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/ 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.

Fx Software is a website that offers free downloadable software. There are two categories–Assistive Software and Other Software. It is the Assistive Software that is of particular interest here. In this category there are 11 free downloads with the potential to make computer use and internet browsing more accessible for individuals who face special challenges.

Assistive software titles include:

• KwikLoupe — simple screen magnifier
• RapidSet — allowing you to conveniently change font and/or background colour
• Mouseketeer — mouse clicking/dragging
• Vu-Bar 4 — tool for keeping a single line of text in view
• Sonar 4 — provides a permanent ring around the mouse pointer
• Edgeless — causes mouse pointer to wrap around screen
• KeyCounter — keeps track of number of keystrokes to suggest need for rest
• mmFollow – adds cartoon character to mouse cursor
• Washer – adjusts screen for varying conditions of colour blindness
• Bigger Cursors — set of large colourful cursors
• Chunky Cursors – set of large chunky colourful cursors

Last week I wrote a post about Accessibar, which enhances the accessibility of web browsing in Firefox. Some of the tools offered here by Fx Software will also make web browsing more accessible. The programs from Fx Software, however, are designed to support all computer use, not just internet access.

I have not had a chance to download and test all of the Fx Software titles, but I’ve been favourably impressed by the ones I have downloaded. The programs download quickly because they are small. They are also easy to install. I particularly liked the potential of Vu-Bar 4 for some individuals who face reading challenges as a result of a learning disability.

Accessibar is a toolbar that can be installed as an add-on for the Firefox browser with a set of tools to make the internet more accessible for people with special needs. Accessibar is especially useful for those with low vision. As with all toolbar icons in Firefox, the toolbar shown below can include text that names the function of the icon. All of the Accessibar functions can also be activated with keyboard shortcuts that can be configured by the user.

In the words of the toolbar’s developers, here’s what the Accessibar tools will do for you.

• Web page fonts and background colors can be changed from a selecton of 70 colors on current session
• Icons with configurable shortcut keys to increase and decrease Font size.
• Line spacing can be increased or decreased to five different spacing settings incrementally.
• All images (including Flash) displayed on a web page can be selected as being hiden or shown.
• All changes made to web page display can be restored to original page settings by pressing “Restore Page“.
• Changes made to the currently displayed web page persist until “Restore Page“ is selected.
• Integrated Text To Speech reader. Reads out strings hovered over as well as focused elements.
• Reader settings can be configured allowing the selection of the voice, volume, speaking rate, pitch, and voice range.
• Toolbar functions have configurable Hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts).

I tested Accessibar’s text-to-speech function, and I found it to work reasonably well. It does an especially good job of reading links and buttons. As a sighted reader, however,I much prefer to use CLiCk,Speak for reading passages of text. I wonder if it might be the same for individuals with low vision if they are able to use Accessibar’s tools to enable them to see the web page effectively. I added the CLiCk,Speak buttons to the Accessibar toolbar. The only drawback is that there are no keyboard commands for the CLiCk,Speak buttons.

FREE online resources and downloadable programs for learners.

I’m excited about Web 2.0 applications, with the proliferation of online tools for productivity, creativity and collaboration. The “old” web that we learned to love before all of this, however, still exists; and it continues to offer much that is of value. Today I’m writing about an example of this. It’s really a rather ordinary example, too, not a priceless gem. It’s just a website that I think offers something of value to educators who are looking for a resource with potential to engage learners, provide problem-solving practice, or maybe just offer a bit of fun.

Game Design is a website that houses a both a collection of flash games for online use as well as games that may be downloaded and installed on your PC for use off line. There are about 30 flash games and puzzles to play on line that include simple math challenges, word puzzles, strategy games, etc. There are about half as many similar games that you can download and install on your own PC. These downloadable games are of particular interest for classrooms that may have limited internet access.

The site is ad supported (Google adsense). There is also a link in the header to the “Andkon Arcade“, an extensive collection of online flash games. I have not explored the Andkon Arcade to determine appropriateness for a classroom context.

FREE online resources and downloadable programs for learners.

I use Flickr to store and share my photos. I also use a variety of online applications to create slide-shows and videos with my pictures. Some applications make it easy to import from Flickr. Other sites are problematic. In some cases, I’m only allowed to upload one file at a time. Sometimes, I can’t import from Flickr at all, and I must upload images from my computer. Today, I’m writing about a free utility that enables me to download sets of my pictures back to my computer.

FlickrDown is a free Windows program you can install and use to download photos from Flickr. It seems strange to me, but Flickr itself offers no such utility. Fortunately, Gregg Man has written a program that does the job nicely, and he has made it available to all free of charge.

With FlickrDown, you can conveniently download individual photos, or sets of images, from Flickr. You can even use FlickrDown to search for pictures that you wish to download by Flickr username, Flickr group, email address, or tag. The user interface for FlickrDown, shown at the bottom of this post, is straightforward and easy to use.

You must have Microsoft .NET2.0 installed on your PC in order to use FlickrDown. FlickrBackup is the download utility that has been developed for Mac users. Without access to a Mac, however, I’m unable to review FlickrBackup.

FREE online resources and downloadable programs for learners.

Today I’m writing about a website that I’m really excited about. It is the kind of website that I support wholeheartedly, a site that I think everyone should visit! Many thanks to Sharon Peters for mentioning it on Twitter.

Open Source Living is a site that catalogues the best free open source software available today. Programs are listed by category, with a separate page for each category, eg. Web++, Graphics & Photo, Video, Audio, Documents, etc. For each listing, there is a brief description as well as a direct link to the download site.

There isn’t a category at OSLiving specifically for education, but I was pleased to discover programs such as Celestia and Stellarium listed under Entertainment. Under all headings there are programs with educational applications.

Open Source Living has been established by a UK based blogger named Andrew, and it is his intent that it be a community project. Andrew welcomes input via a forum, but his intention is to move the site to a more interactive WordPress platform. I am already familiar with much of the software listed by OS Living, but there are many titles there that I still need to explore. I will also be submitting some suggested educational titles such as Childsplay, Tux Paint and Tux Typing. It is noteworthy that OSLiving will only list software that complies with the Open Source Initiatives guidelines.

On my blog, I share educational resources of all kinds that are free of monetary cost. I believe that open source software is in a very special class of its own. When the code for programs is open, there is always far greater potential for the software to meet the needs of diverse users. In a recent post, I illustrated how this has been working with add ons that make the open source Firefox browser more accessible to individuals with special needs.