March AT Blog Carnival

Welcome to the March AT Blog Carnival!  Let's dive right in and check out the content.

Jeannette Van Houten (@jvanhoutensped) from My Point of View.... shared a great post on visual supports:
Visual Supports-They Are Important

Chris Bugaj (@attipscast) from A.T.TIPSCast shows us how to do reading fluency with Audacity:
Audacity for Reading Fluency
(He also mentions that The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools is coming out in April, check it out here-http://iste.org/chewat)

David Banes is a new contributor (@davebanesaccess).  His blog is Access Technology - Now and Tomorrow:
Paying through the nose for AT & Something a little different!

Barrie Ellis (@oneswitch) of the blog One Switch UK has 2 great posts for those students who access the computer with switches:
Switch Accessible Card Maker
Switch Curling - a lot of fun, and not easy!  Give it a try!

Ricky Buchanan (@rickybuchanan) of AT Mac shares these great posts:
The Ultimate MacSpeech Dictate 1.5 Global Commands List
Morse Code for Computers (should work on all computers!)

I've decided to share some a great way to use Flip video cameras & one of my favorite new programs:
Many Ways to Use a Flip Video Camera
MeMoves Revisited

Thanks for joining us on the March AT Blog Carnival.  Please share and we hope to see you back next month!  The April AT Blog Carnival will be posted on Friday, April 30.

Patrick & Contributors

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March AT Blog Carnival - Last Chance!

This is your last chance to submit a post for the AT Blog Carnival!  I'll be posting tomorrow morning.  Please consider submitting today!  Both January & February were a huge success!  So please get your submissions in today.  I will post the March AT Blog Carnival on Wed. March 31.  You can submit via comments, twitter - @teachntech00, or via this handy, dandy Google Form - AT Blog Carnival Submission.

Patrick

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March AT Blog Carnival - still time!

I am continuing to take submissions for the March AT Blog Carnival.  Please consider submitting! Both January & February were a huge success!  So please get your submissions in by Tuesday.  I will post the March AT Blog Carnival on Wed. March 31.  You can submit via comments, twitter - @teachntech00, or via this handy, dandy Google Form - AT Blog Carnival Submission.

Patrick

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Ideas to encourage access - students with low vision

Recently a reader contacted me and asked if I had any resources for students with low vision.  Ideas for how to encourage computer use and such.  Here were my suggestions:

First, I'd suggest heading to http://oneswitch.org.uk - Barrie has some amazing resources for switch users, and the can be used by touch screen users too.  A lot to look at on that site so you have to look around.

You could also try this from Yuichi's Blog - http://yuichisgames.blogspot.com/2010/02/move-mouse.html.

Here's a great list of resouces from Glenda's A.T. Information - http://atclassroom.blogspot.com/2009/04/switch-use.html

Check out Youtube or Watchknow.org - find a video they like, then they can touch the screen to start it and such

Talkingsmartboards has some great sites to check out - http://annemarie80.edublogs.org

Have you tried - http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/resources/videos.htm - they have awesome videos that are quick, and easy to set up for touch screen users.

These were just a few of my suggestions, are there any other's you would have suggested?

Patrick


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March AT Blog Carnival - need submissions!

Please take a moment to submit a post for the March AT Blog Carnival, right now I have only a few!  Both January & February were a huge success!  So please get your submissions in today.  I will post the March AT Blog Carnival on Wed. March 31.  You can submit via comments, twitter - @teachntech00, or via this handy, dandy Google Form - AT Blog Carnival Submission.

Patrick

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Send to Google Docs

Lifehacker shared another great tip for making Google Docs more useful.  As you may be aware Google recently started allowing you to store any type of file within your Google Docs account (see this article from Lifehacker).  A new Chrome extension - Send to Google Docs - allows you to send a PDF of any page, image, or swf directly to your Google Docs account.  For images and swf files you have to open them in a new tab, but it works nicely, especially if you like keeping everything in one place, Google Docs could be that place.  There is also an extension for Firefox that does the same thing - Send to Google Docs Firefox.  It's a great way to keep track of what you see!




Patrick


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Ways to use Flip Camera

Inspired by Tom Barrett's (@tombarrett) Interesting Ways series, Richard Byrne of FreeTech4Teachers created the Many Ways to use a Flip Camera.  He's invited anyone who has a great idea to share it on the Goolge presentation.  Or feel free to pass it around to your colleagues!  It's full of great ideas!

For those of you viewing in a RSS reader, you may need to click through to view the embeded presentation.

Patrick

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Don't Forget to Submit!

Don't forget to submit a post for the for the March AT Blog Carnival.  If you've checked out our previous 2 this year - January & February - you'll know they've been a huge success!  So get your submissions in today.  I will post the March AT Blog Carnival on Wed. March 31.  You can submit via comments, twitter - @teachntech00, or via this handy, dandy Google Form - AT Blog Carnival Submission.


Patrick

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Interesting Text-To-Speech options

I guess this would have been more of a post about 2 weeks ago, when I saw it before a lot of people had written about it, before Oprah talked about, etc... but I still wanted to write about it!

As you know Roger Ebert of Siskel & Ebert, Ebert & Roeper, & the Chicago Suntimes is no longer able to speak.  This had to have been an extremely difficult thing for him considering he spoke for a living.  Recently a company from Scotland has given him back his voice.  Ebert admits that he could have used a device to talk for him, but he always felt strange because it was not his voice.  I guess I can understand that, I think I would have a hard time using a device if it didn't sound like me.  So, this company in Scotland, CereProc, took hours of Ebert talking on his show, digitized it, and created a voice for him.  many of the words we use over and over each day, about 2000, and the ones it didn't have recordings of they are abel to piece together from other syllables.  It's really an amazing technology when you think about it!  Here's a link to original aritcle - Text-To-Speech Program to give Roger Ebert his voice back

I realize that this type of program is not practical for students who are recommended for AAC and TTS.  Many of them have no voice to start with, and we are trying to give them a voice.  I think development has more of a global nature.  This type of product development will trickle down and make computerized voices much more understandable and real sounding.  It's going to take some time, but it will happen.  For those people who have recorded large amounts of themselves, this has to be a great option for them.  For me, I can't wait to see what else may come of it!

Patrick


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March AT Blog Carnival

That's right, it's that time of month!  It's time for the March AT Blog Carnival.  If you've checked out our previous 2 this year - January & February - you'll know they've been a huge success!  So get your submissions in today.  I will post the March AT Blog Carnival on Wed. March 31.  You can submit via comments, twitter - @teachntech00, or via this handy, dandy Google Form - AT Blog Carnival Submission.


Patrick

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The world needs all kinds of minds

Temple Grandin has long been someone I've admired, respected, and learned from.  As a person who has autism, an educator (not in the traditional sense), and designer she has made me understand people with Autism more.  This year she was given the opportunity to speak at the TED conference.  TED is basically a showcase of some of the smartest people in the world and they are given 18 min. to talk about whatever they like.  Temple chose to talk about how we need "all kinds of minds" in our world.  I happen to agree wholeheartedly with her.  If you have a chance you need to take 20 min. and watch this video!


The world needs all kinds of minds


Patrick


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Blog Update!

For those of you who read the blog via email or RSS (which I highly recommend) you may want to check out the new design of Teaching All Students.  It's been almost 2 years, and I thought maybe a facelift was in order.  Nothing earth shattering, but I think it's nice to spruce things up every once and a while!  Let me know what you think in the comments!


Patrick


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MeMoves - Revisited

I wrote about MeMoves a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to come back and share some anecdotal thoughts about it!  I received my MeMoves DVD last week, and I'm loving it!  I am using it throughout the day to focus and calm my students and they are responding.  I've found that even when the students have trouble with a motion (some are quite hard!) it seems to help them get ready to work.  They are even asking to MeMoves during other times.  It's nothing concrete, but I can say that this DVD has been a great addition to my repertoire and I'm so glad that I purchased it.  Check out Memoves at http://thinkingmoves.com.


Patrick


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ican learn tech series

For those of you in the Chicagoland area, I'm excited to announce that I will be a part of the i can learn tech series from the PROUDD organization this April.  The workshop will be called Using the Latest to Learn and will focus on ideas for using iPod Touch & iPhones to help students learn.  As well as free or low-cost web2.0 sites that are great for all learners.  You can check out the full flyer here.

The workshop will be Saturday, April 10 from 9-4.  It will take place at the Naperville NIU campus.  The cost for the workshop is $70 (or $130 for a couple).  Registration is limited so get in early!

Patrick


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