Tech+&+Reading

= OAISD's AT Resources **-** Technology and Reading = Carey, Chris. bookbasket.jpg. Orlando Florida. Pics4Learning. [|http://pics.tech4learning.com]


 * **The Keys to Remembering What You Read** - Note taking strategies from LD Online.
 * **AR BookFinder—The web-based book searching tool** Conduct book searches by author, readability level, and topic. AR BookFinder provides accessibility to the book lists generated by classroom using AR BookGuide. The book lists contain titles of books that teachers assign or recommend for students to read.
 * **eBook Restrictions Vex Users** - A good article on the limitations and restrictions related to use of Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, the Sony Reader, iPad, or other e-text readers and digital rights management (DRM)—restrictions that some fear could hold back the use of eBooks in education.
 * Compare **eReader device** features.[[file:ereaderchart.pdf]]
 * **ereader-roundup** - This Wiki provides information on all types of eReader devices: Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, KOBO Reader. Additional information regarding accessibility, formats, and more.
 * Integrating Solutions to Increase Success in Literacy [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="20" height="20" link="file:oaisd-atresources/Marfilius-Literacy11-09.pdf"]] [[file:oaisd-atresources/Marfilius-Literacy11-09.pdf|Marfilius-Literacy11-09.pdf]]
 * A rich selection of tools and strategies to support reading and literacy can be found at the **UDLStrategies Wiki**.
 * **Teacher Resource websites** to support reading.
 * Your **local public library** may be a valuable resource for books on audio CD or in MP3 format. Access to their collections are available online, and a hold can be placed on a desired book with notification sent to you when it is available for pick up.

__Vocabulary Building Tools and Strategies__
> Easily get started by registering at: www.MobyMax.com/Administrators > The relationship between background knowledge and academic achievement is well established in research literature. Two specific instructional tactics are recommended in the development of vocabulary: Sustained Silent Reading and Direct Vocabulary Instruction. The following resources are designed to support the building and sustaining of rich vocabularies for all students.
 * ** ** MobyMax is FREE! ** **Pick a standard. Any standard. ** Fill any gaps in student learning with automatic intervention in reading, language, math, or vocabulary. MobyMax is so efficient at finding and fixing missing skills that students increase 1.4 grade levels with just 40 hours of practice
 * **Essential Word Lists by Grade**
 * **Vocabulary Lists by Subject**
 * **The Longman Vocabulary Website**

Websites to model for students how to use a variety of tools to **explore the meaning of a new word**:
 * **Word Source**: The Social Dictionary
 * **Spezify** - A search engine that displays results in a variety of visual formats.
 * **Wordnik** - A place where you can make your own opinions about words known.
 * **Definr** - Meta-glossary to help find meaning, not just links.
 * **WordSmyth** - Users can control the difficulty of the dictionary from which the definition is drawn.

Linking a new word to antonyms and synonyms to help them make connections:
 * **VisuWords**- Online graphical dictionary
 * **Visual Thesaurus** - An interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words.
 * **Lexipedia** - A visual word web.

Maintaining vocabulary notebooks is one method students can use to **record a brief description of the new vocabulary in their own words**. Online vocabulary notebooks such as **Zoho Notebook** can serve this purpose. The vocabulary notebook is also a good place for students to record new and interesting words. Sources for discovering new vocabulary might include **Word of the Day** or **Save the Word.**

__Online Resources to Support Reading__
> New updates make our flagship software even more powerful and convenient, benefiting blind users as well as users with low vision, dyslexia, and other reading access needs. ReadHear is an accessible reader for electronic media, including DAISY, NIMAS, ePub, Learning Ally, and Bookshare files. Providing a wide array of options for voicing, navigation, and both visual and audio settings, ReadHear is a single-stop solution for access to literature and electronic content on both PC and Mac platforms. > To download and try ReadHear for PC or Mac, visit GH at  www.ghbraille.com/downloads  or contact us at sales@gh-accessibility.com .
 * **ReadHear E-book Reader Updates for PC and Mac **
 * __**Natural Reader**__**-** Free http://www.naturalreaders.com/ Free download allows text to be read aloud to student with ability to change voice and rate. http://bit.ly/nlEu6
 * **[|Accessible book (Open Library)]** - Internet Archive is scanning a variety of books in many languages, so they can be read by the software and devices blind people use to convert written pages into speech. The organization has 20 scanning centers in five countries, including one in the Library of Congress.
 * **Bookshare** will be making open content textbooks - primarily math and science from California's standards-aligned digital textbook initiative - available to ALL **without proof of disability**. Available in DAISY and Braille formats, the user can choose book files with or without images and illustrations. Image descriptions will be available for those with visual disabilities.
 * **Free Digital Textbooks for K-12** - You can drag/drop parts of each book to create and edit your own content.
 * **[|International Digital Children's Library]** - The IDCL Foundation's goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world. Online books (picture books to novels), pages advanced with click on page or arrow icon, control of font and graphic size. No text to speech embedded in the site.
 * **K-12 Virtal Library** - Online books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, and safe searches to provide students & teachers with rich content to construct new models of learning.
 * **Open Library ** contains over 20 million records from a variety of large catalogs as well as single contributions, with more on the way. Open Library is an open project: the software is open, the data are open, the documentation is open, and we welcome your contribution.
 * **Pennsylvania establishes first statewide Digital Learning Library.** PA partners with PBS and Penn State University to give educators free access to standards-aligned digital media content. Access to the Digital Learning Library (DLL)
 * **Web 2.0 Cool Tools for Schools** - Reading and Digital Learning Online Resources

Collections of Online Text

 * **Current Events** - Links to nearly 20 websites that offer current events in a variety of formats - graphics, rap, audio, and more.
 * **E-text** - A collection of links to sites that allow you to provide text in various formats, both audio and text. Links to magazines, novels, cartoons, poetry, and much more can be found in their entirety online. Some sites allow the user to download the text.
 * ===** Online Magazines **===
 * ===**Online Storybooks** Delicious Stack - A collection of stories, primarily for early childhood, these links can provide a rich reading experience for those students just beginning to read, those who have difficulty holding a traditional book and turning pages, or just those who enjoy reading and listening to books in an alternative format. Many have text to speech built in.===

Delicious Stack - Read it Outloud (Text to Speech Resources)
> //January 15, 2013// //by Paul Hamilton// in **Free Resources From the Net For Every Learner**
 * __Worksheet Wizard__- from Premier will allow you to scan in worksheets and convert them into text which can then be highlighted and read to the student. VERY affordable. There is a Mac version too. link: http://www.readingmadeez.com/products/WorksheetWizard.html
 * ====**Balabolka Text-To-Speech (TTS) program** - Balabolka is a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program. All computer voices installed on your system are available to Balabolka. The program can read the clipboard content, view the text from DOC, RTF, PDF, FB2 and HTML files, and customize font and background color.====
 * **Blio - eBooks as they are intended -** Blio is a FREE eReading application that presents eBooks just like the printed version, in full color, and with all of the features you’d want from an eReader. Download free - Windows only.
 * **Browsealoud** - Browsealoud reads web pages aloud for people who find it difficult to read online. Browsealoud makes using the Internet easier for people who have: Low literacy and reading skills, English as a second language, dyslexia, mild visual impairments.
 * **CLiCk, Speak for Firefox** - CLiCk, Speak is an open source, freely available extension for the Firefox web browser, designed for sighted users who want text-to-speech functionality.
 * ====**ClipTalk - Speaks the text copied to the clipboard** - Works in Open Office. Full Measure ClipTalk automatically speaks text that is copied to the Windows clipboard (e.g. with Right Click -> Copy or Ctrl+C). Speech is supplied using the Microsoft SAPI software that is included with WIndows XP and Vista.====
 * **MyStudyBar** - MyStudyBar is a comprehensive set of portable open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties. MyStudyBar is free. The toolbar includes a range of tools to support inclusion such as mind mapping, screen masking, word prediction, talking dictionary, text-to-speech, Save as MP3 and voice recognition. Tools download to USB drive for portability.
 * **NaturalReader** - Text to speech software with Natural Voices - Free. Two views available: read text in a separate window or read within the application using the mini board.
 * **Free Word Processing with Built-in Text-to-Speech: ‘Read Text’ in OpenOffice and LibreOffice**
 * ====**Read The Words** - You must create an account. Accounts are completely free and ready to go in less than 1 minute. Once you create an account, you will be taken to the “My Readings Page”. You can manage your current Readings and create new ones by Clicking the button, Create New Reading. Reads written text, PDF documents, web pages, RSS feeds.====
 * ====** Safari Reader ** on iOS5 devices. Look for the Little blue Reader button on the right side of the URL box on your device when using Safari. ====
 * ====**SpeakingFox :: Add-ons for Firefox on Mac** - Firefox generally doesn’t let you use a lot of OS X’s accessibility features, including the services menu and some of OS X’s regular keyboard shortcuts. The Firefox extension SpeakingFox fills this gap.====
 * ====**vozMe - Add speech to your browser** Simply highlight the text you want read and click voxMe in your toolbar. Choose from male or female voice. The text is not visible when the audio file is played unless you navigate back to the website you are reading.====