Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner » Literacy

LetMeType – Free Word Prediction on MyStudyBar 2

Paul Hamilton — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:34:15 +0000

[eType is another option for free word prediction that you may wish to check out. I wrote about it HERE.]

Last month I wrote about MyStudyBar, a suite of literacy tools for the PC. This loads as a floating toolbar so the tools can be available to the user from within any program. The toolbar can be downloaded and run from a USB flash drive on any computer. This week, Craig Mill of RSC, has announced the release of Version 2 of MyStudyBar.

In this post, I want to draw attention to the powerful free word prediction application, ‘LetMeType’, that is part of MyStudyBar. I’ve long been eager to know of effective free word prediction; and this seems to fill the bill. Word prediction is a tool that I believe ought to be introduced to all learners. Typically, only individuals with identified learning difficulties are given the opportunity to use it, but there are many others who would find word prediction helpful!

I’ve embedded Craig Mill’s tutorial screencast about ‘LetMeType’ here because I couldn’t possibly do a better job of describing it. I recommend that you view the video in full screen mode.

AudioOwl — for Free High Quality Audio Books

Paul Hamilton — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:34:17 +0000

Richard Byrne has just written about an excellent source of free audio books. I could just direct readers to Richard’s post, but I want this resource to be filed here on my blog. I have noticed that new visitors sometimes spend an extended period of time combing through the blog looking for resources that may be of value to them.

This week, Richard directed his readers to my blog. This is an opportunity for me to do the same for Richard’s Free Technology for Teachers. Richard is a prolific blogger, normally putting up several posts a day. He typically introduces a resource and then discusses potential educational applications for it. Free Technology for Teachers has more than earned its three Edublog Awards, and I highly recommend subscribing to it!

AudioOwl offers an extensive collection of high quality public domain audio books. I believe that books in audio format are of tremendous value to all learners, not just learners with vision challenges!

The books on AudioOwl are helpfully organized by genre, including children and teen/young adult. You can browse by genre, or search the entire site by author, title, or key words. A selected book can be “previewed” before deciding to download it. In other words, you can listen to the reader.

AudioOwl offers two download options. A book can be added to iTunes as a podcast. Or, the book can be downloaded in a zipped folder that contains an MP3 file for each chapter, for use with any MP3 player. It is worth noting that some of these files are quite large and require considerable download time.

I mentioned the high quality of the audio books from AudioOwl, and it really is excellent. I previewed samples from a variety of genres, and in every instance the quality of both the reading and the recording was top notch. This should come as no surprise because AudioOwl is making use of recordings from LibriVox, where each book is read by a volunteer. You can read more about LibriVox HERE, in a post I wrote in September of 2007.

Clicking on the thumbnails below will show you the user interfaces of AudioOwl and you can see some of the many available features, including audio books in multiple languages, links to other resources about the work, and a brief summary of each book. Readers/listeners are encouraged to review and rate the audio books on AudioOwl.

Children’s Storybooks Online

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:07:30 +0000

I love the tag line of the site I’m highlighting today: “Illustrated children’s stories for kids of all ages.”

Children’s Storybooks Online is a site that contains 35 beautifully illustrated stories. A few of the stories contain built-in audio that is read expressively by a real live person. All of the stories can be read aloud with CliCk,Speak when opened in Firefox. (Some of the stories may be purchased and downloaded as “talking e-books” , with individually clickable words, for $3.00 or $3.50 each.)

The stories are organized into 3 categories: Books for Young Children; Books for Older Children; Books for Young Adults.

I believe there are indeed many kids of all ages who would enjoy the books available at Children’s Storybooks Online.

Schuyler and the new Big Box of Words

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:54:42 +0000

Free internet resources take many forms. I was prompted to reflect on this today as I read a blog post written by fellow traveler Samuel Sennott. In his post, Sam shared a video that shows the positive difference that digital technology can make in the life of a child. As someone who supports the use of technology to help children learn and extend their abilities, I found the video to be an encouraging inspiration.

The internet provides us with a wonderful vehicle for sharing stories that have potential to encourage and inspire. Encouragement is priceless, and there’s a growing wealth of it available online–completely free of charge. Each of us has the opportunity to contribute our own encouraging stories and to pass along the ones that encourage us. Here’s the delightful story that Sam passed along.

Flypaper (downloadable program)

Paul Hamilton — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:01:15 +0000

CAST rightly says that a universal design for learning (UDL) requires multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement. Without multiple options, we simply cannot meet the diverse range of learning needs and learning styles that are present in EVERY classroom. The sad news is that options are still severely limited in today’s typical classroom.

The good news is that, with the technology available today, there is a plethora of tools available to provide numerous options for every learner. Because most of the emerging tools are free of monetary cost, because they are readily available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection, and because they are easy to use, there is no excuse for teachers who do not use these tools or make them available to the learners they support.

Flypaper is a versatile presentation tool with an infinite range of potential uses by learners and teachers–to engage, represent, and express. Flypaper is easy to learn and use. It is a downloadable program for the PC, so it can be used off line when an internet connection is unavailable. Still, you can easily share your work online in the Flypaper “community”, or embed it wherever else you want to. Flypaper has made it easy to turn your presentation into a flash file, and you can even upload it directly to Youtube from within the application.

In a Flypaper presentation, you can include virtually anything you choose–text, graphics, audio, video, action buttons, hyperlinks, etc. I particularly like the fact that it is convenient for the presenter to add voice narration. A presentation may be a single page, or it may contain multiple “chapters” with as many pages as you want.

Flypaper encourages you to download “models” created by other users, and to use these models as templates for your own work. Flypaper offers tutorials for new users, as well as user forums. There is also a well organized 114 page user manual in pdf format.

I’ve embedded an example of a Flypaper presentation here that merely hints at the potential of the application.

SEN Teacher (online resource)

Paul Hamilton — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:08:26 +0000

SEN Teacher “…provides cost-free teaching & learning resources for students with special needs and learning disabilities.” That’s how this major repository of special ed resources sums itself up. (SEN is the acronym from the UK that stands for Special Education Needs.)

SEN Teacher offers a substantial collection of “printable” downloads. There are links to websites that provide information about a wide range of disabilities. There is also significant list of websites that offer free online resources. Jane especially appreciated finding links to Tinsnips and Ispeek here.

Finally, there are numerous links to freeware download sites. The free software listed here includes programs to help develop basic mouse and other computer skills, programs to practice switch use, programs that support curriculum, and much more. There are even a few programs by SEN Teacher itself (eg. 1-5 Counting, 3D Shape Venn, Buried 3D Shape, Girl Face Matching)

The screenshots below show the free programs listed by SEN Teacher and the helpful way in which these are organized on the site.

MES English (online collection of downloads)

Paul Hamilton — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:59:22 +0000

MES English offers free printable resources that can be downloaded “for teachers of young learners” This includes flashcards, worksheets, and games, with the focus on language development. There’s also a forum here for users of the site, as well as the opportunity to subscribe to a newsletter.

The collection of downloadable vocabulary flashcards is probably the most impressive resource here, with over 90 sets organized into 60 themes. Since the emphasis is on spoken language, many of the flash cards are not labeled. Still, these can be used effectively to help learners find and use words on speech generating devices and for a multitude of other learning activities.

MES stands for Mighty Education Systems, and it turns out that it is but one of several related sites owned by a prolific resource creator by the name of Mark. If you are involved in elementary education, it is well worth taking time to check out what Mark has kindly made available free of charge. Here are links to his other sites:

Childtopia (online resource)

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:25:11 +0000

Childtopia is a website from Spain that offers a collection of online early learning and primary activities that can be accessed in English, French, Spanish, Catalan and Basque. Chiltopia accurately claims to be a “safe place to play and learn”, with countless online activities and printable worksheets. The screenshot below shows the range of available activities. Helpfully, the name of each category is spoken as you mouse over its button.

I believe that the “Listen and Reading Comprehension” section is especially impressive. Beautifully illustrated stories are read aloud, with each word highlighted as it is read. Each story is accompanied by a set of comprehension questions that are also read aloud. Independent readers, however, have the option of reading the stories and questions to themselves. The “Tales” section offers 7 traditional fairy tales. These are illustrated and read aloud with the text onscreen, but text is not highlighted as it is read.

Apart from having the opportunity to purchase Childtopia’s activities on CD for use when you cannot be online, there is no advertising on this site. All activities on the CD’s can be used free of charge online.

Speaking Of Speech (online resource)

Paul Hamilton — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:57:40 +0000

I mentioned my colleague Jane Rondow yesterday, and the presentation she will be making in Winnipeg next month. Jane is a gifted special ed teacher who works with me as an assistive technology consultant with SET-BC. Like me, Jane is a proponent of the principles of UDL. Jane and I presented together at Closing the Gap last October. Now Jane has helped me write this post. Collaboration and working together is a beautiful thing. We plan to do several more posts together over the next few days. Thanks Jane!

Speaking Of Speech is a major online resource for speech/language pathologists and teachers who are “interested in the speech and language development of children”. It is a place where professionals can share ideas, lesson plans, materials, and even IEP goals.

Among other things, the materials exchange houses printable Boardmaker games, communication boards, and social stories that can be downloaded free of charge in pdf format. Some of the resources are helpfully organized by theme and according to school level. Your contributions to this exchange are encouraged, with clearly stated guidelines.

Pat Mervine, the experienced SLP behind Speaking of Speech, has created an invaluable resource that deserves to be well known.

ReadTheWords.com (online resource)

Paul Hamilton — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:44:17 +0000

Effective text-to-speech options have proliferated in recent years. A couple of days ago, Richard Byrne pointed us to yet another one that is worth knowing about. The developers indicate that their initial purpose was, “to assist students with learning disabilities with their studies, by means of auditory learning and auditory processing.” In keeping with the principles of UDL, the developers have discovered that the demand for their text-to-speech service extends way beyond the world of students with learning disabilities.

ReadTheWords.com is a free and extremely versatile online text-to-speech service which allows you to enter text with the keyboard, to copy and paste it, or to upload text files in a variety of formats from your computer or from other websites.

Speech is generated quickly, and you then have a choice of 15 high quality voices whose reading rate can be varied easily. You can listen online, download an mp3 file for use offline, or embed your speech file elsewhere online. It was very straightforward to embed the audio player from ReadTheWords.com on a wiki page. Unfortunately, it isn’t so straightforward on edublogs, and I haven’t been able to embed it here on my own blog.

ReadTheWords.com offers text-to-speech in French and Spanish as well as in English.