Hopefully, everyone is having a fun, safe and relaxing summer! Unfortunately, mine has had a little bump in the road as my 6 year old broke her arm last weekend. So, I’ve been working on coming up with stuff for her to do that takes her mind off of wanting to be in the water or on her wakeboard behind the boat… so, Sight Words! Of course! What better substitute for wakeboarding! (She loves her daddy). Going into 1st grade, she is doing OK with phonics, but sight words are important for all students and something fairly easy and fun to practice during downtime…and easily doable with only 1-hand/arm on the mouse for my little broken one! The two computers my daughter has access to are smaller w/out the latest memory and graphics capability. One of them runs Windows XP and the other runs Linux. So, with these 2 constraints in mind, I set out on the web to find the best free Sight Word websites or Windows applications I could! Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Quiz-Tree: Word Searches, Dolch Word Lists and Free downloadable Sight Word Software. For example, here’s a screenshot of a Talking Sight Word Chart by grade level:

So, nothing real fancy at Quiz Tree Sight Words, but it’s quick, free and easy to get to with an internet browser in Mac, Windows or Linux! Quiz Tree also has Sight Words Buddy downloadable program for Windows. See Below. Quiz Tree: http://www.quiz-tree.com/Sight-Words_main.html

Sight-Safe:Lots of various sight-types of learning activities here. Some are freeware and some are shareware. There are apps and sites here that support text sight reading and others that work on music sight reading. http://sight.safe-install.com/

Sight-Words Buddy 1.1:Sight-Words Buddy 1.1is a FREE downloadable application for Windows. So, this one won’t work on the Mac or Linux systems, but see below for a Mac application. Students have to match the printed version of a sight word when they hear it auditorily. It will give you a percentage correct with one click and will tell you exactly which words your student/child missed. Your student can change the skin to make the program look a little different and you can choose word sets based on grade level. The only think I would love to have added to any of these sight word programs is the ability to upload/add my own words. Anyway, definitely download this small free app for Windows here: http://www.quiz-tree.com/sight-words-buddy.html

iFlash (Mac): I had a much more difficult time finding good free sight word apps for the Mac, but here is a flash card creator that runs on the Mac. It is not free ($14.95) but offers a free trial download here: http://www.loopware.com/iflash/

Genius (Mac): This one is free, but doesn’t quite offer all the functionality of iFlash above. This one is for the Mac and allows a student to practice, learn and review any information that needs to be memorized. http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13938

Text To Audio File 1.0: …another free one for the Mac. This little app will use the Leopard OS voices and create small AIFF files from text that you type or copy/paste into it. You can only a single line of text at a time, which is a small con, but it does do a nice job of quickly creating an AIFF audio file on your desktop. This nice little free app from Apple can be downloaded here: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/texttoaudiofile.html

Personal Brain: Something a little different. “The Digital Home For Your Mind” is what they call it.  There is a free edition and a Pro Edition.  The pro version isn’t free but you get a free 30 day trial.  However, I really thing the free edition will work well for many students (and teachers).  It is a Mac application.  Essentially, it is a Concept Mapping piece of software, somewhat like we’re used to with Kidspiration/Inspiration, but a little different.   Definitely check this out for any of your students who might be highly visual learners, have trouble organizing thoughts/plans/writing, etc.  Find it here:  http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/personalbrain.html

In the past, I’ve blogged about www.spokentext.net as a way to convert digital text to digital audio.  Of course, because it is a website, you can access it from any computer with access, giving you freedom from having to be at YOUR computer that has your text to audio software installed.  This week, I found a similar site that takes this concept one step further!

YAKiToMe: Not only is this site another FREE web based text to audio file converter, but it takes the concept to the next level by including podcasts and by allowing you to podcast your text to audio conversions to your students!   How cool is that?  Your students can actually subscribe to a podcast that you create with text to audio conversions and/or you can subscribe to your own T to A conversions podcast for things that you don’t have time to read, but can maybe listen to in the car or on the treadmill!   There are also other podcasts available.  You can alter pronunciations in your settings, you can alter voices that include some AT&T voices, you can change the speed of reading and choose to output as either a WAV or MP3.  It is available in many different languages, listen to the same converted file using different voices and more!  It is technically still in Beta I believe, but so far I’m very impressed!   www.yakitome.com

By now, hopefully most of you are resting up and enjoying the warmth after a great school year! My goal is to continue posting regularly to the blog on Fridays over the summer. So, here we go!

Text to Audio vs. Text to Speech: If you’ve been to any of my audio-text workshops or have been doing any work with digital text, you probably realize that text to speech happens as your computer reads text. I’ve blogged about a few of these text to speech programs for the Mac OS platform these last few weeks. However, Text to Audio is a little different in that the computer is not reading the text outloud, but is converting the text to an audio file, like an mp3 or mp4, etc. Ghostreader that I blogged about last week is one good one for the Mac. I’m still looking for additional alternatives. BUT, once you get an audio file, you might need to convert it from one format to another. For example, for a grad class I’m teaching this summer, I’m podcasting all of the classes as a reference/review tool for the learners. The recording device I used this morning, only recorded a WMA file, which is not very useful on a Mac. So…

(FREE) Switch for Mac will convert wma to just about anything else: http://www.nch.com.au/switch/

However, to even begin to work with WMA files on a Mac, you also need to do a one-time install of this little piece of software called Flip4Mac, which is also free: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx

This created the conversion for me from the unusable wma file on my Mac to a standard mp3 file that I was able to add to the podcast.

Voice Output/AAC for your Mac:
Proloquo for Mac is not free unfortunately, unless you are an existing user, then the update to version 2.0 is free. Otherwise, it is about $299. However, it is a nice little AAC program for your Mac. It will also provide speech feedback while typing works well with Keystrokes and SwitchXS.

More Text to Speech for Mac:
You definitely need to check out GhostReader for your Mac if you are looking for a great text to speech program. This will read text anywhere on your Mac and highlight as it reads…AND will allow you to create iTunes tracks and Podcasts!!! It is not free, but it’s only about$40 for a single lic/single language. Bilingual/Trilingual licenses are also available and slightly more expensive, but still relatively affordable. You can download a time-limited full working version as a trial.

Digital Recorders: I’ve blogged in the past about the many instructional benefits of podcasting in your schools and mobile podcasting with cell phones or with hand-held recorders. This week, I came across this Handheld Digital Audio Recorders Buyers Guide, from B&H Photo Video. Not all of it applies to instructional/classroom uses, but it is a nice little guide/intro to handheld recorders if you are just starting to think that you might want one and not sure where to begin and what features to look for.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/Digital-Audio-Recorders-Buyers-Guide.jsp

UDL Guildelines 1.0: I’ve been talking to many groups all over the region this month and last month about UDL, NIMAS and RTI. I was a little surprised by the number of people who were hearing about UDL (Universal Design for Learning) for the very first time. Recently CAST (Center for Applied Special Technologies) released UDL Guildelines V.1.0 for Teachers, Publishers and Curriculum Developers.

These guidelines are available to view and move through right in your browser OR as a MS Word document download here, and are certainly worth spending a little time looking through: http://www.cast.org/publications/UDLguidelines/version1.html

WATCH for UDL Pilot Project Applications to be available in the Fall! Contact your PATINS Site Coordinator with questions and keep an eye on this site for applications: http://www.patinsproject.com/udl.html

As most of the PATINS Site offices start to close up shop for the summer, I do want to let everyone know that I will continue blogging every Friday. Keep any eye on the blog for info and quick tips and tricks over the summer that you might want to implement when you return again in August!

Call For Papers

CLOSES in 7 Days!

Did you know that General Session Presenters get into the PATINS State Conference free of charge? We are seeking school staff or administration doing exciting things with your students to make the curriculum more accessible and improving student achievement. Submit your CFP online in just a few quick steps

Online CFP Form is Here

2008 PATINS State Conference
November 10th & 11th, 2008
Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center
Keynote Speaker: Jim Fruchterman
Benetech President and CEO

Call For Papers

is open for just another couple of weeks!

Did you know that General Session Presenters get into the PATINS State Conference free of charge? We are seeking school staff or administration doing exciting things with your students to make the curriculum more accessible and improving student achievement. Submit your CFP online in just a few quick steps

Online CFP Form is Here

2008 PATINS State Conference
November 10th & 11th, 2008
Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center
Keynote Speaker: Jim Fruchterman
Benetech President and CEO

Keyboard Shortcuts: One computing habit that I really advocate for is the use of keyboard shortcuts. Given that teachers simply have very limited time to actually be sitting at a computer, the ability to automate certain functions and to do them more efficiently by keeping both hands on the keyboard or one hand on the mouse is important. You may have noticed that there have been a few technical training video tutorials posted on the PATINS website recently. HERE.
One that I posted this week is on just a few of the most basic keyboard shortcuts. More importantly, there should be another 10 or so technical training videos available on the PATINS website by the end of this school year and then another 20 or so next school year. Keep an eye on them!

So, as I continue to get to know my Mac computer a bit better, I’ve forced myself to put the PC away and to try and do everything in my normal responsibilities on my Mac. …I almost succeeded. One thing I was really missing and struggling with is having to search for the keyboard shortcuts that I’m used to on the PC. Most are a little different on the Mac.

So, I thought I’d post in one place, some of the great resources for learning about the extensive keyboard shortcuts for both the PC and Mac platforms.

PC Keyboard Shortcuts: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449

Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343

Mac S/C specifically for creating symbols: http://www.usingmac.com/2007/12/12/100-mac-keyboard-shortcuts-for-creating-symbols

200+ Productivity Shortcuts for the Mac (very nice!): http://usingmac.com/assets/2007/12/12/shortcuts-cheat-sheet.jpg

Kindergarten Bloggers!
This week I visited a Kg. class and talked to them about blogging and to help them create their first posting. I wasn’t surprised to realize that many of them knew more about blogging than a lot of the adults I know! I think that’s very cool and so empowering to learn and explore something new WITH your students! This Kg class I visited plans to initially use their blog for group writing activities, lesson reinforcement and posting questions for parents/community about whatever it is that they are studying (a great idea from the classroom teacher). For example, yesterday I helped them do their first posting on Starfish; something they’d been studying in science as part of an ‘ocean’ theme. Parents can then sit down in the evenings with their child and read the blog post, talk about it and post a response. The teacher then has to approve all comments before they are made public. Check out their blog here! http://aduff.tlschools.org/

Mac Video Conversion: One more awesome resource for the Mac that you need to know about if you are doing anything with digital video in your classroom (and you should be ).  As many of you know, I have been doing a lot with digital video and putting prompting systems on iPods, Zunes and other devices.  Well, I’d like to continue this on the Mac, but felt pretty lost and overwhelmed.  The big piece that I was missing was a video converter.  iMovie tends to work differently than MovieMaker, but I was able to figure it out.  However, I wasn’t able to convert the videos from my Flipvideo camera to a format that iMovie would accept and work with (I thought Macs were supposed to be more user friendly).  I found it very odd that the “user friendly” Macbook iMovie software wouldn’t even accept a .AVI file from the camcorder.  Anyway,  I needed something similar to “Any-Video-Converter” that I use on the PC side.

Eventually, after trying several products and being disappointed, I came across this one called MPEG Streamclip from Squared5.   So far, I’m really liking this product!  Even better than the free Any-Video-Converter so far and it works on both PC and Mac!  Check it out.

Speaking of the FlipVideo camera,  several other brands have now produced similar video cameras that might be worth looking at in comparison if you’re in the market for such a camera.  This one caught my eye this week:  VADO Camera!

Some accessories for the FlipVideo Camera are also available, like mounts for helmets, handle-bars, skins, soft cases and underwater cases.  Cool!  http://www.theflip.com/products_accessorize.shtml   Get creative with your digital video classroom use!!!

Don’t forget to submit a call for papers for the 2008 PATINS State Conference General Sessions! Click Here: http://www.patinsproject.com/htm/trainop.html

New Macbook? As a result of realizing that I need to be more familiar with Mac OS X to support the teachers using it and also realizing that the Mac platform offers some really useful tools for teachers, I’m posting part of this Friday’s Blog on my new Macbook. On one hand I feel like I’m learning to use a computer all over again -Where’s my right click!?!? On the other hand many things are quite similar and I’m enjoying the experience very much! I’m such a techie.

My goal is to eventually become as proficient with the Mac OS as I am with Windows XP and Vista, so that I no longer really consider myself a PC user or a Mac user, but some sort of hybrid. Using both systems simultaneously to be able to take advantage of the strengths of each just makes sense to me. (Linux is next after I learn the Mac!).

So, a few things that I’ve come across in my first few days with the Mac that I think could very useful to other coordinators, teachers and therapists working with both systems in the schools they serve:

Google Browser Sync: The first thing I realized was that I could use my old friend Firefox on the new Mac! So, after installing Firefox 2.0 on the Mac I then realized that I had none of my bookmarks even though I had my familiar Firefox browser.

A GREAT tool to use if you use more than one computer, whether they are all PC’s, all Macs or a healthy mix of both, is the free Google Browser Sync tool, which works in the background to constantly synchronize your browsers’ Bookmarks on each computer you use! This sync can be customized to include Cookies, Passwords, Tabs, History!

All you need is a free Google Account (which you should have anyway for using iGoogle and Google-Docs). Then the Google Browser Sync Tool runs in the background and keeps your multiple computers’ browsers all on the same page! http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/browsersync/

Hyperwords: Yes! my other friend Hyperwords still works on the Mac because I still use the Firefox Browser of course! So, don’t forget to install it on your Mac, your PC and your Linux system! Firefox runs on them all.

Vox Machina: http://vox-machina.net/ In search of a basic text to speech program for the new Mac, I came across this tool. It is not exactly what I was looking for, but it is worth looking at. Vox Machina is not a new application, but it allows you to either type or copy/paste text into the box it provides you on this website: http://vox-machina.net/

You then have the option of listening to the text being read right there on the website OR by outputting an mp3 audio file of the spoken text! This works using the Mac OS X speech synthesizer.

There is also a desktop downloadable version available for your Mac here: http://www.sveinbjorn.org/voxmachina
This also have an option to enable ‘Lip Syncing’ which shows an animated mouth forming the words as the computer reads them. …might be useful in some situations.

TypeIt ReadIt:
This is another free text to speech program for the Mac OS X. It is similar to Vox Machina, but offers some other options that include, spell check, larger text display and one-click reading from either the start of the cursor position. It does not offer text to mp3 output however. So, these 2 programs together might be what you want to use on your Mac for basic, free text to speech and text to mp3. http://www.schoolfreeware.com/TypeIt_ReadIt.html

PATINS State Conference:

Don’t forget to submit a call for papers for the 2008 PATINS State Conference General Sessions! Click Here: http://www.patinsproject.com/htm/trainop.html

Interactive WhiteBoards: I’ve posted briefly before about interactive whiteboards and if you’ve ever attended one of my workshops, you’ve likely heard me rave about the Smartboard I used to teach with in my classroom. It’s the one tool I would honestly have a very difficult time teaching in a classroom without! Anyway, I came across this techlearning posting about interactive whiteboards and thought it was a very concise description of why they have recently become so popular in the education world. It’s a quick read and worth your time if you’re curious about these boards! http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196605172

Seussville Book Creator: Another GREAT find by the NW Coordinator, Jim; this is a Dr. Seuss website where you/your students can create an animated book with Horton characters by choosing your scenes, your characters and then typing in your script! Very fun and likely to motivate a few of your reluctant writers to express themselves a little! Check it out:
http://www.seussville.com/games/storymaker/story_maker.html

DropIO: A free and easy way to exchange files, large or small, via the internet with other people you are collaborating with. This would be a good way to share/exchange podcast files you’re class with working on with someone in another class who is maybe editing them and then posting the episodes, etc! Check this out. There is no need to use your email address, no account to set up, it is private and any sort of media can be “dropped.” http://drop.io/

PATINS State Conference: Don’t forget to submit a call for papers for the 2008 PATINS State Conference General Sessions! Click Here: http://www.patinsproject.com/htm/trainop.html

~EduChallenge #6~

So, last time you were to make sure you had Firefox installed and then to get the Hyperwords Add-on installed into Firefox. (See last weeks post if you’re behind )
This week, take that Hyperwords application and come up with just one single use for it for one specific student in your classroom. Remember all the cool things that Hyperwords can do: translate, link to references, searching, speech to text, highlighting, etc.

THEN, come back here and post comments on your ideas. Don’t post any student names of course, but post a quick comment on your idea and the student’s barrier to learning you think it might help with. This could be a great resource/idea/networking tool IF you all come back here and post comments! …OK, Go!

..and submit a Call For Papers!
http://www.patinsproject.com/htm/trainop.html

PATINS State Conference 2008!!! I know, I know it’s not even May, but this past December’s PATINS State Conference was a such a positive event and we’ve already been in the planning stages for several weeks now to make the next one even better. There will be 45 minute General Sessions as part of this year’s conference and we need the outstanding educators, therapists, administrators, tech. directors, media specialists, etc., who read this blog, to consider submitting a proposal to present one or more of the great things you are doing with and for your students!

• The Call For Papers for General Sessions can be submitted online by filling out the form here:
  http://www.patinsproject.com/callforpapers.htm
• This year’s conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza (same as last year) on November 10th, 11th. So, get those dates on the calendar and into the budget now.

PATINS ‘08 Tech Expo: The 2008 PATINS Tech Expo was a big success! Attendees that I talked with seemed to be very excited about new ideas they had for all the new technology they were seeing and hearing about. I got very excited about several new things I saw as well! Something I’ll likely be doing a workshop on in the Fall will be placing tests or other pieces of digital reading material onto portable devices like iPods w/out a teacher ever having to read the test and the student being able to hear and see the text highlighted as it’s read by the iPod or other device.
Click Here for Photos from the Tech Expo!

A couple more from the iPod 100 page:

• iPod Lessons and General iPod How-To:Learning In Hand, iPods in Education from Tony Vincent… A true EXPERT when it comes to iPods and PDAs in classrooms! Everyone, whether or not you love portable content, should visit and become familiar with Tony’s work. Here’s a quick screenshot of the site, which should be enticing enough! Particularly interesting to me at the moment is using iQuiz quizzes on iPods coupled with my Self-Operated iPod Prompting system:
  

• Gabcast again: What a cool tool! I posted briefly about Gabcast as a free way to podcast from your phone (land or cell) back on 3/7/08 (HERE) and have since started really using it myself. I’ve created a free account for myself and the first couple episodes are just Sandy and I testing it out. The third episode is a very short (24 seconds) interview of yesterday’s Skype, Wikis & Blog workshop here in Columbia City. Basically, once your Gabcast account is set up, podcasting really couldn’t be any easier! I simply call a 1-800 number and then punch in my podcast code and then I start talking! As soon as I’m done, I simply push the #2 on my phone which immediately publishes the podcast to the public RSS feed! In other words, within 10 seconds of me publishing by pushing the #2 on my phone, anyone in the world could be listening to that podcast episode! That’s powerful! HOW COOL, for a teacher to podcast a 2 minute note to parents at the end of the day in this way, or for students to do this while on a field trip, or while interviewing other people (which hits a lot of state standards), etc! Obviously there really isn’t any editing or fancy intro/outro music when podcasting this way, but it’s so easy and with most phones, the quality is really quite acceptable, even for an audiophile like myself! If you are interested in subscribing to my Gabcast, here is the RSS feed: www.gabcast.com/casts/19096/rss/rss.xml In iTunes, subscribe by clicking Advanced and the Subscribe to Podcast and then paste the above URL into the text box, like this:

~EduChallenge #5~

Ok, this is pretty simple. I raved for a couple weeks there (3/21 and 3/28) about the Firefox Add-On called Hyperwords, to “make every word on the internet interactive.” I am still absolutely loving this FF Add-On and I think it’s quite possibly the easiest, quickest and most effective way to instantly give students at both ends of the achievement spectrum a very beneficial tool for almost every aspect of the general education curriculum! The challenge this week is to:

1. Get or make sure you have Firefox on your computer. (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/)
2. Go get and install the Hyperwords Add-On. (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1941)

And that’s it! I’ve given direct links to both places you’ll need to go, so it’s just a matter of clicking! Next week we’ll build on using Hyperwords in your classrooms, so get it installed this week!

..and submit a Call For Papers!
http://www.patinsproject.com/htm/trainop.html

Blogging Reluctance: I’ve talked to many schools recently who are doing some amazing things with blogging in their classrooms. Edublogs states, “Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.” Yet, I still run into schools/districts that prohibit blogging altogether.

So, I wanted to pass on this link to Techlearning’s short article on reluctant bloggers that found it’s way into my inbox this week and I’d love to hear from you about how/why you’re using blogs OR how/why you’re not using blogs.

Podcast For Free Online:   Check out MyPodcast.com for a free online way to record, edit and publish a podcast!   Very cool.

A couple more from the iPod 100 List: This week I looked at two more of those 100 Instructional iPod uses I posted a couple weeks ago.

ESL Podcasts was the first one I checked out. These are free podcast intended to help ESL students learn English.

Mogopop! was my next adventure.  This is a sharing site for multimedia created by other users for use on iPods.  Some areas have quite a bit of content, some of it directly intended for education.  Some other areas are still a little sparse, but I’m sure it will continue to grow.  I plan on spending quite a bit more time here.

Take the Online Web 2.0 Survey!

It should only take you 2 minutes tops and would certainly help PATINS in knowing how we can better serve schools when it comes to utilizing the abundance of free, online, interactive and collaborative tools available! It’s free, it’s easy and no registration is required: Click Here To Participate in the Survey