Resources

Assistive Technology Resources

2010-06-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have found that there are wonderful resources available for special needs learners using mainstream and web-based technologies. I will be listing them shortly.

Digital Storytelling

2006-07-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Digital Storytelling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digital Storytelling refers to using new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own real-life stories

An emerging term

It is an emerging term, one that arises from a grassroots movement that uses new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own 'true stories' in a compelling and emotionally-engaging form. These stories usually takes the form of a relatively short story (less than 8 minutes) and can involve interactivity.

The term can also be a broader journalistic reference to the variety of emergent new forms of digital narratives (web-based stories, interactive stories, hypertexts, and narrative computer games).

As an emerging area of creative work, the definition of digital storytelling is still the subject of much debate.

Development and pioneers

The broad definition has been used by innumerable artists and producers to link their practices with traditions of oral storytelling and often to delineate work from the highly produced commercial or conceptual projects by focusing on authorship and humanistic or emotionally provocative content. Some of the artists that have self-described as digital storytellers included Abbe Don, Brenda Laurel, Dana Atchley, and Pedro Meyer. Much pioneering work has been done by the Center for Digital Storytelling.

The short narrated films definition of digital storytelling relates back to the development of a production workshop by Dana Atchley at the American Film Institute in 1993 that was adapted and refined by Joe Lambert in the mid-1990's into a method of training promoted by the San Francisco Bay Area-based Center for Digital Storytelling.

Typically, digital stories are produced in intensive workshops. The product is a 2-5 minute film that combines a narrated piece of personal writing, photographic images and a musical soundtrack. The philosophy behind this type of digital storytelling is one of using technology to enable those without a technical background to produce works that tell a story using moving images and sound.

Use by public broadcasters and education

This model has been integrated into public broadcasting by the BBC in the UK, beginning with the Capture Wales project, led by Daniel Meadows. The following year a similar project was launched by the BBC in England called Telling Lives. The executive producer of BBC Telling Lives has since set up his own digital storytelling training and consultancy called digistories.

The Center for Digital Storytelling model has also been adopted in education, especially in the US, where some practitioners use it as a method of building engagement and multimedia literacy. For example, the Bay Area Video Coalition employs digital storytelling as a means of engaging and empowering at-risk youth.

Free Storyboarding Software
http://www.atomiclearning.com/storyboardpro

Also, resources are located at http://homepage.mac.com/seilts Go to Files > Adobe Institute and files are available for download.

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling

Adobe Digital Kids Clubhouse
Digital Storytelling in Education
http://sitedigitalstory.blogspot.com/
http://www.nextexit.com/dap/whatis.html
http://t3.k12.hi.us/t302-03/tutorials/digstory/elements.htm
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/IESE/MCI/digital-storytelling.html
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Instructional_Technology/Digital_Storytelling
http://story.e2bn.net/
http://www.acmi.net.au/digital_stories.htm
http://teach.fcps.net/trt18/Digital%20Writing/digitalstory.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~slizzard/articles/acm97DigStory.htm
http://www.zgdv.de/distel
http://www.storycenter.org/
http://www.chamisamesa.net/video.html
http://t3.preservice.org/wmu/Preparing%20for%20Digital%20Story%20Telling.htm
http://www.inms.umn.edu/elements/
http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Performing_Arts/Storytelling/Digital_Storytelling/
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/digital_storytelling/digital_storytelling.htm
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan02/banaszewski.htm
http://hotwired.wired.com/synapse/braintennis/97/31/index0a.html
http://digitalmediaacademy.org/storytelling.html
http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/storycast/
http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/DigitalStorytelling/Digital%20Storytelling%20Main%20Page.htm
http://www.storyarts.org/
http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/
http://www.kgurbanvillage.com.au/sharing/dstories/index.shtm
http://www.storynet.org/Getting%20Started.htm
http://www.etsu.edu/stories/
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/s99/sobol.html
http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000440/Introduction.html
http://www.storycenter.org/memvoice/pages/cookbook.html
http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/digitalstory/
http://newali.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ALIStandards.woa/wa/displayExhibit
http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/category.asp?Category_ID=5
http://www.coe.wayne.edu/org/TED/faculty/roney.html
http://www.fratellibologna.com/NewPages/rebecca.stockley.html
http://homepage.mac.com/nctplarry/PhotoAlbum11.html
http://digitalmediaacademy.org/carl_owens.html
http://www.thestorynet.com/about_us.htm
http://www.fratellibologna.com/NewPages/rebecca.stockley.html
http://www.improv.org/players/company/stockley_rebecca.htm
http://results.ocde.us/presenters.asp
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=1877&page=3
http://lqgraphics.com/software/
http://www.grantedsw.com/
http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1418&issue=dec_05#
http://www.macilife.com/digitalhub/
http://www.macworld.com/2004/02/secrets/digitalhub/
http://edtech.guhsd.net/video.html
http://calvin.com/
http://homepage.mac.com/jbtv/Personal4.html
http://www3.emagic.de/english/news/2003/logic6/index.html
http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/joebre/movie/
http://www.search-engine-lists.com/marktwain/mark-twain-how-to-tell-a-story.html
http://www.babybirdproductions.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=BBP
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south/
http://wwwdk.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/july2002/tales.shtml
http://wwwdk.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/july2002/tales.shtml
http://www.hasd.org/ges/talltale/talltale.htm#Johnhenry
http://www4.district125.k12.il.us/faculty/lbrown/SophEngPSA.html
http://www.aaarts.com/bootcamp/index.html
http://ali.apple.com/
http://www.tech4learning.com/imageblender/samples/general.html
http://www.sfett.net/1_iCan/4_ican4/ican4.html
http://homepage.mac.com/frogntoad/index.html
http://homepage.mac.com/cowens1/PhotoAlbum21.html
http://www.sfett.net/
http://sandbox.science.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?HorizonProjectVCOP/
http://www.scott.k12.ky.us/technology/digitalstorytelling/ds.html
http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/
http://tech-head.com/dstory.htm
http://www.infotoday.com/mmschools/jan02/banaszewski.htm

Samples
http://dsi.kqed.org/index.php/context/about/C75
http://dsi.kqed.org/index.php/context/about/C40
http://dsi.kqed.org/index.php/contest/about/C24
http://dsi.kqed.org/index.php/projects/story_big/81 (this story is about a young African American's experience with stereotypes.
Pinwheels for Peace http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com
Country Boys PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/countryboys/

Rubrics
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Music

Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

MyMusic Inc. http://www.mymusicinc.com/home.htm?affID=2452
All Cool Music http://www.allcoolmusic.com/home.htm?affID=0001310
Free Play Music http://www.freeplaymusic.com/
Free Music.com http://www.free-music.com/fma2000/
The Music Bakery http://www.musicbakery.com/

The Web 2.0

2006-07-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

A 2.0 Primer - A beginner's guide to all things 2.0

What is Web 2.0
The article that started it all, by Tim O'Reilly, the publisher and Internet guru who coined the term.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Web 2.0
http://www.shambles.net/web2/

David Warlick
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/
http://davidwarlick.com/wiki-warlick/index.php?title=Redefining_Literacy_for_the_21st_Century
http://davidwarlick.com/wiki-warlick/index.php?title=The_New_Shape_of_Information
Will Richardson
He talks about so much stuff for Web 2.0, it's frightening. Look at podcast #30
http://www.speakingofhistory.blogspot.com

Video on Web 2.0
Infomancy
Christipher Harris' blog, where the school library professional discusses technology issues as they relate to libraries and more.
http://schoolof.info/infomancy/

Library 2.0
A collection of related Web links.
http://ma.gnolia.com/groups/library2

Library 2.0 and "Library 2.0"
A balanced look at Library 2.0 from walt Crawford, Senior Analyst for Research Libraries Group, Inc. (now owned by OCLC)
http://cites.boisestate.edu/civ6i2.pdf

Library 2.0/Web 2.0
A wealth of 2.0 blog entries by Michael Stevens, former special projects librarian at the St. Joseph County (IN) Public Library.
http://tametheweb.com/library_20web_20/

School Library Blogs
Also by Chris Harris, an aggregated page of top school library blogs.
http://libraryblogs.suprglu.com/

Tags/library20
Library 2.0 in pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/library20/

Tech Crunch
A blog that reviews emerging Web 2.0 tools
http://www.techcrunch.com/

Also:
http://ajaxoffice.sourceforge.net/
http://www.francisshanahan.com/zuggest.aspx
http://www.basecamphq.com/
http://backpackit.com http://www.calendarhub.com/
http://del.icio.us/
http://www.dropcash.com/
http://flickr.com/
http://www.jumpcut.com/ Make your own movie online.
http://www.flagrantdisregard.com/flickr
http://www.kiko.com/
http://www.meebo.com/
http://www.protopage.com/v2
http://www.formassembly.com/time-tracker/
http://weboggle.shackworks.com/
http://www.techsmith.com (records screen and creates video with sound)
http://www.gatherplace.net (subscription based screen sharing through internet)
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ An amazing number of applications for a variety of uses. Wow!

Library 2.0
http://schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6330755.html
http://beiffert.net/liblog/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/scuttle
http://creativecommons.org/
http://drupal.org

Bloglines for Educators
http://www.bloglines.com/public/kimsblog

E-learning 2.0
http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=29-1

Handwriting Worksheet Maker

2005-07-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

Specialized Fonts
If you need to have an additional font for student writing practice, please let me know. There is also a really wonderful website Amazing Handwriting Worksheet Maker which allows you to type in students' names or short sentences and a tracing worksheet can be printed. Very cool.

Creating Paperless Tests for Students

2004-09-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

Creating Paperless Tests For Your Students

If you can scan the text, then you have two fairly easy options.

One is to use Microsoft Word.

Step 1. Paste the scanned text into a new Word document.
Step 2. Under the View menu, select Toolbars and then Forms. In the Forms Toolbar the first icon (ab) places a data field in your document and the last icon (a padlock) locks all text but the data fields.
Step 3. position your cursor where you want an "answer field" and select the (ab) icon from the Forms Toolbar. A gray box will appear. Repeat for all desired "answer fields".
Step 4. Place your cursor at the top of the document and select the (padlock) icon to lock all text except the data fields. When the documant is opened the cursor will be in the first answer field and Tab takes you to the next (Shift Tab takes you back) or you could use the mouse to navigate. If you initially save your documant as a template, you won't overwrite the original.

Here's a "homemade" solution for AppleWorks (or ClarisWorks) users who can use a mouse and read independently:

Import a scanned image of the worksheet into a drawing document
Then "lock" it (in the Arrange menu).
Text frames can be placed over blanks (by the student or a helper), (If the helper does it ahead of time, type a "space" in each text frame - AppleWorks doesn't like to save empty frames - then lock it.
You can even "show tools" (View menu) and use the paint bucket to colorize the background of the text frame so it's more visible.)
Students can also use the "mountains" in the lower left of the window to zoom in and out. Line tools, circles, etc. let you follow other common worksheet instructions

.
This is a "quck" solution for a student who had muscular dystrophy and couldn't complete worksheets on paper. His/her needs can be accommodated without buying additional software, etc., and members of a "computer club" can be taught to do the scanning on a daily basis.

One other solution which is a variant of the others mentioned is to use AppleWorks(database document) or Filemaker Pro database.

Scan the worksheet in as a graphic and paste it into the background.
Now create some fields and position them on the graphic. What is nice is that you can create drop down menus, radio buttons, and position them anywhere you want.

If you use the Tab Order feature you can also control the order in which the insertion point goes into a field.

School Technology

2004-09-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.electronic-school.com/
http://www.mccsc.edu/CAI/SD/diglearn.html
http://mathforum.org/library/view/491.html
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~mlhall/schools.html

Valuable Resources

2004-08-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology
National Education Technology Plan
Technology & Learning - The Resource for Education Technology Leaders

Blogs
Blogs in Education
New Bulletin Boards
Educational Blogs

Electronic Portfolios
E-Portfolios for Learning
Electronic Portfolios
Technology and Assessment
At a Glance Guides to Electronic Portfolio Development
Macromedia-Templates

Digital Natives by Marc Prensky
Mark Prensky Website
Educational Gaming John Gee
Wisconsin Technology Network Article on John Gee
Video Game Revolution
PBS Video Game Revolution

Game Based Learning
Game Based Learning-Educause Review

Email in the Classroom
ePALS Classroom Exchange
Filtered student email accounts
Gaggle.net

Online Activites
Learn to Read at Starfall
Froguts-Virtual Dissection
Education World Site Reviews
aPlus Math
City of Davis Fire Engine Tour
Virtual Wall- Viet Nam Memorial
The Hermitage Museum
Archimedes' Laboratory
Learn Spanish Online for Free
Interesting Things for ESL/EFL Students

Science Technology
iScience Project

Virtual School Article at CNN.com
CNN Virtual Schools

Virtual Field Trips
Tramline Virtual Field Trips
Geology Field Trips
Virtual Classroom Field Trips
Virtual Field Trips
Virtual Schoolhouse
Virtual Field Trips
Virtually Hawaii
Smithsonian Millennium Virtual Smithsonian
MEDtropolis - Virtual Body

Visual Imaging
Image and Multimedia Database Resources
Picts 4 Learning, Copyright-friendly images for education

Desktop Video
MovieWorks
About.com

Virtual Worlds
Moo
Super MOO Educational List
A Random Walk Through The 20th Century Just for fun.
The Purpose of MOOs
MOOs and MUDs

Copyright and Fair Use
Web Builders' and Multimedia Resources
Web Site Images Policies and Guidelines
Fair Use Harbor
Hall Davidson

Powerpoint
PowerPoint Jeopardy Games
Who Wants to be a Winner
Powerpoint in the Classroom
Jeopardy Powerpoint Template
Games for the Science Classroom
Powerpoint Jeopardy
Powerpoint Tutorial for the Classroom

Video Conferencing
iSightEd
iChat

Synchronous Online Conversation
Tapped In
iChat
iVisit
Meebo

Wiki
Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
Wiki-Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Educational Software Resources
California Learning Resource Network

Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning using Multimedia
The Guide on the Side Project/Inquiry-Based Learning Resources
Project-based Learning Space
Project Approach in Early Childhood and ELementary Education
Criteria for Authentic Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning, Leadership and Technology, University of Calgary
Introduction to Networked Project-Based Learning
Contextual Learning Resources
Learning Circles
Project-based Learning for ESL
Ten Quick Wins in e-Learning
Edutopia, Project-based Learning at a Glance

Special Needs Resources
Closing The Gap
QIAT-Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology
Parents Helping Parents
The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet

Searching the World Wide Web
Kartoo
Ixquick
Google
Using the Web as a Source of Information
Searching The World Wide Web

Technology Assessments
California Technology Assistance Project-Technology Assessment Profile

Professional Orgs. and Publications
International Society for Technology in Education
T.H.E. Journal
Center for Digital Education
Converge Magazine
Education World
Annenberg/CPB Learner.org
George Lucas Foundation-Edutopia
The World and I School
National Center for Technology Planning

Emerging Technologies
Smart Technologies-SmartBoards
Mimio-Virtual Ink
Online High School
Blue Tooth Technology
Apple Blue Tooth Technology
Watch Education
Course Builder for Macromedia Dreamweaver

Independent Solutions
O'Reilly Network: Wireless Development Center
Homemade Wireless Antenna
Freebie Lists

Professional Resources
Virtual Architecture
Rubistar
Trackstar
Creating A New Culture of Teaching and Learning by Alan November
Technology Learning Cycle
Digital Storytelling
NorthCentral Regional Educational Labratory
Discovery School's PuzzleMaker
Landmarks for Schools Citation Machine creates bibliographic citations!
Freebies
Computers for Learning-GSA
I Love Schools.com go to Resources-State

Group Development
Big Dog's Leadership Page Special Project Teams
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadtem2.html
tuckman forming storming norming performing model
http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
Business Relationships - Stages
http://www.smartfast.com/ea_business_relationships_stages.html
bruce w. tuckman - forming, storming norming and performing in groups
http://www.infed.org.uk/thinkers/tuckman.htm
What are the Stages of Group Development?
http://www.wilderdom.com/group/StagesGroupDevelopment.html