An Unprecedented Opportunity to Advance AT Integration in Our Classrooms

Did you know?
Recently, the US Department of Education released information about additional funding sources to support students with special needs under IDEA B and C.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) appropriates significant new funding for programs under Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Part B of the IDEA provides funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to help them ensure that children with disabilities, including children aged three through five, have access to a free appropriate public education to meet each child's unique needs and prepare him or her for further education, employment, and independent living.

The IDEA recovery funds under ARRA will provide an unprecedented opportunity for states, LEAs, and early intervention service providers to implement innovative strategies to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youths with disabilities while stimulating the economy.

This site provides preliminary information about what your state might receive.

The guiding principles include:

1. Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs (I'm not making this up.)
2. Improve student achievement through school improvement and reform
3. Ensure transparency, reporting and accountablility
4. Invest one-time funds thoughtfully to avoid the "funding cliff"

Additionally, guidelines are offered for IDEA Part B recovery funds.

The IDEA recovery funds constitute a large one-time increment in IDEA, Part B funding that offers states and LEAs a unique opportunity to improve teaching and learning and results for children with disabilities. Generally, funds should be used for short-term investments that have the potential for long-term benefits, rather than for expenditures the LEAs may not be able to sustain once the recovery funds are expended. Some possible uses of these limited-term IDEA recovery funds that are allowable under IDEA and aligned with the core reform goals for which states must provide assurances under SFSF include:

Obtain state-of-the art assistive technology devices and provide training in their use to enhance access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities.

Provide intensive district-wide professional development for special education and regular education teachers that focuses on scaling-up, through replication, proven and innovative evidence-based school-wide strategies in reading, math, writing and science, and positive behavioral supports to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. (refer to the site for additional allowable uses).

It's right there in the law - the very first recommendation! Acquire the appropriate Assistive Technology and provide the necessary professional development.

What a unique opportunity to assist our students in the acquisition of the assistive technology that they need to make effective progress in our schools. AND, as we well know, availability of the devices, software and hardware alone never ensures success. The guidelines suggest that LEAs use the recovery funds to provide the professional development required to promote curriculum access.

We are presented with an UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY to meet the needs of our students. Be a part of the discussion with your special education directors. Be an advocate for your students. Identify the assistive technology solutions that your students need and request the professional development required to ensure seamless integration.

Finally, we can consider our student's needs first. Be a part of the solution.

Additional Information: http://www.donjohnston.com/stimulus/
Economic Stimulus Package Webinar (from Atomic Learning)

Ideas to Inspire - Amazing Resource

Looking for inspiration today?

Here's an amazing resource that I learned about from Kevin Jarrett's blog. Ideas to Inspire is an incredible, interactive, collaborative resource comprised of Google presentations filled with exciting curriculum ideas.

It's difficult to highlight particular presentations since they are all informative and instructive. Explore "Inspiring Writing" or "Interesting Ways to use Netbook's" or "Pocket Video Cameras" or "Interactive Whiteboards" or "Google Earth" and "Google Docs."

There are ideas for all grade levels.

These ideas that inspire clearly support multiple methods of engagement, representation and expression and will support students with diverse learning needs.

Try them all under each category and have your class rate their favorites. There are enough ideas that can last you the entire school year. Have fun exploring your favorites with your students!

My Webspiration

Just an FYI - My Webspiration is temporarily closing beta sign-ups on March 18th. It's highly recommended that you sign-up now so that you don't miss out on this opportunity. My Webspirtion is a free online graphic organizer/concept mapping tool/visual outline tool by Inspiration and is included in the UDL Tech Toolkit wiki under graphic organizers. I don't know of any other free online graphic organizers that allow you to easily switch from diagram view to outline view with one click. This is a must have as part of your Classroom Toolkit.

Why Do We Use Textbooks?

From my reader this morning - Joe 1.0 - Joe's Non Netbook by Chris Lehmann



The improv video is a brilliant illustration of the textbook as the disability and the need for Universal Design for Learning! How engaged were those students? How able were they to work with the material? How accessible is a textbook?

It's clearly time to review our curriculum purchases as we enter another budget cycle.

UDL Conversations

Can education be transformed or is it just a dream?
I may be idealistic but I believe that it is possible to transform education. Not only do I believe it is possible, I believe it is essential especially when considering students who are struggling learners.

One way to achieve transformation is to incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework based upon neuroscience research which promotes multiple methods of engagement, representation and expression to benefit all students in our classrooms. The book Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning (2002) by David Rose and Anne Meyer elucidated the research, the framework and the principles.

Sarah McPherson is using social networking tools to encourage interested educators to join an online discussion of the book. The discussion began yesterday and continues through July 1. Join the Teaching Every Student ning and participate with other educators in grasping UDL principles that will transform the teaching and learning that occurs in your classroom. Sarah describes the Ning this way:

This ning is designed to support our learning community based on the book discussion initiated by ISTE SigTE. It is not a closed ning. Feel free to invite your colleagues, students, and teachers to join the community. We chose the ning because of its flexibility to host discussion forums, blogs, videos, photos, live chat, links to other resources, etc. It is quite robust and useful for all levels of participation. We look forward to you sharing your thoughts and experiences with the community on the book and topics it introduces.

It's easy enough to join the ning. Be a lurker or better yet, be an active participant and contribute to the conversation.

Cutting the Clutter

Do you notice the visual clutter on websites? Homepages filled with junk, unnecessary visuals or information that makes reading what is important difficult?

For people with print disabilities, this can be especially challenging. Enter Readability. Readability describes itself as a free, simple tool that makes reading on the web more "enjoyable" as it reduces the clutter on the screen. I think it also makes reading the web easier. Throw in a screen reader or Click,Speak and listening to text for content is easier then ever.

Check it out here:


Add it to your toolbox and share it with your students. Equip and empower them to develop their own toolbelts for success and independence beyond the walled gardens in their classroom.

The Kindle 2: The Good and the Bad

Does Amazon realize what it makes possible for those who struggle with print access? Apparently not.

Too bad, because the Kindle 2 truly is a "revolutionary wireless reading device."

First, the bad news: Amazon has caved to the Author's Guild and backed away from the Text-to-Speech feature available in the newest Kindle. According to the NY Times, Amazon has released this statement, bowing to pressure, partially excerpted here:

Kindle 2’s experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business.

Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver’s seat.

Therefore, we are modifying our systems so that rights holders can decide on a title by title basis whether they want text-to-speech enabled or disabled for any particular title. We have already begun to work on the technical changes required to give authors and publishers that choice. With this new level of control, publishers and authors will be able to decide for themselves whether it is in their commercial interests to leave text-to-speech enabled. We believe many will decide that it is.

Many of us working in the AT field were thrilled about the possibilities with this device for those we work with or know who struggle with print access. Since it is the publisher's decision to allow TTS, we ask that all publishers recognize the service that the feature offers and remove any restrictions to TTS. People who do not need the feature will find the computerized voice challenging to follow and will not use it. It is in your commercial interest to leave TTS enabled.

Don't believe me? Check out what Tim O'Brien, a blind photographer has to say in his post entitled, "One Small Step for Amazon, One Giant Leap Backwards for Access."

Now the good news: Read this review posted on the Amazon site from a 29 year old man who is quadriplegic. He describes how the Kindle 2 has restored his ability to read books independently. Ben Hobson's concluding comments follow:

If I knew the e-mail address for Jeff Bezos I would happily send him this review that I will also be posting in the forums so he would personally know that he has truly changed one man's life for the better, that this device for some of us will not just be incredibly convenient, but that it will be life altering.

I can offer no higher praise so with that in my review ends. Thank you...... thank you Kindle team.

Now that is a ringing endorsement! Wouldn't it be wonderful if those with vision impairments and reading disabilities were also able to benefit from this tool that potentially removes barriers to access?

Please, publishers, do the right thing and leave the Kindle 2's Text-to-Speech enabled!

Thanks to Sam Sennott's blog post which alerted me to the Kindle TTS decision.