Free access to Learning Disability Review for one week only - some great articles so study while you can! LectureTools is a student response system that also allows students to take notes linked with the slides and videos presented in class, answer instructor generated questions and pose questions to the instructor. All notes, questions and activities are instantly synchronized with the LectureTools web application. Via Ana Cristina Pratas 
Thought provoking take on Bloom's taxonomy - I loved the interactivity. I still think Blooms is one of the most elegant, challenging and useful ways of assessing teaching and learning.
eBook readers examined and compared, giving an overview of the accessibility benefits and obstables of a selection of eBook readers and apps. 
The Maths, Stats and OR Accessibility Workshop, took place at the University of Bath on 21st February 2011. The booklet summarising the good practices shared is now available in PDF as: Good Practice on Inclusive Curricula in the Mathematical Sciences. 
High quality courses from the top universities, for free to everyone. We currently host courses from Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Pennsylvania. USeful additions to your Open Educational Resources (OER) programmes. The wider range of resources your learners have access to the more easily you can mix and match to their inclusion needs. Via Ana Cristina Pratas 
Each year, the Lions International student exchange program introduces young people to life in other cultures by helping them travel abroad. The International Leo Youth Camp already takes place for the 12th time this summer. Blind or partially sighted young adults at the age of 18-25 from all over Europe have the chance to experience a very special two-week holiday in Scharbeutz nearthe Baltic Sea. The whole camp is being cared for by Leos of more or less the same age and the camp language is English. 
The following is an excellent roundup of recent articles around mobile learning and the use of tablets in education. It is a comprehensive read of current ideas, concepts and concerns around this modern learning phenomenon ...NB - JISC TechDis Upwardly Mobile resource has some better ways of getting started in Mlearning using PowerPoint - See http://tinyurl.com/ckuwqx2
Find apps and digital tools that correspond to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy (cognitive)... Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating! Via C.Rathsack 
LiteracyNews.comHow the eBook Revived Our Love for LiteratureLiteracyNews.comYou see, Great Britain is being transformed into a book reading nation and – if stats are anything to go by – it's all thanks to the eBook. 
Digital Image and Graphic Resources for Accessible Materials...a nice project looking at the increasingly important options for making images and diagrams in online content more accessible to blind and partially sighted users. Includes useful summary of different ebook tools and their ability to handle Alt Texts etc - http://diagramcenter.org/research/ebook-software.html 
Any developer teams out there playing with mobile apps? Especially inclusion focused apps? This is a chance to get some serious recognition for your work. 
Highlighting content on Down Syndrome to mark World Down Syndrome Day and Down’s Syndrome Awareness Week... Useful resources here, well worth visiting. |
JISC RSC Scotland has been working with learners to seek their views and perspectives on a number of issues that concern them, and in this video resource Matthew Clark a first year undergraduate student at the University of Glasgow shares his experience of transition.
He talks about his journey from New College Worcester, a national residential school and college for young people aged 11 to 19 who are blind or partially sighted to the University of Glasgow.
During this 30 minute interview, Matthew talks about the research he carried out in advance of applying to university, and about the partnerships he made in preparing the support he would require.
He also explains the process he undertook to apply for DSA and about the important of collaboration with key staff across the institution to ensure his support needs would be met. Via Margaret McKay 
Although aimed at supporting pre16 learners the principles in the info leaflets etc would benefit wider range of support and sector contexts. 
This interactive Xerte resource supplements the JISC TechDis contribution to the Dyslexia Action public lecture series. Delivered by Alistair McNaught on 26th April 2012 the resource contains lots of links to examples of Word and PowerPoint used creatively to help dyslexic learners develop exam and essay skills. 
The only e-book review site I've come across that considers text to speech. I wish it also had the maximum font size - that's such an important feature for many users. Take 60 seconds and easily compare several top rated ereaders with a side-by-side feature comparison chart and see how each stacks up. For more detailed specialist reviews see RNIB reviews at http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/readingwriting/ebooks/comparing/Pages/ebook_readers_compared.aspx 
Open source software for creating your own ebooks to run on multiple platforms from e-book to mobile phone. An update on the state of HTML5 video, from @longtailvideo. Fullscreen, accessibility and streaming still problems. 
A few months old but new to me - accessibility tips on using Google Docs and Google Sites.... "I Have a Blind Student in My Maths/Science Class, Should I panic? How to promote inclusion for blind students" Invited speaker session by Donal Fitzpatrick,... 
Over the last few weeks Technabling, the winners of the Making Waves element of the SBRI initiative, based at the University of Aberdeen have been receiving quite a bit of attention in the Scottish and UK press and within the JISC community. Their Portable Sign Language Translator (PSLT) initiative aims to bridge the communication divide between Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) and non BSL users.
Many in the BSL community are watching with interest to see how this initiative progresses, and to consider how PSLT could be used in both educational and social settings. High quality video with clarity and lack of latency will be important in ensuring that signs are conveyed clearly by video.
There is also interest in considering how this resource will manage BSL as a two way process which will have mutual benefit in assisting hearing community in communicating to BSL users, but also how hearing people will reciprocate their communication to BSL user, in particular where BSL users often regard written English as their second language.
With this in mind Dr Ernesto Compatangelo, a lecturer in computing science at the University of Aberdeen, and founder/director of Technabling is keen to interact with as many interested people as possible so that the PSLT development is truly user-driven in all its aspects.
Technabling have set up a website, www.pslt.org, which is dedicated to whoever wants to help them make the application a real success. If you are interested in liaising with Dr Compatangelo or participating in the user testing element of this exciting initiative you can email him at: pslt@technabling.co.uk. Via Margaret McKay RSC Scotland - Newsfeed: Siri Versus Evi - RNIB evaluation of voice activated PA or "digital friend"
Thanks to Margaret McKay for this gem. I've now downloaded Evi and been impressed with her conversational skills as well as her knowledge...! 
These Standards define the skills, qualifications and experience required to work in book and journal publishing and can be used to plan your career, develop job descriptions, recruit skilled staff, or design training courses and development schemes. JISC TechDis (part of the steering group) is delighted that accessibility has been recognised in more than 40 specific places in the standards - this bodes well for the future of accessible publishing and for opening up new markets for publishers. 
A book critic’s guide to e-reading devices. A little light diversion! |
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