added to any MS Word toolbar in versions of the program prior to Word 2007.  In Word 2007, the icon must be added to the “Quick Access” toolbar.  I believe that the icon for Equation Editor should be inserted as a matter of course on all computers in every school where learners have acces to MS Word.

Here’s what the Equation Editor icon looks like on the “Quick Access” toolbar in Word 2007

To place the icon on the toolbar, you must follow the steps shown below. (Instructions for MS Word 2003 can be found HERE.)

1.  Open the drop-down ‘Customize Quick Access Toolbar’ menu which is found to the right of the toolbar, and select ‘More Commands’

2. In the dialog box that opens, click open the drop-down menu under ‘Popular Commands’ and select ‘All Commands’, as shown below.

3. Scroll down to ‘Equation’, select it, and click on the ‘Add’ button to add the icon to the Quick Access toolbar.

You will notice that some other math tools are available in Word 2007, so you may wish to experiment with some of these as well.  I should add that Equation Editor is really a simplified version of MathType from Design Science.  It is also available for use in some of the other programs in MS Office.

 

 

January 17, 2009
by Paul Hamilton
2 Comments

Web 2.0 (as presented in a Flowgram)

One of the many powerful and impressive resources waiting in the “cue” for me to test and write about is Flowgram.  As I was exploring possibilities, I came across one of the very best overviews I’ve seen to date about the Read-Write Web.  So today, I’m simply going to embed this marvelous example of a Flowgram.  My post about the application will have to wait for another day.

Thanks to M. Seifman of Miami Valley Career Technology Center for this excellent presentation.  If you wish to view a full screen version of the flowgram, click on the large blue button marked “Player” in the bottom right corner.

January 14, 2009
by Paul Hamilton
6 Comments

SqoolTube (Online Resource)

Youtube has become a vast treasure trove of engaging resources that can be used to great effect in the classroom.  There are two major challenges, however, when it comes to using these resources.  The first challenge is the time-consuming task of finding exactly what you need.  The second challenge arises from the sad reality that Youtube is actually blocked in far too many schools.  Here’s a resource that helps on both counts.

SqoolTube has searched and catalogued an extremely valuable collection of Youtube videos that support learning at the elementary or primary school level (K-8). These videos are then passed along from the SqoolTube URL, so unless a school or school district is excessively restrictive, it is unlikely that these videos will be blocked.

Videos are categorized by subject area (math, music, reading & communication, safety, science, science, Spanish, social studies). There are also three other headings: Book-Related; Early Childhood; Holidays. I especially like some of the video versions of children’s books that are available.

The collection of videos available at SqoolTube is not extensive, but all of the videos that I looked at there were of high quality.  Here’s a sample from the “Book Related” section.

January 12, 2009
by Paul Hamilton
2 Comments

Seven Things You May Not Know About Me!

I’ve enjoyed becoming better acquainted with bloggers as I’ve read their responses to the “meme” asking them to list 7 things about themselves that their readers probably don’t know.  Larry Ferlazzo has tagged me with this meme, so here goes with 7 things you probably don’t know about me…

1) Although born in Southern Ontario, I grew up in India from the age of 6 until I was 17.  Our family home was in Calcutta (Kolkata), but I attended Woodstock School, a boarding school 1000 miles away in the Himalayan foothill town of Mussoorie.

Woodstock Campus

Woodstock School Campus (Photo from Wikipedia)

2) In 1981, I returned to Woodstock as a teacher.  I was on staff there until 1990.  For five years, I taught grade 3 in the same classroom where I had been a third grader in 1959!

3)  In 1972, I pedaled a bicycle from France to India–via Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.  My friend Jon Jantzen and I took 6 months to cover the 10,000 kilometres.  My favourite part of the trip was the month that we spent in Afghanistan.

4)  I have been married to an amazing girl named Lynn for the past 31 years.  We have two children–Aaron and Anjali (made in India), and two grandchildren–Isaac and Annika.

5)  My faith is the cornerstone of my life.  When I’m truly faithful, it is my faith that informs the day to day choices that I make.  In the late 90′s, I served for 3 years as the part-time pastor of a small Mennonite congregation.

6)  I believe that naturopathic medicine is grossly under rated!  It offers a holistic and pro-active approach to health care.  This is in contrast with the reactive symptom-management approach of conventional allopathic medicine.

7)  I’ve recently read and appreciated The Language of God by scientist, and former head of the Human Genome Project, Francis S. Collins.  Collins makes a compelling case for faith from the perspective of a scientist.

I invite any blogger who reads this to write a post letting your readers know seven things about yourself that we otherwise wouldn’t know.

January 9, 2009
by Paul Hamilton
2 Comments

Tar Heel Reader (Again!)

I seldom write more than once about a single resource, but I’m writing a second post today about a website that has become a huge favourite with me over the past few months.  As I visit classrooms and offer support for “emergent” readers, this is the one online resource that has garnered more enthusiasm recently than any other.  So, if you missed my post back on October 6th, here it is again.

Tar Heel Reader offers a rapidly growing online collection of accessible books that are suitable for emergent readers of all ages.  Each book consists of a photograph, with accompanying text that is usually a single sentence.  When I first wrote about this amazing collection three months ago, it contained just over 1,000 titles.  Now the total is closer to 2,000.  Once again, I’ll quote the site’s accurate description of what it offers.

…free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices). The books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format.

Users are encouraged to contribute their own books, but they must register in order to do so.  This offers learners a meaningful opportunity to create and share digital stories or projects that demonstrate what they know.

Everything in Tar Heel Reader works as intended; and there are more options available than have been described here.  Please check out this incredible resource for yourself, and recommend it widely.