SETDirect
SETDirect is an electronic newsletter for educators on assistive technology issues and resources. SET-BC publishes SETDirect to provide current information to support the implementation of technology for students with special needs in British Columbia. If you would like to be added to the SETDirect mailing list, click here to Subscribe. If you wish to Unsubscribe from SETDirect, Unsubscribe here
SET-BC Direct Jan 25/00
Volume 2, Issue 1
Special Education Technology-British Columbia
SET-BC Direct is intended to assist teachers and other professionals involved in the implementation of technology for students with special needs. Subscribers may also be interested in the SET-BC program itself; our model for service delivery and the projects we develop to better assist students with disabilities.
In this issue:
1. SET News
2. Coming Soon - Pro D Opportunities
3. Project Updates
4. Software Kudos
5. Web Travel
6. Partners
We hope you enjoy receiving SET-BC Direct. However, if you would rather not receive any future issues from SET-BC, please follow the subscribe/unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this page.
1. SET News - Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention 2000
SET-BC staff and District Partners look forward to CEC in Vancouver April 5 - 8, 2000. Expecting to attract more than 8000 delegates from North America and around the world, CEC will feature presentations on current strategies and issues in special education.
In conjunction with CEC, SET-BC is hosting a provincial District Partners' Conference on April 5th. On this day, educators from across BC will focus on sharing ideas and resources for the implementation of assistive technology in the classroom.
Both CEC and the District Partners' day promise to be excellent opportunities for SET-BC partners and staff to expand their knowledge and skills. We're pleased that British Columbia's success in implementing technology for students with special needs, will be highlighted at CEC.
Visit the CEC Convention 2000 web site for current information on registration, presentations, and special events. http://www.cec.sped.org/conv/index.html
2. Coming Soon - Pro D Opportunities
SET-BC Regional Centres host a wide variety of training events throughout the school year. These hands-on workshops and presentations are designed to increase the skills and knowledge of school district staff working with SET-BC students. Find out more about upcoming training events by contacting your Regional Centre. Visit the SET-BC web site at http://www.setbc.org (click Program Info) for Regional information.
During February and March, the following assistive technology vendors will be traveling to BC to provide training sessions for SET-BC.
Other special events at SET-BC include:
3. Project Updates
Kurzweil Project - During the 1999-2000 school year, five SET-BC Visually Impaired students and their teams will participate in on-line lessons, e-mail discussions, and data collection activities as they explore the Kurzweil 3000 software. This month's lesson focuses on the scanning capabilities of K3000. A project report will be available in June, 2000. http://www.setbc.org/setevents/
TIP: Technology Inclusion Project - TIP was an exciting SET-BC initiative for the 1999-2000 school year. Two goals of the project were to provide low cost technologies to students with multiple handicaps and to train team members on the implemention of these technologies in the classroom. Both SET-BC and school district staff have observed that these students are not often put forward for SET-BC services. This project was designed to address their technology needs.
Mountbatten Brailler Research Project - In December 1998, the Provincial Resource Center for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI), Special Education Technology - British Columbia (SET-BC) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) initiated a research project to review and evaluate the Mountbatten Brailler. The Mountbatten Brailler is an electronic Braille notetaker and embosser that features an ergonomic keyboard, memory, speech feedback and forward and backward Braille/print translation.
Initially five beginning braille readers were selected to participate in this project, with another 11 primary age students joining the project in October of 1999. The students are all attending their neighbourhood school and have the regular support of a vision teacher. In te early fall, the vision teachers attended a one day inservice that included the basic operation of the Mountbatten as well as teaching tips and strategies. "My Mountbatten is very cool. I love it! I can braille faster and erasing is awesome!." (quote from a grade one student)
4. Software Kudos
Write OutLoud, version 3, by Don Johnston Inc., is attracting attention. WOL v3 is capable of accepting long e-text books and enabling the user to hear and view the content, plus choose the font, contrast, voice, and speed. WOL v3 already has a talking spell checker and has added a homonym option to the spell-checker.
New for Office 2000 - Collect and Paste / Thesaurus . The expanded clipboard feature in Office 2000 is a productive tool for gathering information from multiple sources. Collect and Paste allows the user to gather information from multiple sources and place up to 12 items on the Microsoft Office Clipboard at one time. Office 2000 has a new thesaurus. Right-click a word, point to synonyms, and select from the list.
5. Web Travel
The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection. Formerly known as PhotoShare, a recipient of the ComputerWorld Smithsonian Award, Pics4Learning is a partnership between Orange County Public Schools Technology Development Unit of Orlando, Florida, and Tech4Learning, Inc. http://pics.tech4learning.com
Folksites enables virtually anyone to easily and inexpensively create a presence on the Net. Fortune magazines lists it as a great web site to learn how to make a homepage. Try Folksites to see how much fun you can have making your own home page, without having to learn the technical stuff. You can make your own homepage in minutes and register your site free. Folksites.com invites you to look at the type of sites YOU can make. Browse the Samples section and the Showcase sites in the Gallery. http://www.folksites.com
6. Partners - Spotlight on District Partners
In readiness for the April 5 District Partner Provincial Day, the SET-BC Provincial Resource Team has begun to work with District Partners to develop links from the SET Provincial Map for each District Partner in the province.
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Questions or comments can be directed to direct@setbc.org.
SET-BC is a Provincial Resource Program funded by the B.C. Ministry of Education. Its purpose is to assist school districts in British Columbia in meeting the technology needs of students with physical disabilities and visual impairments.
SET-BC Direct is copyright © 1998 by Special Education Technology-British Columbia. Excerpts used for the purposes of quotation must be attributed explicitly to Special Education Technology-British Columbia.
The information contained in this newsletter is drawn from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed, nor in providing it does Special Education Technology-British Columbia assume any liability. This newsletter is a public commentary for informational purposes only and does not represent an invitation to purchase or endorse products, and is not to be construed as a source of buy or sell recommendations.