Wow! This is almost beyond amazing. Google is not only NOT evil, it goes the extra mile to create goodness. Yesterday, thanks to Cheryl Oakes, I learned that a Google search will now yield results by reading level. We can check out search results that are designated either basic, intermediate or advanced.
[It was lovely to have the opportunity to meet Cheryl in person. Cheryl shared the hot tip about Google's new search feature at the informal but incredibly informative 'AT Smackdown' at ATIA in Orlando. ]
Here’s what you do if you want to search by reading level…
1. Go to Google.comor Google.ca or whatever, and then click on ‘Advanced Search’
2. On the box that opens, enter a search term, open the drop down menu to select whether you wish to see and annotate all results with reading levels, or see only basic or intermediate or advanced results. Finally click on the ‘Advanced Search’ button. It couldn’t be much more straightforward.
Far too many learners experience painful and debilitating failure in school because of challenges with written expression. It isn’t because the writer does not have plenty to say, or because he or she is not a creative or analytical thinker, or because of limited vocabulary. It may be simply because the conventions of spelling and grammar are exceedingly difficult or impossible to learn.
I have met too many 6th graders who refused to write because they had learned in first grade that they “couldn’t write”. Physical coordination challenges had hindered them from using a pencil effectively The painful lesson that they couldn’t write had been re-enforced repeatedly by the red ink that had messed up their efforts, and by the hurtful comments of their teachers. As 6th graders, they avoided writing at almost any cost, including consequences for not completing assignments or for acting out their frustration in disruptive behaviors.
For a wide variety of valid reasons, in every classroom there are learners who struggle with written output. That’s why I’m delighted to share another digital tool with helpful potential for all writers. This tool offers help for learners and writers of all ages, not just for those who are enrolled in schools!
After the Deadline is an application that provides contextual spell checking, along with powerful grammar and style checking. It provides helpful explanations for the grammar and style errors that it finds. The user can personalize the rules of the application by setting it to always ignore specific errors. There are settings to personalize in other ways as well.
Although this writing tool is available as an extension that you can download to use off-line with OpenOffice Writer, it is probably most valuable as an aid to online writing. After the Deadline comes as an add-on for Firefox (version 3.613 or earlier), as an extension for Google Chrome, or as a plug-in for WordPress blogs. This is a tool that supports online writing almost everywhere, including Facebook, Twitter, GMail, etc.
Here’s a video that shows how After the Deadline works as a Firefox add-on.
NOTE: After the Deadline was helpful in writing this blog post. It didn’t result in a perfect post, but it did result in a better post.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the challenges of add-on compatibility when upgrading to new versions of Firefox. My post elicited an extremely helpful response from Ira Socol about a resource he has facilitated with MITS (Michigan Integrated Technology Supports).
For anyone looking for add-ons that make web browsing more accessible with Firefox, most of the hard work has been done by Ira and MITS. Add-ons have been located and helpfully placed on a single page from which they can be downloaded and installed. All of the listed add-ons work with Firefox 3.613, and most work with the beta version of Firefox 4.
There are separate pages for the Mac and PC versions of Firefox. Clicking on the appropriate symbol below will take you to the option you want.
The collections include 21 options for the PC and 22 for the Mac. These add-ons support a wide range of needs, and I believe anyone who supports learners should check them out. All learners deserve to be given the opportunity to try as many supports as possible. Each individual learns uniquely, so it is dangerous and wrong to assume that any learner does not face learning challenges of some sort.
Among the listed add-ons, there are supports to help with physical and vision challenges, supports for reading, supports for doing maths, and much more. As time permits, I hope to highlight some of the specific add-ons. The images below offer at least a glimpse of what is available.
I had a pleasant surprise earlier this week when I checked to see if there was a Wikipedia article on the Comox Glacier. This magnificent glacier is the defining landmark that looms over the Comox Valley, where I live on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The Comox Glacier is also what is pictured here in the header of my blog.
Not only was I pleasantly surprised to find that there is indeed a Wikipedia article about ‘our’ glacier, I was downright delighted to discover that one of my own photos has been used to illustrate it.
This picture is from one of my Flickr sets entitled Comox Glacier. As is the case with everything I share online, the picture is licensed under the Creative Commons. I don’t take pictures for other people, but it sure warms my heart when anyone appreciates, enjoys or otherwise uses something that I have created and shared.
Another way of saying this is that my engagement in photography is multiplied many times over because I share my work with a global audience. Sometimes I even get feedback, and that feedback is almost invariably positive. As a result, I’m even more motivated. I’m pretty sure that the increased engagement and motivation results in me setting higher standards for myself. It certainly means that my photography gives me a great deal more pleasure.
It is significant that I own the task, that I take pictures for myself. My engagement, motivation, satisfaction, and enjoyment, however, are all enhanced greatly because I have the opportunity to share what I do with an authentic audience.
If we want learners to be truly engaged, it is imperative that each learner owns his or her learning. This is as true of the learning tools used as of the learning tasks. If the learner is to own it, it is essential that the learning task be both meaningful and authentic for the learner. I’m completely convinced that the opportunity to share with a global audience can only help. In today’s world, there is no excuse for not making this opportunity available.
There are still many people in the 21st century who use typewriters, and who are much valued for their typing skills! All the same, I’m surprised by how often I hear people refer to the use of a computer keyboard as “typing”.
No matter what you call it, and despite the proliferation of hand-held devices, the ability to use a computer keyboard for word processing remains an essential skill. It is also true that for a variety of reasons there are many people who find this difficult.
Word prediction, or auto-completion, can be helpful. By reducing the number of required of keystrokes, auto-completion can reduce fatigue and/or increase the speed of inputting text when there are physical challenges. For others, it can also help with spelling and with finding appropriate words to use. Relatively expensive commercial word-prediction programs such as Co:writer and WordQ offer text-to-speech, and this is valuable for those with severe spelling challenges.
eType is a new free program for the PC that can be installed and used with virtually every computer application, including web browsers. It does not include text-to-speech, but I’ve tried it and found eType to be efficient, effective, and easy to use. There are dictionary and thesaurus functions. As a bonus, eType even offers a translation feature for multiple languages. The promotional video from eType does a good job of demonstrating what the program does.
