2. Electronic texts allow for the modification of appearance (font, color, size, line spacing, page layout), content (reorganize and edit), and format (read aloud, place in word document).
3. For online text, the Firefox add-on, ClickSpeak, will read text aloud for sighted viewers.
4. Audiobooks are a useful tool for learners with cognitive disabilities as well as those with visual impairments.
5. Mp3 to iPod Audio Book Converter, http://www.freeipodsoftware.com/index.php, converts audio text file to an iPod compatible format with chapters.
6. Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), http://www.rfbd.org/, has over 10,000 titles available on a subscription basis. Though none of the titles in the thematic unit are currently available, there are three similar books appropriate for kindergarten students:
7. Helpers in my Community: https://custhub.rfbd.org/registration/prddetail.asp
8. Social Studies Alive! My Community: https://custhub.rfbd.org/registration/prddetail.asp
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10. PixWriter, http://www.slatersoftware.com/pixwriter.html, is a picture-assisted writing tool for students with autism spectrum disorders, PDD, learning and cognitive disabilities, and emerging writers. Teachers can quickly and easily create word banks – just type the word and the corresponding picture is retrieved from the data base. Buttons can be organized, boarders color-coded, images uploaded, and word banks locked. Students may use word banks for story dictation. Use of PixWriter would be an appropriate accommodation for the writing activities that are part of the thematic unit about communities.
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12. Mobile devices that read print aloud are also available. The Intel Reader can play DAISY (RFB&D above) and mp3 audio books, portable, easily transfer files to USB or computer drive. During playback, text is highlighted as it is read aloud. Point-shoot-listen capabilities allow user to point device at text (signs, labels, concert programs, etc.) on the go with earphones allowing private listening. Combined with Capture Station, large amounts of text can be quickly captured.
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14. Voiceover screen reader: Touch the screen to hear a description of the item under your finger. Interact directly with the screen to gain a sense of how things appear and descriptions of what they are. Speaking rate is adjustable. Works on all built-in apps.
21. Touch, no pressure needed. Can be controlled with a stylus and audio clicks provide feedback.
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23. Evernote (free)Take notes anytime, anywhere. Text, images, camera, voice – all can be accessed on any platform or computer. Students with cognitive difficulties have instant access to information and can share it, digitally, thus taking advantage of areas in which they are more typically able. When working on creating a page for the class eBook, students can use Evernote to capture thoughts and images they would like to use.
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26. Google Mobile App (free)Search Google quickly using your voice and location. Apps opens Safari and Google Maps. Students can use voice-only technology to access the same maps that are part of whole-class instruction. Once open, students can zoom in on maps making them more clearly seen than on the Promethean board during whole class activities in the thematic unit.
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28. textPlus (free)Free and unlimited messaging allows instant access to teacher and classmates, thus avoiding potential frustrations. Though kindergarten students have limited writing skills, a message can be sent (actual text content is immaterial) as a silent signal that the student would like help. This avoids the stigma of more public cues.
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30. StoryKit (free)Create an electronic storybook. Take photos, record sound effects, add text then share. Also includes a painting tool. Easy to share electronically. Mobile app allows the eBook activities to be more complex and involve greater variety of media.References:<br />A List of Typical Special Ed Accommodations: http://specialed.about.com/od/iep/a/accomod.htm<br />Apple – Accessibility: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ <br />Assistive Devices Help Challenged Kids Get the Most from Learning: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech086.shtml <br />Making the Most of Standard Technology to Enhance Learning: http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/standard-technology-to-enhance-learning.gs?content=989&page=1 <br />Special Education Terminology:http://specialed.about.com/cs/teacherstrategies/a/terminology.htm<br />Typical Technology Solutions for the Disabled: http://www.assistivetechnologies.com/tech.asp <br />Links/Resources:<br />Assistive Technologies: http://www.assistivetechnologies.com/ <br />Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities. Collection of articles and Web sites: http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/education/at.html <br />Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Education (kindergarten page): http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/kindergarten/index.html <br />The Family Center on Technology and Disability: http://www.fctd.info/ <br />Guide to Low-Cost / No-Cost Online Tools for People with Disabilities (PDF) http://ataccess.org/pdf/LowCostNoCostATAguide.pdf <br />List of Assistive Technology (PDF) http://www.aiu3.net/uploadedFiles/Curriculum_Instruction_and_Professional_Development/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act/AT%20List%20for%20ATOPPT.pdf <br />LD Online – Technology page: http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/technology <br />Teachology>Teacher Resource>Special Education>Assistive Technolgy: http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/special_ed/asstive_tech/ <br />Tools for Life: http://www.gatfl.org/AssistiveTechnology.aspx <br />Trace Research and Development Center – Research to Make Everyday Technologies Accessible & Usable: http://trace.wisc.edu/ <br />
![5744210-223520COMMUNITIES <br />Susan Ferdon<br />Assistive Technologies for Thematic Unit<br />Technology-enhanced accommodations, unless specified otherwise, are tailored to the Communities Thematic Unit as a whole. The terms accommodation, strategy, and modification are sometimes used almost interchangeably in education so brief definitions are included:<br />Accommodation: Teaching supports and services that student may require to successfully demonstrate learning. Accommodations should not change grade level curriculum expectations. Examples: Specialized software, Braille writer, amplification system, oral tests.<br />Modifications: Changes made to curriculum expectations to meet student needs. Examples: Same unit/theme but different tasks, withdrawl for specific skills.<br />Strategies: Skills or techniques used to assist in learning. Examples: Highlighting, number line, rehearsal, color coding.<br />Source: Special Education Terminologyhttp://specialed.about.com/cs/teacherstrategies/a/terminology.htm<br />Students with Cognitive Difficulties<br />Students will cognitive difficulties, like learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder, benefit from a wide variety of no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech accommodations. No-tech solutions, like additional time and preferential seating are relatively easy and effective, our discussion here will be limited to accommodations that make use of technology. <br />Accommodation #1: Different Reading Tools<br />Students with learning disabilities, as well as emerging readers, benefit from having text read to them. Kindergarten students, as well as their 3rd grade buddies, can have word processed text read as well as text found in Web pages, thus enabling them to more completely understand information that is presented and, as a result, participate more fully in subsequent discussions and learning tasks.<br />,[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/atforthematicunit-100804004330-phpapp02/85/At-for-thematic-unit-1-320.jpg)
