[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.

MyStudyBar is a floating toolbar of free open source applications that can be downloaded and then easily installed on a flash drive for use on any Windows computer. In his introductory video overview, developer Craig  Mill makes the important point that although these applications are intended primarily for learners with “literacy difficulties”, the tools have the potential to support ALL learners.  To this proponent of UDL, Craig’s statement really resonates.

The MyStudyBar toolbar offers applications for mind mapping, screen masking, word prediction, a talking dictionary, text to speech, and voice recognition.  (The voice recognition requires the built-in speech recognition that comes with Windows Vista or Windows 7.)  I’ve embedded Craig Mill’s overview video here.  In follow up posts, I’ll discuss each of the tools on MyStudyBar.

It is worth mentioning, that MyStudyBar does not have to be run from a flash drive.  It can also be installed on any PC and run from the desktop.

For reading online content with Internet Explorer, the best option I’ve found is the free Natural Reader toolbar, which will also read in Microsoft Outlook, OpenOffice, Google Docs, etc.  A huge bonus with Natural Reader is that this software is available for both the PC and Mac. I believe the best text-to-speech option for reading content in Microsoft Word, at least on a PC, is the free and versatile WordTalk toolbar.

Free online text-to-speech options include AudioPal, iSpeech, YaKiToMe, vozMe, and probably more.   Today I want to write about the  downloadable stand alone option that is included as part of the AccessApps suite that can be run on any PC from a pen drive.

DSpeech is free text-to-speech software for the PC, that offers a set of useful features in an intuitive user interface.  DSpeech is similar im many respects to ReadPlease (2003) and Speakonia, which I wrote about here more than three and a half years ago.   Overall, I think DSpeech would be my top pick of the three.  Of course, the only opinion that really counts is that of the user, so please try all three.

With DSpeech, text can either be typed directly into DSpeech, or it can be pasted in from the clipboard.  A plugin is available for opening pdf files in DSpeech. DSpeech creator Dimio’s website indicates that DSpeech is available in 13 languages besides English.

With DSpeech, it’s easy to change the voice, volume, pitch and reading rate while reading.   I was pleased to note that DSpeech automatically used my default text-to-speech voice. A set of keyboard shortcuts has been pre-programmed.  DSpeech will turn text into audio files (MP3, WAV, or OGG).

I didn’t test this feature, but apparently you can combine voices when text includes dialogue between characters.  A basic voice recognition system has also been built into DSpeech, and this enables the user to construct a dialogue in which he or she participates.

Here’s a view of the DSpeech user interface.

]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/25/d-speech-text-to-speech-on-access-apps/feed/ 2 http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/16/hott-notes/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/16/hott-notes/#comments Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:53:54 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/?p=1804 Continue reading →]]> Until now, I haven’t used sticky notes on my computer screen.  After exploring another application from the Access Apps suite, I may start.  Sticky notes certainly offer great potential as a tool to help a person stay focused and keep organized.  Alternative sticky note products, both free and otherwise, are available; but I quite like what I see with this one.

hott notes is a nifty little program that is included as part of the Access Apps suite of applications that can be downloaded and run from a flash drive on any PC.  Of course, the program may also be downloaded from the hott notes website and used on its own.

hott notes consists of 3 distinct types of note — message note, checklist note, and scribble note.   Current notes may be placed anywhere on the desktop, and will remain where they are put until they are either deleted or archived.  hott notes offers multiple customization options.  I especially appreciate the customizable hot keys.

Once hott notes is launched, it can be accessed from within any program.  There is an icon in the system tray.  Or, a customizable hot key will bring up the dialogue box shown below.

There are many learners who would benefit from using hott notes.  I think the checklist notes might be especially valuable, where tasks can be listed and then checked off when completed.  I tried taking a screenshot of some notes that I made with hott notes, but it proved to be impossible. My screen capture program caused the notes to disappear  temporarily before I could do the capture.  So, here are some samples taken directly from the hott notes website.

]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/16/hott-notes/feed/ 0 http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/08/dia-for-for-drawing-diagrams/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2010/01/08/dia-for-for-drawing-diagrams/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:45:05 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/?p=1675 Continue reading →]]> In my previous post about Virtual Magnifying Glass, I neglected to mention that it is part of Acess Apps, an extensive suite of free applications that can be downloaded and run from a USB stick.  Access Apps offers the user a convenient way of moving required assistive technology, along with other programs and files, from one computer to another.  Today, I’m reviewing another program that is part of the Access Apps family.

Today’s post was prompted by a request earlier this week from one of the learners I support, a gifted  11th grader who is incapable of producing written output with pencil and paper. He asked me if I knew of software that he might use for drawing diagrams.  There are countless learners in classrooms everywhere who can be far more effective on drawing tasks with digital tools, so I’m sharing the application from Access Apps that can be used for drawing diagrams.

Dia is free open source software for Linux and Windows that is intended for drawing diagrams.  The developers say it is “roughly inspired” by Microsoft’s Visio.  I have downloaded and installed the program, but I have neither the time nor the talent to test it extensively.

Dia appears to be a powerful but stratightforward program with an intuitive user interface.  It comes with considerable built in help, including a Quickstart Guide.  The user interface is shown below.  Additional shapes can be downloaded from the Dia website and incorporated into diagrams as required.

Of all the social bookmarking services I’ve looked at, I think I like Diigo best. I particularly like the ability to highlight and annotate shared web pages. I’m not yet using Diigo to full advantage, and this post is not really about Diigo.

I want to point out the visual way you can share lists of websites. In special education, we’ve long known that many people with “special needs” require visual supports in order to learn effectively. I believe, however, that most of us learn better when visual supports are available. So, I’m discussing a tool here that may be of value to almost anyone. It’s definitely worth a look.

Webslides is Diigo’s very slick option for creating and sharing sets of bookmarked websites as interactive slideshows. With Diigo, I can organize my bookmarks into lists. Any list can then be shown as a “webslide” presentation.

Each website on a list is represented by the actual page that has been bookmarked. Seeing the page provides far more information than just seeing the website’s address in a list! The slideshow is interactive in that it can be paused and you can go directly to the website via a live link in the bottom left corner of each “slide”. The slideshow can advance automatically, and you choose how long each slide is viewed. Or, you can move through the slideshow manually, and you can also choose to go back to any previous slide.

Clicking the button below will take you to the slideshow of my list of 55 websites that that I think support science curricula. I would appreciate your comments on this format if you check it out. (If you are reading this post in a Reader, you may not see the button . Please click here instead.)

Slideshows of listed websites can be shared in several convenient ways. Each slideshow has its own URL, and that can be shared. A widget, such as the button I’ve used here, can be embedded on a website, wiki, or blog. Or, the slideshow itself can even be embedded, but I found the slideshow too large to embed effectively on this blog. Embedding the full slideshow worked much better on a wider wiki page.

]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2008/05/25/webslides-on-diigo-online-resource/feed/ 9 http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2008/05/17/flypaper-downloadable-program/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2008/05/17/flypaper-downloadable-program/#comments Sat, 17 May 2008 15:01:15 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2008/05/17/flypaper-downloadable-program/ Continue reading →]]> 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.

Freebyte’s Guide to Free Graphics Software offers an extensive collection of links to sites where free graphics-related software is available. This is free software for download and installation on your computer. (The site does not link to online applications.) The majority of programs listed run in Windows, but there are some for Mac and Linux.

The list of programs is organized helpfully by category, as illustrated in the screenshots below. The quality of the listed titles I am already familiar with is generally high, so I expect it will be worthwhile to explore more of the software listed here.

SchoolForge.net has an important and worthy overarching mission:

SchoolForge’s mission is to unify independent organizations that advocate, use, and develop open resources for education. We advocate the use of open texts and lessons, open curricula, free software and open source in education.

I believe this cause is worth supporting. One practical outcome of the work of the SchoolForge community is a website that lists, describes, and links to over 80 online resources that are free of monetary cost to educators. These are mostly downloadable programs that run in Linux and Windows, with a lesser number also available for Mac. Some of the listed applications are browser based.

Resources at SchoolForge are categorized in a helpful user-friendly manner. The screenshot below shows the main headings.

After Lynn thought she had downloaded all her pictures to her computer, and after she had DELETED ALL files from her camera’s memory card, we discovered that she had lost some of the pictures because her computer’s hard drive had been too full to hold them all (literally less than 1 megabyte of usable space). I did everything I knew how to do to try and find the pictures on the card and on the computer, all to no avail. We resigned ourselves to the loss of pictures–until yesterday morning when I discovered the free resource I’m writing about here. To make a long story short, we now have our photos back.

Recuva is a free Windows utility that can be downloaded and used to recover deleted files. Here’s how the developers describe the software:

Recuva (pronounced “recover”) is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses!

At less than 1 megabyte, Recuva is a small program. It was quick and easy to install, and then a snap to use. When you run the program, you just select the drive or device that you wish to scan for deleted files, and it proceeds to show all the files that it finds. As long as you can identify the name of the file you are looking for, it can be restored instantly. Recuva’s website offers a set of step-by-step screenshots that demonstrate how to use the program. The user interface, however, is intuitive and very easy to use.

You never know when Recuva could be a life-saver, so I think you would be wise to add it to your toolkit–before you need it.

Click here if you’d like to see some photos of our family time last weekend. To see an Animoto video I made with these pictures, click here. Finally, you can check out a PhotoShow here. The PhotoShow may take a while to load, but from my biased perspective it is well worth the wait.