Snap & Read from Don Johnston

Don Johnston Inc, the company that brought us the SOLO suite of tools recently announced their newest product, Snap & Read!

According to the company website:

Snap&Read is an accessible toolbar that reads any text on-screen as it floats over any application. The simple one-button interface reads both accessible and inaccessible text aloud from Flash websites, Word docs, PDFs, web-based tests, images, and even dialog boxes.

If it looks like text, Snap&Read will read it!

The tool can be loaded onto your computer (MAC or PC) or you can run it directly from a USB drive and have access to the tool anywhere!

Cost of the software starts at $79.99 per license or a special introductory price of $399 for an unlimited site license.

Visit the product page to check out the video of the tool in action. Click here!

I am looking forward to getting my hands on this software. Keep watching for a more in depth review.

A Place to Read, Write, Connect

Looking for an exciting way to get kids (over 13) interested in books and writing?  The brand spankin’ new website Figment launched this week and it offers young writers and readers a community where they can express themselves, share ideas and discover what’s new on the literary front.

Figment features exclusive excerpts from new books, interviews with authors, contests and blogs (one from the Book Muncher).  The site, which was founded by a staff writer and former managing editor from The New Yorker, has a very youthful feel to it. The FAQ and Guidelines for participation are written in a way most teens would understand.

Check it out. It’s free to join.

Great K-12 Resources- Florida

There are some great resources out there. Florida has 5 regional centers providing support to districts (training, technical assistance, equipment loan), as well as creating print and web resources such as their "ENT" booklet. Here is their description:

"Exploring New Territories" (ENT) is a free resource from the Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System (FDLRS). The ENT booklet provides a comprehensive overview of technology for students with disabilities, including assistive technology, instructional technology, universal design for learning, accessible instructional materials, and virtual/online learning environments. Teachers and therapist will find a wealth of information, resources, and classroom activities to use."

The digital version is available at http://www.fdlrs.com/docs/ent2010web.pdf

Digital Book Report

Here is an exciting way to encourage students to read a book and interpret it: Alan Sitimer’s Digital Book Report Contest.

Have your students pick their favorite book or a book from your lesson plan and create a song, performance, or debate. Tell them to crack open their creativity and use music, props, and costumes! But make sure that it covers the core standards.
Entries must be in by October 28.

Winners will receive a portion of $20,000 in prizes and, of course, bragging rights.

Alan Sitomer, creator of BookJam, was named California’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. He is also the author of many books that engage young adult readers.

Technology and New Literacy

With the school year almost upon us - it seemed like a good time to revisit this article from Wired.com, "Clive Thompson on the New Literacy", that talks about a study from Stanford University that focuses on students and their writing abilities. The study analyzed over 14, 000 writing samples from college students. These samples were anything from essays to blog posts to emails.

According to Andrea Lunsford, who organized the study:

"I think we're in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization."

She feels that technology is hurting the writing ability of students - but instead it is having the opposite effect.

To check out the findings of the study, visit the Stanford Study of Writing.

Graphic Novels

Sticking with the theme of reading, I also attended a workshop presented by Christina Estlow from Ocean County Public Library. She talked about graphic novels as a medium for struggling readers to engage in reading. Looking at the varitey of books she brought with her, as well as perusing the library's online catalogue, graphic novels are becoming extremely popular with kids, and publishers are catching on. I never thought I would be able to read a graphic novel about the Salem Witch Trials or The Diary of Anne Frank. One of Christina's cautions was for the teacher or parent to read the novel first to be sure that it was appropriate for their student.

To link graphic novels to the writing process, she showed us a *free* website for students to write their own graphic novels called Make Beliefs Comics. This is a very easy to use, and very fun. I won't tell you that I spent a couple hours playing with this website and shared a few of my stories with my family. I won't tell you that.......