#Organizations
Organizations I work for, am connected with, or find extremely useful – their conferences, listserves, resources, etc.
TRUCE Toy Guide Now Available
TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment) has released its 2008 Toy Action Guide, just in time for the holidays. In their own words, This guide is intended to help adults promote children’s creative and constructive play by making informed choices about toys, and by working with others at home, school, and in the community to promote positive play and toys. The guide includes indispensable tips for how to...
Ning to provide ad-free social networking sites for educators
This is big news. I've been dabbling in Nings* for a few months now and my interest is piqued. I'm a part of the Classroom 2.0 and Assistive Tech Nings, which connect me with hundreds or thousands of other educators interested in collaborating and exchanging questions and ideas. The new news is that Ning is now offering ad-free Nings for K-12 educators. *Knowing what a Ning is might...
SchoolNetAfrica.net
SchoolNetAfrica is a pan-African education portal for practitioners, policymakers and school communities across the continent with resources in English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese and Arabic. SchoolNetAfrica is made up of the African Education Knowledge Warehouse: SchoolNet Centre, which has tools and resources to support national SchoolNets Policy Centre, which provides resources and studies to support policy development on ICT integration in education Learner Centre, which houses resources for learners...
ConnSense Podcasts
Chauncey Rucker's ConnSense Bulletin has long been a favorite of mine for news, reviews and updates related to assistive technology. It's quality stuff, and he taps into key issues. In addition to online articles and an e-mail bulletin, ConnSense also has begun providing podcasts. Maybe I'm a luddite, but I've never quite figured out how or when to listen to podcasts. Still, I began browsing the ConnSense podcasts...
SchwabLearning and Sparktop to Close
Two of my favorite sites for families struggling with learning disabilities are closing. On September 21, Charles and Helen Schwab announced they will no longer maintain operation of their web sites, SchwabLearning.org and Sparktop.org. Instead they will focus on selective grant-making to other organizations. I am grateful for the wonderful work that the Schwabs have done and their contributions toward greater understanding of and success for students with...
David Pogue promotes the XO Give-one-get-one laptop
I blogged before about One Laptop Per Child's Give 1 Get 1 program. Kudos to David Pogue of the New York Times for putting the promotion in such a clear light, and for his review of the new laptop's features, limitations and capabilities. My son and I were talking today about whether or not this might be what we do for our holiday giving this year: something for...
ATSTAR
ATSTART is an online curriculum for educators to learn more about Assistive Technology: Strategies, Tools, Accommodations and Resources, made with the help of many of the good people I know through QIAT.ATSTAR is an online curriculum designed to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities by helping teachers learn to use assistive technology in the classroom. Our core program is a series of online teacher training modules with...
Give One, Get One – One Laptop Per Child Promo
Here's a new way to have it all and give it away at the same time. Share this with grandparents and other generous gift givers. Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a...
‘Ning,’ Classroom 2.0 and AssistiveTech – a new world of connectedness
I have been a list serve fan for several years now, thanks to Joy Zabala and her good work at QIAT. I feel like I've got a whole world of experts at the click of an email send button. But often all that good insight and discussion gets lost in the archives, and I've longed for a 'better way.' I keep thinking a wiki or two might do...