Helping Struggling Readers

Text to speech has come a long way since Mac's original "Talking Moose" in 1986.

"The Talking Moose was originally created by Dr. Steven Halls in Canada. Version 1.0 was published in 1986 for the Apple Macintosh. It was the first animated talking agent on a personal computer. The program featured an animated moose that would appear at periodic intervals with some joke or witicism, and would sometimes comment on what the user was doing. The moose could also 'speak' what the user typed in to it." (Wikipedia) To learn more about the Moose, this article from WIRED magazine gives a good summary.

Now users have access to a multitude of readers, from the basic Microsoft Reader to higher end products such as Kurzweil. Along with the different readers are a multitude of Voices that can be modified to meet the needs of the users.

NaturalReader 7.0 is a wonderful FREE tool that will allow users to experience how test-to-speech technology works. "The Free version allows you to experience listening to your emails, web pages, reports or any text on your PC. There are no charges for downloading, using and redistributing the free version of the software." NaturalReader 7.0

NaturalReader 7.0 offers several features that are easy to use. In the "Main Window" view, cutting and pasting of documents is v

ery simple and allows the user control in the speed in which the text is read. This view will also highlight the sentence being read and the each individual word is highlighted when read. 

In the "MiniBoard" view, the "...floating MiniBoard offers another option for you to listen to text without disturbing your reading on the screen." This MiniBoard will allow the user to read any text on your computer.

For more information, go to NaturalReader 7.0's information page and for a free demo. Watch the full video and at the end you will have access to other presentations, the Speech and Application videos are available in the free version.

Gabe

Jamming with JamStudio

As most of us are experiencing, most education boards have or are clawing back on some of the resources personnel available to educators.  For many educators, teaching music is not a natural skill. 

JamStudio is a free (to play and save), but also has a paid subscription that will allow you to save and download your projects. 

“Learning Music Can Be Fun...Writing and exploring music is fun when you have the right tool- you found it!... Amateurs and pros alike need a musical sandbox to try out ideas unlimited variations and “what if” versions can be explored instantly in a wide range of styles” http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm

Here is a short composition by Clarence on YouTube!

Have fun jamming with JamStudio!

Digital Biography: Beware of what you post on the Web!

Here are a few updates on the topic of “Online Privacy” that was posted on my Blog (November 21, 2008).

Elizabeth Church, in the December 23 Globe and Mail (Where everybody knows your teenaged musings) explores the ramifications of Web postings on the Web.  “Seth Tee got his first Hotmail account in Grade 4. By high school he was posting content on the Web. Now, at the sober age of 22, the University of British Columbia student realizes his teenage musings are just “a Google search away” for the rest of the world, and there is not much he can do to take them back.”   In an effort sensitise students to the potential pitfalls of Web postings, UBC (University of British Columbia) has developed the “digital tattoo” project.  (Visit: http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/).

To help users understand the consequences of posting personal information on Web, specifically, on Social Networks sites, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has a short 3 min video: Privacy on Social Networks: What does a friend of a friend of a friend need to know about you?

On Youtube:

Educators should read Ericka Mellon’s article “Teachers face dilemma with Facebook; Educators find benefits, pitfalls when adding students as friends on the social networking Web site” posted in the December 20^th Houston Chronicle.

Rethinking Computers in the Classroom

Is having a computer on every desk the solution to increase testing scores or is providing the necessary training and revising the curriculum to reflect the real world the solution?

"Obama wants more PCs for kids, and Harvey Milk Academy is one school doing just that. But a 21st-century, computer-focused curriculum is the real challenge"

"What's needed, say educators and technology advocates, is a 21st-century curriculum that harnesses PCs and the Internet to equip kids with skills needed in the modern workplace, like critical thinking, analysis, and communications." 

Rethinking Computers in the Classroom

An article by Aaron Ricadela (Business Week, Technology December 16, 2008) is a must read for educators!

Ecofont good for all

What is the true cost of printing?
When you are printing the true cost per page is determined by several factors, the cost of the paper, the type of printing (colour or B&W) and the amount of ink used. If you need to print your email messages, map directions or other such items and you know that you will be throwing them away there are ways to save money.
The greenest way to go would be to refrain from this excessive printing. But what if you don’t have a GPS and you need those driving directions from Google or Yahoo maps?
One way to save resources (ink and money) would be to use a font that requires less ink when printing. Ecofont, a creation of Colin Willems uses the Swiss cheese approach to printing. The font is based on the Vera Sans with tiny circles placed within the characters to reduce the total ink/toner laid upon the paper.
Ecofont consumes about 20% less ink and it is free!

Visit Ecofont to learn more and to download this “green font”

Safety and Education on YouTube

With the proliferation of online bullying and inappropriate postings, tagging and comments on the Web via different Web tools such as social networking sites (Facebook, My Space, etc...)  or even on YouTube, content providers are finally stepping in.

In an effort to help the online users Google, YouTube’s parent company, has just launched a new “Abuse and Safety Center” which is meant to help make the site as safe as possible for families. The new section offers tips from organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Crime Prevention Council. 

"Our new Abuse and Safety tool lets users better manage their channel, giving them the option of blocking specific users from making comments or sending e-mails, and makes communication with us about hate speech, harassment, and privacy concerns straightforward and specific," YouTube spokesperson Scott Rubin told TechNewsWorld.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/65491.html

For more info visite Goolgle's official Blog at:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/safety-education-and-empowerment-on.html

Collective Intelligence... How Private is your digital Information?

Electronic banking, digital medical records keeping, e-shopping, online or elearning, electronic tax filing, Social Networks... these are but a few of the digitals processes that we are using in our daily lives. But, are these safe, are we leaving behind a trail of information, “a digital footprint”?
Are we closer to George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen eighty-four”, where he states that "Big Brother is watching you".
John Markoff in his article “You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?” (New York Times November 19th) describes a project from M.I.T. were: “Mr. Brown and about 100 other students living in Random Hall at M.I.T. have agreed to swap their privacy for smartphones that generate digital trails to be beamed to a central computer. group of M.I.T students.”
This article offers a glimpse in the new field referred as “collective intelligence” where “The students’ data is but a bubble in a vast sea of digital information being recorded by an ever thicker web of sensors, from phones to GPS units to the tags in office ID badges, that capture our movements and interactions. Coupled with information already gathered from sources like Web surfing and credit cards, the data is the basis for an emerging field called collective intelligence.”
“You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?”