Children, Teens, Families, and the Economic Crisis

For those of you who would like to know how to handle the stress regarding our economy as it relates to children, teens, and family, take a look at my recent post on the TechPsych blog:

Children, Teens, Families, and the Economic Crisis

(I am still looking for more resources for children and families, so feel free to add a link in the comments.)

Phoenix Mars Mission Website

The following is part of a related post from the TechPsych blog about the Phoenix Mars Mission:

If you are an educator with access to an interactive whiteboard and can integrate a visit to Mars into your lesson plans during the last days of the school year, a trip to the Phoenix Mars Mission website is a must! The website is well designed and user-friendly.

Renderings of the Phoenix Mars Lander

Here are few places to start:

Phoenix Mars Mission News
Web Exhibit -Mars: The Search for Water, the Search for Life
Flash Video Stream (the video has relaxing ambient music, by the way)
Images
Videos and Animations
Just for Kids - this site was designed with content by kids to share with others.

From Mars to Earth: An Interactive Timeline

Enjoy!

Online Multimedia Library from LEARN NC and UNC Chapel Hill for K-12 and higher

Learn N.C. has a wealth of on-line resources for educators, students, and parents. I particularly like the on-line multimedia library. Below are links to resources for the following topics, obtained through the "tag cloud" on the multimedia library site.

Here are the direct links:
4-H clubs Agra American Indians American Indian towns Angkor animals archaeology architecture artAsia Bali Bangkok beaches birds boat Buddhism Cambodia carvings children Colombia colonialcostumes deities demons drawings Ecuador Emerald Buddha Temple excavations families farming fishing flowers food forests geography girls grass Green 'N' Growing Hanoi Hanuman Hinduism history houses illustrations India Indonesia Jaipur Jodhpur John White Khmer kings labor
landforms landscapes maps markets men's work Mexico monkeys monuments mountains murals musicMysore national parks Nepal North Carolina Occaneechi paintings palaces performance RamaRamayana Ravana religion rice rivers rural life salt marshes sandstone Sita snakes Southeast Asiatechnology temples Thailand theaters tourism
transportation trees turkey Ubud urban life Utah Vietnam Vietnam War Virginia water women women's work

LEARN NC is led by a number of knowledgable staff and consultants.

The website is worth exploring for a while!

Take a wlook

Via Tech Psych: Accessible Learning through Entertainment and Recreation - Resources for free or low cost games and applications

The people at Simply Entertainment/ 7-128 Software, make "mainstream, family-friendly, computer games that are designed from the ground up to be accessible to gamers with a variety of special needs, including: blindness, low vision, color blindness, deafness, and motion impairment".

They recently added a free on-line service for people searching for free or low-cost accessible computer games suitable for learning or rehabilitative environments.

According to the website, the Accessible Learning through Entertainment and Recreation service provides the following useful information:

• Where to get those games, at low cost, or for free
• What to look for in selecting those games, quickly and with fewer costly mistakes
• How to apply those games to your learning objectives, without a lot of mystery
• Who to go to for free help

"This information will be updated over the course of 2008, especially the growing series of How To articles."

Another resource on the Simply Entertainment/1-129 Software website is a section dedicated to links to 25 highest-rated websites that focus on games that are accessible for people who are blind. Many of the linked websites offer free on-line games.

Thanks to John Bannick and his colleagues at 7-128!

Interactive Displays and Whiteboards: Link to TechPsych Post

(photo from http://www.nextwindow.com)

I've posted new information and links about resources for interactive whiteboards and displays on the TechPsych blog:

So You're Getting an Interactive Whiteboard. Now What?

Link to post: How to use FireFox to use internet resources off-line

If you use digital media with students with special needs and you have limited Internet access, you are not alone. Kay, the author of the "Teaching Students with Multiple Special Needs", on a recent post, shares a way to use FireFox to use internet resources online. You can check out my recent TechPsych post on the topic, or access Kay's original post here.

Cross Post: Children of the Code

I came across the Children of the Code website today and thought I'd share it- if you are familiar with Children of the Code project, please leave a comment, since I haven't yet explored the entire site.

Childrenof thecode.org is an on-line multi-media resource that is part of a public/social education project to that aims to spread information and education about "The Code and the Challenge of Learning to Read it"

The project has four main components:

1. A three hour Public Television, DVD and Web documentary series;
2. A ten-hour college, university, and professional development DVD series;
3. A series of teacher and parent presentations and seminars;
4. A cross-indexed website/database containing audio, video and transcripts with the world's leading experts in fields related to reading.

The website includes over 100 interviews of people from a wide range of disciplines who are committed to promotion of health, education, and well-being of children, youth, and in turn, communities and society.

Here is the project's abstract:

"Abstract: Our children's cognitive and emotional development, self-esteem, academic, and later social and economic success, all depend on how well they learn - on the health of their learning. Whether we are involved in parenting, teaching, cognitive science, psychology, pedagogy, curriculum design, instructional design, direct instruction, constructivism, assessment, multiple intelligences, learning styles, learning differences, learning disabilities, learning theory, learning communities, organizational learning, preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, home school, unschooling, college, university... we all share the responsibility of stewarding the health of our children's learning."


I'd recommend starting with the on-line video tour of the project:
http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/index.htm

The following is a quote from an interview with David Boulton, the director of the Children of the Code project:

"The mission of the Children of the Code project is to catalyze and resource a transformation in how our society thinks about the "code" of our written language and the "challenges involved in learning to read it.". I think we're living in the "Stone Age of Literacy." Our lack of understanding of what is involved and what is at stake in acquiring literacy is wreaking havoc on the lives of our population, including children"

"..the first think I hope i that it (the project) changes the mental lens through which parents and teachers see struggling learners. I want them to see someone who is struggling as somebody who is struggling with an artificially confusing technology (written language) and somebody who is in significant emotional and cognitive danger.

"What I hope is that people realize that if children and adults struggle too long with the process of acquiring literacy, it can seriously affect how they develop and grow and learn. Struggling to read causes many, many people to grow up feeling ashamed of their mind.."

Links to the list of some of the interviews of "name" researchers and educators are posted on the TechPsych blog, or you can visit the site's interview list.

Updated MegaPost-Resources For All: Interactive Multimedia and Universal Design for Learning

Since I started blogging, new technologies have made their way into an increasing number of classrooms, and many educators are aware of efforts such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Response to Intervention or Instruction (RTI), as well as innovative technologies that provide engaged, interactive learning experiences for students.

In this post, I've consolidated information and updated links and resources from some previous posts from my TechPsych and Interactive Multimedia Technology blogs. Although many of the resources cited in this post relate to K-12 education, some of the information is useful for instructional designers, school administrators, researchers, college/university educators, parents, and technologists who are interested in developing interactive multimedia applications for children and teens.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) and PLANNING FOR ALL LEARNERS (PAL)

Universal Design for Learning incorporates concepts such as differentiated instruction, visual and media learning, and providing a climate of academic engagement through the use of digital media technology and strategies such as collaborative project-based learning.

The concepts behind Universal Design for Learning fit with Response to Intervention (RTI), universal prevention/intervention, and team-based instructional consultation/ problem-solving. For those who are considering this approach, plan on spending time exploring this Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) website.

CAST offers the on-line interactive book, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. This book is a good resource for staff development activities. Plan on spending a good bit of time on this site! The Planning for All Learners section on the CAST website provides resources such as lesson plan examples and planning charts that provide teachers a way of representing the specific needs of each student.

Related:

Karen Janowski's Site: Free Technology Toolkit for Universal Design for Learning

RadTeach is the website of Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and middle school teacher.

"Enthusiasm is generated when children are presented with novelty and find creative ways to explore or connect with the new material and are inspired by it. Whenever you can generate this awe and sense of wonder, your children will be pulled into the school lessons they bring home and they will be motivated to connect with the information in a meaningful way." - Judy Willis
Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom published May 2007 ASCD

Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist/Classroom Teacher published August 2006 ASCD

Misunderstood Minds is the companion site PBS documentary about learning differences and disabilities. The site provides information and activities that are good for self-study or professional development. Take a look at "Listening to Instructions" a simulation of what it is like to be a first grade student trying to follow directions and concentrate to complete a task, and "Attention", a video clip of Dr. Mel Levine interviewing a boy about his attention difficulties. Take a look at the Misunderstood Minds Resources and Links Page for more information.

Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs
This blog has extensive links and resources on a variety of topics related to special needs.

PowerPoint presentation by George Sugai's at the UDL Institute. "An introduction to the defining features of School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports within the context of Universal Design for Learning."

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION RESOURCES

EDUTOPIA: The George Lucas Foundation

The Edutopia website provides "..detailed articles, in-depth case studies, research summaries, instructional modules, short documentary segments, expert interviews, and links to hundreds of relevant resources." The Technology integration link. provides resources for teachers, staff development, including video segments that cover technology integration, project based learning, school-to-career, the use of multimedia for emotional intelligence activities, and more.

Bill MacKenty's "How-To" educational technology web-page
FlickSchool: Quick "how-to" videos about digital media production for teens-and teachers of teens
How To: Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom
Post: Visual Learning Lab Supports Effective Teaching and Learning
Bill MacKenty's Games and Learning Resources

LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, AND WEBSITES WITH INTERACTIVE CONTENT

National Gallery of Art Kids
PBS Kids
National Geographic Kids
NASA Kids
Discovery Kids
Music Tech Teacher (Includes online games and music learning activities)
Flash Music Games
(some games cam be downloaded)
Exploratorium On-line Microscope Imaging Station
Online interactive whiteboard activities for primary classrooms (from Topmarks Education, UK)
SmartTechnologies lesson activities for the SmartBoard

StarFall is website full of free interactive content designed to support early reading for children who are reading at the K-2 level. The site offers games, music, animation, and video-based activities, plus support for educators and parents. From the website:

"Our scientific, research-based reading materials and activities are modeled on the "Big Five" focus areas recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension...Starfall employs the computer to develop feelings of wonderment and play, not rote assessment. The activities, songs and books complement your classroom by creating an atmosphere of fun and enthusiasm that infuses all aspects of learning. Our online and printed activities use positive reinforcement to guide children in making correct responses."

The Moleculareum Project, created by a team from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

"The Molecularium Project is committed to promote science literacy and awareness for audiences of all ages..Zoom into the molecular level, build molecules from atoms, and explore states of matter in the Nanolab of our interactive Kid’s Site. The experiments, activities and songs included in our Teacher's Resource Guide are free and fun for your home, classroom or museum."

ONLINE LEARNING OBJECTS

According to WISC, learning objects are web-based, self-contained chunks of learning, small enough to be embedded in a learning activity, lesson, unit, or course, are flexible, portable, and adaptable, and can be used in multiple learning environments and across disciplines. They are stored in on-line repositories for use and re-use to teach a variety of concepts. Merlot and WISC provide interactive learning objects geared primarily for higher education.

Learning objects incorporated into instruction provide students with multiple paths to gaining knowledge, consistent with the principles of Universal Design for Learning.

WISC Online Learning Objects

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching

Quotes from users of learning objects:

"Learning objects are self-directive, so the student can review it over and over" "They grasp it much faster, and they retain in much better."-Instructor.

"Reading something in a book, I may not get the concept. So as I go through it on the screen, I can see how the different things work...for an example , one of the classes I had , that had a CD and a learning object with it, I actually passed the test, got a 100%, because I was able to go over it. The way it was on screen, was completely different than how I had memorized in my head."- Holly Davidson, Student"

"You can read everything in a book that you want, but as soon as you see it in a learning object, you really understand it." - Paul Heidger, Student

Links to Lynn's related blog posts:

Interactive multimedia for social skills, understanding feelings, relaxation and coping strategies, etc.
Interactive literacy applications and on-line resources
ExploreLearning Gizmos, Interactive Displays, Revisited
(Interactive math and science)
Online Switch-Accessible Games on the BBC Website

RATIONALE FOR THE USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION

The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, edited by Richard E. Mayer, provides a good framework to support the importance of learning and interacting with multimedia
Visual Literacy and Multimedia Literacy Quotes - Odds and Ends PART ONE
Visual and Multimedia Literacy Quotes-Part Two
Engaged Learning?

Related:

Webcast Video: Technology and Games in Education from the Orange County Educational Technology Department






INTERACTIVE WHITE-BOARDS AND LARGE TOUCH SCREEN DISPLAYS

Interactive whiteboards increase student attention, engagement, participation, and test scores!
(This post contains links to lessons and resources for interactive white-boards and displays.)

Excerpt from the above post:
According to a press release from Smart Technologies, a study conducted in the UK and Europe during the years 2002-2006 found positive results regarding the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom:

"The following outcomes were among its key findings: interactive whiteboard use results in improved student performance in national tests in English, math and science, compared to student performance without interactive whiteboards; digital content on interactive whiteboards is engaging, motivating, and students pay more attention during lessons; and interactive whiteboard use encourages greater student participation in the classroom."

There are several types of interactive large-screen displays available for use in educational settings, and there are several companies working on large touch-screen displays that could be adapted for use in schools, media centers, and public libraries.

The following is a partial list of companies that make or sell interactive displays and/or whiteboards:
SmartTechnologies
NextWindow
Accenture
NEC
Hitachi Starboard
Promethean
Mimeo
Interwrite

Resources for Interactive Whiteboards and Displays

Online interactive whiteboard activities for primary classrooms (from Topmarks Education, UK)
SmartTechnologies lesson activities for the SmartBoard
Link to Post: EduSim and Croquet: 3D Collaboration Applications
EduSim 3D
Greenbush EduSim
Panorama Archive: Full-screen panoramas from around the world.
PhotoSynth
"Our software takes a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed three-dimensional space.

With Photosynth you can:

• Walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle.
• Seamlessly zoom in or out of a photo whether it's megapixels or gigapixels in size.
• See where pictures were taken in relation to one another.
• Find similar photos to the one you're currently viewing.
• Send a collection - or a particular view of one - to a friend."

VirtualEarth
Virtual Earth is like Google Earth. It works with PhotoSynth.

GoogleEarth
"Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings, or look up to explore the sky"

P3D -The P3D website has good demonstrations of 3D content.
"P3D is a software company focused on virtual reality in education and offers a constantly updated stat-of-the-art technology as an outstanding tool in a classroom environment. The products developed by P3D enable higher interactivity, enhancing student's learning capacity through tri-dimensional images and virtual reality."

Related Information:
Education World article "Speaking of Electronic Whiteboards?"
Large Display Research Overview from Microsoft Research (PDF)
Also see the previous section about lessons, activities, and websites with interactive content.

INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

INSPIRATION and KIDSPIRATION

Inspiration and Kidspiration are applications that support visual learning:

"Learning to think. Learning to learn. These are the essential skills for student success. Research in both educational theory and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the very best methods for teaching students of all ages how to think, and how to learn."

Many school districts have adopted Kidspiration and Inspiration; there are many resources on the website for teacher support for this software. Inspiration and Kidspiration are effective with visual learners. These applications work well on large-screen displays as well as P.C.'s, and hand-held devices. Activities using Inspiration and Kidspiration are good for paired and small group activities. Inspiration now offers a visual data analysis application, InspireData.

I SUPPORT LEARNING

“Our mission is to empower educators in their quest to create and support life-long learners, to make education relevant and engaging for the student through creative software.” I Support Learning provides applications for creative, interactive project-based activities for middle and high school students that integrate the use of technology and build technology skills."

I Support Learning's Personal Experience Curricula:

CARTOON ANIMATION VIDEO
GAME DESIGN
MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
WEB GAME DESIGN
PERSONAL FINANCE AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT
BUILDING GREEN – RESIDENTIAL HOME DESIGN
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MOBILE ROBOTICS
GREEN INDUSTRY – LANDSCAPE DESIGN
ROBOTS AND INVENTION
HORTICULTURE AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Immersive Education

Immersive Education software educational software company. According to information on the website, the software applications..

• encourage creative learning
• adapt to individual teaching styles
• allow for individual learning preferences
• inspire innovation and creativity in the classroom.

"We believe pupils learn best when education is fun - our products are enjoyable to use and encourage learning through exploration."

Links to information about Immersive Education's applications:

• kar2ouche - storyboarding and role-playing software.
• mediastage - 3D virtual production studio.
• krucible - science simulation software.
• missionmaker - game-authoring tool.

Tabula Digita

DimensionM, an interactive multi-player game for algebra.

HAND-HELD AND MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING

There are some classrooms in that do not use textbooks. Textbooks are provided to students electronically on their PDA's. Some versions of electronic textbooks are interactive and include hypertext links to supplemental information or activities. Students who use Wi-Fi enabled PDA's have access to interactive websites that compliment what they are learning in class.

In most classrooms that use this form for instruction, students often work in pairs and groups. Because PDA's run many of the same applications as do PC's, they can be utilized for frequent monitoring and charting of progress. Here are a few resources:

THE PAPERLESS CLASSROOM

"Our classroom uses Windows CE and Pocket PC based Personal Digital Assistants (we call them PDA's.) We are running a paperless classroom with the PDA's. All homework and reading assignments are done on the PDA's. We do not use copied ditto sheets or heavy textbooks. All of this is accomplished in a 7th and 8th Grade Language Arts class, not in a math or science classroom."

This is a good example of how a teacher, a "rookie" during the 1998-99 school year, embraced new and effective ways of using technology to meet the needs of a diverse range of learners in the middle school setting for Language Arts instruction. This website has expanded to include a range of resources for educators interested in learning how to implement paperless classrooms. Research in this area can be found through HiCe and related organizations.

HICE: Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education
HiCe provides consultation and resources for schools regarding the use of handheld devices in learning environments. The work of the HiCe project at the University of Michigan has been in place for over a decade.."With PDA's, students can access websites created by their teachers to keep track of assignments and upload or e-mail assignments when completed. Software on PDA's such as calendars and an alarm can help students who have organization problems."

A spin-off of the HiCe project is GOKNOW.

INSPIRATION for handhelds

CREATIVE EXAMPLES OF HAND-HELD LEARNING ACTIVITIES

CREATE-A-SCAPE:

A create-a-scape, otherwise known as a mediascape, is..." composed of sounds, images and video placed outside in your local area. To see the images and video, and hear the sounds you need a handheld computer (PDA) and a pair of headphones. An optional GPS unit can automatically trigger the images, video and sounds in the right places."

"To create a mediascape, you start with a digital map of your local area. Using special, free software, you can attach digital sounds, pictures and video to places that you choose on the map.By going outside into the area the map covers, you can experience the mediascape. Using the handheld computer and headphones, you can hear the sounds and see the pictures and video in the places the author of the mediascape has put them. All sorts of exciting things can happen as you explore the mediascape."
Quick Demo: How to Make a MediaScape
Create-a-Scape Teacher Resource Site

MOOP:
Moop was developed in Finland and integrated up-to-date SmartPhones into daily learning activities. Some of the activities involved out-door learning experiences. "Through Moop, a pupil makes observations and saves and manages information in the mobile and network learning platform. The learning environment supports the process of inquiry learning, during which a pupil outlines his or her thoughts on the current topic, collects information and observations from the surroundings and reports the findings in the network-learning environment. Moop project is based on needs of schools and teachers: the traditional learning environment is broadened from classroom to observation in the surroundings"

Mattila, P. & Fordell, T. (2005) MOOP- Using m-learning environment in primary schools. http://www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Mattila.pdf
Mattila, P. (2005) Moop - Mobile Learning Environment as Part of Daily School Work
http://www.microlearning.org/micropresentations/micropresentation_friesen_2005.pdf

M-LEARNING PROJECT

Quote from the project website:
"…the user group has expanded to encompass people of all ages, from grandparents getting involved in family learning, adults looking to improve their employment prospects, to pregnant teenagers needing health advice and guidance."

The M-Learning website provides extensive resources for m-learning; it is a good place for self-study and for staff development for anyone planning on using m-learning as a strategy. You'll find demos of software and links to references and resources, along with video clips useful for presentations.

OTHER RESOURCES FOR INTEGRATING HAND-HELDS INTO EDUCATION:

K-12 HANDHELDS
LEARNING AT HAND
LEARNINGINHAND
M-LEARNOPEDIA

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Mega-List of Resources and References: Technology, Psychology, Intervention & Prevention
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century", a 72-page white paper by Henry Jenkins, from MIT.
FutureLab's 2006 Teaching With Games Report
John Kirriemuir's blog about games and learning

Wired article: YouTube Does Science

John Geirland posted an article in Wired about the use of video by scientists to demonstrate a wide variety of science concepts and experiments. The article, "YouTube Does Science, From Fruit-Fly Fight Clubs to Stem Cell Extractions", gives video examples of some of the "must-see" experiments.

The videos are from JOVE, the "Journal of Visualized Experiments", where you can find videos of experiments in neuroscience, developmental biology, cellular biology, microbiology, and plant biology. This looks like a great resource for science educators and students.

The videos from JOVE could be put to use in a variety of ways. Science educators could use them to illustrate concepts and demonstrate lab procedures and techniques. Students could watch assigned videos for homework. Home-schooled teens and students enrolled in distance-education programs would benefit from these videos.

At the end of the Wired article are some links to similar science video resources on the internet, such as DNAtube and bioscreencast

Although JOVE does not target the K-12 population, a similar on-line journal for this age group would be a great resource, especially for visual learners. It might get more young people engaged in science!

(Warning: Some of the videos are not for the squeamish. Parents and teachers should review the videos carefully before sharing them with a child. For example, in the video about culturing mouse neural stem cell precursors, a mouse embryo is decapitated. Since the embryo is a mammal, it looks like a human embryo.)

Google Earth on a touch screen table - video demo

The interactive table used in this video demonstration is Diamond Touch, from MERL. In this application, navigation through Google Earth is controled through speech.

Here is a picture of how the table works:

If you are looking for good resources for teaching and learning math using technology, visit the Math Tools website.

Link to MegaList of Resources and References: Psychology, Technology, Prevention & Intervention

Take a look at the mega-list of references and resources for psychology, technology, education, prevention and intervention posted on the TechPsych blog. Many of the references include links on-line articles and resources.

Interactive literacy applications and on-line resources

Here are some literacy links:

STARFALL
This extensive, free resource works well with in situations such as peer-tutoring, small group instruction, and home learning interventions. Good potential for reading intervention research, also for interventions/support for ELL students. Impressive on an interactive whiteboard. From the website: "“Starfall's online reading programs, together with Starfall's printed materials, are available free from our website as a public service. The website is easy to access and does not require special software to operate. Our printed materials are available for download free of charge. Starfall's educational objectives are consistent with the findings of National Research Council in their report on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children."

EDUTOPIA ARTICLE ABOUT AUDIOBOOKS- "Listening to Literature"

EDUTOPIA ARTICLE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND READING - "Tech Teaches"

LEXIA LEARNINGSYSTEMS
Lexia provides interactive software applications for reading. A Spanish version is available. The Lexia Cross-Trainer provides interactive games to develop visual-spatial problem -solving skills. For more information, visit the Lexia products link and the support library.

HEADSPROUT

"HeadSprout's secure, web-based performance reports summarize the online instruction into practical information for teachers and administrators. Automated performance reports provide objective, empirical information about each student's individual strengths and weaknesses and progression within the Headsprout reading program."

Samples

EDMARK and RIVERDEEP

Edmark and Riverdeep offer a range of educational applications geared towards special learning needs. Some of the validity research regarding these products is dated. (Research that compares the effectiveness of these products with other interactive reading and academic programs is needed.)

LITERACY RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS
Resources from UConn to support reading and writing for students with special needs.

NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL LIBRARY ARTICLE ON TECHNOLOGY AND LITERACY - "Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

READ PRINT
Good resources for reading materials. Includes biographical information about various authors. According to the website: "Our website offers thousands of free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast."

VCOM3D INC

From the website: "This technology provides interactive, 3D animated characters that communicate through body language (including gesture, signs, and facial expression), lip-synched speech, and action. Their embedded behaviors reflect each character‚’s individual personality, and makes them appealing and lifelike."

"A striking increase in attention span, their level of engagement, and results. During an evaluation at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, the increase in comprehension when shifting from text-only to text accompanied by sign language using SigningAvatar technology was 17% to 67%."

INTERVENTION CENTRAL

A great on-line resource is Intervention Central, created by Jim Wright, a school psychologist and school administrator. On this site, you will find several on-line tools, downloads, and links to a variety of academic and behavioral intervention strategies. Many of the interventions focus on literacy. There are some technology links on the site.

Update 3/24/10:  READ 180

"READ 180 is a comprehensive reading intervention program proven to meet the needs of struggling readers in transitional Grades 3–12. The program directly addresses individual needs through differentiated instruction, adaptive and instructional software, high-interest literature and non-fiction, and direct instruction in reading, writing, and vocabulary skills."