If you already have an iPhone, the upgrade to OS 3.0 is free.  So, it’s worth being aware of, and spreading the word about, the accessibility features that are part of the new iPhone operating system. Ars Technica has put together a video that effectively highlights functions that support vision challenges and that offer text-to-speech.  I’m embedding the video here to help spread the word.

iPhone OS 3.0 Accessibility Features from Ars Technica on Vimeo.

I feel like the victim of a happy set of circumstances that has left me with too much life and too little time.  Regular blog posting has been a casualty in recent weeks.  I’m moved to write this post by a painful and somewhat embarrassing experience that ambushed me last week.

In a vain attempt to multitask, I wasn’t paying enough attention when I tried to open what I thought was a  legitimate link to a video that had been sent to me on Facebook by a trusted friend.  The friend is indeed trusted, but the link was NOT legitimate, and it had not been sent intentionally.

The net result was that I installed a vicious worm on my XP Pro system.  As a result of this malicious intruder, any time I clicked on a search result (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc), my browser would be redirected to an advertising site.  The same thing happened when I tried to go to blogs in my Google Reader.  To make  a bad situation worse, the worm also disabled some of the anti-spyware protection on my computer.

The very worst of it, however, was that although I was able to get rid of the worm by using standard anti-malware software, I was not able to repair the damage.  I could not get my searches and my Google Reader to function properly  To say the least, this was frustrating; and it was costly in terms of my time!

That’s my cautionary tale.  Now for the happy ending and a tribute to the wonderful people who facilitated it.

I wasn’t aware of Geeks to Go! until I went in search of help with my Google redirect problem, but I’m extremely glad that I discovered this amazing community!  Someone in Dublin, who goes by the name of Rorschach112, and who is a “moderator” with Geek University (Geek U), provided me with exactly the help that I needed in order to restore my system to normal.

The fix required a complex multi-step process, but the instructions were detailed, clear, and ultimately successful.  I  was also impressed by the fact that the personal response to my query on the appropriate Geeks to Go forum came just a few hours after I posted about my difficulty.

A brief exploration has revealed that Geeks to Go! is an online community that offers support  on its forums for all manner of software and hardware issues.  Here’s how they put it in their own words:

Geeks to Go offers free, quality technical support, in a non-technical way. We take pride in being a friendly, family site, that’s accessible to all.

It turns out that Geek U, which is part of Geeks to Go!, offers free intensive training in the “techniques and tools of malware removal”.  Graduates of the training are expected to “pay it forward” by offering help on the forums of Geeks to Go!. Volunteers are encouraged to apply, but I could find absolutely no evidence of soliciting for financial support anywhere on the site.

I love the concept of Geeks to Go!– a community of people who help other people, just because they want to!   On the basis of my initial experience with them, I can’t recommend Geeks to Go! highly enough.

Authored by Paul Hamilton. Hosted by Edublogs. ]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/06/15/cautionary-tale-tribute-to-geeks-to-go/feed/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/06/01/navify-for-multiple-means-of-representation/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/06/01/navify-for-multiple-means-of-representation/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:49:22 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/?p=1221 Multiple means of engagement and multiple means of representation are essential if there  is any chance of connecting with all learners, or of meeting the diverse learning needs in any given classroom.  With the rapid proliferation of digital resources, there is less excuse every day for educators who do not encourage learners to use resources and tools that work for them. 

It is paramount that teachers recognize and remember that most of their students do not learn in the same ways that they themselves learn. Simply trying harder doesn’t work if you learn differently!

I’m especially pleased when I discover new resources that put multiple means of representation together in one place!  Here’s one that gathers text, images, and videos into one place.  Of course, you can add an audio version of the text as well, with one of many readily available text-to-speech options.

Navify is a service that combines Wikipedia articles with related videos from Youtube and online images.  So, when a topic is entered into the search bar, it brings up the pertinent Wikipedia article along with videos and images on the same subject.  With the multiple means of representation offered, there is a far greater chance of engaging a wider range of learners.

The first screen shot below shows the Wikipedia article that opens when ‘tiger’ is typed into the search box.  You can see the tabs above the article for Images and Videos.  The second screen shot shows what appears when the Images tab is clicked, and the third shows the videos.

It should be noted that it is up to users to select the images and videos that are associated with an article.  For all of the search terms I entered, I was offered an extensive collection of images and videos to choose from.  Since Navify is a relatively new service, there were relatively few videos associated with any of the topics I searched.

Two other features of Navify are also worth mentioning.  The first is that users have the opportunity to comment on topics.  Secondly, related topics are suggested with search results.

I appreciate Jane’s use of the term “learning professionals”, and many of us who are part of that group are not early adopters when it comes to digital resources.  So, I think it’s really helpful to have the opportunity to check out what other people are finding most useful in their work.  That’s why I recommend that you check out Jane’s evolving Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009 and her 25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals (2009 Version).

For the record, my own top three tools at the moment are: Firefox, because with available addons, it is by far the most accessible browser I’ve come across; Google Reader because it offers a convenient and organized way for me to track the blog posts that power my learning curve; and the wiki because I find wikis to be incredibly versatile and useful for countless purposes.  (I’m most familiar with the wiki platform offered by  PBWorks.)

Authored by Paul Hamilton. Hosted by Edublogs. ]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/05/24/digital-tools-for-learning-professionals/feed/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/05/15/kidoz/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/05/15/kidoz/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 23:09:37 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/?p=1216 I’ve been aware of KIDO’Z for a while, but thanks to an excellent post by Demo Girl Maureen McDonald, I’ve had another look.  KIDO’Z is new and improved, and I’m impressed.  It’s a web browser that offers the opportunity to tailor make a safe web environment to meet individual needs and interests.

KIDO’Z is a web browser that is described by its developers as a “Kid’s Web Environment”.  Once downloaded and installed, the browser offers a self contained web of games, websites and videos that are accessed wiith large icons.  Because KIDO’Z is an Adobe Air application, it will run in Windows, Mac, or Linux.

KIDO’Z comes with an extensive collection of  games, videos, and websites built-in, and these appear to have been selected carefully.  The beauty of this browser, however, is that you have the option of completely customizing what is available.  The browser is managed by a set of Parental Controls that can be accessed anywhere.  KIDO’Z is currently available in 17 languages.

I’ve embedded Maureen’s excellent screencast about KIDO’Z below.

DropMind is impressive and versatile software that offers both online mind mapping and a downloadable desktop application.  The user interface is intuitive.  Images and hyperlinks can be included, as can icons and symbols from an extensive built-in collection.  Collaboration is facilitated, and a chat feature is included.

DropMind’s mind maps can be printed, or they can be easily exported as either images or document outlines (.rtf format ) that open in most word processors, including MS Word.  I think this outline feature may be especially valuable to anyone who wants to move from a “brainstormed” mind map to a written document.  Mind maps can also be imported from either MindManager or Free Mind.

DropMind is definitely worth checking out by anyone who values the power of visual representation.  I love one of the tag lines that DropMind uses:  Realize the true potential of your amazing mind! I believe mind mapping can help all of us with this, but I suspect that it is especially helpful for those of us who struggle with text.

The first embedded screen shot below shows what a DropMind mind map can look like.    The second screen shot shows the same mind map as a document outline. The third shows Drop Mind’s user interface. (You can view the embedded screen shots in full screen mode by clicking on the button in the lower right corner.  If that doesn’t work for you, you can zoom in with the slider on the lower left corner and then use the scroll bars.)

Tag Galaxy is an application where folksonomy, Flickr, and creative three-dimensional presentation come together in a way that is highly effective.  The net result is an intuitive visual way to search for images on Flickr and to see the relationships between tags.

You enter a tag into a search box,  and that tag becomes a “sun”  that is orbited by a “galaxy” of related tags. The related tags are presented as planets orbiting the sun. If you wish to combine tags, you simply click on  an orbiting tag and create a new sun with its own galaxy of related tags.

Once you have the desired tag, or combination of tags, you click on the planet you’ve created to view a globe of related images, as shown in the screenshot below for the tags Himalayas and Nepal.  (This globe shows the first 235 of the 17,994 Flickr images tagged Himalayas and Nepal!) The globe can be tilted, rotated, and spun in any direction to find and select an image.

Authored by Paul Hamilton. Hosted by Edublogs. ]]> http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/05/01/tag-galaxy-online-resource/feed/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/04/27/kidsnumberscom-online-resource/ http://paulhami.edublogs.org/2009/04/27/kidsnumberscom-online-resource/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:33:50 +0000 Paul Hamilton http://paulhami.edublogs.org/?p=1204 In a world more ideal than the one we have, the emerging principles of universal design for learning would  guide curriculum and determine the range of learning tools available to all learners.  In  an ideal world, I don’t believe that children would be grouped by age for learning purposes.  It’s obvious that children of the same age vary greatly in terms of aptitude, learning style, learning needs and learning “readiness”.

Teachers who adopt a UDL approach in classrooms where children are grouped arbitrarily by age,  need resources that meet diverse learning needs.  That’s why I’m encouraged by a math resource shared by Richard Byrne.

KidsNumbers.com is from the Kids Know It Network.  The developers of KidsNumbers certainly have the right idea.

KidsNumbers.com is the absolutely free math resource designed by teachers, specifically for students and children of all ages. A place where students can practice all aspects of math, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, in a fun and pressure free way.

KidsNumbers isn’t the answer for everyone; but it does offer a systematic approach to learning and re-enforcing fundamental math concepts and skills. This approach will be helpful for some learners.  There are activities, games, and even worksheets that can be printed and completed with a pencil.

This is a great example of the kind of resource that I believe teachers need to have available to help meet the range of learning needs in their classrooms.

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.

Loose Stitch is a user-friendly outlining tool that can be used in many ways to support learning.  An individual can use it to record and organize researched information.  Or, it can be used to help keep track of scheduled events or assigned tasks on a project.  As well, Loose Stitch offers convenient ways of sharing  recorded information.  It has been designed to be used collaboratively by a group of people working together on the same project.

I especially appreciate the ease with which Loose Stitch outlines can be embedded in wikis or blogs.  When an outline is changed, the changes are automatically reflected in embedded versions of the outline.  Of course, each outline can also be shared via its  unique URL.

By selecting text in an outline, I found I was able to use CLiCk,Speak’s text-to-speech to have outlines read aloud in Firefox.

Registration is not required to use the fully functional free version of Loose Stitch, but a “Pro” version is available with additional features.

Please take a look at the helpful screencast put together by Maureen at  DemoGirl.com, and think of ways that Loose Stitch might be used to support learning in your context.  (For enhanced viewing, view in full screen mode and select HD for high definition.)