Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner » Ira Socol

Celebrating Diversity

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:21:26 +0000

Last week I co-taught a course on assistive technology to 43 teachers. Packing a full-semester course into 5 days made for an intense but rewarding experience. We introduced Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as the pedagogical framework for understanding and implementing assistive technology. Then, using Ira Socol’s “toolbelt theory“, we encouraged the teachers to think in terms of helping to equip all learners with a “toolbelt” of digital tools to serve as effective life solutions. Class members were impressed by the range of free tools that are readily available to anyone.

I want to share a video put together by one of the teachers who was enrolled in our course. Myriah relates her personal journey in overcoming some of her learning challenges. I find the arrogant ignorance of some of Myriah’s college teachers appalling. How do you respond?

Celebrating Diversity from myriahmichaux on Vimeo.

Access Firefox (Online Resource)

Paul Hamilton — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:55:32 +0000

Last week, Google released the shiny new web browser that they’ve aptly named “Chrome“. After taking it for a test drive, I have to admit that I rather like it. It’s incredibly fast, and I love the way it gives me almost my entire laptop screen for viewing web pages. Still, Chrome reminds me of just how very much more I appreciate Firefox.

I believe that Firefox should be available to every learner in every school. That’s because of the accessibility features that are built into Firefox and because of the available Firefox add-ons that further facilitate access for individuals with diverse learning needs.

In a blog post entitled “Learning to give up…“, Ira Socol convincingly makes the point that text-to-peech software is an essental tool that should be available to all learners, not just to those with designated “special” needs. I think every classroom teacher would do well to read Ira’s post!

With Firefox, text-to-speech software can indeed be available to all learners when reading online. That’s because there is a free Firefox add-on called CLiCk,Speak that conveniently offers text-to-speech. This is but one example of the countless add-ons for Firefox that enhance accessibility and that help to make learning possible for many who might otherwise give up.

Access Firefox is a website that I’ve written about before, but I believe it’s well worth another mention. Access Firefox is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in making the internet accessible to all learners. Access Firefox details the built-in accessibility features of Firefox. It also describes and links to numerous add-ons. The site is well organized and uncluttered. It has been designed with accessibility in mind, and demonstrates what an accessible website can look like.

If you are in a position to exert any influence at all, please advocate for the use of Firefox on the computers that are being used in schools. Alternative browsers available today don’t come close in terms of helping to meet the diverse range learning styles and learning needs that exist in every classroom.

Jott (free online voice recognition)

Paul Hamilton — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:44:32 +0000

I doubt if the creators of the application I’m reviewing today fully appreciated the amazing assistive technology implications of their product when they set out. They have demonstrated, however, that the advent of universally available voice recognition is not far off. Ira Socol wrote about this yesterday at SpeEdChange.

jott offers effective and accurate voice recognition via the telephone. The user calls a toll free number and dictates either an email or text message. You can send these to yourself or to someone else. The dictated text is also available to read on the jott website, where, as an added bonus, an audio recording of your dictation is also available.

You can, of course, copy and paste dictated text wherever you want to put it. With jott, you also have the option of dictating directly to online accounts such as Twitter or Google Calendar. You can even post directly to your blog.

Jott is easy to use, and I was amazed at the accuracy of the dictation. In fact, I had difficulty getting jott to make mistakes. It has spelled and punctuated accurately almost everything I have tried dictating. After setting up a free account, you simply dial a toll free number (in Canada or the US) and follow prompts to begin dictating. Since jott is web-based, your computer’s operating system doesn’t matter.

Please note that in Canada, unless you are in a major centre, you cannot use your cell phone with jott. That’s because Canadian cell phone companies block caller ID to toll free numbers. Jott’s toll-free service works fine, however, from Canadian land lines. In many of the more major Canadian cities, there is a local phone number that enables you to use your cell phone. I’ve listed those local numbers below.

It may be worth your while to check out some of the other services that jott offers. For example, jott will bring audio versions of RSS feeds from the internet directly to your phone.

udl4all (online resource)

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:08:04 +0000

udl4all is a wiki that I have started recently. I hope it will serve as a resource for anyone with an interest in Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I’m especially keen that it be useful for teachers who are looking for ways of better supporting ALL the learners in their classrooms.

Since I work with technology, the focus of my wiki is on free digital tools that I believe can help ALL learners succeed in today’s classrooms. I focus on free tools because lack of money is a significant barrier that stands in the way of far too many learners who already face other daunting challenges.

In response to my previous post, Ira Socol rightly pointed out that ultimately UDL must be about much more than technology. Still, in today’s world, technology is a critical component in facilitating successful learning for all students. For many, there is virtually no hope of success in school without access to an appropriate range of tech tools that should be readily available to all.

So, please check out the wiki I’m putting together, and let others know about it. I welcome your comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism. I’ve included a link right at the top of the home page to facilitate feedback via email. (I am not using the normal feedback option of the wiki platform because it uses ‘captcha’ that is not accessible to everyone.)

Ira Socol’s Toolbelt Theory and My Blog

Paul Hamilton — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:19:27 +0000

Apart from my “anniversay post” of a couple of days ago, there has been a hiatus between posts here. That has resulted mainly from time constraints caused by too many things going on in both my personal and professional lives. As the gap between posts has grown, however, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to contemplate getting back into the saddle. I’ve detected within myself a sense of being overwhelmed at the prospect of starting to post again. When I tried to trace the roots of that sense, I realized that there is simply too much that I’d like to write about.

The purpose of my blog has always been to write about free educational resources that are available on the internet. Exceptional new resources are proliferating at what seems an exponential rate, and I keep discovering other great programs and websites that have been around for a long time. So, how and why do I choose the resources that I highlight here?

I think I’ve come up with a guiding principle, if not a definitive answer. More and more, my thinking is shaped by the priority of both universal design for learning (UDL) and universal access. Ive come to equate good “classroom” practice with UDL, the approach to education that consciously attempts to respond to the learning needs of ALL learners. Universal access is one essential key to UDL.

Ira Socol offers a compelling voice in support of UDL on his blog SpeEd Change. In March, Ira wrote a post entitled “A Toolbelt for a Lifetime: Learning How to Learn Assistive Technology“. Ira summarizes his “Toolbelt Theory” as follows:

“Toolbelt Theory is based on the concept that students must learn to assemble their own readily available collection of life solutions. They must learn to choose and use these solutions appropriately, based in the task to be performed, the environment in which they find themselves, their skills and capabilities at that time, and the ever-changing universe of high and low-tech solutions and supports.”

This “theory” is helpful for me as I think about how to focus my blog posts. As I move forward, I’ll attempt to highlight free resources for “toolbelts”. I want to include tools that provide access to learning–not only access to information, but also varied options that learners can use to represent their learning and express their creativity. I also want to discuss tools and websites that teachers can include in their toolbelts in order to present and share material in an engaging manner. I want to help learners and teachers in choosing tools that will be effective for them.

On Friday of this week, Ira Socol was interviewed by Melinda Pongrey at LD Live. In the interview, Ira discusses not only his toolbelt theory, but a great deal more that I believe should be of considerable interest to anyone involved in any aspect of education. For your convenience, I’ve embedded a player with the interview below.